July begins with us likely to be in a state of euphoria thanks to the Sun conjunct Mercury and both sextile to Jupiter on the 1st.
We could be feeling at the top of our game and why not when in the US we’re celebrating the 4th of July long holiday weekend, the ‘official’ summer holiday weekend.
We might be more astute regarding our finances, even embracing the concept that ‘living simply is not simply living’. Perhaps due to inflation we have been forced to be more attentive to our expenses and our revenue stream and finding a better balance for our monies rather than digging a deeper hole for ourselves by racking up our credit card balances with their usury interest rates. We may have given lie to the various narratives promulgated by the powers-that-be and tuned out much of what is being presented to us as just more static and indications of the post-modern era where fiction supplants fact.
The July 4th long weekend can have us spreading our wings, expanding our interests, and enjoying hot fun in the summertime.
We do have to be wary of unexpected discords or unanticipated expenses on the 2nd of July when Venus squares Uranus. Missteps could provoke costs both in our relationships and in our finances. We should avoid getting ‘blissed out’ by our re-creational activities and as a result being oblivious to the expenditures exacted from us.
The Capricorn Full Moon on July 3rd [7:30 AM EDT] with the Capricorn Moon opposed the Cancer Sun could have us wondering whether to stay or whether to go. We might want to fully engage summer fun, but we are likely considering either far off adventures or staycations. Many of us have felt shackled over the past few years due to the lockdowns and restrictions imposed during the virus scare. With constraints lifted and movements freed up, many of us want to be out and about traveling. And despite inflation being touted as having been tamed, the ravages of inflation have built-in costs that are far higher than prior to the virus response.
More now than ever, it is suggested that we keep track of our finances, budget our monies with a watchful eye as to where costs have increased or are likely to increase. Remember that cost increases are not merely regarding pricing but also any reduced size of a product with the same pricing as before.
Mercury sextile Uranus on the 7th of July opens the door to serendipity, of being in the right place at the right time. Our intuitive sense is heightened with a likelihood of ‘ah-ha’ moments. We may hear exciting and startling news. We could devise a ‘best practices’ approach to some of our problems, as if benefitting from flashes of genius. We might encounter interesting contacts that make us aware of surprising opportunities. This is a time when it would be suggested that we keep our antennae up, work with peripheral vision, and realize that during this paradigm shift life is like a scavenger hunt with clues revealing next steps along the way in this new asequential reality of things happening in random and inexplicable ways.
On the 9th of July, Mercury trines Neptune. Our intuitive sense may be heightened and coming off the Mercury sextile Uranus on the 7th, we might feel as though we are living an otherworldly existence. Our sense of things can be heightened with a realization that our mundane reality could only be an illusion, with our real living being the true expression of our spirit and our soul through our physical vehicle.
We do have to be wary not to get ahead of ourselves or assume blithely that everything will be a straight-line progression of good times and wonderful opportunities. If we fall into a narcissistic and arrogant mindset of our making things happen, we could be sorely disappointed and challenged by the twists and turns of these disruptive, tumultuous times.
On the 10th of July, Mars exits Leo and enters Virgo [7:40 AM EDT]. Our tendency to trumpet our successes and focus solely on our personal desires gives way to a more reflective approach, although with a liability of questioning our own worthiness. This day also has Mercury opposed Pluto. Either we can be highly astute with an ability to cut to the core of any situation, or we could be highly defensive with a snarky rebuttal to any questioning of our position. It is important that we avoid ‘a strong offense is a good defense’ strategy. If there are any upsets today, it would be best to avoid immediate reaction and allow the intensity to simmer down.
While Mars exits Leo on the 10th, Mercury exits Cancer to enter Leo on the 11th of July. Our creative juices may be flowing, and we might be more interested in standing out and projecting [or is it pontificating?] a strong and knowledgeable image. We do have to be wary of the know-it-alls who assure us that they know it all. It can prove tiresome, unless we take on a bemused attitude of the countless examples of irony playing out during this paradigm shift.
The 14th of July has the Sun sextile Uranus. By blending our intuitive sense with revelatory moments, we can make changes to our ways of operating, our intended itinerary, and even our plans for our future. We are on the ‘dark side’ of the Moon prior to the New Moon on the 17th, so it would be wise for us to rid ourselves of encumbrances that stand in the way of our choosing new trajectories for ourselves. Change is not only in the air during this paradigm shift, but change is to be engaged in our personal lives as we seek to free ourselves from the restrictions of our past, even restraints of our present.
The Cancer New Moon on the 17th of July when the Moon conjuncts the Sun [2:32 PM EDT] impacts the next two weeks up to the Full Moon on the 1st of August. The New Moon is in orb of an opposition to Pluto and has Mercury square Jupiter as part of its signature. Although we are being asked to let go of the irrelevant and the outmoded from our lives, there is often a fearfulness in letting go, as if in the letting go we enter some existential void. In truth, the universe abhors a vacuum and whatever space or void might be created is eventually filled. We are liable to believe that we need to do the filling as masters of our personal destiny, resulting in our trying too hard, doing too much, all the while blustering about our being in control and masters of our personal world. This paradigm shift insists that we be co-creators with the universal unfolding and provides lateral lobotomies when we try to engage sole control.
Things are not the way they were, and any overreach on our part could have a nasty blowback.
The issue of personal faith or fated determination can be at play on the 20th when the Sun trines Neptune and Mars opposes Saturn. Finding the balance between our individual efforts and the input from the universal energies may be a continuing challenge. How do we fit into this paradigm shift? How do we let go of our conditioned mindset of control over circumstance to acknowledge the powers of external forces, and then work productively with the universal unfolding? It’s a conundrum for each of us as we morph out of the old mindset of having control over our environment and instead work with the changing landscape of our environment. Flexibility and adaptability are keys to effectively moving forward.
If we get hung up with an adamant sense of “I did it my way”, then we could get tripped up on July 21st when the Sun opposes Pluto. Our intentions are liable to meet an unmovable obstacle. We could feel blocked and hampered by what we want to do, especially if traditional ways or institutions seem to be teetering and appear to be tumbling, crumbling down.
The 22nd has the Sun moving out of Cancer and entering Leo [9:50 PM EDT], triggering a brief one-week Stellium in the Fixed Fire Sign as the Sun joins Mercury and Venus in Leo. On the same day, Venus turns retrograde [9:33 PM EDT]. Although we are in the heat of the summertime, the fun seems largely self-focused with our interests being all about ME. We are more interested in preaching to the choir and engaging with people on our same page than spending time with anyone who has contrary beliefs to our own.
A tendency to put on blinders and see only what is right in front of us could be compounded on the 23rd when Mercury squares Uranus. We might see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear. Mercury square Uranus is my least favorite day for air travel but an energy configuration also liable to generate misunderstandings, miscommunications, travel issues, and Internet or computer problems.
Although this weekend of the 21st through the 23rd of July would seem a high point for our summer fun, there can be various issues and difficulties in our relationships and with our trying to accomplish things in an expeditious and orderly manner. This is a time that demands we stay calm, not overly react to situations, and let the weekend pass with as few scraps and mishaps as possible.
July 27th has Mercury conjunct Venus. While we could be highly creative and looking for formats in which to express our talents, people may be ‘putting on the Ritz’, grandstanding and looking to stand out. Narcissism and hedonism can be on display. It would be suggested we temper our appetites and our appearance. Ostentatiousness does not denote class, elegance often being more subdued than brash. What goes for style nowadays often seems more like a clown show catching one’s attention momentarily but then quickly forgotten.
Mercury exits Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo on July 28th [5:31 PM EDT], ending the Stellium in Leo and giving a more practical and grounded approach to our involvements. We now have five planets in Earth Signs with Mercury and Mars in Virgo, Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus. By Sign, we have a Grand Trine in the Earth element with all three Earth Signs occupied.
Summer is not over but as we come to the end of July, we might be giving thought to getting back into our routine, children preparing to go off to school as we come into the mid-month of August. Certainly, we are moving into a time of greater manifestation, time when we can get things done, if we avoid being distracted by the ‘noise’ of the powers-that-be with their bread and circus antics of shoddy showmanship.
With our mind sharper, our mind more critical and with an ability for us to analyze what is truly going, the many instances of irony are likely to be increasingly evident, no matter how oblivious we might try to be.
July 2023… Summer Splendor Before Winding Down…
