Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Mercury Transits Taurus June 3 – 18
Full Moon in Scorpio/Jyestha June 9
Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion June 9
Sun Enters Gemini June 14
Mercury Transits Gemini June 18 – July 2
Retrograde Saturn Returns to Scorpio June 21
New Moon in Gemini/Ardra June 23
Venus Transits Taurus June 29 – July 26

Mercury Transits Taurus June 3 – 18

Mercury resumed direct motion in Aries on May 3, and is steadily gaining in speed, moving forward through the zodiac. June will see Mercury moving rather quickly, at up to double his average motion, covering two signs in a 30 day span.

Energetic Mercury enjoys movement, exchange, communication and learning and will be moving through Taurus, followed by Gemini, from June 3 – July 2. Taurus is ruled by Venus and Gemini is ruled by Mercury himself. Both of these planets are of energetic nature (rajas guna), so those who wish to ride the Mercury express train this month should buckle up and acquaint themselves with the itinerary.

This mad dash will also propel Mercury onto the leading side of the Sun in the zodiac. On June 21, Mercury conjoins the Sun at 7° of Gemini for the summer solstice and then begins to pull ahead of the Sun. This creates a very interesting environment for Mercury during June: moving very fast, mostly within the orb of combustion with the Sun, being well placed in signs and generally avoiding heavy aspects from malefic planets.

The pros of this hyper Mercury are that much could stand to be accomplished along creative, communicative and relationship lines, as well as in departments of short journeys, networking and education. The way to keep the pros stronger than the cons in this situation is to keep a steady pace that allows for seeing the various angles and perspectives, which will aid in the avoidance of mistakes or mishaps. One of Mercury's classic cons is getting too far ahead of himself, which brings about impatience and short attention span. It's nice that Mercury will be avoiding the aspect of Saturn, so its up to us to regulate the speed at which we are doing our Mercurial actions.

During the transit of Mercury through Taurus, June 3 -18, Mercury is gaining in speed, catching up to the Sun in Venus' earth sign. With Venus currently stationed in the sign of Aries, this could create both stability and energy to support Mercury's strong tendencies for movement and exchange. This could be a quite fertile period for creative efforts, business activity and beautification projects.

Full Moon in Scorpio/Jyestha June 9

The Moon is waxing as June begins, becoming full at 25° Scorpio on Friday, June 9, just after sunrise in the western US. The sign of Scorpio is co-ruled by Mars and Ketu, so both have an influence on the Moon. With Mars and Ketu being placed in Gemini and Aquarius, both air signs, we get a combination of fiery planets being in air signs that are the lords of the full Moon.

The mental energy becomes strong with the full Moon, we may feel distracted, focused and inspired all at once. The other influence on this full Moon comes from Mercury in two different ways. First is Mercury's opposition aspect from Taurus and second is Mercury's lordship of the nakshatra Jyestha, the sector of Scorpio specifically in which this Moon reaches the full point.

Mercury and the Moon share the quality of being associated with mental activity, so with this full Moon may come some increased activity of the mind, for good or ill. With Ketu as one of the co-rulers of Scorpio, it is a good hint that the discipline of meditation or meditative activity would be useful in creating a container for this strong mental energy, which can include emotion, anxiety, planning, memory, creativity and many more aspects of the mind.

Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion June 9

About an hour after the moment of the full Moon, our attention moves to Jupiter in Virgo, stationing in direct motion, ending a retrograde period that began February 5, 2017.

The effects of retrograde motion of planets is difficult to predict, but since the base concept is that we are observing the planet reversing its course in a small section of the zodiac before resuming a natural direction, keeping in mind that keyword "reverse" can be helpful.

The other factor is that the planet is only reversing course from our perspective on Earth; in reality, it is moving steadily in its path around the Sun. So another keyword to include in our analysis is "apparent."

We can say that a retrograde planet may deliver results that are opposite than what we may expect, or we can say that a retrograde planet acts opposite from its usual behavior. But truly, how do we read what a retrograde planet is indicating? Just because a person is walking backward, does that make them opposite from their true nature? "Reverse" and "opposite" are not synonyms.

Another concept to examine is "desire." Each planet has an agenda, a mission, desire for some action. For example, Mercury wants currency and exchange, Mars wants power and control, Jupiter wants growth and expansion. Perhaps the retrograde motion of planets is simply increasing each planet's desire, making the influence even more pronounced.

Which brings to mind the planet we most associate with desire, Rahu, who is naturally moving in retrograde motion. Do retrograde planets then take on a bit of this strong nature of desire that can be destabilizing? Retrograde Mercury can be too much Mercury, causing excessive energy around transaction and movement, which results in mishaps and glitches.

Has this retrograde cycle of Jupiter inspired unsustainable growth and expansion that is too much, too fast? Or has Jupiter's retrograde in Virgo caused contraction and limitation, the opposite effects of Jupiter? Or have Jupiter's wisdom and guidance become tainted or obscured during this retrograde? Which is it? Can all be true?

Whatever the case collectively or individually, we can see Jupiter resuming his regularly scheduled program as direct motion returns on June 9. This occurs at 20° Virgo, giving us three months of Jupiter direct in the last third of Virgo to deliver his results, full steam ahead. Jupiter moves to Libra on September 11, 2017.

Virgo, ruled by Mercury, is the expression of Mercury's earthy energy. It is the natural sign of health, service and harvesting the fruits of the land. Jupiter's positive and inspiring influence in this section of the zodiac can guide us toward better management of our food, diet and activity on a physical level. Additionally, this could be a good period for digesting and integrating any knowledge that we have been consuming.

Sun Enters Gemini June 14

The Sun reliably enters the sign of Gemini on June 14, coming into direct opposition with Saturn in Sagittarius, currently retrograde and poised to return to Scorpio.

Saturn returns to Scorpio on June 21, giving us a one week window to experience this showdown between Sun and Saturn, who tend to hold some animosity toward one another, despite their relationship as father and son. The exact opposition occurs before sunrise on June 15, while both planets are at 0°25' of their respective signs. This transitional zone between signs is called "sandhi" which implies the transition from one state to the next.

With the Sun coming into direct opposition with Saturn immediately upon entering Gemini, we are confronted with the ego paradigm. The Sun promotes the ego by encouraging our individuality and self expression. This remains a healthy state as long as the ego doesn't grow beyond necessary boundaries into an inflated state of "I, ME, MINE." Saturn insists upon the diminishing of ego by illustrating the truth of our transitory existence; Saturn's hard knocks are designed to give us practical perspective about our lasting importance in the material world. Saturn's influence remains healthy as long as the ego doesn't shrink to a state of "I AM WORTHLESS."

Exploring the balance between Sun and Saturn that leads toward a healthy, useful ego will be the order of the day as we enter mid-June. Sun will be in Gemini from mid-June through mid-July, which puts Sun in the environment ruled by Mercury, the eternal student, eager to understand and exchange ideas, goods and services.

The Sun joins Mars in Gemini, aggregating a great deal of fiery energy into an airy sign. Both Mars and Sun have a tendency to focus on the self and the needs of the self, with especially Mars reaching for the power that comes from fuel. While the combination of fire and air can create brilliant, passionate situations, too much of this can become quickly out of control. With very little watery influence to balance this combination at the time, be aware of impatience that can cause tempers to flare in an instant. Bring your own canteen of water, both literally and metaphorically.

Mercury Transits Gemini June 18 – July 2

Part two of Mercury's mad dash begins June 18 when Mercury enters his own sign on the heels of the Sun, joining Mars in Gemini. Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo, so brings with him the qualities of earth and air, lending grounding to this fiery combination, but can the earthy side of Mercury can also be fuel for the fire.

We understand Mercury as a fast-moving planet, but as he enters Gemini, he will have reached more than two times his average speed, which he holds for a few days and then begins to slow down. This moment of Mercury hyper-drive coincides with the Sun and Mercury entering Gemini as well as Saturn retreating into Scorpio on June 21. We could see the week between June 14-21 as being quite dynamic as planets are transitioning to new signs with Mercury racing ahead with utter eagerness.

Mercury passes ahead of the Sun on June 21 and catches up to Mars on June 28, jetting out of Gemini and into Cancer on July 2. Even though Mercury is rather close to the Sun causing a state of combustion, in which a planet's message can be drowned in the powerful rays of the Sun, Mercury is still quite strong being in his own sign. With so many planets occupying the dual signs, we should see things flowing and moving quickly in June.

Retrograde Saturn Returns to Scorpio June 21

The planet that keeps things slow and steady is Saturn, lending a counter-balance to Mercury's speed. Since Saturn is currently retrograde, we can apply the thought process and questions offered above about retrograde motion to Saturn as well.

Saturn's entrance into Sagittarius came on January 26, 2017, the retrograde cycle began at 4° Sagittarius on April 5 and now we see Saturn slowly backing up through the zodiac, re-entering Scorpio on June 21, just after the summer solstice on June 20.

With Saturn strongly calling our attention to this sector of the zodiac with his reverse path, he is taking us back through the gandanta point between Scorpio and Sagittarius. This will be the second of three crossings of this point that Saturn will make during this year.

There are three gandanta points in the zodiac. They are specifically the sandhi between the water and fire signs and are known as gandanta. The gandanta are the joints that end the repeated sequence of fire – earth – air – water in which the signs proceed. In that sense, we can see the zodiac divided into three segments of four signs each. The gandanta joints force us to "graduate" to the next set of signs and often indicate a difficult trial or test that must be confronted to move forward. Saturn is giving us this test three times in 2017.

After Saturn's re-entry into Scorpio, the reverse motion continues until August 25 when Saturn resumes direct motion at 28º Scorpio. Following that, Saturn moves slowly forward again through those late degrees of Scorpio and through the gandanta a final time on October 25, after which Saturn remains in the sign of Sagittarius until January 2020.

This four month period of time between June 21 – October 25 could bring back themes that arose during Saturn's main transit of Scorpio which lasted from November 2, 2014 – January 26, 2017. Remember that Saturn's mission is to destroy the illusion of self-importance by promoting the reality of our temporary existence. Saturn is allowing us to re-test and review how we may have handled the difficulties of that time period.

Saturn is the lord of karma and demands that we take responsibility for our actions and attachments. A good way to pre-empt the difficulties dealt by lord Saturn is to humbly face the karmas that we are experiencing while at the same time attempting to limit the creation of further difficult karmas. This can be done in many ways including donations, humble service to others and letting go of things that we know are harmful to self or others. If you willingly release things, Saturn will not be forced to take them from you!

New Moon in Gemini/Ardra June 23

After Saturn's exit from Sagittarius, we see the Moon waning completely, joining the Sun for the monthly new Moon in the sign of Gemini and within the nakshatra called Ardra on the evening of Friday, June 23.

At this time, we will see both Sun and Moon in Ardra, with Mercury and Mars in addition. Ardra nakshatra is completely within the sign of Gemini, which is ruled by Mercury and additionally Ardra has its own ruler, which is the planet Rahu. Both Rahu and Mercury therefore will be influencing the energy of this new Moon.

The symbol for Ardra is a tear drop, implying the moisture that comes from our eyes in moments of sadness or distress. The planetary ruler of Ardra is Rahu; the divinity that rules Ardra is Rudra, the tempest, the one who causes fear. This goes without saying that the energy of Ardra is challenging, bringing us face to face with our deepest fears.

When we face that which terrifies us and find the courage to remain strong, we can achieve the greatest feats of our lives. This is the opportunity of Ardra and the blessing of Rudra. While the Moon becomes quite vulnerable at the new Moon, we also have the childlike optimism of Mercury in this combination as well as the courageous and strong Mars.

The passing of Saturn through the gandanta is really still occurring at this new Moon and could be an indicator of what fears we may be facing. Which houses are this gandanta between Scorpio and Sagittarius bridging in your own chart? This could be a clue about the nature of the storms to be weathered.

Venus Transits Taurus June 29 – July 26

Venus entered the sign of Aries on May 30 for about a one month transit, which covers most of the month of June. Aries is a movable sign, ruled by Mars and is the first sign of the zodiac. This comes after Venus' rather extended stay in Pisces, sign of exaltation for Venus. This Pisces transit also included a retrograde cycle for Venus that converted Venus' position relative to the Sun, changing Venus' visibility from in the west after sunset to in the east prior to sunrise. This morning Venus will persist for the remainder of 2017.

With Venus having crossed the gandanta between Pisces and Aries from May 29-31, in some way each of us may feel in some corner of our lives a juncture that leaves one cycle behind and promises a new cycle to come. Venus reflects our human desire for connection, society, relationship and celebration of mother Earth's gifts.

Venus in Aries for most of June finds herself in the realm of beginning and initiating on new soil. This could be a good month to put energy and resources into new phases of creative or collaborative projects. Especially interesting may be the way in which we assert personal agendas in the context of working in partnership.

June 29, Venus moves out of this initiation phase while in Aries and into Taurus, Venus' own sign. This will make Venus extremely potent in the following weeks, through July 26. During this transit, the main influences on Venus will come from the aspects of Jupiter in Virgo and Saturn in Scorpio.

The combination of receiving planetary aspects from Saturn and Jupiter create a stable environment for growth. Saturn's aspect encourages structure and responsibility while Jupiter's aspect champions growth and expansion; all wonderful ingredients in almost any process. Venus will be receiving these aspects through the entire transit of Taurus, which will mostly be felt during July. Enjoy this positively supported phase of creativity and connection.