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The Summer of Our Discontent Why am I Working So Hard When I Should Be Rollerblading?

By Drew Chittenden

A funny thing happened on the way to the Sun Valley Wellness Festival. While I was driving up there from Hagerman, ready for a fun filled weekend with monks, poets, yogis and such, Heera [Sazevich, Assistant Director of the Sun Valley Wellness Festival and beloved Spirit Advertising Goddess] called me and asked if I’d like to give a talk. There had been a cancellation and a slot was open. Well, knowing how much I love the spotlight, and even more just talking I said, “well, ok, if it will help you out, I suppose I could give a talk.”

The Astrology of Detatchment

We decided the talk would be about the “astrology of detachment,” which sounded good at the time, but then I started thinking about an entire hour of talking about Pluto. This could get a little dark. Among other things Pluto is in charge of power, death and evolution, detachment and letting go, whether we are ready or not. The ready or not part is the key here. Letting go when we are ready is easy, or easier I should say. Even when you see it coming for months sometimes letting go still isn’t easy. However, the real challenge is letting go when you are not prepared.

Pluto moves through the Zodiak very slowly, so when it makes a new aspect in your chart, it is usually quite noticable. I like to tell clients that a hard Pluto transit is like when you know you have to leave your job, you’re in a rut, this obviously isn’t your life’s work, but you keep putting it off. After a while you can feel the energy building, you need to leave, but you still don’t. Then one day you go into work to find that you’ve been fired. That’s a Pluto transit. You’re going to let go, to evolve. If you listen to your inner knowing and/or your astrologer, and act on it, the transition will be easier than if it is done for you.

Now this letting go can come in many shapes or flavors: jobs, relationships, finances, belief systems, ways of life, diets, hairstyles, etc. But change is the way of the universe no matter how much control you think you have. On the other hand, if the Buddhists are right and attachment is the cause of suffering, then Pluto just wants us to be happy.

Pluto right now is at 25* Sagittarius, so look at your chart and see where it is and try to work at evolving and preparing for change in that area of your life. Like most other lessons in life, if you pass the Pluto test you don’t have to retake the class.

Summer Forecast

Now for our summer forecast. I’m going to start right off with our featured chart, the Summer Solstice. Brace yourselves, Summer is going to be hot - maybe not in temperatures but in tempers. Mars, the god of war, is cozying up to Saturn, rules, authority and discipline. These two are combining their energies and squaring off against the moon (feminine, nurturing, intuition), and also Jupiter (abundance, higher thinking and learning). Basically, this could be the Summer of our discontent. Expect some passionate, heated debates, maybe some protests in the streets. Try at all times to be careful of others feelings, but in the long run some real good will come of this. We still have that beautiful Jupiter trine Uranus energy, so if you stay true to your real feelings and beliefs and don’t conform just to make others happy, you will be supported.

June 25th is a new moon in Cancer - this brings the focus to your home, home life, and how you are taking care of yourself. It’s also a great time to look at real estate, but hurry because Mercury goes retrograde from July 5-29, so at the very least you want to have all the paperwork started by then.

The full moon on July 10 is in Capricorn, so the spotlight is on home versus career: Why am I working so hard when I should be rollerblading?

July 24 is the new moon in Leo. It’s time for some creative drama so get out and dance, use the energy creatively before it spills out some other way. The energy is abundant and really getting ready to rock now.

The full moon on August 9 has the moon conjunct Neptune opposite the Sun conjunct Saturn: this is a real battle between the status quo and change for a better future, intuition, emotions and new ideas versus rules and traditions.

August 23 has a new moon just barely into Virgo. The Sun and Moon are still carrying a lot of Leo energy. At the same time we have Mercury, Saturn and Venus also in Leo, wow that’s a lot of Leo. Once again try to use all this energy constructively because it’s going to get used somewhere. It’s also a great time to take in a play, or be in a play, or just play.

Whew, it’s going to be an interesting, intense, dramatic summer and you are going to feel like you want to be right in the middle of it all. As Karl “The Great” Wallenda said, “being on the tightrope is living, everything else is waiting.”

Email Drew