After an eventful three months, the planets calm down and (hopefully) give us a break this July.
Home sweet home? July begins with the Sun in Cancer, the zodiac’s domestic doyenne and natural nurturer. This is the season to gather with friends and family (Read our tips for maximizing your Cancer season here!), grilling or whipping up comfort food, diving into a stack of summer reading, or making like the zodiac’s Crab and heading to the nearest body of water (even if it’s a pool). Cancer is the “mother sign” so give your mom and/or the maternal figures in your life some extra love.
Is your home not feeling like a haven? You might even want to do some redecorating (check out home decor ideas for your Sun and rising sign here)—or at least, spruce up your place with some new accents. Then, celebrate your efforts by hosting a party or inviting loved ones to stay at your place. And if you’re feeling more compelled to hide in that crab shell, then just enjoy some solo nesting with a book or a TV series binge-watch, or pay a visit to your hometown.
July 4 brings the annual Cancer new moon, a moment to open our hearts and show some affection. Home and family will be in the spotlight, as the new moon helps us start a new chapter with the ones we love. If you’re in the U.S., it won’t feel too much like Independence Day since clingy Cancer is one of the most dependent signs of the zodiac! But you can enjoy some lovely bonding, as this new moon will travel in a close trine to compassionate Neptune in Pisces, stirring up our sentimental sides. Just watch how much you imbibe if you’re celebrating, as the combined effect of boundary-blurring Neptune and these two water signs can make you unaware of your limits.
Meantime, look out for power struggles on July 7, when the annual Sun-Pluto opposition stirs up some intense dynamics. With Pluto in Capricorn (the father sign) and the Sun in Cancer (the mother sign), some mommy-and-daddy issues could flare up now. Make sure you’re not projecting childhood baggage on others unconsciously today.
This month‘s full moon falls in stabilizing Capricorn on July 19, a time to step back and take a midyear look at our biggest goals. This is the culmination of seeds planted back at the Capricorn new moon on January 9. Are you still on track with those 2016 resolutions? Correct course. Just don’t make any rash moves, as this full moon will form a loose square to erratic Uranus. A splash of change can revive the energy, but too much could overturn your hard-won progress.
Leo season begins on July 22, when the Sun enters its home sign of the Lion, awakening our fierce, fiery energy. Snap out of that cozy Cancer spell and tap into Leo’s active and solar-powered energy.
And just when we thought we could escape from cosmic drama, the month ends with one more planet going retrograde. This time it’s rabble-rouser Uranus making a U-turn in fiery Aries from July 29-December 29. Uranus is retrograde for approximately the same five months every year, and it’s been in Aries since 2011, so this energy isn’t exactly new. But with disruptive Uranus in one of the more hotheaded zodiac signs, we might even welcome a dimming of this irreverent planet’s lights for the rest of the year. Just DO make sure your anger has an appropriate and healthy outlet, as a retrograde can cause us to stuff our feelings inside. The positive side of a retrograde? It can help us take step back and reflect from a more objective distance. Since Uranus is the planet of revolution, perhaps this retrograde cycle will help us make further progress on gun control policies and anti-violence measures. A dose of cosmic anger management would do our planet a LOT of good now.
Read the July Monthly Horoscope for your Sun sign now!
Image via Artaesthetic
