According to an intractable law of the universe that seems to hold true for every Mercury retrograde, Murphy’s Law states: ‘whatever can go wrong will’.
As we start July, we are two weeks into the three-week cycle of this Mercury retrograde. Can we say that Murphy’s Law has been playing out? I could certainly say so, both in regard to my personal experiences and those I hear from other people. When Mercury is retrograde, communications can be off, misunderstandings likely, and we may have problems with our cars, our computers and others forms of communication and transportation. I have recounted recently my situation with E-mails from the contact page of my website, learning from someone and validating for myself that E-mails sent to me never came my way but ended somewhere out there in a cyber void or are somewhere in process but never reached the intended recipient of me. I have also had difficulties with my voicemail, with voicemails missing from people who say they left messages but also the typical Mercury retrograde of someone who left a message but forgot to leave their callback number, leaving me with no way to reply to their message. For my wife, her transportation difficulties came in the form of air travel where upon boarding the plane, she found her assigned seat, sat down as other passengers made their way down the aisle until one passenger stopped and threw up on my wife and more directly on the passenger seated behind my wife. Five meetings she was supposed to have on her trip never panned out.
I have also heard of car problems from accidents to stalls. And communications! Aaaarrrggh! The level of miscommunications and misunderstandings has been extreme to say the least.
Although we begin July with Mercury retrograde, Mercury does turn direct on the 9th of the month, while its ‘shadow’ persists through the 24th.
I’m not a “lock the door, shutter the windows” kind of guy. There are times when we have to put up with certain difficult energies. While I would try and avoid definitive, long-tern decisions to be made prior to the 9th and preferably after the 24th, there are times when we have to do what we have to do, and according to someone else’s schedule.
If we do have to make significant decisions now, let’s be certain to dot the I’s and cfross the t’s. It might also be wise that we have someone play the devil’s advocate and give us all the reasons we should not go ahead with our plans and what our possible liabilities might be.
July starts with four planets in Fire Signs, two planets in Earth Signs, one planet in an Air Sign and three planets in Water Signs.
Three planets are in Cardinal Signs, four planets are in Fixed Signs and three planets are in Mutable Signs. Five planets are in Positive Signs, five planets are in Negative Signs.
By Sign, there is a T-Square in the Fixed Signs, with Mars in Taurus squaring Neptune in Aquarius and squaring both Venus and Saturn in Leo. We also start the month feeling the influence of the Saturn Neptune opposition which has been affecting us since last Autumn, and continues to impact with a lessening effect.
As we we begin July, we have just come off the Capricorn Full Moon, at which time Venus was exactly opposing Neptune. On the 1st of July, Venus is exactly conjunct Saturn.
We are continuing the dance in regard to appearance versus reality, fact versus fiction. Many of these issues can come up in regard to our relationships. We could easily be impressed by someone and assume that first impressions provide the be all and end all of that individual’s character and personality. Wrong-O. If we go there, we might wind up doing the dance with a trickster, someone appearing one way, their reality being totally different. Now is a time to go slow in matters of the heart and in regard to our interactions with other people. Now is not a time to give anyone the benefit of the doubt but rather to maintain healthy skepticism regarding their integrity, their character and their abilities.
Not only do we start the month with Venus conjunct Saturn but retrograde Mercury in Cancer sextiles Mars in Taurus. The month begins with family gatherings, plans for reunions and consideration of how we can get the most bang for our buck as we consider our summer vacation plans. Many of us may be looking to get off the track as we begin this month, whether we take a vacation now or just add on a day or two to have some extended time off.
The weekend of the 7th – 8th can be a splendid time. We may be feeling energetic and upbeat and wanting to grab the ‘gusto’ in life, embrace abundance in living. Venus trines Pluto on the 8th and we can find that our relationships are deeper, passionate and more meaningful.
On the 9th, Mercury turns direct, although its shadow persists through the 24th. We are better able to express ourselves than we have been the past three weeks. Miscommunications and misunderstandings can now be sorted out. If we have made our plans, now is the time to implement them. We may find ourselves focusing on home renovation projects and dealing with family matters.
On the 11th, the Sun trines Uranus. We may consider how best to streamline our lives. Perhaps we’re considering an iPhone or buying the necessary software for our laptops to make our lives easier. We don’t want to be bogged down. Instead, we want to be able to have time to do things spontaneously, impulsively and on the spur-of-the-moment.
On the 14th, there is the Cancer New Moon with the Sun Moon conjunction trine Uranus. Change is in the air and we want to engage it. Any thing, and everything, to allow us to have the sense of self-determination, whereby we’re in control of our lives, can make the choices we want to make and are not feeling betoken to anyone or to anything. Even if we stretch our wings just a little bit, the sense of stretch, exploration and testing new waters will be important for us to feel and to experience. Venus moves into Virgo on the 14th. We have to avoid becoming hypercritical, seeking perfection in an imperfect world, holding people up to high standards that are largely unattainable. Our evaluations of others may find them wanting, but we have to ask ourselves whether seeing the flaws in others only gives us license to free ourselves up from our commitments and responsibilities, emphasize our own interests and focus solely on our own thing.
On the 20th, Mars sextiles Uranus. We may be looking at making a personal makeover, adding a little spice to our wardrobe, enlivening our home environment. The more we can add touches of change to our lives, the less resentful we’ll be that things aren’t moving fast enough or faster than time would allow for. It would be a good time for us to work with peripheral vision and consider our options and our alternatives. Something may strike our fancy and call us to take steps in new directions.
The Sun moves into its own Sign of Leo on the 22nd – 23rd. With the height of Summer upon us, we’re looking for fun, recreational activities and pleasurable pursuits. We may feel as though we’ve gotten a second wind, but we do need to be careful how we proceed.
While the end of June had Venus opposed Neptune, we began the month of July with Venus conjunct Saturn. This Saturn opposition Neptune configuration is once again engaged during the latter part of July, as Mars squares Neptune on the 24th and then Mars squares Saturn to end the month on the 31st. With the thrust of energy we might feel by the Sun entering Leo on the 22nd – 23rd, we have to watch where and how we place our energy, since Mars squares Neptune on the 24th. We are involved in a Fixed Sign T-Square, the one we began the month with but now in exact aspect as Mars squares Neptune and later squares Saturn. We need to be careful in how we expend our energy. Ill-considered actions could lay us low, either wiping us out energetically or triggering muscle sprains or accidents.
Venus turns retrograde on the 27th. We might become more detached in our relationships, less available as we weigh the pros and cons of our interactions. We might want others to follow our lead but if we’re too demanding we could find ourselves leading a parade of one, ourselves.
On the 28th, Mercury trines Uranus. Our insights can be like the floodgates opening. We can easily figure out the best way to handle situations in an effective and expeditious manner. We might get an ‘Eureka’ moment where flashes of genius show themselves. We could hear from people we haven’t heard from in a while. There can be some wonderful surprises, startling possibilities that make themselves known to us.
The Aquarius Full Moon on the 29th presents the question of balance between our own personal, self-interests and those interests of our friends and other contacts. Everyone may want to be in the spotlight and the sense of consideration for other people may be lacking. One thing for us to avoid is drawing lines in the sand. People may not be cutting enough slack for each other. Attitudes could turn belligerent even to the point of verbal or physical confrontation.
The month ends with the Mars square Saturn. As I wrote above, we’re back in the Fixed Sign T-Square with Mars in Taurus being the trigger point between the Saturn Neptune opposition. Let’s try to slow things down, not act rashly and maintain a cautious but focused pace.
This July can be a lot of fun if we don’t have high expectations and provide ourselves enough time and a laid-back attitude to deal with any situations that could become convoluted.
July… hot fun in the summer sun…
