Uncovering Our Truth: June Horoscopes

Jun 4

Welcome to the month of June! I know that we’re all supposed to disdain rainbow capitalism but I have to say there is something magical about everything becoming SUPER GAY once the clock strikes midnight on May 31st. Of course, this month isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. The multilayered history of Pride teaches us that beneath the sparkly rainbow veneer there are plenty of shadows still haunting the queer community.

And we are going to be working with light and shadow all month long. Eclipse season just kicked off with a full lunar eclipse on May 29th and we have a solar eclipse in Gemini coming up on June 11th which will bring to light aspects of our identity that we might prefer remain hidden. Adding to the drama, Mercury just joined Saturn in retrograde, and Jupiter and Neptune will both station retrograde later in the month. These retrogrades offer opportunities to review various aspects of our lives, particularly around communication and boundaries. We’ll also be asked to reflect on our larger goals and visions — to what extent are we living in alignment with them, or not?

To spice things up even more, on June 14th Saturn (planet of responsibility, rules, and structures) will make an exact square to Uranus (planet of social transformation and upheaval). At a collective and/or individual level, we will be experiencing tension between a desire for liberation and a desire for stability and security. We may be faced with questions about what risks we are willing to take.

This month also marks the transition from spring to summer, as we honor the solstice on June 21st as the longest day of the year. We also move from airy Gemini into the deep waters of Cancer. I learned recently that the Gemini-Cancer cusp is known as the “cusp of magic.” I have always found the summer solstice to be one of the most magical days of the year, and it’s feeling extra potent at the moment. It’s the interplay of water and air particles, after all, that combine to create a rainbow. With Venus moving into Cancer on June 2nd we will get a taste of this magic: Venus in Cancer reminds us that nurturing and caretaking ourselves is the best medicine for surviving the intensity of eclipse season and retrograde energy.

Image: Mesquite Tarot by Aleisha Fitz and Brownwyn Walls — *Image: Mesquite Tarot* *by Aleisha Fitz and Brownwyn Walls*

Finally, with the full moon in Capricorn on June 24th, we’ll have the chance to continue to work with our inner demons (as I wrote about last month, Capricorn rules The Devil card in the tarot). Eclipse season reminds us that light and dark have a complementary rather than adversarial relationship with each other. This is true for the energetic forces within us as well, and on the full moon we are challenged to embrace both. And a Saturn sextile to Chiron on the same date suggests that this will be a particularly potent time for healing our own inner wounding, especially when it comes to the restrictions and limitations that were imposed on us.

And healing is the name of the game this month. The energy of the month is The Star rx. The Star comes after the Tower card (which, incidentally, comes after the Devil). In the Tower, some aspect of our lives comes crashing down around us. The Star is our time of healing afterward. I’ve written previously about The Star and it’s not a coincidence that healing continues to be a major theme in 2021.

The Star reminds us that after we experience trauma (such as, say, a global pandemic), we need time to process and integrate everything we’ve been through.

Given the astrology of the month, right now it’s extra important that we really honor what our bodies, minds, and nervous systems need most. And since The Star came up reversed, it’s likely that something is blocking us from that healing and integration. Are we giving ourselves enough space and time to do the processing we need to do? Are we reaching out for support when we need it? Do we secretly believe that healing isn’t possible, or that we don’t actually deserve healing?

This last query is inspired by our challenge of the month, which is Judgement. Of course, this archetype operates on multiple registers, but at a very basic level the Judgement card simply asks us to be aware of our own patterns of judgement, especially those directed at ourselves. We are so often our own worst enemies when it comes to self-criticism. And while we will likely never be able to fully rid ourselves of the critical voice in our head, we can choose whether or not we listen to that voice.

This month we have an invitation to learn how to set boundaries with our inner critics so they don’t incapacitate us.

In some decks such as The Muse Tarot by Chris-Anne, the Judgement card is renamed “Awakening.” I love this rendition, as it speaks to the incredible potential within each of us to wake up to the beauty and power and magic that lives within us. In many cases, our inner critics are the ones keeping us from our own awakening. These inner forces of judgement that we must contend with are in fact coming from a place of fear — after all, once we start to let go of all the beliefs that are keeping us small, who knows what we might end up doing? The part of our brain that wants to keep us safe is scared of this new and unpredictable force, and it will stoop to some pretty low tactics in order to keep us from our own expansion.

Luckily, the card that serves as our guide this month is the Ace of Swords, suggesting that we have the opportunity to create an entirely new relationship to our mind. Habits of thought — especially self critical ones — can be difficult to break, but not impossible. The Ace of Swords invites us to bring a fresh perspective, to cut through the bullsh*t in order to discover what is really our truth.

Armed with the Ace of Swords, we have the potential to examine the stories our brain is telling us, and decide for ourselves whether they are actually true.

*Image: Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans*

I used to believe a story that the only possible path to happiness and fulfillment in my life relied on me obtaining a tenure track professor position at a small liberal arts college. That belief caused me a lot of pain and suffering, and it took quite a bit of therapy and coaching to finally realize it wasn’t true. (Interestingly, I now believe that had I in fact landed what I used to believe was my “dream job,” I would be living a much less happy and fulfilling life than I currently am!)

This month invites us to review the narratives we’ve bought into, and determine whether or not they are actually helping us to lead the lives we want to lead. Our brains can bully us into putting up with all kinds of crap simply because part of us fears the unknown — including our own as-yet untapped power to author a different story.

There is no question that we are experiencing a major transition. Of course, even as the U.S. government lifts COVID restrictions and celebrates a “return to normal,” communities across the Global South are experiencing new levels of disease and destruction. Gemini season reminds us that there are two sides to every coin. Within the economy of global capitalism, health and well being are scarce commodities that belong only to the few, at the expense of the many.

But things might be changing. If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that “business as usual” is neither necessary nor inevitable. There are in fact alternatives to the ruthless logic of global capital. Over the past year mutual aid networks have multiplied exponentially. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) memberships have skyrocketed. And the practice of meditation saw a 2900% surge globally during the pandemic. As Rebecca Solnit has written, “The pandemic marks the end of an era and the beginning of another – one whose harshness must be mitigated by a spirit of generosity.”

As we move ahead into this new period of our life, each of us has the chance to be intentional about how we want to invest our time, attention, energy, and resources. This month’ is an incredible opportunity to look deep within ourselves, to see how our shadows might be preventing us from doing the work we are meant to do in the world. Despite the corporate takeover of Pride, I believe there is still something powerful about the act of reclaiming a part of yourself that you were told was shameful, bad, or wrong. Our task this month is to allow ourselves to be whole: in our light and in our darkness, across the entire spectrum of human experience.

If you’re interested in learning how to liberate yourself from your inner critic, jumpstart your healing journey, and tap into your capacity for individual and collective transformation, check out my tarot-inspired summer coaching program, PORTAL: PRACTICAL MAGIC FOR PERSONAL EXPANSION!

JUNE HOROSCOPES

ARIES (March 21 – April 19)

You are hungry for new ideas and ways of thinking. Allow yourself to explore and don’t worry about needing to know everything right now. Inquisitiveness and curiosity are your friends. Perfectionism and rigidity are not.

Tarot card of the month: Page of Swords

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)

You might feel like you’re in the dark right now. What would it feel like to embrace it rather than resist it? You’re not meant to know everything. Trust your intuition and take gentle care of your mind, body and spirit.

Tarot card of the month: The Moon rx

GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)

Your journey is far from over but it’s important to pause along the way and celebrate how far you’ve come. If you have a hard time giving yourself credit, now is the time to investigate what might be blocking you.

Tarot card of the month: Four of Wands rx

CANCER (June 21 - July 22)

You are starting to see your hard work and effort begin to come to fruition. We are trained to feel like we’re in a state of perpetual scarcity but what might it feel like to open to new possibilities for abundance in your life?

Tarot card of the month: Six of Pentacles

LEO (July 23 - August 22)

It can be frustrating to feel ready to be done with a project that isn’t ready to be done with you. Think of what you’re working on as a co-creation and honor divine timing. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be right now.

Tarot card of the month: Seven of Pentacles

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22)

You are preparing to step into your power this month. But first, you need to examine what might be keeping you from fully inhabiting your divine wildness. What needs to be released in order for you to emerge as the Kween you are?

Tarot card of the month: Queen of Wands rx

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22)

This month, you are invited to do the beautiful and sacred work of reparenting yourself. Many of us didn’t receive what we needed from our caretakers but we now have the opportunity to heal our wounds and fill our own cups.

Tarot card of the month: Six of Cups

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)

This month you have a role to play as a healer: in your family, your community, or your natural environment. In order to be of service to others, make sure that you are also getting your own needs met. Martyrdom is not a cute look.

Tarot card of the month: King of Cups

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)

You may feel called to take a stand this month, and demonstrate courage to fight for what you believe in. At the same time, be careful not to become overly identified with the conflict. Focus on what you’re for, not what you’re against.

Tarot card of the month: Seven of Wands

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)

The time has come to leave something behind. Yet you feel some resistance to doing so. What is the fear underneath? The only way to work through your feelings is to allow them space and ask them what they need.

Tarot card of the month: Eight of Cups rx

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)

You’re at a critical point on your healing journey. This month you are invited to go deeper than you have before. In order to do so, you must attend to the part of you that is afraid of the dark. Be gentle with your inner child this month.

Tarot card of the month: Knight of Cups rx

PISCES (February 19 - March 20)

This month you are poised to take action, yet there is a persistent thought or belief keeping you from moving ahead. What are you unwilling to feel? The only way forward is through.

Tarot card of the month: Knight of Swords rx

Karisa Butler-Wall