Toward a paradigm that incorporates care, nurturing, and emotional intelligence into work, decision making, and government policy.

This month’s two eclipses happen on the Cancer-Capricorn axis. At this first eclipse on July 2, a retrograde Saturn is just minutes away from the South Node, at a 10-minute orb. The eclipse itself occurs at 10 degrees of Cancer, 7 degrees from the North Node.

The Cancer-Capricorn axis represents the now-shifting longstanding opposition of patriarchy and matriarchy—somewhat outmoded terms that are being transmuted into the non-binary and fluid. We no longer identify nurturing (Cancer and the Moon) strictly with femininity, or structure and leadership (Saturn, Capricorn) solely with masculinity. We all contain strength and vulnerability, the ability to support and to lead. Even more, we all have every sign in our birth charts.

This overall configuration is, I suspect and hope, the last gasps of a dying patriarchal culture that is being forced to be less self-absorbed and less insistent on using force over nature and over people to get its way.

Saturn on the South Node is reluctant to integrate its shadow: with this eclipse loosely conjunct the North Node, we are working instead toward a paradigm that incorporates care, nurturing, and emotional intelligence into decision making, the workplace, and government policy—rather than trying to stamp out, control, hide, or deny. There may be a lot of kicking and fighting about it, but the human race is moving inexorably forward.

In the July 2 eclipse chart set for Washington, D.C., the Part of Fortune is exactly conjunct the Ascendant, which notably happens when the Sun and Moon meet in a New Moon. This placement suggests a turning point, a crucial juncture. Meanwhile, Juno is closest to the eclipse Midheaven, where the goddess of equality and social justice also conjoins Mercury and Mars, planets of words and action. All three are in Leo, a sign known for action and leadership.

We may soon see newly passionate protests and activism around protecting the “other” in the form of traumatized children and families at the border, as Uranus conjoins the Descendant of this eclipse. Chiron, now in Aries, closely trines that Juno, while it semi-sextiles Uranus: the wrenching wounds inflicted by the human rights abuses of the current administration are igniting deeply felt activism, empathy, and compassion.

This eclipse happens to fall within 2 degrees of Donald Trump’s natal Mercury, while Pallas is also currently transiting over his natal Juno-Chiron conjunction. (For more about how I see this Juno-Chiron as a key to his natal chart, see this post). He’s playing to his base, but undoubtedly on defense: recent rumbles of widespread rebellion against his threatened raids saw him wisely (Pallas) retreating on his plans for grievous harm.

Venus in Gemini—combined with the powerful pile-up of planets in the eclipse chart’s 9th house—suggests this is a time to fight fear with eloquence, pathos, and intelligence, as we saw 20 presidential candidates do in last week’s moving, wide-ranging debates. Mercury making a tense aspect to Neptune suggests we’ll continue facing lies and attempts at deception—while a 7th-house Vesta, which can signify attachment to home, squaring Juno in this eclipse chart suggests nationalism will continue, particularly in light of the next eclipse on July 16 (which to my eye looks like an escalation).

Still, what we nurture with kindness and compassion will transform and bloom. Now is the time to learn how to embrace our fears rather than deny or suppress them, to help fellow travelers rather than dehumanize “others,” to help the planet rather than continue to trample it.

Since everyone’s birth chart is unique, how this eclipse energy interacts with your chart is highly individual. Broadly, eclipses generally signify change in matters of the house they fall in. Their effects can ripple for months—and if they’re close to a significant point in your birth chart, sometimes longer.

The best way to have a good sense of how this eclipse will affect you: find where the eclipse point falls in your natal chart. Where is 10 degrees Cancer for you? What house does it fall in? That’s where you’ll feel the effects of today’s eclipse most.

If you’re not sure, feel free to drop your birth date in a comment and I’ll let you know.