Like the opening bars of a great symphony, June begins softly at first, hinting at where we’re to point our focus this month.

June 1st, Jupiter joins the Moon in its home sign of motherly Cancer.  Expand your love, compassion and care, they prompt.  These two form a grand water trine (visualize a giant triangle of uber beneficial energy) to Saturn in Scorpio and healer Chiron in Pisces.   Even as the moon shifts away from this troika,  Saturn and Chiron remain aligned with Jupiter for the balance of June, asking, Can you feel the love tonight?   Remember the strong family bonds among the pride in the Lion King?  That same base of energy supports us now. Amidst life’s hullabaloo, they remind us about what truly matters:  Love.    Matters of family, food, and mom blend with shared resources (money/property) and healing at the deepest level offering comfort and rich love when we open our hearts to it.   This energy serves as a strong building block of the firmest foundation on which to create the rest of your life. 

In the wake of April and May’s unsettling energies, this bedrock of support enables us to take off our armor and flop down on a beloved sofa or bed, home at last, after surviving the war outside.  Where there is healing work to do, we are offered no finer time to engage in what has lingered far, far too long, festering, nagging for attention and resolution.   May you find peace.

Aiding our quest for peace and healing during the first week of June are deliciously helpful angles between messenger Mercury (how we think and speak), Venus (love and money) and Neptune (universal mind/consciousness itself).  Turn on.   Tune in.  But do not drop out, as Timothy Leary said.  Because you won’t want to miss the messages being delivered now; or conversely, for you to deliver important words by acting as messenger.  Be an earth angel.  Especially as messenger Mercury winds down, preparing to turn retrograde motion in empathic and empathetic Cancer.  Slow down your hearing, talking, thinking…Cancer likes slow.  Gentle.  Tender.  Like scrolling through a radio dial for the just the right station, the first week of June affords opportunities to really hear and understand what is essential to know now.   What lesson or message are you missing?  Like Einstein’s defnition of insanity, do you keep repeating the same path/task [mistake] over and over expecting a different outcome?  This week you can jump off the merry go round, feet firmly planted on terra firma (thanks to Venus in earthy Taurus), listen, change directions, act.

Remember, the Universe speaks constantly to us if only we pay attention.  Most often, it talks through the mouths of others.  And as I mentioned above, often you are employed by the Universe to deliver the right words to the right person at the right time.  Do not discount the power of your presence and voice.  Sometimes you know when you are dispensing key phrases.  Often, though, we do not realize the power and impact our words can have on another.  What you say (or do) doesn’t have to be lofty or a grand gesture.   The simplest and most humble of words and deeds is all it takes to shift the energy.  That is why we tend to overlook what passes right under our noses, “in one ear and out the other”!  In our rush and insistence to seek something BIG to point the way, we ignore the little words, deeds, what already exists, patiently knocking at our door…out of the mouths of babes…

BIG is in fact built on small, sometimes infinitesimal details.   Jupiter and Mercury in maternal Cancer remind us to think:  mom. Since that is what moms (and dads) do everyday in everyway:  tend to the details, the background, yet backbone of life.  Without them, life hangs unhinged. 

Unhinged.  Not a good much less solid space to be.  So it is really helpful to have the above aspects as our lead-in and base for June as saber-rattling, unsettled angles between Mars in Libra (relationships), Uranus in fiery Aries and transformer Pluto heat up for another round, a la April’s grand cardinal square, this time, without Jupiter in the mix.  Think of a square table without the fourth leg and you now feel a very uneven energy to the entire month.  The second week of June (5-10) we are given the opportunity to use our ingenuity as the Sun aligns with Uranus.  Think outside of the box, use the unusual or out of the ordinary opportunities to your advantage.  Make things work for you as this offers a tremendous outlet for the discordant energy between Mars, Uranus and Pluto.  Try making a three legged triangular table out of that once square table.  Whittle down the square peg so it does fit through the round hole.  

Again, it is important not to dismiss those signals, voices, signs pointing you along the way as this uneven planetary energy builds throughout June.  As Mercury slows to a halt on June 7th and turns retrograde for the rest of the month, ask where you need to dig deep, revisit or re-work established patterns, relationships, business endeavors, projects (artistic or otherwise) routines and habits that you’ve outgrown?  For a while now we’ve been asked to break in new shoes to walk the steps of life.  There is no better time than this month to re-member the RE words of Mercury Retrograde:  re-visit, re-think, re-tool, redistribute, redo, etc.  Re-lax into it all because Mercury’s communication snafus will slow you down anyway.   Better to warm up for summer and practice re-charging yourself, your mind, which Mercury rules.  The balance of June is a terrific time to plan, re-hearse, re-wind.  Then after the July 4th weekend, jump into life full till:  book your trip, make the downpayment, launch your relationship/project/business, buy the new car or appliance.

Mid month is rife with planetary movement.  June 10th finds Neptune also turning retrograde while Venus in Taurus opposes Saturn in Scorpio.   Taurus and Scorpio both concern money:  the first personal, the latter shared.  In the wake of both Mercury and Neptune’s shift into retrograde motion, be particularly careful of any spending you do, especially those involving family/spousal relationships.  Best to re-view ideas for expenditures, not commit.  I get it:  reality does happen.  So if the fridge breaks down and it costs just as much to re-pair as to re-place, then do what you need to do to make life work.  But please understand:  where you have a choice, re-frain from spending if you can.  Re-search the best kind of product to buy, money market fund, property or job to invest in.

The Sagittarian Full Moon on June 12 will certainly help your research!  Sagittarius is all about studying, learning and reading.  So allow the full light of the moon to shine brightly on what direction to take, how best to spend your money.   The Archer loves to travel and take classes making this week an excellent time to plan trips and adventures later this summer or year.   When July rolls around, then buy the tickets, book the trip or launch business/artistic projects.  The Sagittarius Moon will put ants in your pants to get going so it is helpful to know the Archer also rules philosophy, spirituality and the higher mind.  Direct your focus toward this philosphical side of the Archer as it lends itself really well to slow thinking so key to this month.  Ponder.  Be of a Zen mindset: 

Do one thing at a time.
Do it slowly and deliberately.
Do it completely.
Do less.
Designate time for certain things.
Devote time for sitting.
Make cleaning and cooking become meditation.
Think about what is necessary.
Live simply.

Supporting our efforts to put a little more Zen in our lives, Mercury passes back over a critical degree of nurturing Cancer from June 14-16.  Make like a crab and sidle up slowly. Feel your way. Your attention will be drawn to mom, your role as a parent, food, family matters, home, children.  The next day, June 17th, Mercury moves back into Geminii bumping into the Sun during the third week of the month.  This duo drives us to get our message across so be sure you do your share of listening and hearing what others are telling you.  Mercury in its natural sign of Geminii can make us quick witted and sharp-tongued, spewing words at lightning speed.  Use caution and think before you speak this week.  Strap on a solid filter.  Compassion and empathy are never too overrated!

The Sun’s move into gentle Cancer helps our sympathetic efforts, especially where family is concerned.  We will need all the compassionate strength for ourselves and loved ones as Mars heats up its struggle with Pluto and then directly opposes Uranus the final week of June.  Each of us will be impacted by this trio differently depending on where they fall in your chart.  Given the planets and signs involved, surprises are a safe bet, especially in the relationship and established arenas of our lives both individually and collectively.  As I mentioned earlier, Mars-Pluto-Uranus at odds with each other lends an uneven, unsettled tenor and tempo to our lives.   Use Mercury retrograde and the warmer temperatures outside to their best advantage:  practice relaxation techniques; expend that unsettled, excess energy through plenty of exercise and taking in lots of fresh air.  Nature is a natural healer.

Giving us flexibility to handle the challenges tossed at us, Venus enters versatile Geminii on the 24th.  In this mercurial air sign, we find and apply different solutions to our relationships and ability to earn a living.  Then the New Moon on the 27th in Cancer makes a gorgeous angle to intuitive Neptune.  Be still for a moment.  Close your eyes.  You know what to do.  That is the beauty of this duo.  Now just follow your instincts. 

Jupiter tilts at the lunar nodes from the 24th through the end of the month taunting us to balance myriad facets of our lives:  taking good care of ourselves, our family, plus integrating new strategies at work, in relationships (especially the elderly, children or family) together with harmony, beauty, grace and creativity.  A tall order for sure.  As Mercury slows down preparing to turn direct motion on July 1, reflection and thoughtful consideration are the best tools to learn how to even out the bumps in our lives, fill the potholes if you will, for a smoother rest of 2014.  God speed.