NorthPoint Astrology Journal: Your guide to planetary energies for June 15 to 21, 2015 By Pam Younghans, Astrologer

NorthPoint Astrology Journal: Your guide to planetary energies for June 15 to 21, 2015 By Pam Younghans, Astrologer Highlighted Aspects this Week: MON: Uranus trine Pallas Athene, Sun semisquare Venus, Venus quincunx Neptune; TUE: New Moon 7:05am PDT; WED: Jupiter trine Pallas Athene; SAT: Saturn semisquare Pluto, Sun quincunx Saturn; SUN: Sun enters Cancer (Solstice), Venus quincunx Pluto WE PREPARE for a change of seasons this week, and will be integrating other shifting energies as well. Among the planetary events we'll be working with: a New Moon; a grand trine involving Uranus, Jupiter, and Pallas Athene; and a semisquare aspect between Saturn and Pluto. The new lunar cycle begins on Tuesday as the Sun and Moon align in late degrees of Gemini. Themes of communication, learning, and information-sharing are emphasized for the next four weeks -- and, with Mars closely conjunct (within one degree of) the New Moon, we'll no doubt be very invested in stating our opinions. THE POSITIVE SIDE of the Mars effect is that the planet provides a great deal of energy and courage for us to access. But in the negative, we can be over-reactive, easily angered, and less able than usual to see another person's point of view. Chiron squares the Sun, Moon, and Mars in the New Moon chart, so we'll need to be especially aware of when we are reacting to a situation out of the fear of never being able to have what we want and need. This is especially true if we have a deep well of frustration built up from years of not feeling heard or understood. Still, if we run into situations where we feel these emotions, it's important to realize that Chiron not only helps us become more aware of a wound; it also provides the opportunity for us to make progress in healing that wound. THE MEANING of the Sabian symbol for the New Moon may take a bit of pondering: "Frost-covered trees against winter skies: The revelation of archetypal form and essential rhythm of existence." Astrologer Dane Rudhyar's interpretation can help us better understand how this image fits into our current experience: "Externals are left behind. This is a step beyond 'pruning'; it is rather a process of removal of all superficialities of existence. Cyclically, nature helps us to reach this state of bare reality. It is not that we experience the Buddha's void (sunya), but rather that we reach the essence of our individual being, the form of pure selfhood that is the structuring power underneath all external features -- all that belong in the 'leaf' realm." KNOWING THAT NEPTUNE has just gone retrograde helps us put this interpretation into context. This Sabian symbol tells us that we are entering a lunar cycle where we are meant to focus inward for our answers, to leave behind the need for external validation and verification of what we know and of who we are. In many ways, this Neptunian theme also corresponds with the Mars-Chiron square that is a part of the New Moon energies. Chiron is in Pisces, asking us to heal the wound that manifests as a lack of faith -- and with the square to Mars in Gemini, that lack of faith can manifest as a lack of belief in our own knowing and our ability to find the answers we need. TO INVIGORATE our ability to find creative solutions to current issues, we have a grand fire trine with Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, and Pallas Athene in Sagittarius. This grand trine is in effect both this week and next. Astrologer Demetra George writes that Pallas Athene in Sagittarius helps us "see in terms of the broad-scale vision -- the 'big picture.' In healing, this is expressed as mental healing -- using the power of clear imagery of a perfect, whole body to resonate change and attunement. Sagittarius' connection to religion supports the shaman or guru who heals through spiritual knowledge." As Uranus, Jupiter, and Pallas Athene are energetically linked through this grand trine, we are supported in breaking free from old ways and old beliefs. We are encouraged to step back to get an overview of whatever issues we are dealing with, and to allow a new truth to emerge, one that may have been hidden by the details that have been cluttering our perceptions. A SATURN-PLUTO SEMISQUARE is exact on Saturday. A semisquare is not a major aspect, but it becomes more important in our experience when it involves the slower-moving outer planets. Whenever these two planets interact, we tend to deal with themes of control and lack thereof. There's always a need, with Pluto, to acknowledge and dismantle old patterns that have held us in fear; with Saturn, the experience is meant to teach us to how to hold our sovereignty more surely. This aspect will compel us to move beyond the grasping for control that comes from fear and to claim our strength and our ability to successfully navigate whatever issues arise.Copyright Pam Younghans 2015. All rights reserved.