Welcome to July! I hope you find this as a helpful reference throughout the month. If you did not catch last month’s article and would like to catch up, you can find that here.
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Now that we’ve done some housekeeping, let’s take a look at the most important astrological events of July 2023:
Major Transits:
7.03- Full Moon in Capricorn
7.10- Mars enters Virgo
7.11- Mercury enters Leo
7.17- New Moon in Cancer
7.17- Nodal axis moves into Aries-Libra
7.22- Sun enters Leo and Venus retrograde begins!
7.28- Mercury enters Virgo
Major Aspects: (We won't cover all of the aspects in this article, but I've highlighted the ones I find most important)
7.01- Cancer Cazimi sextile Jupiter in Taurus
7.02- Venus square Uranus
7.17- Mercury square Jupiter
7.20- Sun trine Neptune
7.20- Venus trine North Node
7.21- Mars opposite Saturn rx 7.22- Sun opposite Pluto rx
7.23- Mercury square Uranus
7.27- Mercury conjunct Venus rx
Mercury Cazimi
We start off the month on July 1st with the Sun-Mercury conjunction (also known as a Cazimi) in Cancer at 9º sextile Jupiter in Taurus. When a planet is conjunct, or “in the heart” of the Sun, we gain access to wisdom and vision, but especially connected to that planet’s themes.
A Mercury cazimi offers us help with matters of communication, perspective, clarity, learning, writing, and traveling. In the past, I’ve used Mercury cazimi days for making important phone calls, therapy sessions, dealing with paperwork for college, creative writing, anything that I needed done well, with insight, and quickly.
This cazimi is sextile to Jupiter in Taurus, which is so nice! Jupiter is the planet of wisdom and variety, so we can expect to start this month especially optimistic with our minds in top notch condition. This feels like a great time for study, exploration, and an abundance of all kinds available to us– especially with the Moon is Sagittarius this day receiving the Sun by triplicity and domicile.
It is important to remember that while we may experience some clarity today, as Mercury separates it is combust the Sun until it surpasses at least 10 degrees, the closer it is, the more we feel this. For the next week it may feel tricky to communicate the insights we had. Write them down to discuss later instead of expecting others to understand your perspective.
Full Moon in Capricorn
On the 3rd, the Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Capricorn oppose each other at 11º creating a Full Moon. I have an exclusive article with thorough rising sign horoscopes out on this already. You can subscribe to Lunation and read for your sign to get a fuller understanding of how this Full Moon will affect us collectively and more personally. The general vibe though?
I can't stop thinking about the 3 of pentacles as a representation of this Full Moon as it is in the Mars decan of Capricorn. The Mars in Capricorn decan and the 3 of pentacles– it's collaboration, but it also takes effort for Capricorn (and Mars) to be a collaborator. It's like someone who is used to doing all of the work for their group projects at school being paired with the two other kids in the class that typically carry the weight in their own group projects. It's awkward, it's harder to work with others when you have your own system. So, those chains falling away? Yeah, it may take some boundary setting, effort, compromise, all of those mature Capricorn things in order to be free. Saturn makes us work for our freedom. Though If we can be mature, Jupiter may have some blessings to bestow.
Remember that this is completing a cycle that began with the New Moon in Capricorn on December 23rd of 2022. Whatever seemed uncharted at that time is now making a bit more sense.
As stiff as we find Capricorn to be, it is ruled by a planet of ancient wisdom. Let yourself be found in anima. Feel the soul of the world and watch as the karmic binds drop.
You can learn more about how this will influence your rising sign by joining Lunation.
Mars in Virgo
On the 10th, our planet of action, drive, energy, and aggression enters Mercurial Virgo until August 27th. I don’t know about you, but I’m quite happy Mars is no longer co-present with Venus in her pre-shadow period. It has shown up for most as quite the antagonist!
Mars has its own term in Virgo from 21-28º (from August 13th-23rd) and Mars is actually one of Virgo's triplicity lords. The terms are like if Mars had his own room in Virgo's house, he has access to his own tools for personal expression for a week or so whereas, when he travels through the rest of the sign, he just has to deal with whatever Virgo has for him to use. When a planet is peregrine, it has a harder time with that feeling of being under resourced, but triplicity gives a bit more ease. Triplicity is like, when you can't do something alone, but you have the support of others to help you out. Say you can't move your couch by yourself, but luckily your brother is on his way over. Though, this is just a metaphor, bound support (usually) manifests more energetically.
Virgo is often associated with health and Mars is the great severer. This transit will likely have us cutting away at the unhealthy or doing the things we know we have to do for the greater good. This placement reminds me of taking your cat to the vet even though you know they'll loathe you for it for a few days, hard work outside in preparation for a garden, or meditating even though you have a migraine. These are things you know you need, you know it's ultimately in service to life or the life you want. This is also about sacrifice. We have to sacrifice our time, our energy, our fun, or how we might feel about the task at hand, we know we must, we know it's ultimately just as important as our feelings or as our precious time.
Examine Virgo's relationship with all things natural– animals, the body, the rituals that bind us to a relationship with the life and ecosystem around us. When Virgo does not honor what is natural, it will experience the wrath of its own nature. When we abandon ritual, we are met with infection.
This is a great time to practice. Practice something you aren't good at. Just try a little bit everyday and you'll find that you build endurance, a ritual, you'll reach for a new muscle that you didn't even know you had. Take care of your health, your safety, your mind. If you don't know how to do something, ask someone else! You are likely to receive active support from others at this time. The little things that you feel don't matter, matter the most– remember that the importance of something is not up to others, it's not up to where everyone's attention is currently focused (that changes anyway), it's not up to what's popular now. If you find something to be important, then it's important. Don't stop giving your own care and attention to those things, you never know what they could turn into.
Beware of criticism so sharp it breaks the object of your scrutiny. Mars in Virgo on the shadow side is rubbing harsh bleach on something that could've been cleaned with water.
Mars will oppose Saturn on July 21st which is uncomfortable, but important to this Summer story that we're working with. This is an aspect that evokes frustration and impatience with something that is requiring more time, discipline, and effort than we may be willing to give. Oppositions on the Pisces-Virgo axis bring themes around chaos vs. order and the opposing victim vs. savior complexes. Are you trying to save something that is probably best released? Or are you expecting a savior when there are actions you could be taking toward the long term? These are questions to ask ourselves during this time.
On the 11th, Mercury enters fiery Leo. Mercury is peregrine in Leo except from 24º-30º (July 24th-28th) where it has access to its own resources via term. Mercury in Leo to me is script writing, being the main character in a conversation, the internal monologue. Mercury is inherently relational and I think this is a skill Leo has to learn about through experience, it doesn't usually have this quality built in, especially if the chart is lacking energies we would typically associate with The Other. This isn't inherently negative either, the ability to stand boldly in your own voice despite the chatter around you is one that a comfortable Mercury can struggle with. Mercury in Leo produces a beautiful opportunity for self expression, but we, as a collective, ought to be careful of talking over others when it isn't our turn during this transit.
Is there a gentler way to say this? Should I be saying this? Why am I saying this? Am I saying something that I can't personally prove to be true? Am I trying to prove myself by speaking right now? There is certainly such a thing as oversharing, so be sure to examine your intrinsic motivations.
Mercury squares Jupiter on the 17th. These are days where those shadow themes may feel most prominent. Beware of overpromising, oversharing, or the inability to broaden your personal view. On the other hand, we may have access to a wider perception than we're used to leading to a shift in our intellect or in our personal approach.
New Moon in Cancer
On the 17th, the Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Cancer will conjoin each other at 24º creating a New Moon. I have an exclusive article with thorough rising sign horoscopes coming out on this soon. You can subscribe to Lunation to get a fuller understanding of how this Full Moon will affect us collectively and more personally. The general vibe though?
This New Moon is opposite Pluto, sextile Uranus, and trine Neptune– the modern outer planets are very active! Mars in Virgo is coming into its opposition with Saturn and Mercury into its square with Jupiter. The Nodes are at 0º just hours before their shift, and Venus is in Leo at its station degree just before its shift the following Saturday.
This might feel like a more difficult New Moon. In fact, it does remind me of the Gemini New Moon last month in how it yes, began something new, but it did so by pushing many of us to the edge. The outer planets speak to us about big breakthroughs, foresight, enhanced information, sources that feel beyond our personal control. The inner planets aren't aspecting the Moon, so while these larger forces are at play, there is inner tension trying to resolve itself.
As I said before, Mars-Saturn can manifest as impatience, if we push too hard something could break, or we may even be trying to hold onto control that we don't have, rushing to complete something or beginning something out of emotional intensity instead of surety. Mercury square Jupiter exacerbates this– Mercury is struggling on the journey, it wants to get to the destination already. Let the unknown forces work, control will only create more frustration.
The Nodal axis enters Aries-Libra on July 17th. Every 18 months we experience a nodal shift as the North Node (Rahu) and the South Node (Ketu) retrograde into new zodiac signs as they move opposite to the Moon's orbit. The Moon's Nodes are the points where the paths of the Sun and the Moon intersect, their orbital paths collide creating a destiny together. The Lunar Nodes are often known as the "Nodes of Fate" as these points in our personal chart may indicate the fate that we are working out in this lifetime. It is where The Seen collides with The Unseen, the transiting nodes may activate the fate that you are working out through the eclipse cycles.
A Solar or Lunar eclipse occurs when the New and Full Moons are within 11º of the Nodes. The eclipse cycles are gateways for the hand of fate to pull both internal and external destinies into our awareness to follow and to resolve for a chance at greater alignment. Working with the Nodes can be intense as they are typically regarded as malefic. Though just like how Saturn and Mars are malefic (or even the Sun), these points and planets are necessary to our growth and the trajectory of our lives.
Since January 18th of 2022, the North Node has been in Taurus and the South Node in Scorpio activating a global shift around themes of debt, finances, value, assessing the relationship we have to any traditional systems in place. We have seen this manifest itself as a war in Ukraine and the ripple effect it has had on the rest of the world especially through inflation. We've had food deficits (thinking of the infant formula shortage and bird flu creating a shortage in eggs) and restrictive laws around bodies and sexuality. I'm sure I'm missing events that correlate with this nodal cycle, but you understand the themes: Taurus and Scorpio correlate with the tangible (food, money, body, sex, resources). Within my client's personal lives, I've seen people building houses (speaking to generational wealth), many have purged large amounts of physical items they've hoarded over the years, I have seen pay increases and decreases, our material worlds have been in flux!
The metaphor I've used over and over again for this nodal cycle is the experience of being sick. Some of you are tired of me saying this but I will articulate this one last time for the sake of closing the loop: When you wake up in the morning with a nasty cold, you likely do not want to leave your bed. It will take every ounce of courage to leave the safe, warm covers to be uncomfortable for a bit, but you know that you must if you want to feel better. You might shiver as you get up to clear out the drainage, to take your medicine, to find something to eat, to blow your nose, to shower. As terrible as that sensation was, to leave the bed, you've made yourself much more comfortable not just for today, but you've created a healthier environment to heal in. Wherever you have Taurus and Scorpio, you have had to leave the comfort of your metaphorical bed, clearing out the gunk, creating a more prosperous future for yourself. Recognize how far you've come in the last 18 months.
Now, on the 17th, the North Node will move into Aries and the South Node will move into Libra. Aries is symbolic of war, but a just war is not senseless. Aries rules the kind of war that creates necessary growth, necessary change. It does what is essential to life either through procreation or through battling an unfair regime.
Libra is order. Its archetype is that of justice, karma, this is a relational sign, one of diplomacy. It works together with The Other because this too, is necessary for creation, for growth, and for sustaining it all.
More personally, this astrology will likely work in our lives as an active balancing force, showing us where we've been swallowed up by The Other, or perhaps what old "regimes" have run our lives for far too long. I imagine that the relationships that have run their course will fall away, any new aspects of the self that came out through Jupiter's journey through Aries (from spring of 2022-2023) will forge a new path. If you felt like "nothing happened" during Jupiter in Aries, you may begin to see that certain internal shifts or that the perceived "nothingness" was actually a foot hole for the experiences befalling you over the next 18 months.
Personally, I hate making global and political predictions as my wheelhouse and interest lies in the personal chart, but know that this shift is beginning a new cycle of fate that will likely forge new political paths and partnerships, I imagine the war in Ukraine will become louder with the North Node in the sign of war. The last time the North Node transited Aries and the South Node in Libra was December 2004 - June 2006. The last time the North Node transited in Libra and the South Node in Aries was February 2014 - October 2015. We can look to these time periods for a clue as to what might occur this time. And, if it brings you comfort, in the words of Richard Tarnas, "Astrology is not concretely predictive. It is archetypally predictive" (1995). Anything that was less than savory during those time periods cannot repeat the exact same way because you are different now because of those experiences.
Overall, we can expect a collective fight for justice and the access to new freedoms to appear in our lives and in the world.
On the 22nd, the Sun enters Leo. In Liz Greene's book The Astrology of Fate (yeah, I know I can't shut up about this book, haha), she explores the different archetypes and fates of the zodiac signs through story and mythology. In the Leo section (pages 203-211), she compares Leo to Parsifal and his quest to the Grail. This is a story about a young man learning the importance of necessary compassion through his own carelessness. I quite like this comparison because under a Leo's need to prove, to show off, to be recognized, there is a learning curve that demands to be met. It is heart and sensitivity that can only be taught through the shredding of the ego that truly thinks it's protecting us. The story of Parsifal is reminiscent of a child that doesn't have the wisdom to understand how important his grandparents (or any older relative) are until they are gone and he has grown to replace them in age. What regret.
The Sun finds its home in the sign Leo. It has no trouble with self expression, self discovery, but we may find (especially with Venus stationing retrograde the same day the Sun enters the same sign) that something you were previously insensitive to, is something you will be gaining your own perspective on this month. This is the 7th month, of the 7 year (2023 is numerologically the 7) which correlates with the journey of the Chariot and its eventual transition to the Strength card.
The Chariot card is ruled by Cancer, and we have to remember that we spend the majority of the month in Cancer season. Cancer wants it all, it's on a quest to conquer, to arrive victorious in its endeavors. What we think we are journeying to (remember, Jupiter exalts in Cancer) is never what it actually turns out to be. We journey home to ourselves by witnessing our true nature (the compassionate, the loving, the awkward, the insensitive, the careless), accepting it, and moving past it. Wisdom is to be gained only after stripping ourselves of the hollow armor and decoration we see in the Chariot, to humbly witness the exchange in the Strength card, the miracle of the woman and lion who work harmoniously together by trusting each other, and to trust you have to get vulnerable.
Instead of rushing around, trying to find, to seek, to be what you think you want, what you think others want from you– try just being. Try a softer approach. Don't try to figure it out, let the figuring come to you. The Sun in Leo arrives at the time Venus descends to the underworld until she rises and begins moving forward again on September 3rd. Think of this as the Sun assisting in the process of armor falling away to reveal the soft stuff underneath. It takes great strength to remain soft.
It takes great confidence to be soft all the time, regardless of who might be watching. Know that by showing up in this way, others are inspired (even if their pride gets in the way of telling you that). Ultimately, Leo has trust issues. It needs to trust itself, to trust that the Sun will rise and fall each day, trust your own softness this season.
On the 27th, Mercury will conjunct Venus rx in Leo. In Greek myth, Hermes (Roman Mercury) is the one who accompanies Persephone to the underworld as the God of roads and pathways with access to the lower realms. He also negotiates her release back to Demeter in the spring. This aspect feels like negotiation, almost like "This is what you must to do come back home." Be open to Venus retrograde insights on this day and in the surrounding ones.
I did write about Venus retrograde in last month's article, here is an excerpt from that:
I like the Persephone analogy as Venus is essentially visiting the underworld, shedding parts of her that cannot come with her when she rises. Venus is a representation of values, self esteem, standards, and yes, love and money– these are the themes that we are typically reassessing during this time.
This year, in Leo, themes around self expression, confidence, and being "seen" will be prominent. I do expect to see some drama, the shadow of the ego, anger (a tool for the healthy ego), and inner child wounds arising. Don't run from these themes, it is easier to face them head on. Understand though, that the actual retrograde doesn't begin until July 22nd. This month is where we begin to notice what our retrograde story is about. Don't try to come up with solutions now, conclusions will come post retrograde beginning September 4th.
While I do not think you should allow the planets to control your actions, I do think caution should be exercised around new projects. It's a tricky thing, because you shouldn't let the fear of a retrograde rob you of an experience or a lesson. Plus, sometimes you need a new project or relationship to truly activate the retrograde and to ultimately, level up. On the other hand, Venus retrograde will expose the shadow parts of people and the structures we have in place. Maybe these are the experiences that will serve as the most effective lessons. You decide– but be mindful of what you are becoming attached to at this time and know that it will transform in some way. Venus is essentially dying and being reborn, we can't close our eyes and pretend that death is easy.
Mercury enters Virgo, its exaltation, on the 28th. This is less so an energy for July as we only catch Mercury here for the last few days. Mercury is not only in one of its own signs, but it will have bound support for the first 7º (until August 3rd) and decanic dignity in the final 10º of the sign. Mercury will have a retrograde too, but not until the end of August– it won't even reach its station degree until August 4th. Though, jeez! We just finally cleared the last Mercury retrograde cycle with Mercury's ingression on June 11th! This really is a year of reassessment from all angles.
Mercury correlates with the 3rd decan of Virgo and therefore the 10 of pentacles in Tarot. This placement is often about advancement and purpose. The "why" behind what we do, also known as intention. Austin Coppock calls this decan the "Chamber of Remembrance" – have you ever been scoffed at by someone older than you? That is the 10 of pentacles, that is Mercury in Virgo. When the young know-it-alls think they've just invented something that's actually been around before they were even a "twinkle in their mother's eye," this is when the old folks who do remember come on out just to give a dirty look or to laugh. Youth is truly laughable, but I challenge you to remember a time when you thought you knew it all too. Maybe that innocence and arrogance is something you need to re-embody. This is a theme that I think Mercury retrograde in Virgo will pose, especially during the simultaneous Venus retrograde. We'll talk more about this next month.
Rising Sign Horoscopes:
Aries risings:
This month is largely about the home, but the 4th house is much more than that. I typically experience 4th house transits as the most inner, private experience. The vessel in which you came from, who you were in the cosmos before you got here, before you had any rules or expectations from Mother Earth. Make your way back to whoever that was. It's important to stay sensitive this month or you won't be receptive enough to create what your soul intended to when the planets congregate in your 5th house. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 2nd and 8th houses to your 1st and 7th houses. Over the last 18 months, I imagine you've lost a lot, clearing emotional debts and making room for what truly belongs. Your sense of worthiness has upgraded now that you no longer use the past as a safety blanket. Over the next 18 months, you are rediscovering who you are. Does that person stay the same around every person? Do you have freedom in partnership? Did you lose your identity when you paid off your emotional debts? These are questions to continually ask yourself until the path shifts again.
A Poem for your July: Laurentine Shield by F.R. Scott
"Hidden in wonder and snow, or sudden with summer,
This land stares at the sun in a huge silence
Endlessly repeating something we cannot hear.
Inarticulate, arctic,
Not written on by history, empty as paper,
It leans away from the world with songs in its lakes
Older than love, and lost in the miles.
This waiting is wanting.
It will choose its language
When it has chosen its technic,
A tongue to shape the vowels of its productivity.
A language of flesh and of roses..."
Taurus risings:
This month is largely about learning and discovery. Maybe this is required learning, required communication, often found in the 3rd house, but I hope you will take it a step deeper and go into the unknown (the 9th house) just because you want to. When learning or communicating gets hard, it's usually because it's foreign to us. When engaging with the comfortable, what can you notice about it for it to become brand new again? As the planets congregate in your 4th house of home, how do you think others would perceive you, your home, you family if they were just stepping into it for the first time? Would they be comfortable? Maybe they would have more compassion than you do even for yourself. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 1st and 7th houses to your 6th and 12th houses. Over the next 18 months, It's time to take a step deeper. You've uncovered identity, but knowing yourself and trusting yourself are two different things. You are working out your fate with your mental health, with risk taking, and with surrender when things are beyond your control.
A Poem for your July: Tractatus by Ben Ladouceur
"The sun gave our shoulder blades ulu-shaped burns, and the sun gives nothing to our sort
I sleep now, and furiously
Clouds excreted shadows on the shoreline, and there were no clouds
His body a train ride away, and nearby
There are organs I have never used before, and they are pale from overuse
The sand had turned to pearls in our folds, and that kind of sand does not turn to pearls
Then the carbon in our dirts to unthinkable diamonds, and those were the wrong kinds of dirts
He occupied the wharf, and I occupied him, and I did not occupy the wharf
Come adhered to bellies like white wounds, and sloughed off like stormwater
I spoke first, and I have not yet spoken
He is moving away from the beach now, and he is absolutely still
We shared a heat, and had no heat to share
I am made of water, and he is made of water, and without effort we breathe."
Gemini risings:
This month is largely focused on what you have and what you don't have. Gemini's are more sentimental than anyone truly gives them credit for. You have core beliefs about yourself that are passed down to you, and you may have to actively cycle through these to develop your own. I want you to know that you can have new traditions, the emotional support teddy bear (or emotional support vape pen, for that matter) can be replaced whenever you choose. You make money from a place of wisdom and your talents are on display this month, what can you pass on to others? As the planets congregate in your 3rd house, share your voice. Never stop learning, but know that you already have enough knowledge to start sharing. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 6th and 12th houses to your 5th and 11th houses. Now that you've learned to trust yourself and the unknown, begin to plan for the future. Fated interests and communities will surround you. Follow your fascinations and allow a new (and more enjoyable) life to design itself. Over the next 18 months while you work out your fate with the past and the future, don't forget about the genius of the present.
A Poem for your July: We Are Surprised by Ada Limón
"Here it is:
the new way of living with the world
inside of us so we cannot lose it,
and we cannot be lost. You and me
are us and them, and it and sky.
It’s hard to believe we didn’t
know that before; it’s hard to believe
we were so hollowed out, so drained,
only so we could shine a little harder
when the light finally came."
Cancer risings:
This month is largely about you. Making your way back to the vessel that holds you and holds others and holds the world. Don't forget to make room for yourself in there among the world you hold on your shoulders. Hell, evict the other people taking up all the space! Come back to yourself. You are learning a lot about yourself right now, there is a lot of rediscovery that is necessary to your identity. As the planets begin to congregate in your 2nd house consider what you could do all day long and still want to do more of even as your eyelids get heavy. The Cancers are addressing why they do what they do, if they like the way they make money, if they like the beliefs they hold about themselves and the world. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 5th and 11th houses to your 4th and 10th houses. Now that you've learned about the future and the past and the present, the people around you, your childlike joy, can you go deeper? Over the next 18 months, consider what "old world regime" is set up in the home, in the family, in your private spaces. Make way for a new path, a new purpose to emerge.
A Poem for your July: Jesse's Farm by Sadiqa De Meijer
"So we’re driving. Not with sirens. To the farm that resembles a
refuge. Siren is the genus of a salamander eel. Sirenia, the order of
the placid, grazing manatee. If I spoon-feed her the beloved world
enough, is it?
Ravaged tides to picture. It isn’t bloodless. Mirror, daughter, what
will I wish that I did?
Which isn’t what I say. Hello old farm-gates, hello cedars.
Here we are."
Leo risings:
This month is largely about what you find in your chosen place of rest. When things are out of our control, this is usually where we retreat to. Our beds, by the water, to find escape in a song, you have much to uncover behind the scenes. In fact, most of your wise moments come through when you aren't trying to control, when you aren't working and avoiding. Your health may need some attention right now. As the planets congregate in your 1st house, you are trying to uncover who you are. How do you approach the world, can you do so with just a little more compassion for yourself and others? Your identity isn't what it used to be, you are allowed to grow as your awareness expands. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 4th and 10th to your 3rd and 9th houses. Now that you've worked through the fate you have with your parents, your family, your bosses, your path and purpose, the way you show up publicly, can you be open to even more discovery? Over the next 18 months, it feels uncomfortable to be novel, be solid enough in yourself to be foreign anyway.
A Poem for your July: Two Hours on the Train by Abdellatif Laâbi
"During two hours on the train
I rerun the film of my life
Two minutes per year on average
Half an hour for childhood
Another half-hour for prison
Love, books, wandering
take up the rest
the hand of my companion
gradually melts into mine
and her head on my shoulder
is as light as a dove
When we arrive
I’ll be fifty or so
and still have
about an hour
to live"
Virgo risings:
This month is largely about fun. You need some fun, Virgo. Even while the planets will congregate in your 12th house, this can be fun too. It can be fun to be alone, to travel far away in your mind, imagine yourself like you are on a talk show. Tell your imaginary audience all about what you are working on, your life stories. Your mind is on the future, but don't forget to live for now. Maybe a future focused mind is pointless as it can only ever project the future through past trends. What if there is something completely outside of your awareness in your future? Something you don't know how to imagine because you haven't experienced it yet? Imagine the feelings you want to feel instead of the details you want to see. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 3rd and 9th houses to your 2nd and 8th houses. You've explored, traveled, rediscovered, now can you integrate those discoveries? Over the next 18 months you will lose certain beliefs, values, methods of making money all because you have seen now that there is more, and it's worth the risk.
A Poem for your July: When I consider how my light is spent by John Milton
"When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
Libra risings:
This month is largely about the public you, the you who steps outside of who the people close to you know you to be. You are projecting a vision much farther. You may be doing big life stuff, thinking and pla
nning for big life stuff. Examine your responsibilities and nurture them, tend to the vessel that holds your worldly creations. What will you conquer next? As the planets congregate in your 11th house, you'll be planning for more, connecting to a brighter future, remember that the dark shows you which light to follow. Something about your plans need revising, remember that a whole network of people are available to you, even when you can't see it. Have you flipped to the right channel or are you stuck on QVC? Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 2nd and 8th houses to your 1st and 7th houses. You have left the old you, your old possessions, all the baggage behind. I know you have shed so much, but you are about to shed some more. Over the next 18 months, partnering with others is guaranteed, but not in the ways you have in the past.
A Poem for your July: Death of a Young Son by Drowning by Margaret Atwood
"He, who navigated with success
the dangerous river of his own birth
once more set forth
on a voyage of discovery
into the land I floated on
but could not touch to claim.
His feet slid on the bank,
the currents took him;
he swirled with ice and trees in the swollen water
and plunged into distant regions,
his head a bathysphere;
through his eyes’ thin glass bubbles
he looked out, reckless adventurer
on a landscape stranger than Uranus
we have all been to and some remember..."
Scorpio risings:
This month is largely about travel. Maybe not physically for every Scorpio, but you are traveling like a raindrop in the ocean, immersion at its finest, learning and teaching and growing in new parts of your philosophy. Your discovery has to do with comfort. This is something that is foreign to you, feeling comfortable within yourself, you are much more likely to find home somewhere far from you. As the planets begin to congregate in your 10th house, you are in a meeting of reassessment, what will you do with your life? Don't get ahead of yourself, start where you are. These are big questions: Who do you want to be, Where do you want to go, What is your vision, What is your legacy? Start with joy. Follow joy, treat it like a responsibility to follow joy. And there you are. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 1st and 7th to your 6th and 12th houses. The fated beginnings and endings with new relationships and new identities is done now, for the next 18 months you are following a path of detail. What is healthy and what isn't healthy will become important now. How do you sustain yourself?
A Poem for your July: Flaxman by Margaret Fuller
"We deemed the secret lost, the spirit gone,
Which spake in Greek simplicity of thought,
And in the forms of gods and heroes wrought
Eternal beauty from the sculptured stone, —
A higher charm than modern culture won
With all the wealth of metaphysic lore,
Gifted to analyze, dissect, explore.
A many-colored light flows from one sun;
Art, ’neath its beams, a motley thread has spun;
The prism modifies the perfect day;
But thou hast known such mediums to shun,
And cast once more on life a pure, white ray.
Absorbed in the creations of thy mind,
Forgetting daily self, my truest self I find."
Sagittarius risings:
This month is largely about intimacy. Sagittarius knows that nothing is permanent, that everything is cyclical, that the things you have and the things you don't wax and wane. You'll be remembering that this month. I hope you will gain insight into your inner workings and what needs to go, what needs to stay, what needs to accumulate. As the planets begin to congregate in your 9th house, you are realizing vision. Did you know you are a visionary? I think it was Keats who said "philosophy will clip an angel's wings," go get your wings back. You'll only do this through experience and true joy. I hope you will find this light of yours again, be open to change. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 6th and 12th to your 5th and 11th houses. The fated beginnings and endings in your everyday, in your work, in your health are over, it's time to consider beyond what you can currently control. Is there something buried in the past, in your childhood that needs rediscovery. Open yourself up to any of the pain you felt as a kid because that will deliver you back to your truest joys.
A Poem for your July: somewhere i have never travelled by E.E. Cummings
"somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose
or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending..."
Capricorn risings:
This month is largely about others. Feeling for others, nurturing another, becoming enveloped in another's wisdom, you are watching how you move cyclically in other's lives and how their orbit collides with your own. There is a lot to learn from your relationships right now. As the planets begin to congregate in your 8th house, you are noticing the hesitations you have when it comes to blending with others. So much ego threatens to keep you from experiencing joy, what does money matter if you have no one to share it with? Or perhaps you should be asking instead, what does abundance look like? You are going through a transformation in how you find yourself supported and in how you support others. Dig deep into your inner workings and acknowledge what it is that holds you back from compassion for yourself and others. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 5th and 11th to your 4th and 10th houses. Now that you've taken a time machine to the past, rediscovering what makes you happy and childlike, are you ready to go even farther back? There is a secret magic in your lineage– what has been forged before? Do you believe you can forge your own path to home, to purpose, to life?
A Poem for your July: From Summer Grass by Roo Borson
"The willows are thinking again about thickness,
slowness, lizard skin on hot rock,
and day by day this imaging transforms them
into what we see: dragons in leaf, draped scales
alongside the river of harried, spring-stirred silt.
The magpie recites Scriabin in early morning as a mating song,
and home is just a place you started out,
the only place you still know how to think from,
so that that place is mated to this
by necessity as well as choice,
though now you have to start again from here,
and it isn’t home. Venus rising in the early evening
beside the Travelodge, as wayward and causal as
will, or beauty, or as once we willed beauty to be —
though this was in retrospect, and only practice
for some other life. Do you still love poetry?..."
Aquarius risings:
Largely this month is about work. My Aquarius rising grandfather and I have this joke, I say "workworkwork" and he says it back, because he is always work, work, working. It's because you care so much about nurturing your daily duties, regardless of gender, you are a mother of the day. You recognize and value what you have control over. Make sure to take care of your health more than you take care of others this month. As the planets begin to congregate in your 7th house, relationships are lit up, what needs to change here? Is your ego third wheeling your one on one connections? Do you think there would be more room for connection if ego was left at home? Or better yet, give voice to those ego things and they will shrink before your eyes. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 4th and 10th to your 3rd and 9th houses. Now that you've aligned yourself with your home, really understanding now where it is you've come from, I do believe you are ready to learn. Over the next 18 months, you are learning what is essential, the building blocks of something new. Don't be afraid to seek out advisers, astrologers, or therapists to help you with this.
A Poem for your July: The Bull Moose by Alden Nowlen
"...And the bull moose let them stroke his tick-ravaged flanks,
let them pry open his jaws with bottles, let a giggling girl
plant a little purple cap
of thistles on his head.
When the wardens came, everyone agreed it was a shame
to shoot anything so shaggy and cuddlesome.
He looked like the kind of pet
women put to bed with their sons.
So they held their fire. But just as the sun dropped in the river
the bull moose gathered his strength
like a scaffolded king, straightened and lifted his horns
so that even the wardens backed away as they raised their rifles.
When he roared, people ran to their cars. All the young men
leaned on their automobile horns as he toppled."
Pisces risings:
This month is largely about play. You are a child again in your tutu, with your finger paints, there is so much wisdom you had when you were small, come back to smallness to imagine your future in all of its bigness. The things you most enjoy create your aha moments. The light bulb goes off, the learning happens when we play. As the planets begin to congregate in your 6th house, they are having a meeting about your health. Bring your attention to the things you have neglected in your day to day, if there is resentment or imbalance, you will need to correct it now. Meanwhile, the path of fate shifts from your 3rd and 9th to your 2nd and 8th houses. You've probably learned a lot. Read a lot. Explored a lot. Now it's time to work through the fate you have around your money, your value, your inherent worth. What is your motivation? What makes you feel appreciated? What are you afraid of losing? Do you want to advance? What injustices are buried dying to be ratified? This is important for the next 18 months, expect fated beginnings and endings.
A Poem for your July: Mother Church #3 by Robin Coste-Lewis
"You step down into the Flat World
Then ask me to say it, to explain
How our name can mean both ancestor
And enemy. Your body begins in four directions.
Here, one calendar takes eighteen years.
I am three. One day is an eyelash.
Your body is a segment of prehistoric road,
A buried stairwell with only the top stair obvious.
We are alluvial, obsidian.
Sometimes the ground swells
With disappointment; sometimes we know our mountains
Will be renamed after foreign saints.
We sing nine-hundred-year-old hymns
That instruct us in how to sit still
For forty-nine years
Through a fifty-year drought.
We climb down through the hole anyway,
And agree to the arrangement."
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