New Moon in Cancer

This is on the 24th June, 3:30 am (GMT).

For this we have a stellium in Cancer: the sun and moon conjunct at 2 degrees Cancer, with Mercury and Mars also nearby. This speaks of emotionally charged, potentially painful communication about family and the past - the kind that opens up some kind of new start.

Home, heritage, family, food and feelings. That's Cancerian stuff. Feeding and nurturing your dependents and defending your home ground. Mom, apple pie and the atavastic sentimentality those ideas call up. Tribalisms and nationalisms of all kinds – Cancer at worst is clannish and clingily focused on “my” people, distrusting outsiders.

As Mercury is involved with this new moon, there will be discussions of feelings, primal needs and family issues. Emotions / thinking / communication will be bound up together.

With Mars involved, interactions will be tense. Mars in Cancer has to do with intense emotional energy and rapidly shifting moods, and it can be touchy and defensive. In this case, Mars also squares Jupiter exactly, which amps up the emotional energy and edgy "hangriness". (It's a good idea to fill up on comfort food before approaching tense discussions.)

Hangry care bear

Mars-Jupiter aspects are about leaping before you look, and getting yourself into hot water via careless aggression. In this case, the aspect speaks of relationship imbalance and disharmony brought on by emotionally-driven aggression.

Pluto is also involved, meaning the issues here are profound and disturbing. This is a cardinal T-square that will be in effect till mid-July, and there's nothing light about it - it's harsh and full of potential ugliness. A lot of painful shit (especially family shit) is likely to be exposed, and you can expect some rage attendant upon that. But deep structural change is demanded here, and the point is balance and fairness - there are wrongs to be redressed. Resisting this will do nobody any good.

Anyway, heading into these choppy waters, please remember: just because you feel something is true doesn't mean it is! Hold back and try to ascertain the facts. Try to stay balanced and to see the other's point of view – this is an important theme, with Jupiter in Libra.

You can either speak your deeply held convictions here, or blurt hurtful things out of irrational rage - it's up to you. Fighting things to the death is possible, but also pointless. Neptune aspects the new moon beneficially, meaning softness, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance will be helpful.

For this new moon, Venus in Taurus also trines Pluto exactly. There's solid love underneath the conflict - something valuable to be protected. Please try to remember that.

We're dealing with a lot of intensity this month, in the next two weeks especially. The run-up to the full moon in Capricorn on the 9th July is very heavy, and that full moon itself is a doozy of emotional violence.

The changes we're undergoing, in the context of family especially, are powerful and long-term. Conflict on the world stage is to be expected as well. It will be hard to keep a cool head about any of this stuff, when so much emotion is involved, but here's hoping cooler heads will prevail.

These are dangerous days. Women especially are likely to feel under fire. Please be nice to your mom - she'll need it.