We change seasons this week. Spring flows into summer Friday at 8:54 a.m. PST, as the sun slips into Cancer and summer begins in the northern hemisphere. Summer solstice is the longest day of light of the year.

Summer is a time of rebirth and resurrection–divine fertility restored to the Earth. At summer solstice, we come into the full light of the day before the dark half of the year begins. When summer begins, the waxing-light half of the year ends and the dark half of the year begins (the Sun begins to decrease in light after three days). Esotericists (the NGWS) begin preparing for winter solstice and the birth of the Holy Child (new light). This year’s Winter Solstice is the Festival of the New Group of World Servers, a festival that only occurs every seven years.

At summer solstice, the Sun is at its most northern point, resting at the Tropic of Cancer before beginning its journey southward, reaching the Tropic of Capricorn at Christmas. Midsummer is almost here (June 24), nativity of St. John the Baptist and a midsummer feast day festival (a Masonic Rite). Uriel, the golden teaching angel, assumes guidance and direction of the Earth for the summer. As summer begins, Neptune retrogrades (till November’s end).

ARIES: What is revolution to you? This question will be around for the next seven years—hoping you will, with focused mind (Mercury) and deep aspiration (Mars), initiate several levels of the new era attempting to come forth. It can only emerge from humanity itself, and since you’re always the first, the leader, it’s your work assignment and spiritual task to do. Uranus is your helper.

TAURUS: You are the world. That’s a reality to many around you. It’s through you that others change how they see the world—no longer separate from the Earth, but part of it. This, you say, is how we will save the world. You will teach that the past is no longer with us. That the future is something we create together. You will build bridges from then to now, to up and over there. Uranus in Taurus is your helper now. And Venus, the morning star.

GEMINI: Mercury’s in the evening sky now, showering your nights with reflection, analysis and new information. What are you thinking and dreaming? Mercury is the reason you’ve been concerned with your health and well being, and what resources are available to care for yourself and others. There’s a tremendous push to solve a health issue. Allow new spiritual direction to come forth expanding your ability to move forward. You know what is needed. Pray for strength and willingness.

CANCER: It’s your birthday month. Happy birthday. I hope you have cupcakes with lots of frosting, baskets that hold treasures to be kept forever, passing them down through generations. Your life these days seems to be a dream. Stay in the dream a while, allowing it to soothe, care for, nurture, and protect you. In the meantime, there’s discipline needed at home. What is it? Make a dreamcatcher.

LEO: How can you serve humanity and simultaneously honor the kingdoms that serve and uphold you? You are kind and loving. Your heart is open to everyone. But there’s one kingdom in particular that calls to you. Is it the mineral, the plant, the animal, or the human kingdom? Find a place of retreat where you can concentrate, then focus on and communicate directly with this kingdom. Your future work, and the life of that kingdom, depend upon this.

VIRGO: Find Mercury and Jupiter in the evening sky. Find Venus in the morning sky. Plan a voyage. Seek an academy of higher learning in arts and sciences. Study compassionate communication. Hang silver bells in trees, crystals in windows. Make a peace pole. You are on a quest for higher wisdom, higher understanding. Nothing but a great adventure will soothe your restless heart. Set it a-sail for places unknown.

LIBRA: New responsibilities may come up at work, new stages of leadership. Be aware that others are watching you in order to learn. Be kind, mentor, nurture, and teach them. Let them know they are important. You’re in the position to mother, nourish and be the Light of their world, the Light of all those around you. Take this responsibility seriously. It’s a spiritual task only you can do at this time.

SCORPIO: A depth of feeling, more than usual, arises within you when pondering relationships, sex, intimacy, and resources. It’s most important to decipher the truth about these things, articulating as best you can. Be sure to include your hopes, wishes and dreams. Then you create in those listening an idea which becomes an ideal within them. Something they were seeking and only you knew about.

SAGITTARIUS: You have many skills. However, at times, your mind wanders with questions such as, “When is my next adventure, my next job, my next meal, my next love affair?” These questions (among others) keep you from realizing the many gifts you actually have developed (over lifetimes), have access to and display. And so, it’s time again for a bit of gratitude—a time out, so to speak. What are you grateful for? Say it aloud.

CAPRICORN: What’s occurring that makes you think you’re not being heard or listened to? Do you feel your stated needs aren’t recognized, and this is wounding? Do you feel something at home is about to change? When it seems no one’s listening, we must pay attention to ourselves, write a book (journal) and supply ourselves with what we need. Neptune’s refining you, Chiron’s healing you, and Uranus is radically altering you. Nothing will stop this.

AQUARIUS: You feel the need to solidify your ideas, thoughts, impressions, and philosophy. You want concrete solutions to long-standing questions. You want to be spontaneously creative, yet within defined boundaries and structures. You seek freedom of movement, while always having a place to come home. Recent journeys are defining future needs. The answers aren’t all in yet, but your heart’s desires are becoming well known. Your life proceeds from there.

PISCES: It is interesting about Pisces. Often, they’re seen as behind the scenes, lacking strength, practicality, and action. However, they have a different way about them. Pisces has courage based upon their gift of compassion. Their compassion creates insight, and insight is skillful. Pisces have finely honed sudden insight, and hold within themselves the power to change from inside out. This change is occurring to you, Pisces. A bit more patience is needed now.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Orfield Laboratories is an architectural company that designs rooms for ultimate comfort. They sculpt the acoustic environment so that sounds are soft, clear and pleasant to the human ear. They ensure that the temperature is just right and the air quality is always fresh. At night the artificial light is gentle on the eyes, and by day the sunlight is rejuvenating. In the coming weeks, I’d love for you to be in places like this on a regular basis. According to my analysis of the astrological rhythms, it’s recharging time for you. You need and deserve an abundance of cozy relaxation.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I hope that during the next four weeks, you will make plans to expedite and deepen your education. You’ll be able to make dramatic progress in figuring out what will be most important for you to learn in the next three years. We all have pockets of ignorance about how we understand reality, and now is an excellent time for you to identify what your pockets are and to begin illuminating them. Every one of us lacks some key training or knowledge that could help us fulfill our noblest dreams, and now is a favorable time for you to address that issue.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the next four weeks, you’re not likely to win the biggest prize or tame the fiercest monster or wield the greatest power. However, you could very well earn a second- or third-best honor. I won’t be surprised if you claim a decent prize or outsmart a somewhat menacing dragon or gain an interesting new kind of clout. Oddly enough, this less-than-supreme accomplishment may be exactly right for you. The lower levels of pressure and responsibility will keep you sane and healthy. The stress of your moderate success will be very manageable. So give thanks for this just-right blessing!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some traditional astrologers believe solar eclipses are sour omens. They theorize that when the moon perfectly covers the sun, as it will on July 2, a metaphorical shadow will pass across some part of our lives, perhaps triggering crises. I don’t agree with that gloomy assessment. I consider a solar eclipse to be a harbinger of grace and slack and freedom. In my view, the time before and after this cosmic event might resemble what the workplace is like when the boss is out of town. Or it may be a sign that your inner critic is going to shut up and leave you alone for a while. Or you could suddenly find that you can access the willpower and ingenuity you need so as to change something about your life that you’ve been wanting to change. So I advise you to start planning now to take advantage of the upcoming blessings of the eclipse.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What are you doing with the fertility and creativity that have been sweeping through your life during the first six months of 2019? Are you witheringly idealistic, caught up in perfectionistic detail as you cautiously follow outmoded rules about how to make best use of that fertility and creativity? Or are you being expansively pragmatic, wielding your lively imagination to harness that fertility and creativity to generate transformations that will improve your life forever?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Mythologist Joseph Campbell said that heroes are those who give their lives to something bigger than themselves. That’s never an easy assignment for anyone, but right now it’s less difficult for you than ever before. As you prepare for the joyous ordeal, I urge you to shed the expectation that it will require you to make a burdensome sacrifice. Instead, picture the process as involving the loss of a small pleasure that paves the way for a greater pleasure. Imagine you will finally be able to give a giant gift you’ve been bursting to express.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1903, the Wright Brothers put wings on a heavy machine and got the contraption to fly up off the ground for 59 seconds. No one had ever done such a thing. Sixty-six years later, American astronauts succeeded at an equally momentous feat. They piloted a craft that departed from the Earth and landed on the surface of the moon. The first motorcycle was another quantum leap in humans’ ability to travel. Two German inventors created the first one in 1885. But it took 120 years before any person did a backflip while riding a motorcycle. If I had to compare your next potential breakthrough to one or the other marvelous invention, I’d say it’ll be more metaphorically similar to a motorcycle flip than the moon landing. It may not be crucial to the evolution of the human race, but it’ll be impressive—and a testament to your hard work.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the year 37 A.D., Saul of Tarsus was traveling by foot from Jerusalem to Damascus, Syria. He was on a mission to find and arrest devotees of Jesus, then bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished. Saul’s plans got waylaid, however—or so the story goes. A “light from heaven” knocked him down, turned him blind, and spoke to him in the voice of Jesus. Three days later, Saul’s blindness was healed and he pledged himself to forevermore be one of those devotees of Jesus he previously persecuted. I don’t expect a transformation quite so spectacular for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. But I do suspect you will change your mind about an important issue, and consider making a fundamental edit of your belief system.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You could be a disorienting or even disruptive influence to some people. You may also have healing and inspirational effects. And yes, both of those statements are true. You should probably warn your allies that you might be almost unbearably interesting. Let them know you could change their minds and disprove their theories. But also tell them that if they remain open to your rowdy grace and boisterous poise, you might provide them with curative stimulation they didn’t even know they needed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some children are repelled by the taste of broccoli. Food researchers at the McDonald’s restaurant chain decided to address the problem. In an effort to render this ultra-healthy vegetable more palatable, they concocted a version that tasted like bubble gum. Kids didn’t like it, though. It confused them. But you have to give credit to the food researchers for thinking inventively. I encourage you to get equally creative, even a bit wacky or odd, in your efforts to solve a knotty dilemma. Allow your brainstorms to be playful and experimental.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Spank yourself for me, please. Ten sound swats ought to do it. According to my astrological assessments, that will be sufficient to rein yourself in from the possibility of committing excesses and extravagance. By enacting this humorous yet serious ritual, you will set in motion corrective forces that tweak your unconscious mind in just the right way so as to prevent you from getting too much of a good thing; you will avoid asking for too much or venturing too far. Instead, you will be content with and grateful for the exact bounty you have gathered in recent weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your inspiration for the coming weeks is a poem by Piscean poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It begins like this: “The holiest of all holidays are those / Kept by ourselves in silence and apart; / The secret anniversaries of the heart, / When the full river of feeling overflows.” In accordance with astrological omens, Pisces, I invite you to create your own secret holiday of the heart, which you will celebrate at this time of year for the rest of your long life. Be imaginative and full of deep feelings as you dream up the marvelous reasons why you will observe this sacred anniversary. Design special rituals you will perform to rouse your gratitude for the miracle of your destiny.

Homework: It’s my birthday. If you feel moved, send me love and blessings! Info about how to do that at freewillastrology.com.