photo by DarkmoonArt on Pixabay
MONTHLY OVERVIEW:
July begins with a tense t-square that brings Mars into the year-long difficult square between stodgy Saturn in outspoken Aquarius and progressive, unpredictable Uranus in normally stable Taurus. Mars adds fuel to the tension, not only because of its fiery symbolism but also from its current presence in fellow fire sign Leo. Leo, though, is more about heart, what we love, who we love, and wanting to be loved and leading the charge. Pam Gregory notes that she sees the next few months as a “very dynamic, very fast moving, very fast changing and often quite turbulent and chaotic time” with strong energies rushing us forward to a new way of life.
Jo Gleason, on the Astrology Podcast with Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock, also notes that Uranus adds “a sense of urgency,” with fiery Mars in fire-sign Leo saying “Let’s do it!” and Uranus agreeing, “Yes, let’s go for it!”—both opposing responsible Saturn which is saying, “Hold on, let’s build it to last”—the two-against-one energy is pushing for going ahead first and seeing what happens over time.
In their discussion, the Astrology Podcast group also notes that on the first day this year that Saturn and Uranus were exactly 90˚ apart in February, Texas experienced a huge power outage due to cold and snow. On the second exact square in June, Texas announced possible shortages in power due to the excessive heat. Volatile currency is another possible effect, as well as property and land values. Uranus is shaking up Taurus (earth, food, stability) issues, and Venus issues (currency, harmony, values). Saturn in a square angle to that is the systems and structures being challenged.
This month, with planets hanging out in Leo, activating the Saturn/Uranus square, Jo Gleason tells us it as a time when people will be feeling a true sense of purpose and thinking, “What about what I want?” Saturn, in its Aquarian home (the other is Capricorn), is being helpful and constructive, trying to evaluate things and provide a structure that makes it all sustainable. Uranus is the element of upheaval in our personal lives asking, “How do we get control and make what is happening adaptable?”
Pam Gregory notes that Saturn and Uranus were together in 1988, closely aligned from 1986 to 1990—a time when the cold war ended, the Soviet Union collapsed, the Tiananmen Square incident occurred, and the South African government faced opposition to apartheid. Financially, the October 1987 stock market crash occurred just prior to the exact alignment of Saturn and Uranus in February of 1988.
Pam points out that Saturn and Uranus formed a tense square in 2000, which was the year of the dotcom crash, when investments in tech companies were affected. It was also the time when Asian currencies and property values plunged. In 2008-2009, Saturn and Uranus were opposing each other, which was the time of the credit crunch that caused global economic problems, reportedly tied to deregulation that began in the late 1980s around the time of the Saturn/Uranus conjunction. Now we are in the square again, and it has hit twice this year with the final exact alignment occurring Christmas week. The final point of this circle, when Saturn and Uranus meet again at the same point in the same sign will be in June of 2032, which Pam tells us that “in ancient prophecy, many people feel [it] is the beginning of the golden age.” This Golden Age meeting of Saturn and Uranus will be exact in Gemini, however, as described by E. Alan Meece’s “Prospects for a Golden Age” (1996) it continues for a time (not exact) into the sign of Cancer moving forward in 2032 and coincides with a challenging angle to Uranus from Pluto, that could potentially result in “turbulent reorganizations and ethnic upheavals [that] will shake America, China, the Far East and/or nations ruled by the sign Cancer (Saturn conjunct Uranus there).” So, apparently, all that “glitters” may not be “gold.”
Acyuta-bhava Das, in his Mars, Saturn, Uranus videos reflects that the very potent Mars/Saturn/Uranus t-square is a “test of our ability to show up with our best…our highest self” giving us “an opportunity to really cultivate the better version of ourselves.” The transit can demonstrate discipline and mastery with the presence of Saturn, and simultaneously, it can show defiance that struggles with authority or outdated ways of thinking, with “anti respect toward older people, or elders, sometimes for good reasons” and sometimes not. As in martial arts, he says, “we have to learn how to make ourselves comfortable with the fluid exchange between submissiveness and dominance”–being comfortable in uncomfortable situations—and opening ourselves to pulling back and allowing someone to come into our space to open us up to their strength. Saturn brings an important mature, measured component to the strong push to change, and it is a dance as well as a negotiation that moves things forward.
Pam points out that, additionally, disruptive Eris is in impulsive Aries at a challenging square angle to transformative, destructive and sometimes violent, Pluto, explaining that both this and the Saturn/Uranus square are “very much about the theme of revolution versus repression” following an underlying theme of power issues.
Anne Ortelee suggests looking at the natal placements in our birthcharts for the houses that Saturn and Uranus were when we were born, as well as in a relocation chart of where we live now, “because that is where your lessons will be.” We need to look at the houses in the natal chart where the transits Saturn and Uranus are now—Aquarius and Taurus in the natal chart—because that is what the planets are asking us to do. Uranus is doing something differently. Taurus is financial security. Saturn is structure, discipline, making something real for the long- term, but possibly running into delays. Aquarius is independence of mind but also community involvement.
Rick Levine points out that the first few days of july “may see another round of some sort of significant event or events that actually have to do with either the over expression of energy or the restraint of it in one way or another—either the reaction to something that happened or something pushing to try to break through in either way.” He adds that “every time of the three times Saturn squares Uranus, Saturn also forms a sextile…to Chiron, which gives us the ability to potentially heal the energy. Chiron is the mentor, teacher and healer of a wound that doesn’t have a cure. A sextile (60˚ angle) presents an opportunity.
DAILY DETAILS:
JULY 1
Assertive Mars in courageous Leo is opposing conservative Saturn in Aquarius, and at the same time activating the year’s key push-pull square between Saturn and progressive, changeable Uranus. As Chris Brennan explains in the July 2021 Astrology Podcast, Mars and Uranus together “amps up urgency and the speed with which events happen. You have to think on your feet, and it rewards those who can do that.”
Anne Ortelee on Astrology Hub notes that the Mars energy in Leo is a dramatic, volatile lion energy. “Mars is coming to whack Saturn, then moving forward to hit Uranus,” she says. It is a difficult energy that could send you flying into something hard, and it can come from you toward someone or come from someone else toward you. She notes that going through the week up to the 4th of July, there is a lot of departure energy, with the moon in Aries—with an energy of “me first, what do I need or want?” Anne explains that “People will quit jobs and say, ‘I’m done.’ You don’t have to leave, but a lot of people will be leaving and breaking free.” With Mars and Venus together in Leo, there is talk of our passions, but, Anne says, “You don’t have to blow up your life to get the freedom you want.” She tells us that if we want to do something that is different than what everyone else wants, say what you want. The challenge, however, is that it could come out in a combative way, and we need to do it in a kind way that will facilitate the change and make it a supportive energy, not a fight or flight energy. Some people, however, will not be able to wait. “ It is explosive energy,” she says. “If you are done, slam the door, roar.” But realize, that Saturn is crabby about the plan and does not want to cooperate. It could bring up a sense of shame, because Saturn can be oppressive telling us what we should be doing.
Pam Gregory agrees in that assessment, saying that Mars moving into a square angle with Uranus, combines the energy of two planets that “like to work quickly, they demand freedom, they’re strong in terms of their individualism, want their needs met, and want to push forward quickly.” On top of the tendency of Saturn to bring in the rules and regulations and demand that things slow down for purposes of security and safety, the activation of the Saturn/Uranus square is energizing the sudden shocks and surprises, including earthquakes, volcanoes, internet cutouts, financial volatility, and other issues that are sudden and unexpected, Pam says.
Acyuta-bhava Das points out that Mars/Saturn connections bring both blessings and curses. For one thing, he says that Mars and Saturn are corrective. He explains, “Mars, Saturn will come along with kind of like a hammer, and just hammering home, what needs to get tighter, what needs to get, how things can improve, and where you can use your will to make something better or more efficient.” As Anne Ortelee said, Saturn brings shame, and Acyuta-bhava notes that “when we realise we’ve done something wrong, very quickly, we are going to feel ashamed or a little bit embarrassed. And that embarrassment is good because it’s corrective.” By feeling ashamed, he says the conscience inside of us redirects us. But it is important to be careful not to enjoy other people’s suffering, because Mars/Saturn can suffer the things that it enjoys.
Mars/Saturn also seeks recognition, Acyuta-bhava says. He advises instead to seek service, because you will get recognized in some way for seeking to serve on some level.
Rick Levine relates the Mars/Saturn opposition as a wave of reality or structure (Saturn) that may curtail someone’s unrestrained actions (Mars). He explains that, “every time a faster moving planet like Mars now (like venus later in the month) … moves into a square or a half square or an opposition or a conjunction with either Saturn or Uranus, it will also pull in the heart energy of the other planet.” In January, when Mars was square to Saturn, Levine reminds us that the the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump of “insurrection.” He adds that on April 19th, Mars made a square-and-a-half (sesquisquare) to Saturn, the day before police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts of murder of George Floyd. This Mars opposition to Saturn could bring another, similar scenario. Watch what happens on July 1 to see who is taken to task or whose actions are held accountable. On a personal level, Levine points out that we should “acknowledge and integrate our own taskmaster, our own sense of responsibility, of karma if you will, or else be confronted by an authoritative archetype externally that will whip us into shape or pull us into shape.”
JULY 2
Rick Levine notes that today, Mars makes an exact trine to Chiron which he says brings in that healing flow. He explains that while Chiron comes in to heal the wound that will not cure, “the owner of the wound that doesn’t cure projects that onto others and attempts to fix it or remedy it….the wound itself is incurable but the healing of others enables us to ameliorate, to remediate our own internal wounds”
JULY 3
Today, excitable Mars comes into a tense angle to erratic Uranus in earth-sign Taurus, which could, according to Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock, create volatility of currency (Taurus ruled by Venus is financial matters and banking) or disruptions in supply lines for basic commodities, especially in the US, since it is hitting on the day before the “birthday” of the country. Unstable Uranus can also affect our food supply (Taurus), or how we grow, process and distribute food. Taurus wants security, stability and it resists change, but Uranus is the planet of revolution, shaking up whatever it touches. And Mars is spurring that energy on.
Chris points out that Jupiter has been in Pisces since May, noting that financial astrologers thought this could be beneficial to Uranus in Taurus. But now, Jupiter is moving retrograde back to Aquarius, and it is soon not going to be as strong when it changes signs by the end of July.
Anne Ortelee talks about how nice the moon in Taurus is today after the crabbiness of Saturn. “The whole week builds up to the weekend. After a crescendo of energy the Taurus moon offsets it,” and we have a lovely closing aspect. So from the 1st and 2nd, Mars hits, bringing passion, fighting, hot sex, and the Taurus moon brings ‘Ahhhhh,’ good food, good fun, pleasure.” That is when she says we can relax, talk and cuddle.
Acyuta-bhava says that Mars/Uranus connections are very much like the Fourth of July. He says that Mars is a planet that deals with things like dominance and power struggles, competition, and so on. In combination with Uranus, it is about God of revolution, sudden unexpected changes, originality and inventiveness, brilliance and sort of the need for sudden rapid breakthroughs, the need for individuality and freedom and the idea of a new form of government, revolution and possibly bloodshed. Mars in Leo in a challenging square to Uranus can feel like a personal offense. We may get offended by something, but Acyuta-bhava says to look for the insights that are around that interaction or offense. “As the I ching tells us, a sudden cloudburst will always eventually come in a stagnant or stuck situation. So stick with it,” he says. “If you stick with things long enough (a little bit more Saturn, again) a breakthrough will come.” But there is pent-up energy that can come out when the breakthrough comes, so he warns, don’t lose your composure or dignity or modesty with a breakthrough. He reminds us of the downward spiral that comes sometimes when people win the lottery, and the way that their lives changed because of “the spasms of joy and crazy unharnessed spending and loaning and then it just blows up.”
Rick Levine’s message is that we will actually be feeling as if we are on edge… like mosquitoes or insects just before a storm—they swarm, they get agitated, and we might feel that inability to settle down because we know something’s going on.”
JULY 4
THE US SOLAR RETURN
A solar return for a person or a country signals a reboot for the subject whose chart is seeing the sun return to where it was on the first day of its existence. So, this day’s chart is important to what the US will face in the year ahead. Today, we see the moon meeting with Uranus in Taurus exactly while Mars is still in an exact 90˚ square to Uranus—a challenging, stressful angle. In mundane astrology—the astrology that focuses on the world’s events—the moon represents the people, Pam Gregory tells us. Uranus, she says, is the rule smasher, never wanting to obey the rules. People will likely feel (moon) less compliant, or less obedient, and assertive (Mars) as it activates the tension with restrictive Saturn, the energy could bring clashes between the rules (Saturn) and the rebels (Uranus), and a breaking of the boundaries.
Austin Coppock commented, “When I look at July 4th, I wonder how many fireworks accidents there will be this year.”
JULY 6
Mercury is at the end of Gemini, preparing to move into Cancer after the new moon at the end of the week. In its current position, logical, thoughtful Mercury is at a challenging angle to blurry, dreamy Neptune, which affects our mental clarity with brain fog, or just the desire to daydream and fantasize. It could be a day of falling down the rabbit hole on social media, for example.
Chris Brennan points out that it is the final square between Mercury and Neptune in this go-round, which indicates Mercury trying to transmit information and Neptune clouding things up, which, he says, is “antithetical to Mercury’s tendencies and desires.” Austin points out that the Mercury/Neptune squares have coincided with the disclosure talks about UFOs, which he jokes could potentially, under this aspect, be concluded as, “That object is definitely unidentified.”
Acyuta-bhava Das says the Mercury square to Neptune is a transit that favors singer-song writers, poets and eloquent speech because it is “fluidity of mind, non-ordinary experiences and insights [that] flow through suddenly.” But it is also deception or unclear communication and unconscious slips of the tongue, gossip and warped perceptions, as well as technology issues.
Rick Levine points out that Mercury being square to Neptune brings up some of the stuff from the middle end of may and the beginning of june um and that’s followed quickly by venus making an opposition to saturn. He says these aspects could be “a bit of a reality check—it’s almost like we’re forced to see the truth in something that maybe maybe we didn’t recognize, maybe we didn’t see ,maybe we didn’t want to see, maybe we were purposefully misleading ourselves or others.”
JULY 7
Venus is going through the same connections to Saturn and Uranus that Mars just went through. Today it is opposite Saturn. Acyuta-bhava Das points out that “Venus saturn in opposition with Uranus in the mix can suggest serious crossroads in love and relationships or around friendships.” It can also bring about deeper commitments, maturity in relationships, and with Uranus, it could mean having breakthroughs in relationships.
Venus will also trine Chiron (the healer) today, the same way Mars did a few days ago. Venus is about our values, relationships and finances, so perhaps healing these things through our woundedness related to them. Chiron is the release agent for tension that comes about from the opposition to Saturn, Rick Levine says. This combination of first Mars, then Venus, being in opposition with Saturn and square angle to Uranus can mean “we have some craziness going on here, we have some radical energy, some progressive energy (Uranus), some energy that’s been held behind Saturn’s wall, behind Saturn’s [authoritativeness].” It is, he says, “in some ways breaking through, that it’s doing stuff that is…maybe trying to do an end run around whatever the authority is; if it can’t break, if it can’t confront the authority directly, can we do an end run around it and just basically not acknowledge it at at all?”
JULY 8
Chris Brennan and astrologer Lisa Schaim have chosen July 8th as one of the best days of the month to initiate something new. It is a good day for “communication and all things mercurial,” Brennan says. A good time to wrap up communication and end a cycle in order to begin a new one. Mercury, remember is about writing, speaking, learning, teaching, selling, researching, negotiating, and coming to agreements. Mercury is also trade and business, as well as short-distance travel. It comprises technology that involves communication such as computers and phones, email, websites, social media and apps. Maybe start a new business, or buy a new computer, learn a new language or negotiate a new contract.
Acyuta-bhava Das, in his July 2021 video, reminds us that Venus will be square to Uranus by the 8th which he says “can be an electric awakening of the erotic nature of relationships. If your love life is stagnant, Venus/Uranus will wake it up.” So, Venus opposing Saturn yesterday can be serious blockages in relationships, but with Uranus can be followed by significant breakthroughs.
Rick Levine tells us that there is a quincunx (150˚ angle) today between Mercury and Pluto, which he says is “a disruption, an inconsistency between Mercury and Gemini, [which is] the information that we’re getting, the information that is flowing, and Pluto, [which is] the deeper picture, what’s hidden behind the obvious.”
JULY 9-10
NEW MOON IN CANCER
The New Moon in Cancer happens at 18˚ 1’ of Cancer, at 9:16 p.m. EDT, which is in a wide opposition to powerful Pluto at 25˚ of Capricorn, representing government authority and transition. This whole formation is making a t-square to disruptive Eris in volatile Aries. Pluto and Eris both move very slowly, so they are in a very long-term challenging square to each other in these current few years. But Pam Gregory tells us that the new moon in Cancer brings in an energy that is protective with a desire to safeguard those we love, our home, our home country. “Cancer is a very sensitive, loving, gentle sign and it is very much about the home and family,”she says. Pluto in opposition to that new moon represents the “feeling of power coming at us, or something or someone in our personal lives, or on the public stage, that is overpowering, overlording, overbearing in some way.” So, there may be a desire to “hunker down,” she says, as a way to stay safe. But she adds that we can either give away our power to the external authority, or we can take back our power (she tells us Pluto in Capricorn can also be our inner authority), and in that empowerment, realize that we are the creators of our life. She adds that the new moon signals a focus on our family, but the strong Aquarius energy this year and in the years ahead may represent the idea that the collective community is our tribe and family.
This new moon is at a highly positive angle to spiritually creative Neptune in Pisces, and it adds to a sense of beauty and compassion, beginning (new moon) to feel things in a way that incorporates higher-level thinking and creativity, but at the same time, Pam Gregory warns, there is still the possibility of being fooled by foggy facts. “Neptune calls us to rely on our intuition to know the truth,” and by the 12th Mercury will be out of its challenging square to Neptune and we can get more clarity.
Rick Levine points out that the sun trine (120˚ angle) to Neptune “shows our emotions and how our compassion and also how our fear of the unknown (cancer likes safety security of home and family), when it all is threatened, that’s when the crab pulls in behind its shell—it’s when it takes that shell and it buries it under a rock or it burrows into a cave or in the sand because that crab wants to remain safe.” He also says that our imagination, dreams and illusions–that which we dream “can actually become true so we should be careful about what we consciously imagine or dream.”
Chris Brennan and friends expect the new moon will bring major beginnings and endings related to home, career, and self-development. Austin Coppock says he also expects “an aftershock two days after the new moon” as Venus begins to leave Cancer and the moon heads into Leo. “We will feel as if we are moving away from this, and we will, after the new moon.” Chris adds that Neptune’s harmonious angle to the new moon brings a sense of optimism and hopefulness. And to add emphasis to Cancer themes, mercury is preparing to leave Gemini and go into Cancer and bringing its mercury energy—again: thinking, speaking, meeting, writing, selling, learning, negotiating and hearing news related to the home, family and parents or home country. Chris points out that sometimes a lunation does not need to be a big beginning but instead “it can just be starting to do something different—visit a new restaurant, meet someone new, begin a new hobby. There is a new beginning or wrapping up, but not necessarily a huge, monumental chapter.”
However, with Pluto opposing the new moon, Jo Gleason notes that as Neptune brings a little break with “space to let yourself space out and dream or relax a little bit, Pluto looms in the distance.” She describes it as, “Remembering merrier times but seeing the dragon in the distance and preparing to go there.” The Cancer new moon is a rest point, to remind us to care for ourselves and to get clarity on the desires. But the opposition to a malefic screams frustration, she warns.
Rick Levine notes that on the 9th we have a bit of a reality check on the information we have, with Mercury in a sesquisquare (135˚angle) to Saturn, which is a continuation of the Mercury (information) quincunx (uncomfortable angle) to Pluto (hidden things) from the 8th. Information may become known, or uncovered, out of a sense of responsibility (Saturn).
JULY 11-12
Things start to shift today in the vicinity of Cancer and Leo. The sensitive moon heads into Leo as thoughtful Mercury arrives in the comforting sign of Cancer. At the same time, affectionate, pleasurable Venus meets up with passionate fiery Mars in big-hearted Leo and the moon quickly joins them forming a triple conjunction. Jo Gleason and Austin Coppock have a field day illustrating what it all means. Jo reminds us that Mars is opposing Saturn while it is in Leo, and both Mars and Venus want something. But Mars, she tells us, expresses this by saying, “This is what I absolutely don’t want,” while Venus is saying, “This is what I actually do want.”
Austin weighs in saying, “What I hear is Mars saying, ‘What I want is you to leave me the F alone!’” adding that “Happiness is not just about having what you want; not having what you don’t want is half happiness.”
Chris adds that Mars and Venus is give and take; Mars is what we are taking, Venus is that which gives and provides something. “Leo is trying to achieve parity between what we give and what we take—find the equilibrium between those two tendencies.” To that, Austin points out that “Mars gives by achieving things for someone; firefighters fight fires so I don’t have to.”
Pam Gregory suggest that the Mars/Venus placement can bring in a new relationship if the mid-point of Leo falls in a person’s fifth or seventh house. However, she also points out that Venus comes in to replace Mars in the t-square with restrictive Saturn and unpredictable Uranus, meaning there is the probability for financial volatility. “Venus is linked to wealth and currencies, so Venus opposing Saturn and both squaring Uranus here is another strong suggestion of some kind of radical change happening in the financial markets.”
Pam also notes that as logical Mercury enters nurturing Cancer, it forms a very harmonious angles with expansive Jupiter in early creative Pisces. “This enables us to think big, have much bigger ideas, bigger visions of our future, and because Jupiter is in Pisces, this is our future with greater spiritual meaning,” she notes. Jupiter is aligned with Fomalhaut, one of the four royal stars of Persia, which is “high level, beautiful information.” According to Astrology King, the star can have a helpful or malevolent influence, but when connected to Mercury it can “stimulate mental capabilities.” Mercury, Pam points out, is on the World Axis of the cardinal signs at zero degrees, which means “something comes onto the public stage, so something could be revealed for us…at this time.”
JULY 13
Today we will be rewarded for the hard work we have done, says Acyuta-bhava Das. That’s because Venus and Mars align exactly in Leo forming a marriage of things that we have been trying to work together for a while. They “harmonize things that have been wounded or broken,” by the oppositions and squares each one has gone through with Saturn and Uranus. The combination fixes things—Mars takes it apart and Venus harmonizes it—they put it back together. He also talks about the romance of Venus and Mars—a very happy connection. “Often it is a way in which the opposites of all kinds seem to get along a bit better.” Tensions and dualities come together nicely by the middle of the month, he says, making this the most positive transit of the month of July.
JULY 15-22
Rick Levine discusses the Venus and Mars quincunxes at this time. First, on the 15th, Venus is quincunx (150˚ angle) to Neptune, and Mars is at the same angle to Neptune on the 18th. On that day Venus is quincunx to Pluto and four days later, on the 22nd, Mars will quincunx Pluto. Then there is another quincunx from Mercury to Saturn. Levine explains that “quincunxes are an aspect of of misalignment of ill-adjustment; a quincunx is like is like not hitting the target right on because it’s like a blind spot. So we have this creativity happening in the expressive sign of of Leo.” The deeper energies of Pluto, which is the underworld or the subconscious, and Neptune, which is the more spiritual, higher ideals, Levine tells us. So for a few days in mid-July things don’t feel quite right–“like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, where it is awful, it’s not going to kill you, it’s not even going to hurt you”–it just doesn’t feel quite right, and we need to adjust something so it is less irritating and annoying.
JULY 17
The sun is at the end of Cancer opposing Pluto in Capricorn today. This aspect is particularly well suited to “moments of releasing major potential,” Acyuta-bhava Das tells us. Pluto is what is hidden or buried deep beneath the surface and the sun is clarity, wisdom and seeing things clearly. So we get insights and a clearer vision into what comes bubbling up from below. It is also an indication of needing to break new ground in order to launch something new. Acyuta-bhava adds that Pluto brings in the idea of death and rebirth of people or life directions. Pluto also represents father figures and leaders as well as empowerment and disempowerment. These, too, can experience a death and rebirth that become major turning points.
JULY 21
Venus exits Leo today and goes into Virgo where it is in its fall—it is neither strong nor happy. It challenges things that Venus represents, Acyuta-bhava Das tells us. These may include relationships or our love life, creative things, aesthetics, how our bodies look, our wardrobe, and new things that people are buying. It is also not a good time to get tatoos or a makeover or anything that you are trying to make more beautiful.
Rick Levine describes it as Venus being showy, big love, but as it goes into Virgo, “the energy just begins to not express quite as fast, it’s more cautious, it’s maybe even timid, it’s more analytical and love is a bit more narrow-minded….In virgo it’s I think I’m gonna reserve my love for this and that or only this.”
JULY 22
Venus has just moved into Virgo and in doing so, it now opposes Jupiter in Pisces. This, Acyuta-bhava Das tells us, can be very opulent, tempting us to spend a lot of money or to go down a rabbit hole into a superficial space. What does work with this configuration, he tells us, is a big yard project or beautiful landscape design—with Venus in earthy Virgo and expansive Jupiter enhancing the efficiency of it. Jupiter/Venus connections are also beneficial for financial matters or mercury (Virgo) connections of meeting the right people or having good associations, Acyuta-bhava adds.
Rick Levine’s take on it is that we need to be careful it can be a tremendously enjoyable aspect but we have to be careful about over doing it. For example, it can be “about making decisions that are based on too much confidence…. If you have too much confidence you might think that you’re going to have more money than you actually will and maybe spend more than you have; or if you’re too confident, you may assume something’s going to work out when in fact it doesn’t.”
The sun comes home to its domicile, Leo. It is the most powerful position of the sun this year. Acyuta-bhava tells us that it opens us up to finding a sense of dignity, exploring our sense of purpose and wondering why we are here and what we are called to do. Again, Rick Levine points out that the quincunx (150˚ angle) that forms between the sun and Jupiter as the sun switches signs is about “ill-adjustment between a gauging how much is enough, and so we have a real sense of things can get out of hand…things can get [to be] too much, too big, too fast, and this can set us up for problems down the road or even immediately.”
In the 2021 Year Ahead forecast for Astrology Podcast, Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock and Kelly Surtees discussed the sun’s move into Leo as feeling like cleaning up tensions and conflict, because Mars has been hanging out there all month, and Mars is tense in fixed signs. Kelly pointed out that “the sun in Leo is setting up a pattern we will deal with the planets—it stabilizes things.” But in opposition to Saturn, she says, there will need to be negotiations. “Both planets are in one of their home signs while standing on opposing sides of a topic,” Kelly says, though the aspect will not be exact until August 1st. Austin’s view was, “I see it like in Game of Thrones terms where the monarch as the sun is negotiating with the leader of the rebellion—Saturn in Aquarius.” There is a quality of negotiation.
JULY 23
FULL MOON IN AQUARIUS
The full moon highlights the house that Aquarius is in before Jupiter returns from the Pisces pool and to face the chilly (Saturn) breeze of the air sign Aquarius once more. The moon is “priming and warming up for the work Jupiter has to do for expanding on its groundwork,” earlier in the year, says Chris Brennan. “It will spotlight the problems that Jupiter is getting called back to Aquarius to work with,” Austin adds.
But Chris Brennan notes that the moon is close to Saturn when it is in the full moon position, and that a day later it will connect with Saturn to activate the Saturn/Uranus square—that challenging push-pull tension between the rules and the breaking of the rules, or the old vs. the new ideas. Moon energy makes it more personal and emotional.
Rick Levine notes that this full moon being between Pluto and Saturn is significant because it ties back to that brings us back to what was going on during their conjunction in January, 2020, at the first mention of mortality from COVID. Later in the day or then next day, the moon catches up with Saturn and we hit a wall. He adds, “There’s a sense of that emotional detachment with that moon in Aquarius, so we have this polarization between the brilliance of the light of the energy of the self and the social connection, [which] like the light of the self, is shining into the social realm, and again there is that tug of war—I can’t maintain my own light while I’m actually reflecting the zeitgeist of the culture of the society of the times.”
JULY 25
Logical Mercury in Cancer moves to oppose powerful Pluto in Capricorn, which Rick Levine notes means our thoughts and mind are “not necessarily being supported by what’s out there,” bumping up against the power structure, and deeper issues. So we may have to diminish our own emotions “to fit into the larger power structure…which can be some sort of power struggle,” which Levine says can typically be represented by a person in power or of power that represents the larger structure, itself.
JULY 27
Mercury speeds into Leo coming off its quick tour of Cancer, and it heads for a conjunction with the sun—another cazimi—on August 1st, which, according to Astrology King, will be the best time for interacting with others and stimulating ideas and sharing them, as well as a good time for a short, local trip. It might be good to plan ahead for that.
Austin Coppock points out that Mercury makes a better conjunction to the sun with Saturn opposing it—as it comes into Leo to clean up after the Venus and Mars dust ups. These two planets opposing Saturn were about getting feelings hurt, Jo Gleason adds. Mercury is mind oriented, she says, and with the clarity of the sun, the mind is catching up and focusing on “what are we going to do now (that the emotional part is out of the way)?” Austin responds that in the opposition to Saturn and its connection to Uranus, the other question is “What is the technical implementation?”
JULY 28
Jupiter returns to Aquarius today, and astrologers say we should feel the difference. Acyuta-bhava Das says “We may feel that shift somewhat in the negative at first, but in time we will get used to it and back to what Saturn wants us to do, and how we are expanding (Jupiter) according to Saturn’s plan.”
Austin Coppock describes the return of Jupiter as being there to help Saturn with things. There are systems in the midst of a crisis needing reform, he points out. “Saturn is the systems being challenged….Jupiter is helping with a problem, doing a separate good,” he explains.
Before Jupiter goes into Aquarius again, we can see the support that Jupiter in Pisces can bring. Jo Gleason says the key to Jupiter’s retrograde back into Aquarius is “how can we keep that or integrate it into our structures?” Based on what we learned, can we keep the flame alive a bit longer and use it to help Saturn in Aquarius, which Chris Brennan sees as “an inkling of growth or change that needs a second push.
Uranus connecting to Saturn means we are rethinking the whole approach, Austin says. Jupiter, he notes, is still very friendly in Aquarius, in spite of the square between Saturn and Uranus.
JULY 29
Once Jupiter gets back into Aquarius, and gets to the 29˚ point, it forms an opposition with Mars which is in Leo about to dive into Virgo any minute. This, Chris Brennan describes as “a parting shot” as Mars is heading out the door. Jo Gleason says it’s like a fist bump, but Austin, who agrees it would involve a fist, calls it “a surprise kick in the nuts or punch in the face.” And a, “Welcome back, motherf’er.” But it literally is a parting shot. Chris points out that the surprise sucker punch sets up for a final climactic act at the end of the year—Mars is now leaving the fixed sign of Leo where it is defensive and tries to shoot things down. It will spend time building up its defenses again until it hits Scorpio In November and we have another round.
With Mars opposing Jupiter, Rick Levine adds, “we can get carried away physically, we can overstep our bounds, we can infringe on someone else’s territory, [and] it’s not necessarily about war—it is about stepping on someone else’s toes because we’re so confident that what we’re doing is the sense of moral self-righteousness that we know what we’re doing is for the good of someone.” At the same time he says it can be playful, sporting or competitive.
Levine adds that Mercury just moved into Leo, and by today, Mars moves into Virgo, still closely opposed to Jupiter. This, he tells us, is “a hugely significant period of time, because we can get carried away by anything that becomes important or that we think is important, and yet as Mars and Venus are both in Virgo, there’s also a sense of wanting to make sure that what we’re doing is is right.”
JULY 30
Levine tells us that today we have Venus making a square-and-a-half to Pluto, and this is “a bit disruptive, it’s a bit emotional, it can be upsetting, or at least intense, because our feelings are not working again within the larger structure of things. That is highlighted by the fact that not only is Venus forming a sesqui-square with Pluto, it is nearly simultaneously forming a quincunx with Saturn, which means that we can’t get it right, we may be feeling unloved, we may feel as if something isn’t working out, and there’s something deep, that’s against us.” He says we can experience paranoia or self-doubt.
In addition, he says that by the next day, the sun and mercury make that square-and-a-half to Neptune, bringing in a lack of clarity, meaning we end July with “uncertainty as to what we accomplished or where we are” going into August.
END NOTES
As the month comes to an end, the Astrology Podcast group says that Aquarius is getting fully lip up in July, carrying over into August. With full moons in Aquarius in both July and August, Jupiter’s return to Aquarius, and Saturn’s ongoing zap from Uranus throughout the year, Aquarius has important lessons for us.
Rick Levine sums up July by saying we’re not out of the woods yet. “This ongoing dance that I talked about back in 2020, looking ahead at 2021, is not going to be over until the end of the year.” He explains that though we may not see a huge amount of new things during July, .our perspectives are changing ,we’re getting facts that we didn’t have before, we’re getting new information, and we are doing that dance between the old the traditional (the conservative, the authority, reality Saturn) and the potential of what happens when we break the mold (Uranus, the progressive energy, the radical energy, the innovative energy). Uranus without Saturn falls flat on its face, he says, because it needs structure to survive and Saturn without Uranus falls flat on its face because it collapses under its own weight—it stays in the past and it becomes irrelevant.
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