As we come into July, we may feel the pulls between old and new tugging at us, impelling us forward in new directions, holding us back in our familiar.
On the 1st of July, the Sun sextiles Uranus, and retrograde Saturn goes back into its own Sign of Capricorn [7:37 PM EDT]. On the one hand, we are interested in updating our life, making changes to how we do things by streamlining our operations. On the other hand, we might feel mired by our past — the circumstances and conditions, the people and our involvements — that are more reminiscent of where we have been as opposed to new trajectories we might prefer to explore.
As with any retrograde motion, the energy asks us to go back over, review, re-evaluate and even rework some of what has gone on before.
With Saturn retrograding back into Capricorn, a Sign that Saturn rules, we have the opportunity of looking over our past two and a half years, the time since the latter part of December in 2017 up through our winter period of 2020 when Saturn has been transiting Capricorn. Since the end of 2019, we have had a Stellium of three planets in Capricorn when Saturn in its own Sign was transiting Capricorn with Jupiter and Pluto also transiting the Cardinal Earth Sign. This Stellium is back again with Saturn’s re-entry into Capricorn.
The transformations we are all going through, both individually and collectively, with the intense disruptions to our semblance of stability and security, largely thanks to the Uranus transit of Taurus, may have felt like the Greek mythological bird the Phoenix on its funeral pyre. The story itself offers the promise of rising from the ashes as the Phoenix soars ever higher. We see a similar allusion in Christian theology with the story of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. For us, the figurative ‘crash and burn’ of recent times also allows us to rise from our ashes and determine to build upon rock and no longer upon sand.
The 5th of July has the Capricorn Full Moon [12:44 AM EDT], and another Lunar Eclipse. Coming off of July 4th, the day in the US of celebration of Independence, this heightened energy offers us the impetus of rebuilding our lives and doing so in a grounded, solid manner, if we enlist our faith and our vision of a better world for ourselves. We may be engaged with family and friends over this long holiday weekend, but we can also connect with our deepest roots of our being, give solace to our self and determine what our next steps might be in embracing true meaning and full purpose in our doing our life journey. What are we here for? What are we doing with our life? Looking at our philosophical belief system, our personal set of morals, and considering how best to implement our spirit into action could impede upon our social gatherings and party atmosphere, if only a subtle, subconscious level. Our soul may be calling, and we shall have the opportunity to answer the call in the days ahead.
On the 8th of July, Mercury squares Mars. Although we might wish to go forward with machete in hand, explore new worlds, and conquer demons, reticence could forestall our advance. The sense of victimhood with its twin of entitlement engrained in recent generations can keep us in a reactive mode, responding to life’s situations, rather than engaging a proactive mode of venturing forth confidently, recognizing that there will be times of ease of operations, other times that may prove challenging at best, daunting at its worst. And our reaction? Embracing the attitude of a ‘strong offense is a good defense’, we have to be wary that our discussions with other people are not too belligerent or aggressive with us coming from a sense of insecurity and fearfulness.
The 12th of July has Mercury ending its three-week retrograde cycle and turning direct [4:26 AM EDT], the same day that the Sun trines Neptune. Despite the craziness in the world and our own amping to get on with something, virtually anything, this is a time for us to ‘chill out’. Quiet times of meditation and contemplation, walks in the cathedrals of nature, could help us go deeper into our own being, refresh and recharge our inner self, and give us comfort knowing that our journey through this life experience is a personal one, an individual one, and that there are truly no mistakes or missteps along our way. Our way is our way with no one else replicating our path.
The 14th – 15th has the Sun opposed Jupiter on the 14th, followed by the Sun opposed Pluto on the 15th. During times of intense disruption, which we are presently experiencing, it is essential that we find and maintain the balance in our life. Our personal life and our professional life need to be integrated, whereby we give to each without denying either. For many people, this balance is a difficult trait, for the pressures of success in the material world have given more weight to the professional, the external characteristic, of our being. As a result, our personal life, our inner life, is given short shrift. The importance of balance between our inner and our outer, our material and our spiritual, has been epitomized in the words attributed to Jesus in Christian theology: ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’.
One of the opportunities offered us during this virus scare and consequent lockdown has been a ‘time out’ from our regular life patterns and the ability to contemplate and consider how we are doing life. Perhaps out of the fear and panic that this virus triggered in many people, some of us came to a realization of a need for us to re-balance our life, give more time to our inner life, and determine to create a greater integration of our spiritual into our material.
The 14th – 15th of July provides the energy to reconfigure and redefine our balance in life.
This balancing act crescendos with the Cancer New Moon on the 20th [1:33 PM EDT] with the Sun Moon conjunction opposed the Stellium of three planets in Capricorn – Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto. This signature influences the next two weeks up to the Full Moon on August 3rd.
There are times when we need to look back over our shoulder in order to see where we have been and whether in moving forward we want to bring with us elements of our past or whether we wish to jettison those things that no longer serve us. Much of our time and reflection during this latter part of July into early August may focus on walks down Memory Lane. Reunions postponed during the lockdown may have us reconnecting with family and friends. Reflections could have us appreciating the expertise, both in skill set and character development, that we have gained from our experiences. We can also determine how best to fine tune our involvements so that we deal with the mundane world with a heart full of soul.
On the 22nd of July, the Sun exits Cancer to enter Leo [4:37 AM EDT]. We also have Mercury sextile Uranus. We are moving into a four-week period when we fully engage summertime fun with outdoor activities, recreational pursuits, creative endeavors, and may feel more fire under our feet. With confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude, we might find easy ways by which to accomplish our goals. A key factor, for many a challenge, will be the willingness to be co-creators with the universal unfolding. Although we might feel pumped up and ready to take on the world, it would be wise for us to acknowledge the signals that often come out of nowhere as to a best practices approach. Those who are narcissistic and arrogant may miss the clues, but the matter of balance, especially during this time of turmoil and disruption, is essential for us to successfully navigate the currents.
If we play the ‘legends in our own mind’ card, we are liable to get a lateral lobotomy, or whack on the side of our head. The universe is unlikely to play ‘nice’ any longer.
The 27th is a highly active day and begins a week of push – pull. This Monday has Jupiter sextile Neptune, Venus square Neptune, and Mercury square Mars. We may be confident about our abilities, able to see things in their finest detail, and can draw upon our intuitive sense to put the right pieces in the right places. If we would go slow, not try to take on too many issues, and avoid a self-inflated sense of our talents, then this day could be highly productive with us accomplishing a great deal. Such would be a best case scenario, but monkey wrenches to our efforts could come from other peoples’ input and our own conceit. By rushing our endeavors, we can prove truth to the sentiment that ‘haste makes waste’.
What we see may not be what we get during this week of July 27th. If we did not heed patience and humility at the start of the week, we could find ourselves off track for much of this week, and even unwilling to correct the error of our ways.
The end of July into the first week of August has transiting Cancer Mercury opposed to the three planets in Capricorn — first Jupiter on the 30th, then Pluto on the 1st of August, and finally Saturn on the 3rd, the day of the Aquarius Full Moon.
Mercury trines Neptune on the 30th of July, the same day that Mercury opposes Jupiter. Although our confidence can be brimming over with optimism and a self-belief in successfully effecting any involvement, drawing upon our intuitive sense could help us plan our way and prevent us from missteps due to our own hubris. Our intuition can be strong, and it would be wise for us to trust in our sense of things rather than to forcefully plow ahead with the notion that our assertiveness and determination will carry the day.
But hubris we might have as we end July. Perhaps we are dealing from a mindset of entitlement whereby things should be a certain way solely because we want them so. It may be part of our conditioned mindset that things happen because we make them happen, as opposed to the characteristic of the paradigm shift where we are no longer in control of situations but rather co-creator with the universal unfolding. Any tendency to gloss over situations, negate important details, and assume that things should go ‘right’ just because we want them to would be ways to build upon sand rather than upon rock with the eventual consequence of our efforts being washed away in time.
July 2020… summer present with little resemblance to summers past…
