July 2008: Time to Understand Your Internal Feelings

In many ways this month of July is an interlude between June, when Pluto re-entered Sagittarius, and August, when two eclipses of importance occur. The re-entry of Pluto into Sagittarius until November 2008 and for the last time in over 240 years marks an underlying theme of reviewing past actions so that you can understand how to make life changes that affect how you deal with global paradigm shifts, especially economic shifts. The eclipses which will occur next month focus on the Asian economic situation and its impact on citizens in other countries, especially the United States.

So, on the surface, it appears that not much will happen during July because all the aspects are rather minor. Yet, these minor aspects are very personal. They emphasize that it’s time for you to review relationships in your life as well as your economic approach to life. They’ll create tension that enables you to confront some of your fears so that you can move on with your life. If you feel discomfort, it’s because you’re getting a body signal that it’s time to make some changes. Pay attention to this discomfort and you’ll find ways to make your life happier.

As the month begins, Mercury in Gemini forms a quincunx to Jupiter retrograde in Capricorn while Mars enters Virgo on July 1st. There are two things going on this day. You need to review your long-term plans keeping an eye on the details of those plans. You may not understand all the implications right now. And, perhaps you don’t need to. Some people think that Mars is not comfortable in Virgo because of the need to look at you life and understand how your daily routine impacts your health. At the same time, Mars can lead to optimistic feelings that you can overcome daily obstacles by the necessity to get things completed. What you really need to do is temper your sense of optimism with reality. Through doing that, you’ll be able to overcome any obstacles that crop up over the next few days.

The new Moon in Cancer which occurs on July 2nd brings up various emotions that center around the importance of nurturing yourself and understanding your interactions with family, especially any children in your life. Venus will be forming an opposition to Jupiter retrograde and Mercury will form a trine to Chiron retrograde on the following day, yet these aspects are very strong in the new Moon chart. What this means is that you need to determine what is important to you as it relates to your family. These two days are also important times when you can resolve conflicts with other people, especially your family members.

Globally, this new Moon sets up a difficult pattern for the world economic picture. The housing market and mortgage problems continue to be part of the news. The stock market is reacting to information that shows people don’t trust financial institutions and any reports regarding economic well-being. Spending is actually down because more people are staying home and spending time with their families.

News of an erratic stock market continue on July 4th, when Venus forms a quincunx to Chiron retrograde, and on July 5th, when Mercury forms a square to Uranus retrograde. Since July 4th is a holiday in the United States and July 5th is a Saturday, information regarding the financial markets may not be available to the public until the following Monday. Yet, July 5th and the square that Mercury forms to Uranus retrograde is important for another reason. When Mercury forms a square to Uranus retrograde, it creates the start of a mutable T-square energy which doesn’t complete until Mercury forms an opposition to Pluto retrograde on July 10th.

A mutable T-square energy can represent several things:

First: it’s important that you don’t let other people suck you into their fears. Usually these fears are coming from misinformation rather than fact. This need to verify information is emphasized by the fact that Mercury will form a trine to Neptune retrograde on July 6th and Venus will form a quincunx to Neptune retrograde on July 7th.

Second: it’s important that you move slowly if you need to take any actions right now. There is a tendency to react to information received from other people rather than listen to what is really being said. If you react to information right now, you may regret it because you don’t have all the facts.

What is positive about Mercury forming a square to Uranus retrograde is that you start questioning certain concepts which now seem to interfere with your happiness. Through this questioning, you’ll be able to make better changes over the next few months.

As Mercury forms an opposition to Pluto retrograde on July 10th, the energy of this mutable T-square dissipates. This is the day that you may decide “enough is enough.” With Mars also forming a conjunction to Saturn on this day, it’s easier for you to determine what’s really important in your life and what is interfering with your personal progress. Also, this is a good day for you to understand your own fears. Sometimes fears are based on old beliefs that no longer have validity in your life. Other times fears are warnings that come from you subconscious mind. By understanding your fears, you can determine which are based on reality and which create self-defeating behaviors that prevent your success in life.

Just before Venus enters Leo on July 12th, it forms a quincunx to Pluto retrograde. As with July 10th, this is a very good day to understand your fears. Venus creates a desire to attract love and wealth into your life. You will feel more romantic and generous once Venus enters Leo. But before Venus enters Leo, you need to review your relationships to see if they support your well being or if they increase your personal fears. If a relationship increases your fears, it may be an abusive relationship and you really need to look at that situation. If a relationship supports you as you work through your fears, this relationship is built on mutual trust and respect. Although this may seem very egotistic, it’s important that you are the center of your universe right now. By being the center, you’ll really feel how important you are as a person.

The full Moon that occurs (with Sun in Cancer and Moon in Capricorn) on July 18th is always one that seems to bring a little discomfort in life because the Moon is not comfortable in the sign of Capricorn. It means that you need to make some emotional choices regarding your goals and how they impact your family. Mercury entered Cancer a few days earlier (July 14th) and its influence is very strong in this full Moon chart until July 25th when Mercury forms a quincunx to Pluto retrograde.

The weather throughout many parts of the world will continue to form unusual patterns, either bringing too much rain or too much heat. These weather conditions could actually zap your energy. So, it’s important to get a lot of rest as well as take care of your body.

Mercury will also form several aspects during this time period which turn your thoughts inward. You can either use this time to think about ways to take care of yourself and your family. Or, you can get involved in emotional reactions which seem to bring up fears and insecurities. The way to avoid these negative feelings is to spend time appreciating the good that surrounds you.

Politically in the United States, more rumors circulate the two presidential candidates as they attempt to use emotion, rather than reason, to influence your vote. The unfortunate result of this type of campaigning could mean that population becomes more polarized as the elections come closer.

Since the campaigning turns more negative, the stock market will also become erratic. As always, the stock market doesn’t like uncertainty. This particular presidential campaign really represents an emotional form of uncertainty.

As Mercury moves into Leo on July 26th and Mars forms a trine to Jupiter retrograde on the same day, you may start feeling a bit more optimistic about your life. If you dealt with your fears earlier in the month, you’ll start seeing results of success. You’ll find that blockages are leaving your life and you may even feel in control of your life for the first time in a long time. Even if you weren’t able to release all your fears, you’ll still feel hope that somehow you can work things out and end up with positive results.

As the month ends, Venus makes several aspects which are important on a personal level. It forms a conjunction to the Moon’s South Node on July 27th; it forms an opposition to Chiron retrograde on July 28th; it forms a quincunx to Uranus retrograde on July 30th; and it forms an opposition to Neptune retrograde on July 31st. What this means is that life really does circulate around your feelings of value. And, it also means that you need to understand these feelings so you can adapt to any paradigm shifts that will occur over the next several years.

The Moon’s South Node represents past behaviors in your life that aren’t important any more. It’s easier to make changes in your life. You may feel more compassion for other people who are experiencing difficulties. Meanwhile, both Chiron and Uranus can deal with feelings of frustration and anger because situations don’t seem to be fitting your needs. When the opposition to Neptune occurs on the final day of this month, you may still feel a bit confused. But, confusion can be a good thing if you understand that all the information you need in life isn’t quite available to you right now. What is available to you right now is your ability to let go of fears and do the best you can.