The Queen of Cups returns to the Numiverse for the first time since the New Year, and invites us to dive deep into our emotional landscapes before birthing our beauty in the world, says Melinda Lee Holm …
Cancer Season 2018
A LOOK AT THE U.S. BIRTH CHART AND ITS MESSAGE FOR 2018
This July 4, Colin Bedell and Bess Matassa take a look at at the U.S. birth chart, as well as the message of the country’s 2018 solar return and its forecast in the tarot …
Human beings aren’t the only subjects gifted with astrological birth charts. The moment the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1776, the astrology of The United States of America was sealed …
:: THE U.S. BIRTHCHART ::
Rising: Sagittarius // Sun: Cancer // Moon: Aquarius // Mercury: Cancer // Venus: Cancer // Mars: Gemini
At her best, the U.S. embodies the highest expressions of Cancer energy: deep love and protection for the home, and reverence for the family. With a lucky, Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius Rising, American spirit can be kind, contagiously optimistic, and generously available.
Pair these with an independent Aquarius moon, and you’ve got streaks of intellectual liberation and equality-seeking. After all, it’s important to remember that in 1776, a government for the people and by the people was nothing short of a radical political experiment that repudiated the aristocratic and monarchic political paradigms! Her Mars in Gemini helps enshrine this self-government experiment in words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident …”
Of course, the highest expressions of these energies don’t always manifest. From the defensive, hypersensitive Cancerian nature, to her “admit no wrong, thou-must-not-disagree with me” Aquarius gone dogmatic Moon, it’s on us to recognize these blinds spots and work to elevate her potential.
Looking at the current political climate, it’s clear this shadow work is far from done. But the U.S. has always been a nation of dualities. When the Founding Fathers wrote, “All men are created equal” in the Constitution, they themselves were slave owners.
But this country has been working to actualize her enlightened principles since the very beginning. As she completes another turn around the Sun, may we remember and commit to follow in the example of those who fought for abolition, who fought for suffrage, who fought for civil rights, who fought for peace.
With Sagittarius Rising and an Aquarius Moon, idealism and humanitarianism pumps through the veins of the U.S. The work is to recognize that seeking higher ground necessitates moving forward with utmost integrity, humility, and grace.
U.S. Tarot Birth Cards: Temperance & The Hierophant
The divinatory blend of energies that makes up the U.S. foundation in the tarot conjures images of road-tripping, public libraries, and the wide-open capacity to truly free our minds and let the rest follow. These two cards show the country’s cosmic mission is to tow the line between ideological leadership and overblown zealotry, and to learn exactly when to turn hardened beliefs loose to let them mix and mingle with a higher law.
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:: THE 2018 SOLAR RETURN CHART ::
Rising: Cancer // Sun: Cancer // Moon: Aries // Mercury & Venus: Leo // Mars: Aquarius
It’s a glowing cosmic BBQ for the U.S. this year, with the country’s Solar Return Chart emphasizing sparky Aries and glittering Leo energies. The message? To come at the unknown with a generously unguarded heart, and to check any unconscious impulses to use muscle to get the solutions we want at the door.
These fire signs demand creative integration of the masculine principle, and with Mars currently retrograde in electrically innovative Aquarius, the medicine is to radically renovate our concept of the “yang” in all its flavors. When can a push become the first move towards a hug? What would shift if every action came from a place of giving rather than merely doing for doing’s sake?
As Cancer hits the collective Ascendent, we’re also being challenged to dissolve borders like never before, and invite in nurturing of the self and others in service of creating the sanctuary spaces we’ve long imagined.
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U.S. Tarot Cards for 2018: The Fool & The Emperor
This year’s U.S. tarot forecast poses questions about proportionality, and how the country takes up space in the world at large. The Emperor wants us to remember that acting as majestic protectors is most glorious when there’s nothing to prove and no trace of self-righteousness. And The Fool enters the collective consciousness to spark 180s and diving board leaps into new ways of being. The country is called to recapture an innocent sensation of free-wheeling exploration, where curiously releasing the need to know it all can reignite our sense of adventure about what the world at large can teach us.
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Colin is a literal Gemini Twin Astrologer from Long Island, New York, a passionate student of A Course in Miracles, and a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Discover more about his work at QueerCosmos and follow him on Instagram.
Bess is available for private readings and astro-themed events. Follow her on Instagram and connect with her at bessmatassa.com
HOW TO BE A TIDE: A MESSAGE FOR CANCER SEASON
In the thick of Cancer season’s deepest feels, spoken word artist and Moon Club founding member Lisa Luxx’s exclusive new poem, “How To Be A Tide,” reminds us that our most tempestuous emotions are our beautiful birthright …
How To Be A Tide is a poem about the movement and motion of being woman. It’s a dialogue about finding our most supreme beauty in that familiar expansion and contraction. About how much can be gained from seeing ourselves as individual waves in the ocean of sisterhood.
One great purpose of poetry is to turn familiar aches into unfamiliar blessings; to subvert moaning into marvelling. The instability of a hormonal body could drive a person mad if they’re pressurising themselves to maintain a static constant. So for me, as an incredibly tempestuous person, I traversed this tidal metaphor as a bid for freedom.
I’ve been philosophically exploring the nature of beauty for the past year or so – what it is, what it does and why that might be – writing out my revelations and dreams. This piece is about taking ownership of one’s own beauty. When you no longer have the resources to flow outwards, that means your beauty – enriched now – is coming back home to you. – Lisa Luxx
How To Be A Tide will be published in Luxx’s upcoming collection Breastmilk Martini, which is out later this year with New River Press.
CANCER SEASON 2018: A JOURNEY DEEP INSIDE
Cancer Season 2018 brings a deep dive into our healing process, along with opportunities for true and lasting intimacy, says Bess Matassa … PLUS check out the latest installment of our Astrocast podcast with Bess and Sandy Sitron
Slip into your swimmies and prepare to be fully submerged. The night-blooming flowers of Cancer Season 2018 are ripe and redolent, ushering in a month to tuck into our vulnerability, bear witness to our own softness, and validate every feeling tone that emerges.
With Mars, Chiron, and Neptune all traveling retro, it’s time to stage a farewell party to outmoded illusions, drifting slowly and steadily towards new shorelines. For tapping into underground power sources that don’t need to be proven to be potent. Beneath any surface desires for action and achievement, subtler tidal shifts in soul expansion are sounding their siren song.
So skinny-dip into your shimmering sensitivities, water birth new notions of personal triumph, and let your longings lead you back home to your own private island. You belong to all the selves your secret cavern can hold …
Get the quick and dirty on the four key astro events of Cancer Season 2018 below—and listen to the full Cancer Season 2018 report from Numi resident astrologers Bess + Sandy HERE in the latest edition of our Astrocast podcast …
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Sun in Cancer (6.21-7.21) // Think … Terrarium Building
Cancer’s cardinal water energy washes us back onto our own shorelines, and activates themes of privacy, belonging, and soul-centered security. Think of the luminous lunacy of your inner lifeworld as your own tiny biodome, a carefully tended shelter for your wildest dreams. Use this image to play with the edge between guarding your treasured visions, and slowly exposing them to the sunlit world.
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Mars Retrograde (6.25-8.27) // Magic Animal Growing Capsules
As the planet of frictional force and engine-revving libido slows its roll, it’s a glorious moment for considering your relationship to “being” rather than doing. For celebrating the “actions” that happen on a soul level, even when you can’t see them directly manifest in the material world. Make this a month to allow for all flavors of growth and movement. Think of all that you can build without having to go hard or prove your right to exist (and check out the YouTube clip at the link above for some magically wacky inspo!)
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Mercury and Venus in Leo (6.29-9.5 and 6.13-7.9) // Paula Abdul’s “Forever Your Girl”
“Hey baby, you’ve got to remember …” As the planets of pleasure and vocalization travel through the glitter kitten terrain of Leo, pin your bedazzled-heart to a ruffled-sleeve with this classic roller rink anthem of unabashed passion. Venus in Leo teaches us that allowing our affections to spill over generously and vulnerably is the gateway to loyal loving that lasts, while Mercury in Leo seals each messages with a magenta-lipped kiss. Come clean about your right to your fluffiest feelings and adorn your most cherished romantic hopes in their truest colors.
Jupiter Direct in Scorpio (7.10) // Film Noir Chic
As the planet of wild expansion stations direct in deep sea diver Scorpio, there are gems to be mined in our most intimate partnerships. How can fully embracing your own shadow lead to the veneration and celebration of your only-human partners? How can you integrate and assimilate your own darkness as simply another quality of the light? Play with the complete range of feeling in deliciously dramatic, film noir inspired fashions and remind yourself that taking this seriously is a tasty affirmation of your right to feel it all.
