Solstices and The Travelling Faces: The Crucible – A New Path & New Crises

Introduction

On paper, the astrology of early 2025 promised a neat and tidy narrative. But life is rarely lived on paper, and the sky doesn't operate in a vacuum. This is a chronicle of a period defined by a profound re-evaluation of worth, direction, and what it means to break free when the heavens show promise of abundance, which materialises as air so thick it leaves you praying for rest. Following the stagnation of winter and the underworld journey of Venus, the spring brought not a gentle thaw, but a crucible. It is a story of a new path forged in fire, of a crisis that threatened to undo everything, and of the painful willingness to change, all told through the turbulent astrological weather that defined it—a three-day dance between the Sun and Mars that brought everything to a head.

A New Path and New Crises

As the retrograde motion of Venus and Mercury was ending, I recorded my presentation video for online language teaching and started working as a Swedish teacher. But while this new path was opening for me, a difficult one was unfolding for my partner. His mental health was deteriorating, a slow decline hastened by the dread of a visit from his mother after a falling out two years prior. She was travelling from California to the UK for his cousin’s confirmation, an event that was already loaded with a palpable, unspoken tension.

I had predicted that the day Mars went into Leo on April 19th was going to be intense. The whole configuration sounded like a lovely day with a powerful undercurrent of tension, with an exalted Sun shining a light on something and Mars just waiting to burst. I was wrong about something destructive happening on that specific day; as a matter of fact, it happened the day after, when the Sun ingressed into Taurus. The dam of his resilience finally broke, and my partner ended up going through a very intense mental health crisis that could have completely halted his ability to do his line of work. It was a devastating culmination of his grievances towards his mother, deep-seated religious trauma, and the final, crushing blow of burnout.

Seeing how the story progresses, so vividly symbolised by the decans these planets travel through in just a few days, is simply astonishing. We are dealing with four different decan stories here, and the story begins with a tension between the Sun and Mars that had been building for a while, an invisible pressure cooker with the heat slowly turning up.

The Three-Day Unravelling

Why I highlight these transits is because of that sometimes when we have planets that are linked in our charts, their aspects and their relationships through transit become all that much more prominent. In this article, my partner has taken the centre stage a bit more (I am sure he would love and hate that), due to him having his Sun and Mars in opposition to each other in angular houses. Angular houses make things a lot louder, and considering he has Sun in Libra in his 4th house, opposing Mars Rx in Aries in his 10th house, this transit felt all that much more significant for him. My partner had been very nervous about reconnecting with his mother, and by the time April 18th came around, the tension was unbearable. Mars, the dispositor of the Sun, was still retracing his steps from the retrograde, in a space of bounty where the Sun is gaining light, but he was still being ruled by an admiral who is paranoid and still healing from a tiresome battle, unable to trust that the war is truly over.

On April 18th, the Sun at 28° Aries was in a hard square to Mars at 29° Cancer. This is the heart of the "bitter celebration." The tarot imagery here is key: the Sun in Aries III is represented by the Four of Wands, a card of celebration and homecoming, a highlighting of individuality within a companionship, a moment that should feel like a joyful arrival. But it was squared by Mars in Cancer III, the Four of Cups, which is more sombre, indifferent, and speaks to a refusal to see the reality and the gifts that are provided, a deep-seated apathy that turns its back on the cup being offered. This reinforces the sense of anxiety that we have been tracking; here, we see the storyline being that of anxiety and worry, not being able to see the bigger picture and focusing too much on the details. Both planets were in the bounds of Saturn, which, for my partner, was transiting his 9th house of beliefs. The tools were found in religion and spiritual authority, but they were restrictive—asking for compassion but getting shackled instead, a sense of being bound by a doctrine that offers no real solace. For him, the Sun was in his 10th house of authority, while Mars was in his 1st house of self. The decan of Mars, Cancer III, is co-ruled by the Moon and Jupiter, which created a sense of being at odds with the narrative, as the Moon was in opposition to that same anxious Jupiter. The physical and emotional comfort of the Moon was being given resources by a nervous Jupiter that blows details out of proportion and focuses on what could have been, not what could be. For him, this took place along his 6th and 12th houses, a push and pull between physical and mental health, working yourself to death and the desperate need for isolation and recovery. The narrative fuelling his public persona was coming from his 9th house of religious beliefs and the anxiety surrounding that. For me, the Sun was in my 6th house, and Mars was in my 9th. This same anxiety was fuelling the 3rd decan of Aries, co-ruled by Venus and Jupiter. With Jupiter in detriment and Venus exalted, a very interesting dynamic was created. My narrative was being written from Venus in my 5th house and Jupiter in my 8th house. It was a case of being told how to approach my work from a place of beliefs and teaching, but the story was being told from a place of hobbies, creativity, and compassion, mixed with large, anxious discussions around shared resources and resentment around money. The whole thing manifested as a push and pull between my own resources and our shared ones, which checks out, as my teaching was just about to take off.

On April 19th, the day of the confirmation, the dynamic transmuted into a purposeful struggle. The Sun at 29° Aries was now in a mutual reception with Mars at 0° Leo. The bitter withdrawal of the Four of Cups was replaced by the active, competitive struggle of the Five of Wands. This card signifies the bitterness transmuting to action on a battlefield where no one has the upper hand; the withdrawal is now a force for change, a chaotic but necessary engagement. This was the day of "keeping face." What's interesting is that Mars went from being in the bounds of Saturn to the bounds of Jupiter, while its decan was now co-ruled by the Sun and Saturn. Here we see the "fake it 'til you make it" energy. For my partner, this narrative of beliefs, religion, and career was being reinforced, fuelling the story around his resources and money. This combination speaks to the drama that occurs backstage as well as on the centre stage, played out through the lens of Mars: conflict, aggression, and drive. The tools to perform this narrative were still being provided by the anxious Jupiter in his 12th house, speaking to a narrative of immense strife born from a mind unable to find a single, solid truth to hold onto. For me, this narrative was being written along the houses of Saturn in my 5th, the Sun in my 6th, Mars in my 10th, and Jupiter in my 8th. Here we see a cynicism playing out in the realm of love, creativity, and joy, as well as my work and health. This paints an interesting narrative of being recognised for my work but being cynical towards what I had been trying to do for years in a place I once enjoyed. This was reinforced by the anxiety around our shared resources and trying to have multiple income streams without quite having the resources to do so fully. This all was fuelling the drive and the willpower to achieve my goals and aspirations, showing quite clearly my push towards the career pivot.

On April 20th, the story reached its climax. The Sun moved to 0° Taurus, breaking the mutual reception and forming a raw square. The celebratory foundation of the Four of Wands was replaced by the hardship and isolation of the Five of Pentacles. This is where the conflict born from hardship truly hit. The narrative was no longer a celebration for a fight well done; now it is a fight because we feel left out in the cold and are experiencing hardship, especially material and monetary hardship. For my partner, the hardship landed in his 11th house of community, but we are now being told the narrative from Mercury's perspective, as the decan's co-rulers were Mercury and Venus (via his 10th and 9th houses, respectively). We see a person who has their dreams and community highlighted, but told through the narrative of being out in the cold and isolated. The most striking aspect is the career goals and religious beliefs being the narrators of the Sun in the 11th house. After having seen friends and his mother, he had a mental breakdown where he self-harmed with glass, which severed nerves in his hand. It was a direct manifestation of the square to Mars, a literal severing, and thus the people who got his work and money were his friends from his community because he couldn't perform the work himself. For me, we see the narrative of using the skill of willpower and going after what you want. Here is the story of being left out in the cold and feeling abandoned, but utilising my skills and abilities to create something from what I've got. Creativity and understanding my gut feeling took a more prominent role. The narrative of my 5th, 6th, and 7th houses was taking place here, truly reinforcing the teaching career and using language for work. But there was still this Martian element brought in through Mercury in Aries—arguments and fighting with words, being louder than anyone else, a need to assert my reality in the face of chaos. However, there was a certain drive to go the extra mile and create my own reality.

This all shows that sometimes time, anxiety, and our inability to take a break to heal eventually catches up with us, but that we also must take the necessary actions to achieve the results we aspire to achieve.

The Aftermath and a Journey Home

That three-day crucible cracked our world open, and in the weeks that followed, we had to navigate the fallout. Sometimes when change happens in one area of our life, the author(s) of that storyline are writing their paragraphs from a different place. Having a month and a half to go from a severed nerve to a family reunion to a wedding feels like quite the intense sequence of events. His mother extended her six-day trip to a six-week visit, helping restore order to a home still bearing the marks of the Mars Rx chaos: replacing a broken door, taming the garden, and clearing out an office that had become a dumping ground.

Following the events of the Sun-Mars dance, we saw many arguments, fights, feelings of being pulled in many different directions. I felt like my house was the Parthenon, but I was the only pillar holding it up. This period introduced hardship and a lot of heartache. The trust I thought I could have in some friends was broken, making me feel betrayed. It was all a lot all at once. There were fights, there were arguments, there was heartache. I had to navigate the push and pull between home and career, my life direction and my relationships. I felt like I was getting pulled in several different directions at the same time.

Having gone back to my home country after 4 years (half of a Venus synodic cycle) was intense and healing in its own right, and then to celebrate our friend's wedding to top it all off felt like things were going well... a little too well once the initial fight or flight mode had subsided. Many people cry for help, many people churn on, and sometimes when we churn, we get sore without realising it. At the beginning of June, we went to Sweden. It was the first time he had ever been, and it is my first time back home since 2021. It was an intense and healing journey. I got to see all the places I wanted to see, I got to show my partner where I grew up so he could have a better understanding of me and my background. He got to meet my mother and sister for the first time, and it was the first time I saw them in years. I felt stable and able to keep myself regulated as I had my partner there with me. One of the main things I wanted to share with my partner was the nature I was surrounded by growing up, and to show him what I am like in my most natural habitat, and to prove a point! The UK has woods, it doesn’t have any forests! This was something I tried to prove ages ago, but no one would truly believe me. Now he’s been there and can confirm my word for it!!!

As soon as we got back from Sweden, we repacked and we left for the south of England to go to a friend’s wedding straight after. The wedding was lovely, we got to enjoy it a lot, it was a type of “festival wedding” where we were camping and got ready on-site, and spent the weekend there. It felt very grounding.

At the venue, there was a pool. On the day after the wedding, we spent the day in the sun, had a BBQ, and I spent most of the time in the pool. Now the groom decided to get into the pool with us, and we were having lots of fun… until his ring came off and it fell into the pool. It was the bride’s grandmother’s ring. We all stopped in our tracks and tried to find the ring.

We all tried to find it, eventually everyone decided to try and get out of the water, only me my partner and I were in the water still. Someone shone a light into the water, hoping to catch a reflection, and by this point I had moved to the opposite side of the pool, the shallow end. Picture this: a friend is standing on the floor next to the pool shining a light into the water, my partner is pointing at the ring as he caught a glimpse of it, the water is stilling… I instinctively dove in a straight line towards it and… was off by about 10 cm. I come up to see where I was only to see everyone’s faces being extremely tense, I dive back down and manage to feel it on the pool floor just before my buoyancy kicks in and I float up to the surface again, and everyone could breathe out and were cheering. In that moment of collective relief, it felt like we had found more than just a ring; we had recovered a piece of hope from the depths. What was so significant about this day? Well, Mercury had just ingressed into Cancer making a direct square to Saturn and Neptune, which were right on top of my Sun. It felt like a fitting end to a period of intense trial.

Conclusion

The journey from a bitter celebration to a piece of hope recovered from the depths is not a straight line. It’s a spiral of crisis and catharsis, of severance and slow mending. The astrology of this time didn’t just predict events; it painted a vivid, emotional landscape that we had to navigate. It showed how a single, tense aspect between two planets could unravel years of unspoken pain, forcing a confrontation with the self, with family, and with the very foundations of the life we had built. But it also showed that even after the most difficult trials, after the hardship of the Five of Pentacles has made its presence known, there are moments of grace. Finding that ring was more than just luck; it was a symbol that what is precious is never truly lost, only submerged, waiting for the right moment to be brought back into the light. It was a reminder that even after the fiercest battles, healing is possible.

But this mending was only a brief respite. The summer solstice was approaching, and with it, a Jupiter New Moon Cazimi in Cancer that looked, on paper, like the most lovely and incredible configuration imaginable—a story of family, abundance, and comfort. The reality, however, would prove that even the most beautiful astrology doesn't negate the full picture, and an extreme, thick heaviness was already beginning to gather in the air.