Star Weather: Astrology Report 7/23–7/30
All times Pacific.
Friends, Saturday’s Venus stationary retrograde brings a strong Venus influence to this week, but 13 inconjunctions indicate another week of paying attention to improving health and well-being for ourselves and loved ones. Happily, these aspects are not as challenging as last week’s. Venus stationary retrograde in late Leo suggests we focus on the realm of Aphrodite. How are the women in our lives doing? Are romance and creativity providing good experiences? Do we live with appreciation of beauty from the humble to the awe inspiring? What can we do to help support Venus and her representatives? A good week to remember Anne Frank’s poignant wisdom: “I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”
Sunday 7/23 Chiron is stationary retrograde around dawn and will be retrograde until the last week of December. Mercury square Uranus is exact mid-afternoon. The Chiron station suggests a reappraisal of where we’ve been and where we’re going when it comes to collective and individual health. Chiron is the wounded healer here to teach us how to find balance between the wound and the healing. Perhaps we have good basic habits but we live with chronic anger, or we are sharply critical of self and others. Chiron in Aries involves starting over, finding something worth exploring, fighting for the right to be yourself. With the north node now in Aries as well we’re asked to forget the past so we can activate in the present. Anger issues require attention all around. Shadows are out having conversations.
Monday 7/24 and Tue 7/25 only lunar aspects are exact. Benjamin Franklin famously said: “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.”
Wed 7/26 Mercury inconjunct Neptune is exact. This gives a Mercury retrograde-like sense of confusion, in a fog of delays and misunderstandings. With Mercury inconjunct Pluto the next day, and Venus inconjunct Neptune growing stronger, it’s not a good time for taking unnecessary risks. Arguments over ideology might turn violent, for example. This aspect can indicate contagion and there are still active contagions out there, so don’t hesitate to show a little caution. A good time for watching weird movies, having uncanny conversations, or spacing out as a way of refreshing ourselves. With Neptune still in the degree of its station spaciness abounds from now through most of August. These stationary degrees tend to build up until they are unbearable for many. But we can always try to enjoy Neptune’s intoxicating lack of clarity. Intuition, dreams and imagination deserve extra attention for the next four weeks or so. Take notes.
Thu 7/27 Mercury conjunct Venus is exact in the morning, indicating flirtation, diplomacy, romantic communications, or creativity dedicated to love or beauty, but with Mercury inconjunct Pluto exact in the evening there are undercurrents of breakdowns, obsessions, suspicions, but also the opportunity for tranquility and for healing, if we give ourselves the time. Mercury will be pulling the other direction here at the end of its trip through Leo. It’s up to each of us to find the balance. If we stay with Mercury in the hypnosis of Venus we may find Pluto represents persistent problems that require more attention. Writers and others who depend on communication may benefit from triple checking as mistakes could be telling and embarrassing.
Fri 7/28 Mercury enters Virgo mid-afternoon. We can benefit from the eye for organization, the willingness to think through what needs to be done, the ability to reorganize, improving life in small but significant ways. Avoid perfectionism. Don’t sit in judgement of others or self. For creative people editing can be fruitful but don’t let worry creep into your craft as Mercury in Virgo is always scanning for deeper level problems. Read something practical. Learn how to improve the day to day by doing some research online. Mercury will go retrograde in Virgo near the end of August.
Sat 7/29 only lunar aspects are exact. As Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita: “Each person is his own friend or enemy.”
Sun 7/30 Venus inconjunct Neptune is exact in the morning. Here we have the classic hangover aspect. The combination of Venus and Neptune is alluring, especially intoxicating, and can lure us into all sorts of illusions. On the other hand Venus Neptune aspects support the highest experiences and expressions of love. But inconjunctions make it much more difficult to find balance between two extremes. Here we have Venus in Leo just wanting to have fun in the sun, but also ready and willing to protest in the sun. Here in L.A. it’s actors, script writers and hotel workers, all workers in the vineyard of Venus. while Neptune in Pisces is hung up on all the cycles that are ending, strung out on conspiracy theories, and looking back to better days, as the dream factory risks dissolving. Reinvention required all around? The strikers are in sync with Venus inconjunct Neptune. The aspect reinforces the expectation that we’re unlikely to see a resolution in the next few weeks. If it happens a woman or other Venusian will likely be the one to lead the way.
There are big gears turning, folks, astrologically speaking. Pluto tiptoed back into Capricorn, but it will return to Aquarius. Remember how disconcerting that Uranian buzz was in the spring of 23? We now wait awhile in the bleak but familiar ambiance of Pluto in Capricorn (since 2008). But 2024 belongs to Pluto in Aquarius, from Jan 20 until Sept 1 when Pluto in Capricorn returns one last time but only for ten weeks. Nov 19 Pluto in Aquarius is here to stay for twenty years. Add to that Saturn starting a new cycle in Aries and Uranus entering Gemini in 2025 with Neptune beginning a new cycle in Aries in 2026. This will continue to be a decade of momentous changes.
We will likely look back from 2030 and find these times a bit primitive, though it’s hard to tell if we will be envious or unimpressed. With Saturn and Neptune getting fresh starts in Aries in 2025 it seems likely that the young will not be looking back enviously, even if their elders do. Of course we don’t need astrology to expect that. Let’s work on making the most of each day, however we define most. It’s never helpful to anticipate the future with dread, though dread is what Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn and Neptune in Pisces are all about, dread of the future and nostalgia about the past.
We can remind ourselves to expect wonders and opportunities, too. It’s almost always a mixed bag, when it comes to experiences on planet Earth. So let’s not count ourselves out from what may be our own wonderful futures. For best results navigate the rapids ahead patiently, calmly, with an eagerness for new adventures, and readiness to learn along the way. As Marilyn Monroe once said: “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.”
