PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY June 20 2011 to June 26 2011 Monday June 20 The Long and the Short of It The Solstice starts here. Tomorrow, at ancient sacred sites around the world, many will gather to greet the dawn. Do you need to travel so far and wake so early to capture the magic of the moment? Not really. Indeed, you can stay at home and sleep through the sunrise and it will still shower you with its special light. Think, for example, of last week's Lunar Eclipse and the many people who couldn't see it, due to cloud cover - even where it was theoretically visible. Still, many people's lives became significantly less tense within hours of that event. Tuesday June 21 Set in Stone I suggested yesterday, that it wasn't really necessary to witness the Solstice dawn in order to be touched by it. Why then, did I drag myself to Stonehenge to stay awake until sunrise? If it doesn't sound too odd, I think the most honest answer is 'out of respect'. Out of respect to the cosmos for being amazing and letting me be a part of it. Out of respect to the old ways, the ancient traditions, to the standing stones and to the way the Sun, on the Solstice, 'stands still' for three days in its journey along the horizon. Wednesday June 22 Sunrise Sunset It's still the Solstice. If you watched the Sunrise this morning, you would have noticed the Sun coming up at exactly the same point on the horizon as it did yesterday. That only happens twice a year, for three days at a time. The next 'solar standstill' will be at Christmas. It's no coincidence that the 'most wonderful time of the year' takes place at one of the most wonderful times of the year. And if you try, today, to be a little sensitive, you may notice there's something oddly 'Christmassy' about the mood that most people are in. Thursday June 23 Science Defiance Hiya Jonathan! I have worked as a general medical practitioner for over 20 years. I feel compelled to comment on the scientific study regarding birth months predicting intelligence and illnesses. Can I sincerely say that most of the astrological books I have read have proved far more helpful in understanding the behaviour of my patients than any of the psychology or psychiatry texts that I have perused during my medical training! Dr Pete Hi Jonathan, I am a scientist by training and I also believe in astrology. There is no reason that the two must be mutually exclusive. Therese Friday June 24 Perceived Reality Dear Jonathan, When I was a child I wondered if what I saw as red, others saw as blue or green. Is what I taste as sweet, savoury to someone else? If I think something is wonderful and you think it is terrible, what is creating that difference? We are all creating our own realities through our perceptions. Is that dreaming? Perhaps daydreaming, where we allow our minds to wander and then focus on something of interest. So why would we not all create magnificent lives? Who's to say our lives are not magnificent? It's only our perception! Dottie Saturday June 25 Your Week Ahead Mars forms an 'alignment of irritation' to Pluto. Remember Pluto? That's the heavenly body recently demoted by experts. It is, they say, 'too small' to be a planet. Oh those scientists. Don't they know size isn't everything? Astrologers still feel that Pluto's influence is as powerful as it ever was. And that's impressively powerful. If you want to test this, look out for simmering conflicts that neither resolve nor explode. If you're lucky enough to be simply surrounded by tension rather than directly engaged in it, notice too, how false fears are sending so many people into a spin. Sunday June 26 Your Week Ahead - Love Focus Mars forms an 'alignment of irritation' to Pluto. Remember Pluto? That's the heavenly body recently demoted by experts. It is, they say, 'too small' to be a planet. Oh those scientists. Don't they know size isn't everything? Astrologers still feel that Pluto's influence is as powerful as it ever was. And that's impressively powerful. If you want to test this, look out for simmering conflicts that neither resolve nor explode. If you're lucky enough to be simply surrounded by tension rather than directly engaged in it, notice too, how false fears are sending so many people into a spin. Back to Index   Click here for Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts