All Times Pacific: Astrology Report 7/16–7/23
Friends, we have before us another roller coaster of a week. Think of it as stormy weather but some clear skies in between. Saturday 7/15’s Venus inconjunct Neptune retrograde indicates a week when confusion in romance and creativity may be more likely. Or our desires to be romantic and creative may be challenged by exhaustion, a misunderstanding, or a big picture change that leaves us feeling spent. Consciously choose to make a little space for romance, creativity, and other activities related to Venus, but also make room for activities ruled by Neptune. Get extra rest. Refresh yourself by enjoying something beautiful. Neptune is still in the degree of its station until August 23 so expect that spaced out feeling to continue.
Sun 7/16 only lunar aspects are exact. Pablo Neruda wrote: “I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.” Treat life that way whenever possible.
Mon 7/17 Mercury square Jupiter is exact around dawn. Avoid arrogant pronouncements, presuming over optimistically, or simply saying too much. We may earn optimism and opportunities for success. The new moon in Cancer arrives at 11:30 AM. Emotions tend to be centered around home and family with moon in Cancer. Many find the new moon an energizing time.
Also on Monday the North Node enters Aries. The last time we had Aries North Node was Dec 27, 2004 — Jun 22, 2006. North Korea announced it had nuclear weapons. YouTube was launched. China tightened its control over Taiwan. Russia and China conducted their first joint military exercise. Hurricane Katrina. A quake in Kashmir killed almost 90,000. Suicide bombings in Egypt, Jordan, and London. Russia stopped shipping natural gas to Ukraine in a price dispute. Russia made a deal to assist Iran’s nuclear arms program. We can see themes here that are still active and others likely to emerge again. For example, the high temperature of the ocean around Florida promises especially violent hurricanes.
In our own lives we can build on our relationships and other partnerships, on diplomacy, fairness and balance (Libra South Node) while bringing a new perspective, a fresh approach, to our activities. A kind of spring time or rebirth as a new cycle begins (Aries North Node).
Tue 7/18 and Wed 7/19 only lunar aspects are exact. Jun’ichirō Tanizaki wrote: “Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.” He suggested that one could not appreciate a beautiful object until one had seen the changing shadows it casts.
Thu 7/20 sun trine Neptune is exact in the morning. This can indicate inspiration, strong imagination and intuition. Meditation in the morning, especially this morning, can help us navigate what could prove to be for some a challenging day. Patience will see us through. A frustrating Mars opposition Saturn aspect is exact in the early afternoon, with moon opposition Saturn and then conjunct Mars, both in the hour before midnight, to be followed by sun opposition Pluto exact tomorrow. Don’t work yourself to the point of exhaustion. Respect the need for rest and for pacing yourself. Angry outbursts can occur with these aspects especially where needs have been ignored too long. These aspects do favor practice, learning, patience, organization, effort well spent. As Ursula Le Guin wrote: “When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep.”
Fri 7/21 sun opposition Pluto is exact in the late evening with Mercury trine Chiron exact three minutes before midnight. The opposition can indicate power struggles, hidden underhanded actions, pent up energy escaping violently, so again we want to be patient and calm. If we have issues we want to address them consciously instead of bottling them up until they explode. Meditation helps us get the best out of Pluto’s power of confronting us in order to transform us.
About that all too human habit of becoming driven by ambition Robert Burton author of Anatomy of Melancholy wrote: “Like dogs in a wheel, birds in a cage, or squirrels in a chain, ambitious men still climb and climb, with great labor, and incessant anxiety, but never reach the top.” Take some time off. Mercury trine Chiron is a good time to research healing and other matters related to well being. The results could be life changing in the long run.
Sat 7/22 Venus is stationary retrograde at 6:33 PM until 9/3. The sun enters Leo just before 7 PM. Venus retrograde means we’re going back over old ground in creative projects and in our romantic relationships. We may feel a bit more introverted in those areas. Venus retrograde has been said to enhance creativity. When the sun leaves moon ruled Cancer for it’s own sign of rulership, Leo, summer always feels like it’s at its peak. Take some time to enjoy it. If we are fortunate enough to have what we need we can appreciate the small things and find reasons to love life.
Sun 7/23 Chiron is stationary retrograde (and remains retrograde for the rest of 2023). In the area of health, and possibly public health, we may be going back over old ground. In our lives its a good time to examine our habits and make improvements where we can. Mid-afternoon Mercury square Uranus is exact, indicating fast communications, including blurted disruptive comments and startling outbursts. This can be an anxious time when we overthink, especially about the future. But take notes as you may have great ideas.
