Sun light at its peak, we approach the longest day and step from Spring to Summer. Aries fire, Taurus earth and Gemini air have taken us on a rapid, sometimes intense journey through the last 3 months: Spring is about new growth, shaking off the sluggishness of winter and expanding our horizons. We enter Summer and now it’s time to be Who We Are Becoming… to express, feel and consolidate: to become, be and be seen…. to rise, shine and shout it out: LIFE IS A CELEBRATION…… WE ARE BORN TO BE WHO WE ARE, not to do what others want us to do, not to serve the capitalist machine (that if anything should SERVE US)…. and taking the journey into LOVE as guided by Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and all the great teachers throughout time into SELF-DISCOVERY, SELF-EXPRESSION AND SELF-REALISATION AS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE. Most people seem lost in the delusions and confusions of the external, material world – but more and more of us are noticing that the real story of life is what is going on on the inside: we journey on planet earth to find and create our SELVES, luckily there is map in the sky to help us…..
The Albion Faeries are gathering in Avalon for our 3rd Glastonbury Summer Solstice. Year One was damp and misty, not many of us stayed up for an (invisible) solstice dawn…. Year Two the sun shone brightly day after day and I felt I was waking up in the Mediterranean each morning… then the solstice eve itself was dry and warm, giving us the chance to drum, dance and sing in the woods until the morning light, then join the Glastonbury folk on the Tor for the sunrise: it was a wonderful experience to be a large group of queers openly expressing affection and delight with each other amongst the crowds on this sacred spot. In our various states of undress and exuberance we were more ‘far out’ than even the local hippies, we added a lot of good vibrations to the occasion.
Year 3 in Avalon starts with a new moon in Gemini on the 16th June. Mercury and Mars are also in this air sign that loves to explore new things, to communicate and meet new people. Mercury has just turned direct after 3 weeks retrograde, so there likely to be a feeling that our ability to share and communicate is heightened. Gemini brings the buzzing sociable energy of Spring that sets in after the sexual energy peak of Beltane during Taurus month. With three heavenly bodies in Gemini we getting a major dose of this curious, communicative spirit this year…. engaging the energy of the new moon will bring a positive charge that will easily open social and communication channels and help us to enjoy the diverse personalities and energies around us.
VENUS IN LEO inclines us to be generous in our affections…. we love to be admired and adored during this transit, though when it comes to relationship we probably prefer to fuel the romantic, fantasy aspects rather than the down to earth, practical challenges.
MARS IN GEMINI stimulates us to be curious, exploratory, flexible, adaptable but perhaps unfocussed and short of determination. Mars and the Sun align on the 14th June, stimulating the desire for action and so a kind of starting pistol for the faerie gathering.
JUPITER IN LEO: we approach the end of Jupiter’s year long journey through the summer fire sign Leo. This has been a great influence for deepening creative and romantic connections, for learning and growth, and for expanding our courage, confidence and self-expression. Time to lap up the lion energies while we can.
SATURN began its retrograde journey in Sagittarius a few months ago, and on the 14th June reenters Scorpio, where it spent the last 2.5 years: it’s review time again. Saturn in fire sign Sagittarius has given us a boost to move forwards (cautiously of course, Saturn doesn’t do things rashly), but during this summer we might find we are revisiting the things that hold us back, in order to release them once and for all. Saturn in Scorpio involves facing our demons, our addictions and dependencies – but it also brings deep water spirit that helps us to strengthen connections with others and grow in understanding.
At the SOLSTICE itself we will be under the influence of a semi-square between Saturn and Pluto which could bring themes of power struggles, frustration and manipulation into play: working through them will bring rewards, and the need to adjust expectations will be obvious. With the largest gathering of Faeries yet on the UK about to happen in Avalon it might be that stress levels will be higher than we usually experience at our events. At the Solstice we need to give each other some leeway – for when the Sun is at its peak so are our individual egos!
Luckily, we will also be under the influence of Jupiter trine Uranus – which is a liberating energy, bringing new attitudes and energies, a love of the unusual. This alignment is good for group activities, is optimistic, romantic and creative and promises a very positive start to the Summer season.
The Solstice Sunrise is a moment when we can feel, affirm and deepen our Oneness with Life, Love and Light. Power and Glory shine throughout the world at this moment. We can connect our prayers and intentions for ourselves and the world, shifting the balance of energies on the planet towards the positive, engaging and embracing the spiritual reality and its manifestation in the material, mental and emotional planes. This can be a peak moment of alignment and awakening. The energies this year are saying GO FOR IT….. the risk is that we go too fast and lose ourselves in all the exciting action, so the thing to remember is to breathe deeply, find stillness and go steadily forth into Summer.
Once the Solstice is behind us the Sun enters the emotional sign of Cancer. It’s worth reflecting on the fact that after the rush of Spring growth, the first month of Summer is spent in this introverted water energy that loves romance and home. Wherever we are during the Cancerian month we should always aim to engage our hearts and ‘feel at home’. The first month of Summer involves feeling what has been achieved internally during the heady growth months of Spring. Better to be prepared for this… we reach the outgoing Gemini peak at Solstice then immediately the spirit starts to pull us more into our emotional bodies. From social buzz of mental sign Gemini we move into feelings in water Cancer, which can be unsettling if we not expecting it, or a glorious ride if we are and are open to the many places those emotions will take us.
Wishing everybody a glorious Solstice and abundant three months of Summer to come.
shokti 