Full Moon in Capricorn — June 23, 2013, 11:32 UT
Summer Solstice – June 21, 2013, 05:04 UT
Full Moon in Capricorn — June 23, 2013, 11:32 UT
“And I’ll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I’ll know my name as it’s called again”
– Mumford & Sons, The Cave
There has been a lot of activity lately at the borderline of Gemini and Cancer. Centaur planet Thereus in the last degree of Gemini has been coloring the events of the week.
Thereus has an orbital period of 35 years, and the orbit lies near Saturn. Centaur Thereus in Greek mythology was a hunter, who captured bears and carried them home, alive and struggling.
The Sun crossed Thereus on June 20, and entered Cancer the next day, on June 21, which was the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice. The Solstice was followed by a super Full Moon in Capricorn on June 23. It was the closest and largest Full Moon of the year. A Full Moon is always an opposition of the Sun and the Moon, and this time the alignment took place in the early degrees of Cancer and Capricorn, square the Aries Point. A couple of hours after the exact Full Moon alignment, Jupiter conjoined Thereus in the last degree of Gemini, in conjunction with the Cancer Sun. Thus Thereus was first lit by the Sun and then magnified by Jupiter’s touch.
The Sabian symbol for the Full Moon degree 3 Capricorn is The human soul receptive to growth and understanding. Dane Rudhyar writes about this degree: “What is implied in the position of this symbol seems to be the strong drive in every human consciousness or will toward new experiences, whether they are constructive or destructive. Man may grow and gain understanding and wisdom through both types.”
Like all Centaurs, Thereus has potential for healing and transformation. The Centaurs are related to the shadow, the dark and deep stuff in our psyche. There is no light without the shadow. The healing process is available for us, if only we have the courage to encounter any of our dark issues. It is a continuing process, in which we change and grow. Thereus speaks about this unfolding process. He used to carry snarling bears into his home cave. He didn’t do it only once or twice, it was a habit of his.
On June 26 Jupiter ingressed Cancer, the sign which represents the home. Tomorrow, on June 29, Centaur Thereus follows the Sun and Jupiter to Cancer. In February 2014, due the retrogradation, Thereus briefly revisits Gemini, and in March 2014 enters Cancer again for the second and last time on this round, staying there until July 2017.