At last, a better monthly chart and a full moon as well! This bodes well for a better time for all but given the collective climate of the year, I feel somewhat hesitant to say unreservedly that this will be a great month. This is partly because we still have some of the tougher ongoing lineups, like the Saturn/Neptune opposition, but even these have heaps of good quality supportive links with other planets and asteroids.

It would be easy for some to give the month some good, even excessive spin, as it is a very Jupiterian month, the vast gas giant being high in the sky with the Full Moon. Opposite the Sun, in Grand trine with Mars in Aries and Saturn in Leo, sextiling Chiron in Aquarius and Juno in Libra, and squaring Uranus and Pallas in Pisces, there is a lot of evidence of it being an exceptional month with bountiful energy, an invigorating surge of optimism and a re-emergence of trust and faith in the essential goodness in life, at least in some quarters. (In fact the chart only lacks one point to create another Grand Sextile, one even more dynamic than last month's.) So, we can enjoy the abundance of positive energy making it very much a "go for it" month, as long as we don't either go too over the top in a way that splatters and wastes the energy, or allow the largesse of the time to override some subtler processes that are less attention seeking.

Virtually all of Jupiter's actions and aspects heighten the fuller expression of our individuality, our right to be more genuinely ourselves and to live more with the essential passion that comes from being truly alive. The Jupiter/Mars/Saturn Grand Trine is particularly impressive, happily dissected by the Sun/Jupiter opposition to make it an ideal equation for the manifesting of great ideas into action and physical form. In one of the best line ups of fiery masculine energy, Jupiter heightens the creative intelligence and innovation of Gemini, Mars in home territory Aries gives much courage and assertiveness in action, while Saturn in Leo keeps the whole thing grounded with doses of healthy realism. This is a perfect time for acting on any great plans that have been cooking within your consciousness but haven't been ready for acting upon.

All this affirmative energy, however, comes with some more sobering issues. I've been pondering a dance between Saturn and Diana, otherwise known as Artemis, in Leo these last few months. This somewhat odd couple has more in common than initially meets the eye. If we see Saturn through his more patriarchal face, this tough, old suppressor of energy has little in common with the protector goddess of all that is wild and natural. And nor is she too fond of less than noble expressions of masculinity. But on a deeper level, the ancient wise face of Saturn fits very well with her essence. Both are tough and no-nonsense, both are stoic and unafraid of being essentially alone, both demand a deep respect of natural law, whether of karma or of ecosystems, and both are protectors of the sacred. When the tsunami of climate change finally hit our leaders and governments, this aspect showed its true face.

Saturn pushes us all towards taking deep responsibility for what we create in our lives, as individuals and as cultures. Artemis demands the protection of the natural world in all its rawness and its innocence and describes dire consequences for the invasion and rape of its purity. On an inner level, this also represents the necessity of looking after all that is vulnerable and unable to defend itself, even in times of abundant energy. All this wonderful Jupiter energy can easily turn to greed and creativity gone mad in the wrong hands. At its highest, Jupiter brings together the collective good towards healing the planet but like any archetype, has less than noble faces as well. At a time of excess fire energy, it's important to look after the little ones in us who can be easily trampled.

The other very curious arrangement this month is a Grand Cross between Eros in Capricorn, Black Moon in Libra, Venus in Cancer and Ceres in Aries. Wonderfully lusty Eros gets attracted to the lovely Venus and, even though she shows her shy face in Cancer, is equally attracted through the opposition. But the two lovers have to run the gauntlet of the Great Mother in both her dark and light faces, making for an interesting psychodrama. At the least, we can expect some sexual tension as the urges of the lovers within meet the protective mothers in the system, which includes some places soured by past relationship experiences, as well as the healthy protectors. This is another opportunity to get a handle on some old relating history and its residues, particularly to do with betrayal and the dishonouring of the feminine. This theme is also repeated by an opposition from Mars in Aries, already fired up and ardent in the Grand Trine, with Juno in her home territory of Libra. The tension here between independence and deep relating is also a chance to integrate passion with commitment, particularly with Jupiter helping both ends. Very interesting!