Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus Transits Cancer June 9 – July 5
Mercury Transits Gemini June 9 – 25
New Moon in Taurus/Mrigashira June 13
Mars + Ketu Conjunction June 13
Sun Transits Gemini June 15 – July 16
Mercury Transits Cancer June 25 – September 2
Mars Retrograde in Capricorn June 26 – August 27
Full Moon in Sagittarius/Mula June 27

Venus Transits Cancer June 9 – July 5

Venus begins June in the sign of Gemini, Mercury's air sign, a welcoming environment for Venus, encouraging us to put energy toward creative ideas. This good influence of Venus in Gemini is amplified when Mercury enters Taurus on May 26, putting Venus and Mercury into parivartana, exchange of signs, which empowers each of the planets to act with the strength it would have if it was occupying its own sign.

By June 9, Venus reaches the late degrees of Gemini and moves forward into Cancer, generally a good sign for Venus as Cancer's ruler, the Moon, is like Venus in the sense of association with the water element. During this current transit of Venus through Cancer from June 9 – July 5, Venus will be the first of a series of planets to move past Rahu, who has occupied Cancer since August 2017 and persists there through March 2019.

While association with Rahu can be anywhere from confusing to surprising, during the Gemini transit, Venus will be feeling the aspect of retrograde Saturn from Sagittarius, which could be throwing some limitation (perhaps welcome) onto the energetic burst coming from the parivartana between Venus and Mercury.

Let's remember that Jupiter is also aspecting Gemini from Libra through October 11, which normally balances the negative or limiting effects of Saturn, but due to current retrograde motion, we can expect the unexpected from Jupiter, which is often the opposite of what we may predict.

Back to Venus and Rahu, though, which begins on June 9. Venus as the natural significator of relationships, comfort, assets and social contracts will feel the loud presence of Rahu as it moves through Cancer, especially around the summer solstice when Venus passes through the degrees occupied by Rahu.

Rahu tends to amplify and agitate the energy of the planets that he closely affects. This could be both positive and negative. For example, a Rahu and Venus conjunction could trigger a "fluke" meeting that turns into something much more profound. This is a good time to be open to twists and turns that may seem inappropriate in the moment but that lead one toward a valuable end.

Mercury Transits Gemini June 9 – 25

As mentioned above, Mercury begins June in the sign of Taurus, fueling the exchange of signs with Venus and enjoying some productive time in a lovely environment. Mercury's energy is great for communication, networking and transaction and while in Taurus can be applied to creative pursuits, relationships, or businesses.

On June 9, as Venus moves into Cancer, Mercury moves into Gemini, filling the void that Venus leaves. At this point, Mercury is moving quickly, racing through Gemini in just over two weeks. The nourishment Mercury received in Taurus will last him through a fast and furious transit through Gemini, which is his own air sign.

Retrograde Saturn and Jupiter will both be placing their gazes on Gemini and Mercury's dash therein, again with the same retrograde-based unexpected results discussed above for Venus when in Gemini. If both caution and hope are built into the Mercury plans during this fortnight, it could be possible to safely and joyfully cover some ground.

New Moon in Taurus/Mrigashira June 13

After the full Moon in Scorpio on May 29, the Moon wanes, passing Saturn, Mars and Ketu, finally falling into the arms of the Sun on Wednesday, June 13 at 29° Taurus, Venus' earth sign. This region of Taurus is also the beginning of Mrigashira nakshatra, the lunar mansion that spans Taurus and Gemini, ruled by the planet Mars.

The new Moon falls at the juncture of the two signs that were recently the scene of the parivartana between Mercury and Venus, perhaps signaling some closure to the progress or work performed during the prior two weeks.

Mrigashira is a nakshatra known as the "wandering" star, with its symbol the head of a deer. Deer are extremely alert and observant as a defense mechanism, which is needed as they wander nearly ceaselessly in search of safe and abundant grazing.

This lunar mansion carries the influences of both Venus and Mercury, the rulers of the signs that it spans (Taurus and Gemini), as well as having the rulership of Mars and the deity known as Soma, who is associated with the Moon. There is a mix of feminine, neuter and masculine energy here that speaks more of general survival in natural environments, using the senses to observe as we search out safe spaces to nourish ourselves so that we can move through creative processes.

The lunar energy itself may be low at this time due to that common effect around the new Moon, which can cause feelings of fatigue or exhaustion. Indeed, we all may be collectively running on fumes after the active period from end of May to mid-June. This may be a good day to make a lighter schedule and take some time out for rest.

Mercury, currently active in own sign of Gemini, will want to keep going, but we risk reprimand from Saturn, who is giving Mercury an aspect, if we neglect to fill up our tanks with real rest and good food.

Mars + Ketu Conjunction June 13

Another reason to slow down on June 13, and really throughout the middle of June, is that Mars and Ketu will be having their first exact meeting through the six-month transit of Mars through Capricorn.

Let's keep in mind that there are two ways of tracking the position of the Moon's nodes, Rahu and Ketu. We use the "mean" node, which implies averaging out the wobbly path of the nodal axis to declare the position and we also use the "true" node, which reflects the actual position of the node at any given moment. Traditionally in jyotisha, the mean node is used. I have found that it is interesting to take note of the true node position when considering transits.

By mean node calculations, Mars and Ketu meet at 14°6' Capricorn on June 13. This will be the first of three passes. Mars begins a retrograde cycle on June 26, turning him back into step with Ketu, conjoining again on July 18 at 12°16' Capricorn. Mars resumes direct motion on August 27, and rams into Ketu again for the last pass on September 22 at 8°48' Capricorn. From there Mars moves away from Ketu and toward Aquarius, where he reaches in early November.

While the true node calculations will yield different dates, if we visualize the nodes as wobbling back and forth as they move in reverse motion from the other planets, we can see that the effects of the nodes are more of a field than a pinpoint. With that said, we will be seeing Mars in Ketu's field very tightly for the next four months due to Mars' upcoming retrograde phase.

The entire lengthy transit of Mars through Capricorn, currently occupied by Ketu is sure to make an impact in some way on each of us. The first and last months of the six-month transit may be warm-up and warm-down, with June-September showing the strongest results.

What happens when Mars and Ketu conjoin, historically? Of course it depends on where they are and who they are with, but generally, we can expect some intensity. Both planets are associated with the fire element and are located in an earth sign at the moment. Note the increase volcanic activity on Hawaii, for example, since Mars entered Capricorn.

The last meeting of Mars and Ketu in Capricorn was in early December 1999 and did not involve a retrograde cycle of Mars that extended the meeting. Mid-November through mid-December 1999 was that timeframe. Oddly, Saturn and Jupiter were both retrograde in Aries at that time, just as they are both retrograde at this time. Notable events of that time included: Kuwait revoking women's suffrage, earthquake in Turkey killed 845 and injured 5000, destructive earthquake/tsunami in Vanuatu, New Zealand elected second female prime minister, ExxonMobil merger resulted in world's largest corporation, first woman completed crossing of Atlantic in rowboat, NASA launched Terra platform into orbit. It seems Ketu in Capricorn causes earth changes while Rahu in Cancer causes the rise/fall of water and feminine power; these things happen simultaneously due to the effect of the nodal axis.

Sun Transits Gemini June 15 – July 16

The Sun joins Mercury in Gemini on June 15, taking the standard month to make it through Mercury's air sign and exiting to Cancer on July 16, which will be the kickoff of summer eclipse season, as Sun will be joining the nodal axis by entering Cancer.

While in Gemini, Sun moves into opposition with his enemy, Saturn. This enemy relationship stems from the Sun rejecting Saturn as his offspring in the Vedic stories. The Sun is the archetypal king and sovereign, and on a personal level in the horoscope will show how we express our individuality and manage our ego.

Saturn aims to destroy the illusion of individuality by reminding us of the temporary nature of life through whatever means. This tug-of-war between "I am ME" and "I am NOTHING" is an eternal struggle for the balance in which both statements are true and coexisting.

The exact opposition of Sun and Saturn occurs on June 27, the day of the full Moon, when Moon will join Saturn in Sagittarius. We can expect some intense energy during this last week of June due to this tension between Sun and Saturn and the full Moon.

Mercury Transits Cancer June 25 – September 2

Mercury stays ahead of the Sun, moving quickly, exiting Gemini on June 25 for a lengthy stay with the intriguing Rahu. This long stay is due to a retrograde cycle for Mercury that occurs from July 26 – August 18, and which will bring him back into contact with the Sun as Sun transits Cancer from mid-July to mid-August.

We know Mercury is adaptable, but in reality Mercury does consider Cancer an enemy sign, due to his disdain for his own father, the Moon, ruler of Cancer. This brings another log onto the fire of father-progeny tension during the time that Sun moves through Gemini, opposing Saturn. These two conditions coincide from June 25 – July 16.

Otherwise, the big news is Mercury spending time with Rahu for over two months. Mercury is our agent of communication and exchange, so his territory ranges from speech to networks to transactions. Two conditions may make our communications difficult during this time: Mercury's environment, which is watery Cancer and Mercury's' strange bedfellow, Rahu, who can tend to confuse, obfuscate and agitate, making it difficult to communicate clearly or transact cleanly.

Mercury joins Rahu in Cancer, but for the first two weeks, Venus is also present there. This puts the two energetic, dynamic, communicative and relational planets together with Rahu, the provider of the unexpected and the lord of strong desires. Let's all be careful about how we express during this time in order to avoid misunderstandings. It could be that our unbounded expressions of affection are misconstrued as aggressive attacks!

The other factor during this entire transit will be the aspect of retrograde Mars (see below) which can be a source of power and aggression, especially because of the retrograde exalted status Mars will be experiencing.

Mars Retrograde in Capricorn June 26 – August 27

During the afternoon of June 26, Mars begins a retrograde cycle at 16° Capricorn which will drag him back over ten degrees in the zodiac to 5° Capricorn on August 27. This retrograde motion will keep Mars in lockstep with Ketu, as described above in the section about the Mars and Ketu conjunction.

This brings a third planet into the retrograde club for a spell. Jupiter and Saturn are currently retrograde, with Jupiter resuming direct motion July 10 and Saturn resuming direct motion on September 9. With Mars going retrograde in tight conjunction with Ketu, a naturally retrograde mover, we are seeing a bit of tension being built up by too much reversal of behavior that comes from retrograde motion of planets.

Because of the Mars-Ketu combination, we will have extreme focus on the Cancer-Capricorn axis during this summer, especially with the help of Mercury who will be joining Rahu in Cancer. Adding the Sun and Moon into this, our eclipses come in July and August: partial solar eclipse July 12, total lunar eclipse July 27 and another partial solar eclipse August 11. We get a bonus eclipse this year, instead of a pair, we get a trio this summer.

All of this retrograde energy may feel like we are not gaining ground and forward progress is impossible. Indeed, this could be a time where it would a great struggle to begin new things. A more harmonious approach to being sandbagged by the planets in this way could be to let go of the need for brand new shiny pursuits in favor of digging in and making sense of what is already in front of us. We have a great opportunity to root out weakness, reinforce foundations, fertilize crops that are already in the ground and clean up the abundant messes that we find surrounding us.

This retrograde period of Mars represents two of the six months that we see him transiting through his exaltation sign. When Mars is exalted, we expect the best results from Mars, which is seeing power channelled into constructive projects rather than being spilled in anger or frustration. When Mars is exalted and retrograde at the same time, we must be vigilant about where we are directing our power, as Mars' best intentions for good could be twisted by the retrograde motion.

The other factor is that Ketu, the headless one, is known for causing mistakes and mishaps. This added to the firepower of Mars could be a recipe for disaster. When dealing with anything of great power during this time, please step back and double check all connections to ensure the safety of all involved. We are talking about machinery, equipment, boats, cars, fuel, resources and most importantly, fire. Keep your head on straight and don't risk adding intoxication into any situations in which you are responsible for managing power. Good advice for any time or any planetary configuration, but especially emphasized during this Mars retrograde period.

Full Moon in Sagittarius/Mula June 27

The Moon at 13° Sagittarius opposes the Sun at 13° Gemini just before midnight on Wednesday, June 27. This occurs just hours after the Moon passes by retrograde Saturn as Saturn exactly opposes the Sun.

In the neighboring signs, we are also getting strong opposition energy with Mars+Ketu in Capricorn opposing Mercury+Rahu+Venus in Cancer. The only planet not involved in the opposition situation is Jupiter, still retrograde in Libra. We count on Jupiter and Venus to smooth out difficult situations and with Venus involved with Rahu and Jupiter retrograde, it may be difficult to find our diplomacy skills in the moment if things begin to heat up.

The Moon and Saturn will be in Sagittarius, ruled by the currently compromised Jupiter and within the lunar mansion of Mula, which spans the first 13°20' of Sagittarius, ruled by the planet Ketu and the goddess of calamity, Nirriti. Adding up all of this opposition and retrograde energy, we can expect some intense times throughout June and into the remaining months of summer.