I have always thought of July as a “Saturday.”
As a kid, although I was a good student and secretly enjoyed school, I dreaded the end of the summer and the return to school. August felt like the perennial Sunday night with terrible Monday morning September around the corner. But July was pure enjoyment, buffered by a Friday and Sunday. It was the best month of the year just like Saturday was always my favourite day of the week… and I still feel that way.
There’s a pretty busy month astrologically though. We’ve got a Mars-Saturn opposition; Mercury enters two signs; Venus enters Virgo; the Sun enters Leo; Jupiter retrogrades back into Aquarius with a bang; and Mars enters Virgo. Wow! That’s a lot. Let’s dive in.
July 1 – Canada Day – Mars opposition Saturn
It’s not surprising that this Canada Day, a normally celebratory day, has been filled with such angst. The Mars-Saturn opposition is exact today: the tension, frustrations and grief so many Canadians are feeling right now over the recent discoveries of hundreds of Indigenous children’s unmarked graves is hard to put into words. This certainly is an horrendous part of Canada’s history, and this aspect makes a lot of sense. However, there is a big push-pull right now around having a party for Canada. For some, there is still the desire to go ahead with honouring the good in Canada while others can’t imagine cheering for a country that has committed such atrocities. With an Aries Moon rounding out the day (squaring the Sun and moving towards a square with Pluto), it’s a day of friction at the very least, so be mindful of this when making plans.
July 6 – Mercury square Neptune & Venus opposition Saturn
Although Mercury is now out of its storm period, you might get some retrograde deja-vu today when Mercury squares Neptune. Technical difficulties and miscommunications abound. And, a Venus-Saturn opposition today doesn’t exactly make dealings with others any smoother. As I write this, I am sighing heavily as I have an online legal matter scheduled for this day. (Not my choice of course.) Forewarned is forearmed I suppose but not looking forward to it!
July 9 – New Moon in Cancer
This is really one of my favourite New Moons. Perhaps I’m a little biased given my natal New Moon in Pisces, but it just feels like home today. The Moon is in her favourite spot of Cancer. The energy of the new Moon is such an enterprising and cardinal vibe already, and with Cancer being a cardinal sign, this just adds to that cozy spark. The New Moon occurs at 9:17 pm so I would avoid starting anything new until at least that time, and focus rather on closing things down. Today and most of tomorrow is really a chance to celebrate Cancer—its sensitivity and kindness, its nurturing instincts, and its ability to make people feel at home in its presence. Happy birthday sweet Cancer!
July 11 – Mercury enters Cancer
Continuing the Cancer theme, Mercury—our Messenger God—joins the Sun in Cancer today. When I think of Mercury in Cancer, I think of this:
I have an intake form on my website for chart rectification. On it, I ask for important dates in one’s life in order to rectify the natal chart. Most people give me the month/day/year and a statement like “Got married” or “Had my first child” or “My grandmother died.” Sometimes there’s a bit more than that, but usually only a line or two.
Then there are my Mercury in Cancer people. I can usually tell this by their intake form because after listing the date and “Got married” for example, there will be a long paragraph – sometimes several paragraphs – detailing the event: “As I was walking down the aisle, I knew I was marrying the wrong person…” starts one Mercury in Cancer client. And it continues on from there.
Mercury in Cancer retains emotional experiences like no other sign, and I find for the most part, their memories are exceptional. But they definitely have a hard time separating the facts (“Give it to me straight,” says Mercury) from how they feel about something (“but I feel so much,” says the Moon). Over the next few weeks, if your emotions start getting a bit tangled with the facts, take a deep breath and a step back. Try to see the situation from a Mercury in Gemini perspective.
July 17 – Sun opposition Pluto
This is a bit intense—some power struggles are possible today. Whatever you approach will likely be met with some intensity of feeling. Pick your battles today!
July 21 – Venus enters Virgo
Wah, wah, waaaaaah. [Music from the old SNL Debbie Downer skit.]
I love you Virgos, but Venus in Virgo is kind of a bummer, especially after so much fun in the sign of Leo. In Virgo, Venus cleans up, puts on a collared shirt, sanitizes her hands, hands you the sanitizer with expectant eyes, and then wrinkles her nose at the way you just sanitized your hands. Can she please show you her efficient way of getting the sanitizer on every surface and in between those fingers which are looking a bit unkempt by the way? But then she smiles, and the mood softens a bit. For the next several weeks, we can all tap into Virgo’s orderliness, but let’s try to quell the perfectionist tendencies and still maintain a bit of fun please!
July 22 – Sun enters Leo & Venus-Jupiter opposition
Woohoo! Venus may be in Virgo, but the Sun enters Leo today, and this is great news! For the next month, we get to experience the radiance, warmth and just plain fun of the Sun being in his favourite place.
If you’re a Leo, you hopefully exhibit the best qualities of Leo: confidence, warm-heartedness, generosity, passion, enthusiasm and strength. I know many of these lovely Leo types, and they are among my favourite people. I have also experienced a few bad eggs where self-centredness, conceit and downright offensiveness dominated the personality. Thankfully, only a few. So let’s all tap into the creativity, excitement, and congeniality of this fire sign over the next few weeks, and enjoy ourselves! (Side note: a Venus-Jupiter opposition shows up today as well; Pisces convinces Virgo to let her hair down for a night of fun, and boy does she ever! Good luck resisting temptation today. Mark this on your calendar as “permission to gorge on _____”.)
July 23 – Full Moon at 1 degree Aquarius
Here’s our monthly full Moon. The light of this Moon urges us to consider what we hold sacred and how we want to shine as individuals versus what we’re willing to give to the needs of many. Where does this balance lie for you? Are you mostly focused on your personal needs? Are you mostly focused on the needs of others, on the collective? Either extreme can cause issues. Can you shift the way you approach these ideas to find a bit more balance and even unification?
July 25 – Mercury opposition Pluto
Communications can feel a bit intense today. If you put forward a simple request and someone takes a piece out of you, don’t be surprised. Exercise kindness, compassion and above all restraint today. I’ve also seen computers and technological devices die under this influence, so heads up.
July 27 – Mercury enters Leo
All right, our sentimental stories morph into our larger-than-life tales with Mercury’s entrance into dramatic Leo. If you know any Mercury in Leo individuals, you know how they can spin a theatrical tale of drama and suspense. (Barack Obama comes to mind.) Think big! Think creatively. Think like a leader.
July 28 – Jupiter enters Aquarius again
The Jupiter in Pisces vacay is officially over as Jupiter re-enters Aquarius until December 30. Ugh. As a Pisces Sun-Moon, this is an especially hard one for me. I’m also wondering if it will… dare I even speak it… correspond with any resurgence of COVID variants and the like over the next few months? It does feel like a step backwards in some capacity. We just need to remind ourselves that Jupiter’s work in Aquarius is not yet done. Patience is a virtue. Jupiter will do a bit more work here on international ways of relating. My mind goes to the details of vaccine passports among other things.
July 29 – Mars-Jupiter opposition Jupiter & Mars enters Virgo
As soon as Jupiter re-enters Aquarius, it opposes fiery Mars in Leo. This is kind of an explosive combination. (In fact, I think it has been linked to some literal explosions previously.) This is tough stuff and a tendency to really go big (usually not in a good way). The saving grace is that later that day, Mars enters the sign of Virgo, diffusing the situation, putting one of those fire blankets (because Virgo always carries one with her of course) on the fire and starting to refocus our path ahead on practical matters. It’s still a potential firecracker of a day.
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