Cancer New Moon of Trusting Stillness

Cancer New Moon of Trusting Stillness (Partial Annular Solar Eclipse and June Solstice)

Sunday, June 21, 2020

12:41 am MST / 2:41 am EST
0°21' Cancer
Fungus: Lactarius pallescens

Happy New Moon of Trusting Stillness.

This Cancer New Moon is in alignment with the June Solstice, exact just a few hours earlier on Saturday, June 20th at 3:43 pm MST / 5:43 pm EST. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year when Sun reaches its highest point in the sky. In the Southern Hemisphere this is the shortest day of the year.

While the Summer Solstice celebrates the steep path of radiant energy extending towards us from our own shining star, a Cancer New Moon simultaneously extends below, beneath, and within the beingness of all life. There is this a juxtaposition of observing maturity and our vital strength in a personal and intimate moment. Cancer represents our lunarness -- our most private, personal, and the deepening of anchoring. How are you intimate with the strength that is the oneness of all life? How are you in a direct, personal, physical partnership with this moment?

Solstice means "Sun stand still" because for several days before the beginning of its newfound descent, Sun seems to remain still in the sky. With changeable and liquid Cancer, we trust our sensing of essence -- spaciousness and stillness -- that is found inside of our fluctuating feelings, desires, and Cancery contradictions.

Lactarius pallescens exuding beads of white, milky latex.

Sun has just entered cardinal Cancer on Saturday, June 20th. This summer, we will experience two Cancer New Moons in a row, separated by a Full Capricorn Moon, a rarer astrological occurrence. Cancer, the first of three water signs, rules the protective containers and coverings in our body like breasts, stomach, sinus cavities, and the pregnant uterus. Cancer, mentored by Moon, is divine reception, creating containers and spaces for fulfilling relationships and emotional communication. Cancer asks, are you looking outside yourself for what you must find within? 

Lactarius pallescens are a very lunar-like species of Milk Cap Mushroom which are characterized by exuding a white, milky fluid (latex) when sliced or damaged. These "bleeding" mushrooms are white and stain purple in only a few seconds, creating a very intimate and fluctuating fruiting body experience.

The genus Lactarius comes from the latin for "milk" and has about 450 noted species, mainly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Like the Russula mushroom, this fruit body is brittle, as the majority of their cells are (moon-like) spheres instead of long stringy fibers. Instead of fraying like string cheese, these mushrooms make a clean break in whatever direction they break. Most Lactarius species appear to be mycorrhizal, forming partnerships with nearby trees.

Lactarius pallescens.

This New Moon also participates in a (partial) Annular Solar Eclipse, our 3rd of 6 eclipses in 2020, otherwise known as the "Ring of Fire" eclipse. This eclipse happens when Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover Sun, so a bright solar ring is left exposed. The Annular Solar Eclipse will be visible in a narrow strip of the Pacific Ocean, up through Tibet and Northern India, and down across central Africa. You can view the eclipse path here. This partial eclipse will also be livestreamed through the National Astronomical Observatory in Japan.

From stone henge to pyramids, spoked wheels to cave observatories, we've marked and honored the position of Sun at the apex of its path. With your own terrain, your own embodiment, how can you observe the path of Sun at its highest peak? Perhaps follow the trajectory as it rises atop houses, falls behind the tree line, or whispers in grace and strength during midday. 

Lactarius pallescens with more milky latex

How does your inner life synch up with the oneness of all life? How might you habitually protect yourself from the unknown? As we celebrate the vibrant maturity of the Summer Solstice and a New Moon, in cardinal Cancer, we honor the luminosity of our intimate stillness. We trust the invisible beneath the change. How are you in a direct, personal, physical partnership with this moment?  How are you reciprocating, in gratitude, this life-giving energy?

Mercury stationed Retrograde in 14°45' Cancer on June 18th.

On Tuesday June 23rd, Neptune turns Rx in 20°58' Pisces until November. On Thursday, June 25th Venus stations Direct in 5°20' Gemini.

Mars enters Aries on Saturday, June 27th and will remain in Aries until January 6th, 2021! Mars will end up stationing retrograde in Aries through September and October.

Saturn, in Rx motion, re-enters Capricorn on Wednesday, July 1st.

Many spores of stillness to you, your Solstice, and New Moon germination!