Summer is Coming

I took the photo above in the summer of 2018. I didn’t know what was about to happen. By the same token, I was despairing over the enervating cul-de-sac of what had been stable for well over a decade. A few weeks after this photo I got news that changed my life. And I did magic, which also called on tangible resources and relationships. Though it worked, I didn’t really know what was coming. It’s hard to imagine the one thing that changes everything, but then it happens and your world changes; sometimes the whole world changes too. We all remember, often painfully, the year 2020 and what followed. I had to do magic then too, and many times since.

I don’t want to write yet another sentimental “crisis is opportunity” screed, or to sound like yet another guru or guide, minimizing the horrors out there (and in here), and trying to sell relief or get out trouble tricks. No, I spent most of my life trying to figure myself out and I got it wrong a lot. I still get it wrong. In retrospect that seems to have been the right thing, but there is no other vantage than retrospect for such evaluations. If you’re lucky, that view is from a position of things having worked out well enough, despite getting it wrong. Also luck. Because that matters. A lot. The luck of birth, circumstances, friends; and the luck you make, wittingly or not…

Back to my point. It’s hard to imagine the one thing that changes everything; especially when everything has been the same for years. My quests of introspection and pursuits of magical interests have opened unexpected vistas and experiences; things I would not have dreamed of when I started, having only my favorite movies and books as references. The real thing is different and better, all the more because it’s as real as anything else. Just, different.

One of those quests was for divination, which I would summarize as recognizing patterns as correlates or indicators of truth that is otherwise hidden; whether that truth is of the moment or of the future, or of anything else for that matter. Truth can be factual and granular; it can be qualitative or statistical. I think a weather report is the best analogy. Not always correct, or precise, but if you trust your sources you prepare accordingly.

That’s where the analogy breaks. How does one prepare based on divination? That’s the magic. In the case of astrology, I believe we are in for an Elemental shift on June 30th, which is the one thing that changes the collective energy fully into what I wrote about in Wheels of Air and Fire. Mundane astrologers have made predictions that are correct in the general assessment, such as weather reports that get it right; but also wrong in some of the specifics. Again, it’s difficult to see that one thing that changes your specific life that you might have control over.

Here is astrologer and Aries native, Rick Levine, regarding the transits and aspects in the Fire signs starting Feb 2026:

And you say February is the month that we’ve been talking about. Actually, for me, July is the month that I’ve been talking about for 2026 [emphasis mine]. But February has obviously an important event that we have not yet named. It’s like he who shall not be named. And that obviously is the Saturn-Neptune Conjunction that occurs on February 20th. And that’s certainly a significant event. But it’s part of a sweep that is a larger sweep. And I’m really hesitant to put as much energy on that date as many astrologers are. I’m happy to be proven wrong because I don’t know. And everyone else who pretends that they know, they don’t know either. We astrologers make this up as much as that [sic] people hate to hear that [emphasis mine]. But we make it up based on real things. But the fact of the matter is that in previous Saturn-Neptune conjunctions, it’s not been about that date. It’s been about that year.” (Astrology Hub Podcast: Rick Levine on the Saturn Neptune Conjunction & February 2026 Transits, Jan 31, 2026)

I love Levine’s good-natured, blunt bombast. Yes, I have certain affinities for the Fire Element. My focus has been that starting July, really June 30th, Jupiter leaves Cancer, and won’t be in a Water sign again until September 24, 2029’s ingress into Scorpio. And Saturn won’t be in a Water sign again until July 13, 2032’s ingress into Cancer. So not only will the big-picture Elemental weather not be Watery for years to come, but it is about to lock into Fire.

So, should you prepare, in case that “one thing” is coming your way?

I don’t know. Your chart should indicate that. Everyone is different. The same way that your natal house of Cancer has been activated by Jupiter - expansiveness, good luck, generosity, health & wealth, also various excesses - your natal house of Leo is about to get activated by a favorable Jupiter, especially in the middle of His transit (Leo 10-19) and stay that way until July 26, 2027. Similarly, your house of Aries was already activated by a fallen or depressed Saturn - restriction, delays, frustrations, chronic problems interfering with every impulse or innovation, but also patience, endurance, resilience, sobriety, and materialization in a place that is sometimes reckless - earlier this year, and shall continue until April 12, 2028. About Saturn in Aries, consider a stymied spring: sudden frosts ruining blooms, ruining travels, delayed perennials, prolonged hibernation or winter blues, and just a long slog to what we expect to be a vibrant return to life. But that’s also what separates the adults from the kids.

For all that there is one last magical opportunity to prepare by tapping into what is left of wholesome Water. If you want to work with Jupiter to grab and bottle exalted Water, you have the weekend. One consideration is that Saturday belongs to Saturn and I generally don’t suggest doing planetary magic on Saturdays unless you know what you are doing and have a good relationship with Saturn. I’m not personally aligned with Saturn so I approach Him rarely and then very carefully and respectfully. I think Sunday is the best bet, with the Sun still in Cancer. Regardless, if you want to do a thing and stay within the framework of planetary magic, then time your ritual (spell, talisman, potion, whatever) during the hours of Jupiter (https://planetaryhours.net/app, look for the ♃ symbol in the row indicating the time).

Get it while you can, because summer is coming, great trines of Fire

♆♄/♈︎ - ♃/♌︎ - ⚸/♐︎