By Jonathan  Cainer

Solstice greetings! This, once again, is the magical time when the Sun reaches the extreme of its slow journey along the horizon and starts rising and setting in the same place for three days in a row. The ancients understood the immense significance of this celestial phenomenon. They saw it as a sign that the powers who govern all our lives, were drawing breath and reaching judgements, deciding whether to permit or impede future progress for all mortals with precious plans. If there’s a deity whose help you feel you need, now is a fine time to request it.

ARIES (March 21 – April 20)
The Solstice is supposed to bring us all to a turning point. It is the moment when the Sun changes its direction along the horizon, standing still for three days, before starting to return towards whence it came. That’s all well and good for most folk, but for you there is potential frustration. Something doesn’t seem to be shifting, no matter how much you wish that you could make it move. Or, if there is change, it is not quite the kind of change you had been hoping for. Don’t let this annoy you. Your week will yet turn out well.

TAURUS (April 21 – May 21)
As we arrive at the Solstice, we find you contemplating the importance of various close relationships. You may not be asking questions like, ‘where do I belong?’ and ‘how do I fit in?’ You may feel very sure that you already know the answers. Yet in one key area of your life, you may soon have to stop taking a situation for granted. Why should things be a certain way, just because they have always been that way? Unnerving though such a re-evaluation process may be, it will yet ensure a week that is rewarding in every sense.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 22)
As the Sun celebrates the Solstice by slipping out of your sign, some astrologers may argue that this puts you at some kind of astrological disadvantage. But Mercury remains in Gemini and it has gained both traction and momentum since its recent retrograde phase. That’s a strong celestial suggestion of imminent progress. That’s a promise of power and an indication of assistance in an area of life where you most now need strength and support. You won’t find yourself alone, for long, this week. Help is coming.

CANCER (June 23 – July 23)
Once a year, the Sun begins to spend a month in each sign of the zodiac. Why is yours one of only two such moments of ingress to be invariably accompanied by a special celestial spectacle? The Sun doesn’t just enter Cancer. For three days it rises and sets at the same point along the horizon, as if declaring to the world: ‘Look at me. See how important I am and notice which particular part of the zodiac has greatest meaning!’ Does that then mean that you should have something to feel proud of soon? Actually, it does!

LEO (July 24 – August 23)
You are much loved, admired and appreciated. That statement is, I concede, one which we could reasonably make at any time, as long as it was referring to a Leo. When, one may ask, do you not exude a kind of natural magnetism and communicate almost hypnotic charm? But this ability is now being greatly enhanced by the presence of Venus in Leo and further emphasised by the Solstice.That all adds up to a clear cosmic promise that this week will go well for you and you will end up with most (if not all) of what you need.

VIRGO (August 24 – September 23)
Has your forecast been displayed upside down on the page today? Are you having to stand on your head to read it? Does it contain a hidden message that only makes sense to someone who has been secretly initiated into some ancient mystery? Or is it simple, straightforward, as easy to understand as it is to benefit from? Many, this Solstice week, seem to be looking for hidden caveats and complications. They seem to be twisting meanings and creating conflict. But, for you there need be nothing but clarity and comfort.

LIBRA (September 24 – October 23)
Can you count on your friends? Can you rely on them to be there when you need them and to understand why you see the world in a particular way? Or are you beginning to fear that you have been cast adrift and are floating alone like a lonely piece of flotsam on a turbulent sea? Events, later this Solstice week, will effectively bring a wind that blows you closer to others who seem to be in a similar situation. You will be able to band together to form an alliance and you need have no fear that this will turn out to be temporary.

SCORPIO (October 24 – November 22)
Can’t you try a little harder? The world, it seems, wants you to expend every last ounce of effort. It demands that you struggle, strive and grapple bravely with endless irritating obstacles. Apparently, it does not intend to reward you if you succeed, merely to punish you if your best doesn’t turn out to be good enough. Thankfully, there is a big difference between the way things appear and the way they actually are. Something that has lately begun to seem hopelessly impossible, will soon become delightfully encouraging.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 – December 21)
Creative and inventive individuals often say they can ‘think outside the box’. Sagittarians are simply unable to see the box that they are supposed to be thinking outside of. You are naturally inclined to view the whole world as a place of challenge and opportunity. And where others recognise a distinction between these two definitions, to you they are double-sided coins. Wherever you find one, if you turn it over, you will reveal the other! All you need for success this Solstice week, is to keep experimenting with unlikely options.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 20)
Just in time for the Solstice, Saturn’s retrograde path has taken it into a different sign, changing the obstacles that you are currently up against and presenting you with an enticing set of fresh possibilities. These aren’t so much new, as old ideas and options which were once prominent and dominant but then slowly slipped from your attention, usurped by other distractions. You are back in familiar territory and your absence from this area has strengthened your position, as you find to your delight this week.

AQUARIUS (January 21 – February 19)
You don’t always get it right. But usually, even if you don’t, you come up with a fascinating, accurate explanation of why something has happened – or has failed to happen. If nothing else, you will then be right about why it went wrong! Clearly, though, you prefer not to need to justify a situation. You love to feel that your aim is true. Events, this Solstice week, will give you good reason to bask in such a confident frame of mind. Trust the choices you feel most naturally inclined to make. Your intuition is surprisingly good.

PISCES (February 20 – March 20)
What if you are wrong? What if you happen to be misreading certain signs and signals and adding layers of interpretation that it is actually inappropriate to envisage. Don’t we all deceive ourselves from time to time? Should we not all take great care to distinguish harsh fact from comforting fiction? Well, yes! But some facts actually are comforting and some fictions are unnecessarily harsh. You may, this week, be wrong about what seems to be wrong! The Solstice suggests a much brighter outlook than you expect.

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