July Predictions
Fasten your seabelts, guys - July is hot and spicy in more ways than one... While the first half promises to be quite gentle, the energy changes dramatically from the New Moon, with the last week of the month being especially challenging.
Overall, the following signs take centre stage this month:
The First Half
The most notable events in the first half of the month are the Full Moon in Capricorn on the 3rd, Mars entering Virgo on the 10th and Mercury entering Leo on the 11th.
The Full Moon at 11°18' Capricorn will be important for all the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Aligned with Chiron, expect old, unhealed wounds to be brought to the surface with intensity. The Moon is notoriously uncomfortable in Capricorn, where instead of the inner life the focus is more on your responsibilites, public status and work. Are you feeling not up to the task? Have you taken too much on out of a need to prove yourself? Are you allowing your boss to give you hell while disregarding your own wellbeing? With Mercury near the Sun, the energy demands opening up to your loved ones about your overloaded sense of duty and weighty commitments.
Mars in Virgo from the 10th increases the pace of life. If you have planets or angles in Virgo, the next six weeks promise much dynamism, determination, razor-sharp focus and - should I say it? - SEX! For all, Mars in Virgo is our best opportunity of the year to work on our health and daily routine. Concerns around fitness, health, and nutrition urge us to take action. At this point, cleansing and purification will be our number one priority. Make sure you schedule a lot of downtime, and sleep a healthy number of hours every night. In August burnout is possible because of an opposition to Neptune, so make the most of July. Or to continue benefitting, plan a holiday near water for later, between 10-31 August. Not a bad idea all in all, right?
With Mercury in Leo from the 11th our tongue is likely to get us into trouble. When Mercury switches signs, our style of communication and thinking takes on subtle changes that affect us all. In Leo the urge is to focus more on the self, prioritizing self-assertion, creative projects, entertainment, and romance. With so much Leo in the sky this month, we are forgiven for thinking, speaking, and acting like a General, charging for our ambitions, demanding recognition, and bull-dozing resistance. Our thoughts become fixed, stubborn, impulsive, and proud. While in Leo, Mercury squares the Nodes, Jupiter and Uranus, so bombastic and radical words are likely to abound. We can try to bite our tongue for a few weeks, but have you ever tried telling a Leo what to do or not do...? Thankfully we're back in a more grounded mood when the planet of communication switches to Virgo on the 28th.
The Second Half
The second half of July becomes seriously challenging, starting with the New Moon in Cancer, the true North Node entering Aries, Mars opposite Saturn, the Sun opposite Pluto and square the Nodes, and finally Pluto squaring the Nodes. Additionally, Venus goes retrograde in Leo for 40 days and 40 nights, just as the Sun enters Leo. This is all volcanic energy, so take extra care.
The New Moon at 24°56' Cancer on the 17th is really big news. Only four degrees from an exact opposition to Pluto, this is a raw lunation with serious power and control issues. Pluto is the most powerful planet in astrology, ruthless, implacable and uncompromising. Pluto ends chapters by exorcising, purging, and eliminating what has become redundant. But it also brings about new growth, developments, and the evolution of what is missing but essential in your life. In all cases, its transits change us in dramatic and irrevocable ways, going deep to surface our ugliest secrets and purging what is rotten to trigger a death and rebirth of the soul. The Lunar Nodes entering Aries also on the 17th will magnify Pluto's influence, eventually culminating at the next Libra eclipse in October. All of us with planets in the last decan of the cardinal signs will be heavily weighted by this energy. The exact way it will manifest depends on your personal birth chart, the houses involved, the natal and transiting planets activated, and what's on your personal horizon.
If Pluto weren't enough, Mars will be actively opposing Saturn at this lunation, thank goodness not in cardinal but in more flexible and resourceful mutable signs this time. Mars is always the trigger, and Saturn the frustrations, obstacles and delays. The two in opposition talk of potential burnout or rage. Especially so if we have been working night and day to achieve a goal, or shoulder a difficult responsibility without paying attention to our needs for self-care and fun. We will be hitting a brick wall between the New Moon and the 20th, when the opposition is exact. This will be especially taxing for Virgo and Pisces energy, but Gemini and Sagittarius will also feel it strongly.
Finally, just as Leo season starts on the 23rd, Venus goes retrograde in the sign, heralding a time of emotional turmoil and introspection for this fire sign and for the majority of us. Find out more in my Venus Retrograde article, where there is a breakdown of what to expect by rising sign. If you would like to delve deep, there is nothing better than a private consultation with me. Check out my email newsletter for special offers and discounts.
