William John Wainwright ‘Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins’ Apparently, the smart ones filled their lamps, while the foolish ones didn’t–so it’s about preparedness. {{PD}}

Venus enters Virgo, and what we see, one way or another, is a shift toward wanting to be right, correct, or proper, to be able to stand confidently against criticism or critique–and that can prompt inventory-taking, a discriminating state of mind, and Self-criticism, among other things. Ruler of Virgo, Mercury, is involved in the only other aspect perfecting today, a square to Jupiter–and that suggests that we brace ourselves against verbal (or another form) of attack for good reason! The social sphere, or perhaps the facts, offer some harsh or hard-to-hear material–and our response is to go to that place where we feel unassailably right. So, it’s a day that feels defensive; our best defense, though, might be to graciously accept the facts, rather than to nitpick or criticize in return, and if what’s offered is more reflective of the other’s beliefs, and not actually true–we still come out on top by holding our tongue.

Today’s word image is a potluck gathering where nobody brings any food. With this kind of invitation, individuals are left entirely on their own as to what to bring–and in this case, everyone relied on everyone else to provide. Is there some way you’re supposed to be ‘chipping in’ where you’re instead counting on others to supply what’s needed? Do you see such an occasion as a time when you can make very little effort (bring a small thing) but consume a whole lot? If so, that suggests a sense of pleasure derived from ‘getting more’ than you deserve–is that how you really mean to approach things? Is there some way in which you’re trying to get more out of something than you’re willing to provide? Or do you find such arrangements too haphazard to supply much satisfaction? This could simply be an image of people gathering, anticipating nurture of one kind or another, and not getting it.

OK! I’ll go one more day with this!–through 8 PM PDT of the 9th. And many thanks to all who so generously supported this effort–I appreciate it (and You) immensely!

‘Accent on Pink’ By Wassily Kandinsky 1925 {{PD}}

We see the hard edges of reality today, and perhaps run from them (Sun opp Saturn). Understandable, but not helpful. If we’ll only pause for a moment, and really look, we’ll see some genius ways we can benefit (Sun nov Venus). Relationships, situations that call on our values, finances, and/ or those things/ matters of the Houses ruled by Venus in the natal chart, are the gateways–but will we step through and reap the rewards, when we realize we’ll have to adjust our view of the past so that what we learned then is useful now (Sun qnx SN)? A test of stubbornness, no doubt, at least for some of us.

We may also see the gift of speaking from perceptive instincts, or from what we ‘know but don’t know’, and may act as channels for one another–so talk it out, whatever it is (Mercury sxt Sedna). On an individual level, be willing to adjust aesthetics to accommodate inspiration and the creative (Venus qnx Neptune)–again, stubbornness may torpedo perfectly good ideas–but this influence may also affect our communications, so don’t let illusion intrude in relationships or finances. And one final thing to be aware of: those exercising their power are making a concerted effort to ignore or deny certain hard realities–just don’t let that be you.

‘Abendstimmung am Meer’ By Max Jensen 1860 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a ship, just sailing over the horizon. Have you been waiting for your ship to come in? Well, it’s not coming toward you, but sailing away–you may have misjudged the situation entirely, or maybe are just looking in the ‘wrong’ direction for aid–this is a reminder not to pin your hopes unreasonably on something that may never ‘arrive’, but to instead work with what’s in front of you, with the idea of creating ‘better/ more’. That’s the only way to get ‘there’ from ‘here’.

Have you seen the new page on Lilith energy?

In Greek mythology, Atlas is the god who supports the celestial sphere (the universe) on his shoulders. This little formation, at Little Finland, is about the size of a soccer ball. When I saw it I immediately thought about Atlas. It was shot in deep twilight. Statement and Photo By John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA – Tiny Atlas, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24663532

Or maybe that should be power or wisdom, as it seems having and exercising falls to one or the other, but somehow not both; we either do the wise thing, or the thing that makes us felt in the Universe–there’s no in-between. Another version might be having to use sheer force vs. using skills–but you get my drift (Pluto opp Pallas). This feeling that we must choose one or the other arises from a couple of influences: our highest values don’t seem to support showing our personal authority, and they also seem at odds with our own instincts and inner knowledge. The disquiet keeps us off balance–and seems to insist we pick a form, power or wisdom, and go with it (and here we should note they’re not naturally mutually exclusive, it just seems like it, today–Vesta contra-parallel Ceres and qnx Sedna). Only one other influence perfects today, and it’s not really helping: Venus squares Jupiter, and may phrase things as ‘choose intimate relationships over the social sphere’ or ‘money over freedom’ or ‘sticking with values over taking an opportunity’ (that may smell like taking advantage). It’s a dilemma with no resolution, so go with what feels right, and remember, if you’re seeing the world as presenting only two mutually exclusive options, it’s an illusion–aim for a third.

Today’s word image isn’t words but a picture:

‘And a Prayer’ (Not sure if the name listed is the artist’s or his father’s)
Atom Hovhanesyan – Father’s statement: “My son’s work, who passed away” Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

And this on squares, by the wonderful Sagittarian Mind

‘Cakes’ 1963 By Pplachigo Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

It may sound unlikely, but it seems to be the case: recently certain areas of our lives swung into ‘too sweet’ territory. We focused on love, and found a lot of it–who could object to that? Well, no one I know! But the abundance of Venusian energy should’ve alerted us to a wee something, at the back of our minds: just as light is meaningless without the darkness, so is a pleasant energy meaningless without awareness of the unpleasant–and this surfeit of Venus inevitably suggests that at least some of that cheery, appetite-boosting, sentimental, sexy, gooey, chocolatey-goodness was, just a bit . . . artificial. For all the very good effects of training our attentions on the presence of Love in our lives, too much looking for it, too much demanding it, almost requires we be presented, here and there, with a counterfeit.

By Ailura – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30828655

Today we see where we may be drawing too much from partners or those who act on our wishes, and we may find that trying to apply instincts and bring to awareness what we ‘know but don’t know’ is fruitless–our instinctual nature is all messed up, probably from that sugar overload, which prompted us to believe everything we saw and so took us too far away from our primal nature, that part of us that can sense the false. It’s a day for re-alignment, specifically by turning our active attention to those things we really care about, and those elements of our landscape that we are empowered to nurture. Keep your attention on the Love, especially in those places and people you’ve just discovered it lives, but don’t shy away from being practical or using tried-and-true wisdom in going forward–scrape away the sugar-coating, as it’s the only way to avoid a diabetes-inducing overload of fakery (Sun enters Cancer, Pallas sq Zeus, Venus opp Mars, contra-parallel Black Moon Lilith and Vesta, Merc nov Ceres and sq Zeus).

Forgot to mention that Water Grand Trine, probably because it’s such a foot-slogger. Neptune squats right where he is, anchoring the whole thing in delusion, misunderstanding, deception, creative dreaming, or inspiration not yet acted upon, occupying our brains (Merc in Cancer) and making us optimistic but largely stagnant, response wise (Jupiter in Scorpio). We’re prone to bury the facts if they don’t fit the dream, and we may mistake thinking about something for actually accomplishing something, making this a true weight on forward momentum. Don’t make too much of this; take notes on your daydreams and notice your nighttime ones, but don’t expect more than a slight idea or two to find its way out of the fog.

Today’s word image is two men, a gay couple, and one of them is physically pregnant. The image suggests something biologically unlikely, for more reasons than one, but it may speak to the idea that like-individuals with a common bond may at this time be more productive or fertile than we commonly believe. Often we’re told that we need to collaborate with those who have different talents than we do; perhaps this time, we should cooperate with someone very like us.

Happy Solstice!