An annular solar eclipse is a beautiful kind of partial eclipse of the sun where the moon is just a bit too far away from Earth (and too small in the sky) to completely cover the sun.  On June 10, a maximum of 89% of the sun will be covered by the moon, so inside the path of annularity — stretching from Lake Superior in northern Ontario through Quebec and Nunavut, Canada — the moon will appear to have a ring of sunlight around it for over three minutes.  Everyone else in northeastern North America will see a huge chunk taken out of the sun by the moon.

...a very big partial solar eclipse before breakfast will be an incredible sight in northeast U.S. states including New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada.  For example, in New York, it will be possible to see a 72% eclipsed sunrise with "devil's horns," which in clear skies will be an iconic sight beside Manhattan landmarks. That will happen at 5:24 a.m. EST.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2020©
Doug Riemer

The year was 1968 -- right in the midst of the last REVOLUTION.  This was the 7 Year Ketu Dasa (tail-of-the-dragon eclipse point) in the U.S. chart, which The Celestial Wheel called Counter Culture -- 1965 to 1972. See

#58b
The United States Through Its Planetary Cycles
Part II 1896 to Present
December 12, 2004

There was another 7 year Ketu Dasa previously.  That ran from 1845 to 1852 -- a run up to the Civil War, setting the stage for that revolution.

Seems that Ketu truly is a dissolving influence bringing insight.

Simon and Garfunkel published this sentimental duet with soft acoustical guitar -- amazingly now 53 years ago!  The lyrics are from the perspectives of then young men, but also old men too, considering a far away future. Here's the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YpK-qrGQrg

Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be seventy

Lyrics

Old friends, old friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
Of the high shoes of the old friends
Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends
Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be seventy
Old friends, memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fears

Well, 53 years after those 22 year olds makes them 75 now -- or is it really us?

As for the Dasa (planetary cycle) the U.S. chart is running now, it's the hard push-ahead Rahu major cycle with Saturn minor cycle. Well, Rahu is the head-of-the-dragon, mirroring Ketu.  Also, there's a third level Ketu minor cycle coming up mid November of this year to mid January 2022.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2020©
Doug Riemer

Mercury just turned forward, or it will be forward by the time you receive this after the 3:00 PM EDT turnaround.

This is tremendously welcome, for the current triennial three week retrograde has been more than typically disruptive.   Mercury is a very sensitive planet, lacking the structure, substance and strength of the larger planets.  Think of Mercury like riding a bicycle on an interstate shoulder with huge trucks blowing by at 80 mph.

This Mercury retrograde has been sensitized by its backing into toxic Rahu -- the snake in the grass -- which fortunately Mercury doesn't quite reach.  Yet, just the approach makes Mercury's intellect feel under attack.  Below is today's transit chart showing Mercury stopping 5 1/2 degrees from Rahu.  Recall from the May 31 Mercury Retrograde & Paranoia Peaking that the U.S. also has this Mercury/Rahu combination in its birth chart; the combination happening in transit doubles up the paranoia.

So is that why our experiences and world events have been perceived in a nervous and fearful way -- that we find ourselves fidgeting through the day doing pretty meaningless small tasks that are never completed?

Transits June 22, 2021

Anyway, since Mercury is an inner planet and symbolizes communications, the nervous system and respiratory infections, it has very personal impacts.  With forward movement begun again, we can look forward to these Mercury significations not being so blown around in the wash of huge trucks on the interstate.  Some calm begins to seep back in.  Yet, it will take a little time for Mercury to be entirely in the clear -- away from Rahu in Taurus.  Exactly two weeks from now, July 6, Gemini will slide into Gemini, unharmed. All Mercury's significations, then, will gradually prosper until they reach full force a half a month away.

This is good news for the virus, which is already showing a kick from the Delta variant plus the reveling over the Memorial Day weekend.  Regardless, the virus is with us long term, and its path ahead will have variable impacts -- both as an illness and upon society. Let's hope the virus dissipates with Mercury's respiratory system becoming strong again in early July.

You'll also notice in the above transit chart that Jupiter has joined Saturn in weak retrograde motion.  Well, Jupiter has done his job in stimulating vaccinations. See April 8, 2021 Jupiter -- Free At Last!.

Going forward, the other planetary issue of note is Mars passing through through Cancer, where he is quickly coming to exact conjunction with Saturn.  Both are destructive malefics, and their mutually aspecting each other stimulates their worst effects.

Previous forecasts have suggested early season hurricanes, which have already begun.

The simplest way to view this configuration is to consider the signs.  Vata (dry) Saturn in earth sign Capricorn brings drought and heat.  Pitta (hot) Mars, the God Of Storms, in watery Cancer brings hurricanes.  Other Mars violences can also result, some natural, others man made.

They are currently about a little over five degrees apart (from opposition) and will reach the critical four degree range - where they start being truly harmful -- in just two days.  The exact opposition, when energies will be maximized, will be July 1. Then the busy Fourth Of July Holiday begins, which will only exacerbate harms from hurricanes and other destructions.  Sometimes holiday pic picnics are better in the backyard than in locations away from home.

On balance, some disruptions are to be expected this summer. However, these could be manageable and may even spur positive changes. Nothing like a good drought to force dealing with water issues.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2020©
Doug Riemer

Opinion: Champlain Towers South, in some way, lost its battle with primal Florida

My reader's comment,

"Remember, it wasn't the 1927 Miami Hurricane that wiped out the real estate boom. It was the following 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane that so disgusted the market and harmed real estate that the boom ended. So, watch for some more crumbling condo towers, and the entire State can revert again to big underwater lots."

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2020©
Doug Riemer