Recently I caught up with an old friend. Low on cash, her car falling apart, she decided not to stress about it. Instead, she booked a flight to Mexico to spend her birthday lying on the beach – because that’s what her soul was longing for.

“I could die tomorrow,” she told me. “Anyone who thinks they know where their life is headed right now is probably deluded, anyway.”

My friend was channeling the Summer Solstice chart, which reflects the nature of the next three months. The Sun moving into security-oriented Cancer on Monday, June 21 at 4:28 am (Pacific time) throws a square to Uranus in devil-may-care Aries. The Sun also catalyzes what Ray Merriman has dubbed the “Cardinal Climax” chart of 2010, in which Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto align in dynamic aspect to one another.

This summer will be a game-changer for all of us – collectively and personally. What will happen? Impossible to say for sure. Uranus, ruler of fate, destiny and improbable happenings, is in charge via its exact square to the Sun. Uranus would have us break free of past conditioning and know that chaotic circumstances are helping to usher in a new era.

Stay flexible and open to change as this high-energy cycle kicks in. And, to find out which areas of your life are activated by the Cardinal Climax and what that might mean for you, contact me for a Quickie reading ($50) or a more in-depth analysis of your chart.

Living in L.A. in the 1980s, I often visited the Ojai Foundation in Ventura County for a dose of spirituality and nature. At that time, the gifted artist Beatrice Wood was still throwing pots in her enchanted studio not far from the Foundation. We’d bring her chocolates as an offering, and she’d hold forth about life and love.

Sometimes Beato would tell us about her adventures as the “Mama of Dada” (a protest art movement of the 1920s and 30s), hanging with the likes of Marcel Duchamp and Isadora Duncan. A dreamy, imaginative Pisces, she’d developed her own process for glazing ceramics that yielded a magical, luminescent effect. She’d also had a string of unfulfilling relationships with men.

Sitting regally in her chair one day, wearing her signature sari and bold bracelets, her silver hair in a chignon, she fixed a serious gaze on the women gathered at her feet.

“What is the most important word in the English language?” she demanded.

“Love?” asked one. Beato shook her head.

“Beauty?” ventured another.

With a dramatic pause backed by 90-odd years of hard-won wisdom, Beato announced: “The most important word in the English language is No.”

Lately I’ve found myself needing to say No quite a bit. “Thanks, but I’d rather not be Facebook friends.” Or, “I need you to stop calling me.” Several people were deeply displeased, and chastised me for honoring my boundaries. With Sun square Neptune, it isn’t easy for me to be strong. But I figure if Beato could learn how, so can I.

As the Sun approaches a square to boundary-setting Saturn this Saturday, the 19th, it’s appropriate to refuse people and situations that aren’t right for us. With the fresh, exciting energy of Jupiter and Uranus in Aries afoot, we naturally want to take risks and say Yes to life. But sometimes Yes begins with No. As we sort and filter the new beginnings flooding in this summer, we’ll be carving out a new pathway for ourselves. It may be excruciating to say No to those you love, or who want a piece of your action, but doing so can set you free.