Sunshine and Shadows, Summer Begins with a Lesson: Sun Square Saturn at the Solstice
Special Summer Solstice Weekend Horoscope for Friday, June 20-Sunday, June 22, 2025
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Good morning, friends!
✈️ AstroMommy is on the road! These horoscopes are short and sweet but still full of starlight. Full-length readings resume July 7, 2025. ✈️
Today is the Summer Solstice—the longest day of the year and the official start of both summer and Cancer season.
After a whirlwind of major transits—Jupiter entering Cancer and squaring Saturn, Mars squaring Uranus, Mars entering Virgo, the Third Quarter Moon in Pisces, and Jupiter squaring Neptune—we may find ourselves in need of a deep breath and a reset. It’s time to recenter ourselves, our homes, and our calendars. It may take a while to find that grounded summer rhythm.
Just two days after the Sun ingresses into Cancer, he is perfecting his square to Saturn, which is a ‘big deal’ bi-annual transit, which colors this Solstice with a sense of seriousness and responsibility. We'll dive into that a bit later, but for now…
Let’s get into…the astrology
(all times are in Eastern Time, unless mentioned otherwise)
Friday, June 20, 2025 - The Summary
During the day, before the Sun enters Cancer, the Moon in Aries makes several aspects: a square to Mercury in Cancer, a conjunction to Chiron, and finally a harmonious sextile to the Sun while it’s still at the final degree of Gemini.
This pattern suggests that something important needs to be said before the season changes—and it likely involves our feelings, our sense of identity, and how we’re processing recent vulnerabilities. The sextile between the Sun and Moon is a balm here, pointing to cooperation and teamwork as central themes in this new season.
Later in the evening, just before the Sun shifts into Cancer at 10:42 PM, the Moon also moves from fast-paced Aries into earthy, sensual Taurus, amplifying the desire to slow down and savor the soulful pleasures of summer.
🌿 Friday’s Transit Times (ET)
6:31 am - Moon Square Transiting Mercury
4:02 pm - Moon Conjunction Transiting Chiron
9:49 pm - Moon Sextile Transiting Sun
9:52 pm - Moon Enters Taurus
10:42 pm - Sun Enters Cancer—Happy Summer Solstice!
11:14 pm - Mars Quincunx Transiting Neptune
Now, let’s take a look at the Summer Solstice chart.
Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice is the time of the year when the Sun has reached the highest point in the sky, and thus we have the longest day of the year. After this, the light begins to slowly recede as we journey toward the darker half of the year.
You can see the Sun at 00°Cancer in the lower right-hand side of the chart at about the 4 o’clock position. He is now co-present with Jupiter and Mercury, amplifying the nurturing, intuitive, and protective energy of this sign.
Cancer is a cardinal/water/yin sign, meaning this energy likes to get things started from an emotional space and is usually a more introverted/yin expression. Cancer season is all about focusing on home and family, nurturing others, and establishing your safe and secure place in this world. We get called home physically and spiritually during this time.
So, now we have a spotlight on home and family, coupled with a desire to connect to others through relationships, similar values, and financial traditions. We may feel inspired to talk and visit family during this season and do what we can in our lives and our homes that make us feel more peaceful, stable, and protected.
As the Moon settles into Taurus, it begins applying to a trine with Mars, exact in the early hours of Saturday morning. This is an embodied, stabilizing connection between the Moon’s emotional needs and Mars’ physical drive.
However, Mars is engaged in a quincunx to Neptune, which perfects just 34 minutes after the Summer Solstice is exact. Mars quincunx Neptune can represent feelings of drift, exhaustion, or fatigue brought upon you by something unexpected or out of the ordinary.
You may want to escape the confines of your mind, self-doubt, or self-criticism, but all you really need to do is rest, relax, and unplug. The Moon is close enough to making her trine to Mars during this transit that whatever odd or weird feeling you are having on Friday night will be replaced with a desire and willingness to take action to get your needs met. Sleep may be hard to come by, but try and at least rest your feet. Things will feel much better in the morning.
Saturday, June 21, 2025-The Summary
All of the Moon’s transits today happen in the wee hours of the morning, but flavor the whole day with their energy.
Today is a sensual and passionate day. You may feel as if your suggestions are taken to heart for what to “cook up” today, and because of this, all your “meals” are very satisfying. You are highly motivated to make things happen! There are opportunities to connect and get along well with others. People agree with you, value your feelings, and appreciate your optimism and confidence. There’s a buoyant charm to the day.
That said, there could be something very deeply emotional that comes up that you are dealing with, despite all the pleasantries. Don’t let this small, but potent energy drag you down and drain all your good vibes. Talking about your feelings with others may be the best and most healing medicine.
Also, keep in mind: the day might not go according to plan. Flexibility is your friend. Keep your to-do list light and spacious so that you can flow with the shifting tides, rather than get thrown off when things don’t unfold as expected.
🌙 Saturday’s Transit Times (ET)
· Moon is in Taurus all day.
1:29 AM ET - Moon trine Mars in Virgo
2:10 AM ET - Moon sextile Jupiter in Cancer
3:23 AM ET - Moon square Pluto in Aquarius retrograde
4:00 AM ET - Mercury in Cancer makes harmonious aspects to the nodes
9:43 AM - Moon makes frustrating aspects to the nodes
Sunday, June 22, 2025- The Summary
The Moon starts the day in Taurus and ends in Gemini, making today a transition day—from physical embodiment to mental stimulation. We’re moving from experiencing life through our senses to processing it through our thoughts.
This means that communications become more important, and we become more mentally busy and active. Enjoy the mental buzz that the Gemini Moon brings towards the end of the night and engage in conversations, social activities, and the energetic exchange of ideas.
All in all, there is a high probability that if we do our best to relax and stay present in the moment today, things will go smoothly. Plans, conversations, and traffic could flow along easily. There is a wonderful opportunity for love, joy, affection, and feelings of appreciation for family and friends to be one of the dominating energies. Smiling, laughing, and enjoying life are all on the cosmic weather report. Today the food is good, the connections are good, and the sleep may be good!
✨ But—there’s also a twist.
While the outward mood may be light and loving, under the surface there’s a more serious tone emerging. The Sun squares Saturn today—one of the most sobering transits of the season—and the Moon conjoins both Venus and Uranus, caught in the crossfire of the Sun/Saturn square!
So, the day could feel a little chaotic—both ups and downs are possible!
Relationships have a bit of uncertainty around them with a longing for more than what is possible in the moment. People’s attitudes, especially children, may be a bit erratic and stubborn. You may find your hopes and dreams for the day are challenged by delays and red tape. Something you were looking forward to could fall through. Maybe something as little as your favorite ice cream flavor is out of stock. Or your brunch plans are derailed by a no-flip-flop dress code. These are small examples—but they echo a deeper theme: your desires might not be met in the way you imagined.
It’s okay to feel disappointed, but don’t let it spiral. Stay flexible.
It is hard to read other people’s minds, so don’t try today! Ask them what they want to do and then work with their answers. If you try and push your comfort level onto everyone else they will resist by asserting their authority and shoving their independence in your face.
Do your best to relax, go with the flow, avoid conflict, enjoy the little things that go well, and watch your budget. All of these will help ease whatever issues pop up.
Despite the emotional friction, the day is full of opportunities for leadership, confidence, and integrity. You can set the tone for others to follow and this will help to smooth out the emotional wrinkles. Your belief in yourself—and in others—can create the foundation for joy. If you’ve been carefully laying plans, especially flexible ones with maybe one, two, or three contingency plans (Mars in Virgo, anyone?!), today might be the day you see your organizational aptitude pay off.
Let’s take a deeper look at today’s most challenging transit: Sun square Saturn.
Sun Square Saturn
This is a big one.
Saturn is the planet that is associated with the Grim Reaper and Father Time. He brings restriction, limits, hardship, challenges, tests, and his function is to regulate, create structure, solidify and harden things. He is a cold, dry planet; the furthest one we can see with our naked eye. He is melancholic and rules the humor of black bile, which is simply put, the waste products of the body. He calcifies, crystalizes, and inhibits.
When another planet makes contact with Saturn it brings in harsh realities, limitations, and the feeling of being checked by an authority figure. Saturn can represent authority figures, father’s in a night chart, and/or an older, serious, and more experienced person.
The Sun is the giver of life, the “noetic light,” and the King of our solar system. He represents vitality, spirit, honor, the father in a day chart, and major illumination. The Sun enlivens, shines a light on, and strengthens, but also may block out the light of other planets when they are too close to his mighty rays. The Sun is hot, dry, and choleric, and we can both be warmed by his light and also dried out and exhausted by too much. The Sun’s energy is that of a leader, with courage, self-esteem, and incredible influence, which is why it often signifies Presidents, Kings, and Queens.
When the Sun is involved in a transit we can expect situations involving people of high authority or prestige in our lives to be illuminated.
So, putting all these characteristics together in a square aspect adds the energy of Mars—of action! Sometimes, anger, strife, and conflict can arise from a square. And other times, initiative, leadership, and courage.
In this case, Saturn is in Aries—a sign of bold initiation—but he’s in his fall, a weakened and uncomfortable position. Still, Saturn holds the superior square to the Sun, meaning that this transit brings a reality check, a challenge, or a reckoning. It’s a moment to ask:
Am I walking my talk? Living my values? Building something real?
This can feel like a test of your mission, resilience, and purpose—but it’s not a punishment. It’s a call to maturity. To become the grown-up version of your higher self.
Let’s look at the chart.
You can see Saturn on the right-hand side of the chart at about 3 o’clock and the Sun at the top of the chart at noon. Some very interesting dynamics of this chart are that Saturn is still conjunct Neptune in Aries and the Sun is about to conjoin Jupiter —the Sun will perfect this conjunction to Jupiter on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
It’s hard not to notice the huge YOD, “Finger of God,” that is building—a rare configuration—two quincunxes connected by a sextile (the pie-shaped triangle in the middle of the chart)—involving the Sun/Jupiter, Mars, and Pluto (retrograde). The YOD represents karmic turning points, major transformations, and decisions that could have long-term impact.
This adds another level of prescience to today’s Sun square Saturn, and shows that whatever comes to pass during this time has a deep karmic connection to the cathartic transformation we are all experiencing. Our beliefs and truths are changing and this affects our purpose, profoundly—The past and future are speaking to each other through the portal of the present.
🕰️ Sunday’s Transit Times (ET)
12:12 AM ET - Moon in Taurus semisquare the Sun in Cancer
1:01 AM ET - Moon conjunct Venus in Taurus
1:06 AM ET - Moon in Taurus semisquare Saturn in Aries
2:02 AM ET - Moon in Taurus semisquare Neptune in Aries
2:15 AM ET - Venus in Taurus semisquare Saturn in Aries
3:10 AM ET - Moon in Taurus semisquare Jupiter in Cancer
6:31 AM ET - Mars in Virgo sextile Jupiter in Cancer
10:04 AM ET - Moon in Taurus makes positive aspects to the nodes
1:44 pm - Moon in Taurus sextile Mercury in Cancer
2:35 PM ET - Sun in Cancer square Saturn in Aries
3:00 PM ET - Venus in Taurus semisquare Neptune in Aries
9:50 PM ET - Moon in Taurus conjoins Uranus
10:57 PM ET - Moon leaves Taurus and enters Gemini
The Weekend Tarot Reading
Let’s see what the cards have to say about your aspiration, what’s blocking you, and how to overcome this obstacle.
What is your aspiration?
Son of Swords (Knight)
As the card for your aspiration—this means that you’re eager to use your talents and skills and go for it!
The Son of Swords represents someone on a strategic mission. Someone who is gifted and eager to use those gifts. There may be rapid changes that are happening in your environment, but you are ready for them. You may be throwing caution to the wind and charging forth to accomplish your mission, get ahead of the game, or prove yourself.
Swords are both weapons and tools, and as such, they symbolize preparation, strategy, and skill, and are also used to represent communication, thoughts, and intellect. This card suggests that something is coming that will require you to rise to the occasion and wield your gifts with precision and purpose.
What is blocking you?
Priestess of Swords (Queen)
What is blocking you is a rule, law, or person of great authority. This could be something or someone outside of yourself that you see as an obstacle, or it could be an inner conviction, truth, or unwavering judgment that you have about something. This truth may have served you well and may continue to keep you safe, but since this card has come up as what is blocking you, we need to explore what would happen if we removed this block.
Perhaps it is time to reevaluate your stronghold on your beliefs about something and ask yourself what would happen if you loosened your grip a bit? Would everything fall apart if you allowed yourself the room to be more easy-going and less strict?
On the other hand, the Son of Swords is the fastest card in the tarot and could mean that you want to charge forth maybe a little too aggressively and it could be that this “block,” this inner conviction, is the only thing keeping you from acting too fast. The Son of Swords is swift, maybe even reckless, and this Queen may be the one keeping your feet on the ground just long enough to think before leaping.
Only you will know which it is.
How to overcome this obstacle?
IX Strength-Reversed
On this card from the Motherpeace tarot, we see a naked woman sitting on a green field, a tree and an eclipse are in the background! Around her are many wild animals, a snake, a scorpion, birds, a wolf, a lion, and a spider, building a web in a branch.
The Strength care represents a sort of telepathy. The woman on this card has tamed all these beasts, all these wild creatures, through her spiritual force, through her mind.
In the reversed position, this card indicates that it is not time to try to read other people’s minds, or tame the world with silence, intuition, or psychic guesswork, but instead speak up and ask for what you want—given the previous two cards, this may feel like asking for permission from an authority, or your higher self.
Acting on instinct and reading minds is this card's superpower— in the upright position—but in the reversed position, the strength is in knowing when you are not picking up the right signals, and it would be a bad idea to make assumptions.
This is a time when we need the rules explained and clearly defined to choose the path ahead—sometimes rules need to be followed and other times they need to be broken—this ties in with the Sun’s square to Saturn and upcoming square to Neptune—so, instead of quietly making your way through the world today—ask questions to understand the scenarios—that way you can accurately trust your instincts to guide you in the right direction, or in saying the right thing.
Don’t worry about not being able to handle the answer—for you most definitely can.
To Recap:
You are eager to show the world what you are capable of, but something stands in your way—a rule, law, or internal boundary. Don’t rely on your instincts alone, for their is a foggy layer of uncertainty and doubt that is clouding the right path forward; instead, ask questions or get permission from authority or your higher self to explore this new territory. Something is calling, and you do have the skills to answer.
💞 Final Thoughts
This looks like both a lovely and possibly very heavy weekend—remember to give yourself grace, love, and even a hug now and then. You are strong—and yes, you can handle this—but it’s still a lot, and it’s okay to acknowledge that.
If you find yourself needing an astrological check-in after I return from vacation, you can book a reading whenever you’re ready. I’m always here for you.
I hope this is helpful.
Until Monday,
AstroMommy
Thank you for reading the weekend horoscope!
Quick Links and Resources
AstroMommy’s One-Year Tarot Journal
Glossary of Astrological Terms
Today’s card was pulled from the Motherpeace Round Tarot and Book Set available on Amazon.
