July 2016 Monthly Forecast

Goodbye Dark Night of the Soul

From January to June, the astrology brought the potential for a life-changing six months of being compelled to live more essentially from perhaps previously unseen parts of the core self, involving a journey through some fears and challenges.

June might’ve felt like a continuation of the dark night of the soul with almost all the planets in cahoots to force decisions. Yet at its heart, the astrology of June was all about propelling rebirth through liberating breakthroughs. If you feel you’re still ploughing through the dark, know that the coming months also maintain enough of a breakthrough energy for relief to come.

The second half of the year looks brighter than the first half. We’ve been through the key turning point of June’s massive astrology, Mars has gone Direct (on 30 June after 10 weeks Retro) and is now on its way out of Scorpio, and the positive Jupiter North Node transit we’ve had all year still holds its glow even though waning.

What’s Your True North?

The challenging transit of Mars in Scorpio has coloured the whole year so far, affecting finances, all relationships, especially intimate or support relationships, and also affecting the soul. The soul part of the self has had the upper hand in a way, taking us into deep emotion so that we can see what we will lose or sacrifice if we don’t take into account our heart truths.

The uplifting transit of Jupiter next to the North Node in Virgo was also strong all through the first half of the year helping move cherished visions forward, but provoking us to look at every detail to check we’re being practical about following genuine true north, not something that looks like what will make our lives work, but actually won’t. It also advises patience as we might need to take what look like side steps, but in actual fact are getting us to the ultimate goal. It’s up to us to discern.

Dream Deeply into the Self

Mars in Scorpio as well as Jupiter next to the North Node want us to get deeply on path yet they encourage different approaches. Mars in Scorpio is all or nothing, basically saying ‘I will live from my core self and I will be uncompromising about it’. But Jupiter and the North Node say ‘yes, we agree, live from the core self but don’t burn bridges and instead find ways to surrender to a process and work through it step by step by participating with the energy that’s around each day’.

The South Node and Neptune in Pisces have been encouraging daydreaming all year as another avenue to get to the heart of true needs, but they have the potential to lull us to sleep thinking all will fall into our laps without much effort. Practical steps are important, no matter how small or tentative to sort out what’s really possible from what’s not. No planets, no spirit helpers, no other ‘mystical factors’ can do that for us.

Jupiter Leaves North Node and Mercury Arrives

Jupiter is still looking spectacular in our night skies in the early evening in the north-west, but by later in August is a lot closer to the western horizon and setting earlier so will become harder to see. So catch your last glimpses of Jupiter now! Similarly, there will be a thread of the Jupiter North Node energy to draw on for extra motivation and self-belief until late August/early September when Jupiter ultimately leaves the North Node behind.

But the North Node won’t be alone for long. At the end of July, Mercury takes up Jupiter’s previous position in Virgo teaming up with the North Node (also in Virgo) until early October, bringing a welcome extension of the Node’s ‘go this way’ encouragement, boosting morale and keeping up inspiration.

Room to Change Your Mind and Tweak Plans

There are many pathways to expressing the core self and in some instances the paths we test now might need to be re-thought or adjusted if they turn out to be less optimal than hoped. From now until October there’s still time to change minds over big decisions and keep negotiating and talking things through. Yet for many people June brought final decisions after long contemplation, and the energy of the next few months helps with tweaking and finetuning already solid plans.

In so many ways, life as we used to know it has changed. Nearly everything in the astrology of the first half of the year pressured us from many angles to make big necessary life choices, about what to say ‘no’ to and what to say ‘yes’ to after deeply assessing many layers. It’s been an anxiety-provoking time for many. July helps us find our feet and settle into the new.

Mars – Rises Like a Phoenix

As for Mars, we are now in the rebirth phase of its time in Scorpio. Of all zodiac signs, Scorpio knows how to rise like a phoenix and that is what Mars is helping us do in July, its last month in Scorpio. From 3 August, Mars will be in Sagittarius, and what an exciting combination that will be. After feeling held back with needing to go deep to sort out blindspots and problems while Mars has been in Scorpio, when Mars enters Sagittarius in August, we will be able to move forward a lot more easily.

In our night skies Mars is becoming less bright but at the moment still looks pretty spectacular overhead in the evenings, a metaphor of how Mars’s extreme fixation on intensity over the past months is about to release and relax, but still holds its grip this month. Similarly, the mutable grand cross that was building in the first half of the year and then peaked in June when many planets were in Gemini, is now waning but still influential in July.

Venus – Rises as the Evening Star

To add to the feeling of rebirth, beautiful Venus reappears in our night skies. She moves out of Cancer and into Leo on 12 July and around the same time starts becoming visible to us again. We haven’t been able to see Venus for a couple of months after she finished her time as Morning Star in the east. Mid-July she starts to become visible again, this time as Evening Star in the west meaning we’ll see her in our night skies setting with the Sun. She’ll be hard to spot at first but by August will be more visible.

In many ways in July, like Venus, we are rising out of the darkness of the previous months even if we can’t see the visible evidence of it yet. The first two weeks of July are likely to be the most intense in our relationships and communications in general and call for keeping centred and courageous in honest conversations that maintain self-worth. The Sun, Mercury and Venus while travelling through Cancer all come up against Pluto during those first two weeks.

The Second Half of July

In the last two weeks of July, Mercury’s in Leo (from 14th to 31st) bringing opportunities for letting our hair down. With Venus in Leo from the 12th, Mercury in Leo from the 14th and the Sun in Leo from the 22nd, the energy is buzzing with creativity. This really is a time to dust off the stresses from the first six months of the year, have some fun and celebrate. It’s worth retrospectively celebrating any happy moments that got passed over in previous months. Time for a good laugh!

Later in July, there will be five planets visible in the night skies. That’s a lot! Venus and Mercury will join Jupiter in the west, and Mars and Saturn will be overhead in the evenings. At first Venus and Mercury won’t be so easy to see without binoculars. Even so, having the opportunity to see all five planets at once is not that common, and gives the sense that by the end of July, we are likely to feel as if everything is coming together, the good, the bad, the ugly and the wonderful all finding their places in mutual respect for difference, even if not mutual agreement, within our lives.

Whether you’re ready to say good riddance to Mars in its last month in Scorpio or to go deeper and more profoundly, even lusciously, into Scorpio transformation, wishing you an empowering month!

July’s New Moon

For information on the New Moon in Cancer on 4 July, go here around that date. The interpretation will stay online until the next New Moon four weeks later.

July’s 1st Quarter Moon

For information on the 1st Quarter Moon in Libra on 12 July, go here around that date. The interpretation will stay online until the next 1st Quarter Moon four weeks later.

July’s Full Moon

For information on the Full Moon in Capricorn on 20 July, go here around that date. The interpretation will stay online until the next Full Moon four weeks later.

July’s 3rd Quarter Moon

For information on the 3rd Quarter Moon in Taurus on 27 July, go here around that date. The interpretation will stay online until the next 3rd Quarter Moon four weeks later.