I interrupt the Obama series to bring you the Full Moon! NASA reports:

On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You’ll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this “moon” is strangely inflated. It’s huge!

You’ve just experienced the Moon Illusion.

There’s no better time to see it. The full Moon of June 18th is a “solstice moon”, coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This is significant because the sun and full Moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week’s high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion.

Sky watchers have known for thousands of years that low-hanging moons look unnaturally big. At first, astronomers thought the atmosphere must be magnifying the Moon near the horizon, but cameras showed that is not the case. Moons on film are the same size regardless of elevation: example. Apparently, only human beings see giant moons.

Are we crazy?

After all these years, scientists still aren’t sure. When you look at the Moon, rays of moonlight converge and form an image about 0.15 mm wide on the retina in the back of your eye. High moons and low moons make the same sized spot, yet the brain insists one is bigger than the other. Go figure!

Thanks to Beth and Rich for the link!

The Full Moon occurs on June 18 at 27 degrees of Sagittarius and incorporates a tight opposition between Venus and Pluto. Here the Sun combines with Venus while the Moon merges with Pluto, signifying that the light or conscious mind (Sun/Venus) is in struggle with the darkness and unconscious soul (Moon/Pluto). The Full Moon occurs when the Sun is opposite (180 degrees) the Moon, and the opposition reveals a tension between two polarities. This double conjunction continues the theme of choice that we saw when Chiron made a conjunction to the North Node earlier in the month. Chiron is still fused with the North Node, forcing us to rise to the challenge of facing our darkness and transmuting it into light.

The Full Moon is in Sagittarius, and brings with it a longing (Moon) for the lightness and adventure of Sagittarius that finds it difficult to reconcile with the Plutonian need to continually re-enter the underworld of the soul to find what is true and deep. This could be a challenging time when we are forced to make a conscious choice: to give up something familiar in order to enter the unknown world of the future. This is a difficult process and requires great trust and awareness.

Venus will enter Cancer on the 18th, and our responsibilities to those that we love have become more important. The opposition to Pluto here suggests that any stress in these relationships will be highlighted at this time and brought into the evolutionary dynamic.

Mercury will end its retrograde travels by turning direct on June 19.

The Summer Solstice occurs each year when the Sun enters the cardinal sign of Cancer, the sign of emotional security and family connections. The chart for the Solstice is often read as an indicator of what the season will bring, and in this Solstice chart, for June 20 in the evening with the Sun at 0 degrees Cancer, we see a harmonious (sextile) aspect of Venus to Saturn, helping us to feel more responsible (Saturn) in our relationships (Venus). This will be useful because Mars (drive and aggression) also opposes Neptune (confusion) that day and we could become quite impotent in our focus as what we want (Mars) begins to be more blurred and indistinct (Neptune).