Headed Our Way in July

Now that you’ve survived Venus’ retrograde (May 15- June 27),  and we’ve hit July,  here are some highlights:

July 3 features a full moon in earth sign Capricorn. Full moons tend to  bring about culmination, harvest, and can also bring news related to the sign and house in which they fall.  This full moon in Capricorn can help to ground us, keep us focused. Powerhouse Pluto forms a close conjunction with this full moon, suggesting that any news you hear is likely to be transformative. It occurs at 8 degrees and 9 minutes of Capricorn, so if you have planets at or near that degree, you may feel the effects of this full moon more than other people. (Click here  for your free natal chart and here  for the house meanings).

Uranus, the planet of sudden, unexpected change, forms a challenging angle to this full moon, suggesting an element of irritability, impatience, even anger.  If you feel like stepping outside to bay at the moon, by all means do so!  Even if it annoys your partner or your neighbors, you’ll feel better afterward.

On July 19, there’s a new moon in water sign Cancer. New moons generally usher in new opportunities according to the sign and house in which they appear. Cancer rules home and hearth, your domestic environment, the more nurturing parent,  and is connected to intuition, your inner world. So new opportunities may arrive in any of those areas. Check your natal chart to see where Cancer falls. This moon occurs at 26 degrees and 55 minutes of Cancer.

On July 15, the second Mercury retrograde of the year begins, in fire sign Leo, and it’s in place until August 8, when it turns direct again. Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo, communication, travel, the conscious mind, contracts. The best rule of thumb for a Mercury retro is what I call the three Rs: revise, review, rethink. For a writer, this is the perfect revision time. For people in other professions it’s smart to tie up  loose ends, work on projects you’ve already begun, and avoid starting anything new.  And be sure you communicate succinctly and clearly to avoid miscommunication.

Travel can be a challenge during a Mercury retrograde. Your carefully planned itinerary suddenly goes haywire, your flight is rerouted or cancelled, you have a flat on the Interstate…well, you get the idea. That said, if you do travel, then at some point in the near future, you may revisit that destination again.

It’s fine to enter into a verbal agreement with someone, but don’t sign any contracts when Mercury is out of synch.  We did that once, mainly because it couldn’t be avoided, and everything about the contract was messed up.  Another area to avoid? Try not to schedule a move during a Mercury retro period. We did that once, too, and it was disastrous – the moving van was late, the people buying our house had last minute demands, and we were late for the closing on the house into which we were moving.

The good news is that Venus (love, romance, money), Jupiter (expansion,  luck), Mars (physical energy, sexuality, your booster rocket) and Saturn (structure) travel fairly close together in air signs for most of July. Their camaraderie helps to mitigate some of Mercury’s shenanigans.

July is a mixed bag astrologically, but there is always some small gold nugget to mine.