Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Mars Debilitated in Cancer June 1 – July 20
New Moon in Taurus/Mrigashira June 10 (Annular Solar Eclipse)
Sun Transits Gemini June 14 – July 16
Jupiter Retrograde June 20 – October 17
Venus Transits Cancer June 22 – July 16
Mercury Direct in Taurus June 22
Full Moon in Sagittarius/Mula June 24

Mars Debilitated in Cancer June 1 – July 20

Saturn, the planet ruling a variety of challenging facets of life, is currently placed in his own earth sign of Capricorn from January 2020 – January 2023. When a planet occupies its own sign, its results tend to be strong. When that planet tends to bring difficulty, this strength can test us in many ways.

Through the summer months, Saturn will be in retrograde status, which can tend to reverse or confuse the expected results of a planet. We expect Saturn's influence to cause pressure, delays, slow pace and heavy situations. The retrograde status may actually produce slightly altered results, which for many could mean some relief from difficult situations that have arisen since the beginning of 2020.

From June 1 – July 20, Mars will be transiting the sign of Cancer, which is opposite to Capricorn. This puts these two planets with bad boy reputations into a strong relationship that will certainly produce some results. Mars, as the planet of strength and power, falls into a state of debilitation in the Moon's sign of Cancer, which can be frustrating to the indications of Mars, who relies on precision, strategy and efficiency to bring us the resources and protection that he provides. Cancer is like a nursery, not a war room.

Mars and Saturn interactions can end up feeling like we're trying to drive forward with the brakes on; the desire to courageously move forward can be muddled by fear, reticence or practical realities that delay the charge. This is especially true when Mars and Saturn conjoin in the same sign. The last meeting of these two planets came from March 22 – May 4, 2020. This corresponded with the first Covid-19 lockdown period. Both planets were strongly placed, as Saturn was in his own sign and Mars was exalted in Capricorn.

This situation could feel a bit different due to Saturn's retrograde status and Mars' debilitation status. The Moon rules the sign of Cancer, which causes Mars to come under the moody and changeable influence of the Moon. This is a "shades of gray" challenge to the powerful force of Mars who tends to lead with logic and "black and white" thinking.

From Cancer, Mars aspects the signs of Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius, which are all quite activated at this time. Saturn is transiting Capricorn, strong in his ability to limit and constrict. Jupiter is transiting Aquarius, attempting to get our stalled projects off of the ground and urging us toward growth, innovation and a positive trajectory. The sign of Libra has been receiving the aspects of both Saturn and Jupiter, which can create a very potent environment where growth and limitation are well balanced.

With Mars moving to Cancer, he lends his strength to the activated sign of Libra via aspect. His other aspects from Cancer fall into Capricorn and Aquarius, hitting both Saturn and Jupiter, the two planets who are giving that energy to Libra. This is creating an energetic platform between Saturn, Mars and Jupiter that is activating all the signs mentioned: Cancer, Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius.

With three of these four being movable (chara) signs that are associated with initiation and beginning new projects or phases, this points toward important work during this time that finds us driving toward new horizons. We could find ourselves oscillating between emotions such as courage, fear and hope as we propel our vehicles forward.

New Moon in Taurus/Mrigashira June 10 (Annular Solar Eclipse)

Continuing the eclipse drama, we experience part two of our first eclipse season of 2021. The total lunar eclipse of May 26, when the Moon was eclipsed by Ketu in Scorpio, is paired with an annular Solar eclipse on June 10, when the Sun, Moon and Rahu join in the opposite sign, Taurus. Here are the astronomical details of the eclipse, including a map of the eclipse path.

The Moon and Sun join at 26° Taurus, within one degree of retrograde Mercury. This trio is close to the north node of the Moon, Rahu, at 17° Taurus. Close enough to cause an annular eclipse (when the Sun is darkened but its corona is visible) but not a total solar eclipse.

The past two annular solar eclipses, occurred on June 21, 2020 in the sign of Gemini and prior to that on December 26, 2019 in the sign of Sagittarius. These two signs make the nodes very strong (Rahu in Gemini and Ketu in Sagittarius.) In the shadow of the December 2019 eclipse, a pandemic began to spread. By the next eclipse when the planets moved to Gemini in June 2020, the pandemic had taken hold of the world and forced its population to pivot into a whole new system of survival.

The last solar eclipse was a total eclipse on December 14, 2020 in Scorpio. After this current pair of eclipses, our next pair of 2021 will occur in November/December. That will be the last eclipse cycle in Taurus/Scorpio axis, the nodal axis moves to the signs of Aries/Libra in mid-April 2022.

What can we expect from the June 10 annular solar eclipse? Those who have significant placements in the later degrees of Taurus could experience some effects more strongly. The idea of an eclipse is that it puts a shadow on the light. This creates an environment of obstruction, obscurement and possible confusion. With the addition of a retrograde Mercury in the mix, we could all experience a feeling of instability, unexpected changes or events that cause a temporary but significant stalling.

Since the effect of eclipses is coming from the nodal axis, the same advice applies to dealing with the churning, chaos and unstable ground: it's not a great time to make major decisions that can wait; keep calm, step back, create an environment that is nourishing and peaceful and wait to see what happens, if anything. Not only is an eclipse active at this time, but Mercury remains retrograde, Saturn remains retrograde and Jupiter is about to join the retrograde tide. Things are not always as they appear. Make sure you have all available data before making decisions. Sometimes, there is no time to wait and choices are made under duress. So be it.

Sun Transits Gemini June 14 – July 16

The eclipse cycles are predicted by the Sun's transits through the signs occupied by the nodes, Rahu and Ketu. When the Sun exits Taurus and enters Gemini on June 14, we may find ourselves thinking about the storms that have recently passed and how to move on to reorganizing, reconnecting and editing recently laid plans.

The Sun joins Venus in Gemini, but never gets close enough to burn her, as she moves to Cancer on June 22 for her summer rendezvous with Mars. By exiting Taurus, the Sun leaves Venus' earth sign in Mercury's hands, who has a better chance than most to right things and bring a bit of management to a still strong Rahu who continues to work his magic, even after the eclipses pass.

This really will be a good time for the Gemini things that need to be done, with the Sun's transit there from June 14 – July 16. Mercury's air sign, Gemini, supports communication, networking, management, scheduling, educational pursuits, analytics, marketing, writing, speaking and work done for hobbies and enjoyment. The first week of this Sun transit through Gemini, Mercury will still be retrograde, so it may be a good time to revive projects that have been shelved, reorganize workspaces, edit and re-boot.

Jupiter Retrograde June 20 – October 17

During 2021, the transit of Jupiter will give us quite a bit of variety, moving between Saturn's earth sign, Capricorn and airy Aquarius, co-ruled by Saturn and Rahu. On April 5, 2021, Jupiter moved to Aquarius, which was a positive step that fostered some expansion and progress for many.

Jupiter and Saturn are not natural friends, but together create a basic framework for most things in life. Saturn builds foundations and structure while Jupiter encourages growth and evolution. Saturn insists upon practical action while Jupiter rides on faith to create future growth. Saturn contracts while Jupiter expands.

Retrograde motion makes a planets effects difficult to predict. The planet is stronger while retrograde and can also push into the realms of acting in an opposite manner. With both Jupiter and Saturn in retrograde motion through the summer months, we may be surprised at how things progress. Issues that we may have had anxiety about could move easily and quickly. What we thought would grow quickly and easily could find some obstruction and become stunted.

Even though retrograde, Jupiter while in Aquarius can still help us to grow; it may just be in an unconventional manner or require some very creative or innovative thinking. Rather than an ordered, predictable growth rate, we may experience fits and starts, with surprising ups and downs.

Jupiter stations and begins his retrograde cycle on June 20 at 10° Aquarius and marches through the previously traversed degrees of early Aquarius, returning to Capricorn on September 20. Retrograde motion continues and takes Jupiter back to 29° Capricorn, where he resumes direct motion on October 17.

After this return to Capricorn, where once again Jupiter encounters a strongly placed Saturn who can tend to deflate the positivity of Jupiter, the great Guru quickly bounces up again, moving forward over the same degrees once more and emerging to higher ground in Aquarius on November 20.

This retrograde phase of Jupiter could be quite surprising, with some disappointment and frustration coming from interruptions to an upward trajectory. The surprising factors could come from the tandem retrograde phase of Saturn, whose slow deliberate moves could be sped up and smoothed out by his own retrograde motion.

For a longer overview, let us look at Jupiter's recent past and near future, as we all count on the positive effects of Jupiter to buoy us through the rough waters. Jupiter spends an average of one year in each sign. One of the blessings from this current traverse of Saturn's signs is that even though there have been difficulties due to Jupiter's debilitation in Capricorn which was simultaneous with Saturns' presence there, we are really only seeing ten months for Jupiter in each of Saturn's signs (Capricorn and Aquarius.) This is at least a slight minimization of Jupiter's struggle.

The best news is that when Jupiter reaches his own sign of Pisces on April 13, 2022, we will all likely benefit in some way from his year-long, uninterrupted transit of watery Pisces through April 21, 2023. That span of time could be quite expansive in whatever house in a personal horoscope that is occupied by Pisces. Jupiter in Pisces will receive the aspect of Saturn for most of his transit there; this could imply the need to keep a practical, long-term view when bouncing into expansive ventures.

Venus Transits Cancer June 22 – July 16

Venus moves out of Gemini and into Cancer on June 22 for a rather quick transit as she moves toward a conjunction with fiery Mars who is also occupying the Moon's sign. Venus catches up to Mars at 26° Cancer on July 12, after which the two will travel together into Leo.

By mid-August, Venus will pull ahead of Mars and end the conjunction, but between June 22 – August 11, we will have this conjunction moving through Cancer and Leo.

Venus and Mars come from different camps and rule the elements of water and fire, respectively. While there is a strong attraction between these two planets that embody feminine and masculine principles, the harmony that comes from foundational similarities is often lacking.

The creative spark of Venus and the strong engineering skills of Mars can manifest as a dynamic duo that brings form and function to life. When fundamental differences are accepted, when boundaries are respected and when contracts are well balanced, we humans have the power to create great things. This could be a fertile period for the creation of these new functions and forms.

For the Cancer portion of this transiting conjunction of Venus and Mars, we have Saturn aspecting this pair from Capricorn. Saturn can cause uncomfortable pressure or limit our output. Remembering that he will be in retrograde status during these months, we may find Saturn's slow deliberation is somewhat altered and could in fact push things in a positive direction as Mars and Venus spin about in Cancer.

Saturn's influence could be unusually positive in that there is the demand for practical solutions and reliable foundations during the creative process. Taking time to think through both the underlayment and the finished surface, trying various combinations and battling through the disagreements on how to form the function will likely result in a good end product.

This Mars+Venus in Cancer with Saturn in Capricorn dynamic really has some promise, but there is a demand for creativity in the face of negativity and patience in the face of delays. For those with this axis prominent in their horoscope, this could be a time when it feels exhausting to hammer out details. This too will pass. Don't let these weeks be deal breakers.

Mercury Direct in Taurus June 22

Mercury slows down and stops for a moment before resuming direct motion on June 22 at 22° Taurus. We may all feel a collective need to pause at this juncture after the past month which was quite active astrologically:

• Saturn retrograde begins May 23
• Total Lunar Eclipse May 26
• Mercury retrograde begins May 29
• Annular Solar Eclipse June 10
• Jupiter retrograde June 20

Mercury direct in Taurus will help us get grounded in what still may be a very confusing or unstable environment. The compound retrograde status combined with eclipses and a strong Rahu could have dug up that which had been hidden and revealed flaws or weaknesses that demand to be addressed.

This is a good time to assess and analyze resources, project plans and envision short and long range goals. Mercury will begin his forward motion slowly, ambling toward his own sign of Gemini which he reaches on July 7. Don't feel frustrated to see the drawing board back in your face. There may be new data at this point that will improve the path forward.

Rahu and Mercury alone in Taurus could actually be quite connective. Of all the planets, Mercury is wired to keep up with the genius of Rahu and could perhaps persuade that genius toward good.

Full Moon in Sagittarius/Mula June 24

After the solar eclipse of June 10, the Moon begins to wax and grow, gaining strength as she moves through Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra. The other planetary factors have perhaps created some upset. Since the ever changing Moon is a symbol representing our ever churning state of emotional experience, we may find ourselves traversing an array of moods and mental states as we adjust to new normals.

By June 15, the Moon will have moved past Mars, relatively free of negative aspects until an encounter with Ketu on June 22 – 23, which is also when Mercury resumes direct motion near Rahu, opposite the Moon. This could be a sensitive point when we may be ready to unpack the most recent set of changes and analyze both the logic and feelings behind them.

On June 24, the Moon reaches its monthly peak at 10° Sagittarius, in the nakshatra Mula, fostering an environment where high hopes may actually play out in positive directions. This point receives the support of both Jupiter and Ketu, as rulers of Sagittarius and Mula, respectively. The overall planetary arrangement is quite balanced during this full Moon.

The Moon is flanked by Ketu and Saturn, both powerfully placed in their own signs. Jupiter is adjacent to Saturn, creating a team around the strong Moon that is calling for a clearer view of how to birth the next phase of the cycle that was begun when Jupiter and Saturn conjoined in late December 2020. Think of this as providing an elevated perspective that could prompt further pruning of branches that aren't promising fruit.

With the Moon being strong, but by nature vulnerable, the hardness of Ketu and Saturn squeezing the Moon could play out as feeling forced to do difficult actions that may feel like severing or crushing deep ties.

The Sun is at 10° Gemini, in the nakshatra Ardra, coming under the influence of both Mercury as ruler of Gemini and Rahu, as ruler of Ardra. Mercury and Rahu will still be conjoined in Taurus at this time, making their influence perhaps even stronger on this full Moon situation.

Just like the Moon is flanked, so is the Sun during this June 24 full Moon. On one hand, Sun has Mercury and Rahu in Taurus and in the other hand Sun has Venus and Mars in Cancer. Quite a different entourage than that of the Moon, but set up to identify channels through which to pour resources and creative juices.

This could feel like a moment of calm where we have just a short window from which to gaze upon the clearly defined horizon and gain faith and direction as we navigate brand new ground.

The months of July, August and September will be colored strongly by the retrograde outer planets, Saturn and Jupiter, which may call out a pattern of forward and backward steps that doesn't seem to make sense. The Sun, Venus, Mars and Mercury will be passing through the signs opposite these retrograde giants, creating a series of events with opportunities to manage the wobbling surfaces from which many are attempting to find foundational stability that will provide a steady platform for positive growth.

Retrograde motion by nature sees a planet's energy concentrated in one area for an extended time due to the forward-backward-forward pattern. This can indicate the need to focus strongly, apply continued effort and foster patience with having to re-do, revise or revisit. The Sun and Moon, who never assume retrograde motion, will be placed in nakshatras ruled by the nodes, who mostly travel in retrograde motion, highlighting the challenge of reckoning the duality that appears everywhere with the unity that beckons deeply.