By Nicole Goicuria and Sharon Isabel Curley
Editor’s note: Title is pleased to present our new quarterly horoscopes by Nicole Goicuria and Sharon Isabel Curley. The horoscopes will be published on the Solstice and Equinox associated with each season.
You can read your horoscope based on your Sun (if you were born during the day), Moon (if you were born at night), or Rising sign. If you want to learn more about your Astrological profile or would like a more detailed, personalized monthly horoscope based on your birth chart, contact Nicole at theastralbotanica.com. The introduction is written by Nicole and the individual signs are written by Sharon, with the assistance of Nicole’s astrological expertise.
The Sun has entered the Cardinal Water sign of Cancer, marking the summer solstice. Cancer energy invites us to actively reconnect with the deepest parts of ourselves, regroup, and find security after a busy Gemini season. Summer provides this opportunity by offering a respite from the eclipse seasons of spring (Taurus) and fall (Scorpio). The eclipses on the Taurus/Scorpio axis see us working on materializing a life aligned with our values, using an evolved perspective borne of the previous eclipse cycle that occurred on the Gemini/Sagittarius axis that began in 2019. What has changed since then—besides everything? We may be finding it difficult to accept change and let go of what is no longer useful or beneficial to us. Paying attention to the new and full moons that occur this summer while the lunar energy is more stable will assist us in learning to cope with cycles of beginnings and endings.
The Sun in Cancer, squaring the Moon and Jupiter in Aries, is the opening energy of the season. This finds us feeling both the urge to slow down and retreat into the watery Cancerian depths, while also wanting to continue expanding and exploring, taking cues from the energy in Aries. Where we seek out and find expansion and growth, and how we use these experiences to further develop our inner worlds, will be recurring themes this summer as we may find ourselves in the midst of rapid life changes. The Sun’s transit through Cancer will culminate in an opposition to Pluto. This energy may rattle us individually or we may also feel this on a collective level as the United States will have its second exact Pluto return during Cancer season. Pluto confronts us with dark truths and exposes what can no longer be hidden.
During Leo season, Mars, Uranus, and the North Node all unite in Taurus. This may bring back some of that eclipse season energy we have been recovering from, and squares between the Sun and Uranus, and Mars and Saturn may have us yearning to do things differently or our own way. This intensity will be tempered by the New Moon in Leo that will trine Jupiter as it stations retrograde. This helps us reset and course-correct with a renewed sense of faith in ourselves and our capacity for resilience. Jupiter promises wisdom wherever we have sought experience, and we will have learned a lot this summer. Virgo season offers more opportunities for reflection with both Uranus and Mercury joining Jupiter in retrograde motion as summer winds down and we prepare to welcome a new season. Please read below how the summer may unfold for your sign.
ARIES:
Musician Donovan sings, “In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty; I want to be in the warm hold of your loving mind.” As we let go of those chilly hours, summer begins. With a lot of energy focused on self-improvement, you may feel the motivation and drive to find your path that you haven’t found in years. Embrace it. Financial matters could be a focus this summer, so getting organized and budgeting may be wise. You’ll want to fulfill what you can while you’ve got the warm hold of summer. Start with small things like taking the trash out. Joint ventures that may have started in the spring also need your attention. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you revisiting issues in your most important relationships. You don’t have to try and catch the wind, just be authentic.
TAURUS:
After an intense and busy spring it’s finally ok to wind down. There may have been a lot of lessons learned between the eclipses and mercury retrograde that occurred in the spring. Taking time to yourself to let those lessons marinate will be beneficial to you. Welcome this new season and continue to grow into yourself by examining the dynamics you have with other people. In JD Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, Seymour Glass takes his wife on a summer holiday to the Florida beaches. He takes a walk alone along the beach and meets a young girl named Sybil. He tells Sybil a tale of the bananafish; a creature, he claims, is a greedy fish which eats bananas from holes filled with them until the fish is too fat to get back out of the hole. After telling this tale, Seymour returns to his hotel room where his wife is asleep, and he shoots himself in the head. You may be focused on implementing new communication strategies, but be careful who you’re communicating with. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you finally figuring out how to stay grounded in preparation for another eclipse season. Try doing this without getting stressed enough to blow your brains out.
GEMINI:
Summer may open up with a lot of activity or drama in groups you are a part of. You could see a shift in perspective related to your value system or want to gain control over resources and finances. Self care will be essential as burnout may be possible from doing too much. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you focusing on completing creative, personal projects that you may have put on hold. I once heard a joke from an elderly comedian who spoke about taking his wife on their first date. He said she ordered a Chardonnay, but since he was broke, he called the waiter back and said, “make that a Chardonn-B”. You may find yourself reevaluating how you are expressing yourself to the world. Although money seems like a touchy subject right now, there’s no reason to treat yourself cheaply. Now, go enjoy a cold glass of Chardonnay plus!
CANCER:
Summer starts with Cancer season, and those are two of my least favorite things: summer and cancer. But enough about me, this is a season of self-discovery for you. Travel far inside your soul as if you were Admiral Byrd the III taking his first expedition to the Hollow Earth. Let your inner sun shine. You don’t believe in the Hollow Earth? Well, then go sail off the flat one. Here, you may uncover a hidden truth about a relationship or catch yourself evolving. Or simply traveling right back to where you started, since the Earth is truly round. Learning things about yourself and those close to you can have impacts on your closest relationships, for better or for worse. Summer may be a busy time for your career or you may just be finding and forming a new life direction or goal. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you focused on completing home projects or contemplating boundaries with family. Whichever Earth you believe in, it will always thrive from the candid finesse of a Cancer.
LEO:
As summer starts you may need to catch up on much-needed rest after a busy Gemini season. It’s not easy for me to find rest in the summer, because I am not inspired by the sun. It brings me down and makes life incredibly stressful. Quite the opposite from you, Leo, the summer baby. Your work life and health may be at the forefront of your thoughts as summer starts, and this may be entirely unavoidable. Also unavoidable is the idea of a year without summer. This summer has you opening up to new possibilities and it has the potential to be full of surprises. Not since 1816 has our region seen dark skies and cold temps in the summer. In June of that year, snow even fell in some NE states. Keep in your thoughts how you’d react to such a change, because there are many new opportunities that are presenting themselves to you. They may be overwhelming, but don’t get swept away in the excitement. Your mind may be on the home front or you may feel like you are changing life direction very suddenly. It’s best to lean into these changes, which is not easy for a fixed sign like you. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you reevaluating what you are learning through experiences in your daily life. There may be deep life lessons hidden in the mundane, and if any sign can find those lessons, it’s you.
VIRGO:
Summer opens up with the sun shining in your house of friends. I recently learned that people with more friends have shorter life spans than those with less friends. I also learned that go-getter people tend to hang their toilet paper in the “roll over” fashion. Virgo is a true go-getter. The go-getter in you may be able to catch your breath and enjoy yourself after taking time focusing on your career and life path. Many areas of your life have been affected by the eclipse cycles of the past couple of years, and you may find yourself still adjusting to lots of changes. People who use the “hung under” technique for hanging their toilet paper are more dependable and open. They’re not so stuck in their ways, and they’re laid back. The “roll over” people are so stuck, they’re often inclined to change a “roll under” to its “correct” hanging way, as it were. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you closely examining your relationship to money or possessions, and you may have a shift in perspective that changes your value system in some way. Unpacking internalized capitalism? Be kind to yourself. This summer wants you to be free and let go. Try changing your TP hanging technique and see how you fare.
LIBRA:
Summer starts with you focused on your goals and pondering the eternal question: What am I doing with my life? There’s time to figure it out, so don’t let it get you down. In hockey, making goals is the goal. Also in hockey, there’s the goalkeeper (or goalie), who wants to block you from achieving your goals. The new moon in Cancer promises upcoming opportunities to create new goals. Your relationships may be demanding a lot of your attention this season and it’s hard to find time for yourself as usual. Look at this as a time for teamwork. Find ways to work together, but also demand a pause to help you sort out what you need for yourself. As you continue to carve out your life path, completing a creative project may give you a boost of inspiration. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer has you reviewing how you are talking to yourself. You need to decide if you want to achieve your goals or let the goalkeeper stop you.
SCORPIO:
Well dear Scorpio, you have been going through it. It’s like you just keep making different offers on the same pair of shoes on Poshmark, but the seller just never responds to any of them. Or even more annoyingly, when you make an ever so slight offer, and they counter off with the listing price. Take the summer to rest in between eclipse seasons. The energy opening up this summer has you pondering spirituality and how you are connecting to the universe. The new moon in Cancer will be your guide. You are experiencing deep changes and that is not always easy. You may be paying close attention to your home or family. Redecorating or relocating may be on your mind, but remember how the saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Right back at making that offer. How much do you want these shoes? If you’re putting this much effort into them, maybe just hit that purchase button. Going within will help you better navigate the outer world, and you may have amazing footwear while doing so. Mercury retrograde at the end of summer may have you re-hashing things out in therapy or in your journal. The theme of this summer is to embrace the new you that you are becoming, as you walk a new path in those shoes.
SAGITTARIUS:
As summer begins, you may be recovering from an eclipse season that involved uncovering some dark truths that shook up your daily life. I can totally relate to that. A few health scares had me needing to make some lifestyle changes. The dark truth is that I’m getting old. I can no longer eat what I want or fall without getting hurt. Sagittarius is not one to sit still, but this summer demands it. You may feel called to get your priorities straight and this may have you butt heads with those who aren’t embracing your changes. An otherworldly experience may open you up to new possibilities. This season you may benefit from an achieved goal related to your evolving mental or spiritual growth. I, for one, was achieving health goals non-stop until I ate one pizza, and then I just couldn’t stop eating pizza after pizza. My body began to feel sluggish. I kept recalling childhood experiments of mixing flour and water to make glue. It symbolized how stuck I felt—unable to control it. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer may have you hashing out things with friends. Just remember any changes in your social realm may be for the better. As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Yours truly, Pizza Glue.
CAPRICORN:
Summer welcomes you with some potential intensity in your deepest bonds. Be ready to uncover some truths about yourself or those close to you. You may also come into some compensation outside of your traditional labor. Perhaps a lottery ticket? Focusing on creative projects may help you figure out what works for you or if it’s time to change it to something new. As summer closes, Mercury retrograde will have you re-evaluating where you are headed and how you are getting there. Maybe the aforementioned compensation comes from a new employment opportunity. How will you approach this change? Meditate on the energy that best serves you. Whose advice will you take? In this scenario, I recommend Jack Handey, “When you go into a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they press charges.”
AQUARIUS:
Summer opens up with an emphasis on your daily routine, so it is time to find out what works for you. Years ago, I’d wake up every morning and write down key themes from my dreams. I’d then visit a now defunct dreammoods.com and get some pretty funny responses. Once, I read, “if you find a baby in your dream, it suggests you have acknowledged your hidden potential.” On that note, I’m itching to find a baby in my dream so I can recognize something in me. Overall health may be a focus this season. Career and home changes may be stressing you out, so the pull to prioritize your inner world may be strong. Find your potential within you. You may feel compelled to try a new direction or deeply contemplate the legacy you would like to leave behind. Summer is your time to welcome a new identity or phase of life. Lean into the changes. Mercury retrograde may have you thinking about how to meld your evolving persona into your life philosophy. Life is but a dream.
PISCES:
Summer opens up ready for fun and romance. I used to spend lots of time with a Pisces in this manner. However, they had a case of rose colored glasses. They only saw others how they wanted to see us vs who we really are. I was forced to know who I really am, and take a full step away. You may be adjusting to recent changes in your surroundings and those close to you. Try to figure out if this change is only in you, or if it’s everywhere. Whatever used to be familiar is all in the stars, so be encouraged to dig deep and investigate. Have a witchy summer, and try using tarot or astrology to help you dig deeper. You may finally be able to tackle a health issue. Mercury retrograde at the end of the summer has you focused on pondering the depths of life, death, and sex. It’s up to you to go in your own direction, but choose wisely and deeply. You don’t want to be left behind like some other Pisces I know.
Sharon Isabel Curley is an artist living in Philadelphia. She began writing horoscopes as an art project in 2016 for a local newspaper called The Spirit, which has since gone under. When the Spirit was no longer, Sharon found other places to publish her work, syndicating it in The Secret Admirer and online art publication Title Mag. During the pandemic, creativity sort of disappeared for Sharon,
and so she came up with the idea to collaborate with Nicole. Sharon says, “Maybe with Nicole’s expertise and my hopefully-enjoyable writing style, we can help to at least entertain people.”
Nicole Goicuria is a clinical therapist and community organizer living in Philadelphia. She is
passionate about her purpose as a healer and her practice of trauma-informed
Therapeutic Astrology and Tarot. Nicole says, “All I want is to share my love and enthusiasm for Astrology with as many people as possible. Through sharing my astrological insights and knowledge I hope to help others empower themselves with the information that the planets and their cycles
provide for us.”