Hi and welcome to the Stella Starwoman June AstroUpdate! And a special welcome to our new subscribers. As the colder weather approaches it’s time to slow down and take it easy. Yes that’s right! Stop working so hard!! Enjoy that Venus transit that everyone’s talking about. These Easter Island statues have got the right idea....
Magic & Manifestation Book & Card Deck
I’m delighted to announce that my new book The Seven Secrets of Magic & Manifestation based on the course I’ve been running for the past four years has finally been launched along with a companion Magic & Manifestation Affirmation Deck featuring the beautiful illustrations from the book. You can order copies of the hardcover book and affirmation cards from my shopping cart or head into your local book store (both products are distributed by Brumby Books). The book and cards are a joint venture between myself and talented Australian designer Cristina Re (also an AstroUpdate subscriber). The book and cards are stand alone products – in other words you can buy and use them separately. To read more about these products or to purchase them for yourself, just click on the links below!
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Winter Solstice
Our cosy heaters and open fires help make the colder months warm and comfortable. Many of us look forward to rest, hibernation and the slower pace of winter days. Not so our ancestors, who prepared for the coming of winter long in advance, anticipating the challenges of finding food and keeping warm. The midwinter solstice was a vital turning point in the seasonal calendar, marking the longest night of the year. From midwinter to the summer solstice six months later, the nights would grow shorter and the days longer. Many of the customs associated with the winter solstice (and with other midwinter festivals such as St Lucy’s Day, Saturnalia, Hanukkah, New Year and Twelfth Night) originate from stories of a fierce battle between the dark and the light, where the light finally conquers the darkness. Other traditions record this as the time that a saviour or sun-child is born to a virgin mother.
Many people suffer from depression and a lack of energy during the winter months. They complain about the cold or wet weather and long for the warmth of spring. Winter is a natural part of the seasonal cycle, and just as nature slows down in winter, we need to slow down too. In practice this means conserving energy, eating warm, nourishing foods, spending more time in bed, taking hot baths and allowing our bodies to rest and recuperate. In Chinese Medicine, the meridians associated with winter are the kidney (yin) and the bladder (yang). The kidneys are responsible for filtering waste from the blood and sending the waste product to the bladder for elimination. In winter it is vitally important to keep the kidney area warm to avoid stiffness, coldness and aching joints. Make sure your midriff and lower back are always well covered.
In Australia, our winter solstice is marked by the passage of the sun into Cancer on the 21st June. Observe the point at which the sun rises from the 21st-23rd June and you will see it is in exactly the same place over these three days. Solstice means “sun standing still”. The winter solstice is the perfect time for a ritual to cleanse and release old energy and honour winter, the season of death and decay. You can hold a ritual for yourself or join together with friends and family.
A Warming Winter Solstice Ritual
What you will need
- Bowl of water
- Large Candle
- Small Candle or Tea Light for each person
- Glitter & Essential Oils
- Wine / Juice
- Winter greenery
Decorate a room with winter greenery. Place a large bowl of water and a beautiful lighted candle in the centre of the room. Have some golden glitter and scented oil nearby. Sit in a circle with a smaller candle or tea light in front of each person. Go round the circle one by one, talking about the things you wish to release at this dark time of the year and once you have finished, blow out your candle. When everyone has had their turn, blow out the central candle and sit in the darkness reflecting on what you are all leaving behind. After a long silence, relight the central candle, which represents the sun, and sprinkle golden glitter on the water. Then ask each person to light their candle from the central candle and place it by the water so you can see the glitter sparkling. Pass around a glass of wine and offer a toast to the sun, the bringer of new light. Then go round the circle again, each of you talking about a dream for the future or a new attitude you wish to embrace. Finally sprinkle scented oil on the water and choose someone to anoint each person with sunshine by dipping their hand into the sparkling, scented water and sprinkling it over each person’s hair. Hold hands and offer thanks.
Featured Sign-Gemini
From the 21st May to the 21st June the Sun travels through mutable air sign Gemini. Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac with keywords “I think” and “I communicate”. Gemini’s symbol is the twins, one mortal, one immortal, the dark side and the light side. Geminis are extremely curious and like to accumulate information and process data. They think at lightning speed, are versatile and adaptable and love gadgets, mobile phones, books and surfing the net. Easily bored, Geminis need lots of intellectual stimulation and often have a youthful appearance. Negatively, the Gemini individual can be fickle and nervous with scattered energy and a tendency to gossip or make cutting remarks. Some are over-reliant on logic and dismiss emotions as irrational or unimportant. When Geminis are out of balance they suffer from nervous tension or problems in the lungs, arms, shoulders and hands. Gemini’s greatest challenge is to learn constancy and mental discipline and to accept the importance of emotions and feelings in both themselves and others.
June Full Moon & Venus Eclipse
My oh my do we have a big month ahead! In the first week of June not only is there a lunar eclipse at the Sagittarius full moon on the 4th, but we also have a “once in a blue moon” transit of Venus to the Sun on the 6th, as Venus hits the centre point of her retrograde cycle, as discussed in last month’s AstroUpdate. Now normally Venus is swallowed up by the sun at this ‘inferior conjunction’ and is nowhere to be seen, but because of the way the planets are aligned this month, we will actually catch a brief glimpse of Venus fresh from the underworld (the unconscious) when she eclipses part of the sun and then disappears again only a few hours later. We don’t have a lot of astrological data for what might occur during such a celestial event, as they are so rare (the next Venus-Sun eclipse is in 2117), and to complicate matters, the Venus eclipse of the Sun takes place just two days after the full moon eclipse. We can however look at the symbolism of the planets involved and see how the story might unfold in our own lives.
Here are the main players:
- The Sun = yang, masculine, daytime, life force, power, logic, consciousness
- The Moon = yin, feminine, night time, inner world, emotions, feelings, unconsciousness
- Venus = beauty, love, passion, desire, lust, money, joy, pleasure, beauty
Act One (late May – 6th June)
At the beginning of June the sun is all powerful and Venus is completely invisible but plotting behind the scenes to force us to take our hidden needs and desires into account. This ‘encounter with the shadow’ can produce feelings of irritation and anger. Expect irrational outbursts and surprising behaviour or feelings of wilfulness, lust and desire. There may be dissatisfaction with our relationships, appearance or surroundings. Or perhaps we feel completely liberated from past commitments and responsibilities. The moon, planet of feeling and emotion, is also very powerful as she has recently asserted her power by eclipsing the sun on the 21st May and is moving towards the peak of her monthly cycle. However, at the full moon on the 4th June, the sun aligns with the earth casting a shadow over the moon to create a lunar eclipse and temporarily obliterating the moon’s
power. Eric Francis of Planet Waves says: “It’s as though a month of experience is packed into two hours of real time. In computer terms, it’s a full reboot of the system.” Once the moon reappears she reveals dark secrets which suddenly (rather than gradually as in the normal lunar cycle) burst into consciousness (that’s why it’s always better not to make decisions around the time of an eclipse as information often comes to light that forces us to change our plans).
Act Two (6th-12th June)
As we cope with the secrets revealed by the moon and the hidden desires revealed by Venus and attempt to process and incorporate all this information into our waking or solar consciousness, on the 6th June, Venus makes a cameo appearance from the unconscious and eclipses part of the sun at 15o Gemini stealing his limelight. Opening Pandora’s box is an apt metaphor. This most crucial point of the drama marks a new phase of insight or action. Those with planets between 11-19o Gemini will be most affected.
Those who can’t see the Venus transit in person can watch a webcast of the event at http://www.transitofvenus.com.au/HOME.html Telescope coverage starts at 8am, Eastern Australian Time (GMT +10 hours) and will conclude seven hours later once Venus has completed her transit of the Sun.
So the sun eclipses Venus, then the moon eclipses the sun, then the earth’s shadow eclipses the moon and finally Venus eclipses the sun. Who will win? The rational mind (sun), the open heart (Venus) or the gut instinct (moon)? These players are equally powerful – we need to get them working as a team!
Act Three (13th June – early July)
About a week later on the 13th June Venus begins her phase as Morning Star, rising ahead of the sun and showing her brighter, lighter, more loving side. She turns direct and starts moving forwards again on 28th June at 7o Gemini completing her retrograde cycle. Those with planets between 5 - 9o Gemini will be most affected during this period, and as Venus is travelling alongside Jupiter, which expands anything it comes into contact with, we can expect major revelations in matters of the heart. There is a new moon in Gemini on the 20th June followed by the winter solstice on the 21st June offering us plenty of opportunity to go within and mull over the events of the past few weeks.
My advice throughout this period is to listen to your heart and follow your inner desires. You could find yourself on a completely new and unexpected path!
Rock Your Body...
And finally I just had to include these photos forwarded to me by AstroUpdate subscriber Manika Conning. I was stunned! How come no one ever thought to dig below the ground to find out if those famous Easter Island heads had bodies? Well someone has and they do! What other undiscovered marvels could be literally staring us in the face?!
May Moon Calendar
Launch projects at the New Moon, bring them to completion in the period from just before the Full Moon to the Third Quarter phase and wind them down and reflect on developments in the week before the next New Moon. The period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is the waxing moon (moon getting bigger and fuller). The period between the Full Moon and the New Moon is the waning moon (moon getting smaller and thinner).
You can use this moon table to select the most favourable days to slow or increase hair regrowth. Full instructions can be found in my Lunar Hair Care guidelines at www.stellastarwoman.com/files/LunarHairCare.pdf but to get you started I've marked the best dates for waxing/shaving to slow regrowth in yellow and the best dates to cut hair for thicker, lusher growth in green. If you‟re serious about Lunar Hair Care - order your own Moon Calendar from the Stella Starwoman Store then you'll know exactly what time of day the moon changes from one zodiac sign to the next.
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Date |
Sign |
Element |
Moon Phase |
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1st |
Libra |
Air |
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1st-3rd |
Scorpio |
Water |
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3rd-5th |
Sagittarius |
Fire |
Full Moon 4th Lunar Eclipse |
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5th-8th |
Capricorn |
Earth |
Venus transit of the Sun 6th |
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8th-10th |
Aquarius |
Air |
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10th-12th |
Pisces |
Water |
Third Quarter |
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12th-14th |
Aries |
Fire |
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14th-17th |
Taurus |
Earth | |
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17th-20th |
Gemini | Air |
New Moon 20th |
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20th-22nd |
Cancer | Water |
Winter Solstice 21st |
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22nd-24th |
Leo |
Fire | |
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24th-27th |
Virgo |
Earth |
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27th-29th |
Libra |
Air |
First Quarter |
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29th-30th |
Scopio |
Water |
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Thanks for being part of AstroUpdate. If there‟s something you‟d like to see featured, or have something you think would interest others, please contact me at stellaw@ozemail.com.au
PS – Don‟t forget to check out your June Monthly Stars at www.stellastarwoman.com to see what‟s coming up for you this month.
Happy Stargazing
Stella Woods www.stellastarwoman.com