With two eclipses, a pair of new moons bookending the month and Mercury turning retrograde, the only constant this July is change.
Welcome to what might be one of the most cosmically complicated months of 2019, everyone. There—we said it. Against the beachy backdrop of Cancer season (through July 22), we’ll weather a pair of game-changing eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn and communication planet Mercury making another retrograde pivot.
Eclipses are harbingers of change that accompany either a new moon or a full moon. Their job is to push us off any wishy-washy fences and into a firm(er) decision. They arrive in pairs, along an axis of opposite signs, demanding that we recalibrate and find middle ground.
On July 2, the cosmos serves up a Cancer total solar (new moon) eclipse, which could bring a big push forward around home, family and emotional security.
It could also spell a giant leap for womankind, as Cancer is the astrological matriarch of the zodiac. The galactic governess of female-identified folk doesn’t have time for any foolishness. Pay respect to the ladies, says this eclipse, or else! No surprise she-Crab Marianne Williamson created a tidal wave at the 2020 Democratic debates.
The second eclipse, in patriarchal, hierarchical and structured Capricorn, rides in on the full moon as a lunar eclipse this July 16. It’s in close proximity to powermonger Pluto, ruler of secrets and the unconscious. Are we due for another presidential scandal or government gaffe? If so, the illuminating beams of this lunar eclipse will not be kind with their audit.
In between the two, the Cancer Sun, which represents the self and ego, forms its annual oppositions to inflexible Saturn (July 9) and Pluto (July 14). Sharp lines will continue to be drawn as these eclipses reconfigure the rules and roles of gender and power. (We’ve got another solid year of this folks, so stay alert.)
Still, without imposing gender onto the planets, it begs remembering that the Sun has been for centuries associated as “male” and the moon “female.” With the yin full moon in yang Capricorn…and the forthright Sun in receptive Cancer, there’s a lot of range and room for reinvention. The answer is not to make men, or the masculine, bad—or to make women, nor is it to hoist women and the feminine, onto any pedestals. But as we wave goodbye to Pride month and enter July, we have a unique opportunity to do some defining—and redefining—work around gender.
As if that weren’t enough, Mercury, the ruler of technology, travel and information, will turn retrograde from July 7 to 31. Back up data and devices beforehand, and be especially careful choosing your words. Mercury will split its time between Leo and Cancer, two signs that are associated with the heart or heart chakra. Reconsider your message and communication style. Are you bringing in enough empathy to connect with others—but not so much that you become codependent and resentful?
Leo season begins on July 22, when the Sun emerges from Cancer’s watery depths to spend a month in the fiery Lion’s lair. With energetic and passionate Mars in Leo from July 1 to August 31, our lusty appetites could come out full force—along with glamour and drama. The month ends with a July 31 new moon in courageous Leo, handing us the mic to declare our desires (adding all the performative flair we want). That same day, Mercury retrograde ends, straightening out after its backspin—a gift for all we’ve gone through this July!
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