June is a “4” Universal Month [6 (June) + 7 (2023) = 13 = 1+3 = 4] in a “7” Universal Year. The number 4 is considered stable or stabilizing and months that carry 4 energy are much the same. Where in your life do you need to slow down to make sure the pieces are fitting right? We are coming out of a rough two months that involved two intense eclipses that overlapped with Mercury’s second retrograde of the year. Things got stirred up. June is the month to let the dust settle and get back to it, whatever “it” is for you.
The Set Up
We begin the month of June with the Sun in Gemini, Mercury playing catch-up in Taurus, Venus in Cancer, Mars in Leo, Jupiter Uranus and the North Node in Taurus, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Pluto in Aquarius. By month’s end, the Sun will have entered Cancer, Mercury will have moved through Gemini and on to Cancer to join the Sun, Venus will have entered Leo, and retrograded Pluto will have re-entered Capricorn from the back-end. Additionally, Saturn and Neptune will station retrograde this month, and Venus will enter her pre-retrograde shadow period. That’s a lot of change for a month where we are supposed to pick up the pieces, but it’s where we are. All we can do is live in it.
The Nitty Gritty
We come into June under the energy of the waxing moon that will peak on 6/3 or 6/4 depending on your timezone. The full moon in Sagittarius is traditionally a time for excitement and newness, as is represented by Sagittarius’s ruler, Jupiter. This year will be no exception as this will be further augmented by Venus in Cancer’s watery trine with Neptune in Pisces (a sweet aspect of togetherness on 6/2) and Mercury’s annual conjunct with Uranus at 20° Taurus on 6/4. This is a great time to start a new project – especially one that is creative in nature (Venus) or some sort of higher learning (Sag). If you don’t know where or what to start, this is a great time to ask Mercury and Uranus for inspiration. Mercury and Uranus have a close relationship with one another and can be seen to be two sides of the same coin – Mercury awakens in the human realm, and Uranus is the awakening of the beyond.
On 6/5, Venus enters our fixed fire sign Leo where she will remain for the next three months. This is an exceptionally long time as she normally moves through a sign in two to three weeks. We are gearing up for another Venus retrograde. Venus last retrograded at the beginning of 2021 in the sign of Capricorn so we may see some of the same themes start to arise from June-October that we experienced them. Because Venus is one of the personal planets, her retrogrades are always felt deeply both by the collective and in our individual lives.
Interestingly, Venus in Leo immediately meets up in opposition with Pluto in Aquarius who has already entered their retrograde cycle. When Venus last went retrograde, she did so in direct conjunction with Pluto. This again shows this recurring theme – something about our way of drawing in and getting what we want (themes heavily ruled by Venus) needs to change. Whereas last time, while the planets were in conjunction, the change may have had to be personal – we may find that this time, with the opposition, the change needs to come from or be helped by our closest Others. Venus will not make an aspect with Pluto during her retrograde cycle, so this is something that has passed us, even if we need to momentarily revisit it.
This is likely an old ego story that needs revising. Venus and Pluto’s opposition will align with our lunar nodes that are just barely hovering on the line between Taurus/Scorpio and Aries/Libra to create a fixed grand cross. This may highlight an area where you feel very stuck in your life. Even though Venus will move quickly on Pluto and the nodes will hold this as a t-square throughout the month which shows that it is an ongoing situation. If you identify the problem, great. But be aware that the energy to shift and move through it may not come until Pluto reenters Capricorn (6/11) and the nodes switch to Aries/Libra (7/17). Aries, Libra, and Capricorn are cardinal signs, after all, and cardinal signs NEED to move. Use that to your advantage when you can.
The weekend of 6/9-6/11 will likely be eventful. The sun in Gemini meets up in sextile with Chiron in Aries so we can assume our core wounds are close to the surface. Additionally, Mercury and Pluto meet up in trine with one another as they each change signs. Mercury is moving forward into its home sign of Gemini where it really likes to be. Pluto is moving backward into Capricorn, a transit that has been shaking up the old bones of our financial systems for the last 14 years. Additionally, Venus in Leo squares off with Jupiter in Taurus. This is a week to lie low if you can, or accept what comes up if you can’t. Watch out for excesses, particularly excessive spending or overindulgences fueled by a hedonist Jupiter in Taurus. This would be a great weekend to do work towards ending addictive cycles as the energy of the waning moon will support you in these endeavors.
On 6/15, Mercury in Gemini squares off with Saturn in Pisces – this is our regular reminder that words have power, and with great power, comes great responsibilities. (thanks Uncle Ben) If you’ve been speaking out of turn, you may need to eat your words or fess up. In general, communication may just feel heavy through all of this week.
On Saturday, Saturn retrogrades at 07° Pisces. When considering Saturn, one should always remember that it is always somewhat looked at in its relationship with Jupiter. Where Jupiter expands, Saturn contracts. In this way, as our two intermediate planets, they are the inverse of one another. And when one of the two retrogrades, it takes on some of the natural energy of the other as often works with inverses. Saturn retrogrades start out like you got hit with a ton of bricks but tend to lighten considerably. When Sky Daddy Saturn’s not home, all bets are off. Do you even need to follow the rules? Do you even need to do your homework? Because Jupiter is still moving in a direct motion, we’ve got the energy of Jupiter (expansion) now combined with the energy of retrograde Saturn (expansion/contraction) to contend with. It can be a bit unbalanced if you’ve sensitive to Saturnian movements.
The next day we will experience a new moon at 27° Gemini which will form a tight square with Neptune in Pisces. Gemini and Pisces have a lot in common with each other. For one thing, they are both mutable signs. They are also both twin signs – Gemini is literally the sign of the twins and Pisces is represented as two fish swimming in opposite directions. Both also like to live in a fantasy world of their own creation and have a tendency to (at times) lose track of reality – a trait that will further be enhanced by Neptune, the planet of secrets and illusions. All that glitters is almost certainly not gold during this time – in fact, it’s probably a mimic and not gold at all. If it looks too good to be true, it certainly is. Save your decisions for another day and practice your very best self-care if this energy is too much for you.
Venus enters her pre-retrograde shadow the very next day at 12° Leo. Venus will retrograde at 28° Leo on 7/23 and remain in retrograde until the beginning of September, casting the second half of our summer in pallid tones. It can be really hard to find love or compassion when Venus retrogrades and this will be doubly so while Venus is in the ego-drive sun-ruled sign of Leo. This is just the warm-up, though – she needs to pass through her pre-retrograde steps first. Remember that from here on out, every aspect Venus makes will be made thrice: once in forward motion, a second time backward while in retrograde, and a third time again in forward motion. If you work astrological energy to mollify the effects of personal planet retrogrades, now is the time to start planning your strategy for this transit.
On 6/21, the Sun enters Cancer and Summer officially begins. Happy Summer Solstice! The Sun immediately meets up in sextile to our North Node in Taurus and in trine to our South Node in Scorpio. We are almost at the end of this lunar node story which may be triggering for some. Mars in Leo trines Chiron in Aries the same day which shows that old pains may lie close to the surface.
Mercury enters Cancer on 6/26 and Mars in Leo squares off with Uranus in Taurus. Mars plus Uranus is pretty intense no matter the aspect and the square creates a lot of tension – watch out! Stay away from explosives in general, including but not limited to explosive conversations. This is break-up weather – watch what you say because you may not be able to take it back. The Sun in Cancer sextiles retrograde Saturn in Pisces two days later so consequences may be swift and swampy. On 6/29, Venus in Leo trines Chiron in Aries to activate those old wounds. Try to use it to heal them rather than wallowing in the pain, if you can.
On the last day of the month, Mercury trines retrograde Saturn which is another day when consequences may be close to the forefront. Pay the piper for your mistakes if you need to. Own up to your part in things. Look at it rather than away from it.
I can see how some of you after reading this would be going: Minx, how is this a break from all of this intense astrology we’ve been having?
I assure you that it is. Venus is going to retrograde through the second half of the summer – make amends while you can now. This is the easiest most that we will have for a hot minute, so try to enjoy it. Okay?
The Details
6/2 – Venus in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces
6/3 – Full moon 13° Sagittarius (11:41 EDT so may be 6/4 for some)
6/4 – Mercury conjunct Uranus 20° Taurus
6/5 – Venus enters Leo, Venus in Leo opposed retrograde Pluto in Aquarius
6/7 – Venus in Leo square North Node/South Node
6/9 – Mercury in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces
6/10 – Sun in Gemini sextile Chiron in Aries
6/11 – Retrograde Pluto enters Capricorn, Mercury in Taurus trine retrograde Pluto in Capricorn, Mercury enters Gemini, Venus in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus
6/15 – Mercury in Gemini square Saturn in Pisces
6/17 – Mercury in Gemini sextile Venus in Leo, Saturn retrograde 07° Pisces
6/18 – New moon 26° Gemini, Sun in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces
6/19 – Venus enters her pre-retrograde shadow 12° Leo, Jupiter in Taurus sextile retrograde Saturn in Pisces
6/21 – Sun enters Cancer, Mercury in Gemini sextile Mars in Leo
6/22 – Sun in Cancer sextile North Node in Taurus, trine South Node in Scorpio, Mars in Leo sextile Chiron in Aries
6/25 – Mercury in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces
6/26 – Mercury enters Cancer, Mars in Leo square Uranus in Taurus
6/27 – Mercury in Cancer sextile North Node in Taurus, trine South Node in Scorpio
6/28 – Sun in Cancer trine retrograde Saturn in Pisces
6/29 – Venus in Leo trine Chiron in Aries
6/30 – Mercury in Cancer trine retrograde Saturn in Pisces, Neptune retrogrades 27° Pisces