On Monday it’s the Summer Solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere this is when the hours of daylight are at a maximum, when the Sun rises at its absolute earliest. In the Southern Hemisphere it’s the opposite.
The Summer Solstice is an exact event, timed for the moment the Sun is at its maximum angular distance above the celestial equator.
This year, in London, it happens around lunchtime on Monday, which is 12.28 pm. In New York that’s 7.28 am, in Los Angeles 4.28 am.
From the point of view of Western astrology, the Summer Solstice has extra significance, because it’s the moment when the Sun moves from Gemini to Cancer. This reminds us that the Western zodiac is tied to the seasons, and not the constellations.
This year’s Summer Solstice is likely to be quite electric, because the Sun is making a close, 90-degree aspect to Uranus in Aries, which becomes exact late on Monday or early on Tuesday, depending on your time zone.
So at the beginning of the week there could be unexpected happenings, and as a result we might have to change our plans at short notice.
However it could be argued that the instability continues, all week long. On Wednesday the Sun makes a stressful aspect to Jupiter, on Friday it makes a stressful aspect to Pluto and on Saturday there’s a partial eclipse of the Moon.
The Sun is therefore triggering some heavy duty aspects, involving Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto. Global problems can’t be avoided, even if we regard ourselves as private individuals who couldn’t care less about politics.
Going back to the Summer Solstice, and it will affect different parts of the world in different ways.
If we set up a chart for the exact time of the Solstice, and we make London the location, we notice that Saturn, the planet of responsibility, is in the First House, that the Moon is in the Second House of money and that Mercury, the planet of communication, is exactly on the Midheaven.
The day following the solstice the British finance minister will announce his budget, and it’s widely reported that this budget will be super-tough, with major cuts in public spending. This really does fit the solstice horoscope – money, discipline, a minister making important announcements.
Looking at Continental Europe and North Africa, and the countries to watch over the coming week – and indeed over the coming three months – are Tunisia, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. There could be a sudden shake-up, or else a major event or disaster.
The cities of Brussels and Strasbourg are both strongly affected by the Solstice, and of course these two cities are major power centres in the European Union. So the Summer could be very tough for the EU, and there could be big arguments about economic policy. And I believe we’ll see further evidence that the European currency, in its present form, is doomed.
Copyright © 2010 Archie Dunlop
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