July 2021 Astrology Movements
Hot girl summer or overloaded pressure cooker? Steamy and sexy parties or flared tempers exploding? Hey Siri, play “Coming In Hot” to set the vibe for the heat settling in that’s kicking off the season with a sizzle and pop.
This month’s alignments are heavy with fixed energy. Fixed signs want to keep things where they are, steadily, securely, to continue along the path they have forged. In your endeavors right now, this is not a time to be pushing forward in a hurried rush. This is a time to focus on the foundation that you’re building through which longevity can be safely achieved.
Mars is opposing Saturn. Venus is opposing Saturn. Everything fixed is squaring Uranus in Taurus. Imagine bricks that were freshly set, and you notice that two in the very center are off. The rest of the bricks are flawless, but those two aren’t quite right. Unfortunately, they’re already firmly set in place, and dynamite blowing up the entire thing will disrupt the pieces that were perfectly executed. A chisel and a hammer are required to precisely bang out what doesn’t make the cut. That’s how this month feels: the foundation isn’t strong enough to support what needs to be built, and any adjustments will come with brute force even when striving for finesse.
We begin on the first with an exact malefic opposition as Mars in Leo and Saturn in Aquarius find a fixed stand off. Venus might have showed up to the party with drinks and balloons in hand, but these two were already preparing to brawl. There isn’t much of an opportunity for Venus to bring their usual amount of sweetness and joyfulness to this tug of war situation, so hold onto those juicy moments if they come. The two malefics are staring at each other from across the table, both unwilling to budge. Mars has no essential dignity in Leo, but they’re riled, irritated, and not backing down. Saturn in its airy domicile is playing it cool and aloof, not letting anything appear to shake them. While you might have a hill worth dying on, don’t commit so hard that you forget to see sparks of inspiration that could change your entire viewpoint.
Mercury will finally clear their retrograde shadow on July 7, moving past the previous point of stationing still before they started moving backwards. This marks the completion of their second retrograde cycle of the year, all happening in air signs. Even after moving direct, the shadow periods before and after a retrograde can hold some lingering clutter needing to be organized. Communication grows clearer, and it becomes much more caring once Mercury moves into Cancer a few days later on July 11. After an extended stay of time in their spring domicile of Gemini, it’s time for our exchanges to lean into nurturing rather than invigorating. This is a wonderful time to remind yourself what you care about and why you care about it. Care is not something passive. Care is an active participation in nourishing, which means we can only care about what we have enough energy to provide for.
During this transition and sandwiched between is the New Moon in Cancer on July 9. Lunations during Cancer season are special because the Moon rules Cancer, their soft and protected home in the cardinal water sign. Cancer began the astrological calendar in ancient times for many reasons, one being the annual flooding of the Nile in Egypt and the start of summer as the hottest part of the year in the northern hemisphere. This rushing of water symbolizes the rushing of emotion that Cancer can provide. When you feel emboldened to act, remember why you care so much about whatever has you fired up. Find the sweet spots wherever you can, and imprint those feelings to your memory for recollection when needed.
Venus is quickly catching up to Mars and the two make their exact conjunction in Leo on July 13. Venus in Leo is the hot girl summer transit, providing an open stage for playful romance to bubble. However, things are going to feel a bit stickier this time around because Mars is copresent in Leo the entire time with Venus, and the two will meet with big fireworks. Mars is about to hurl a speed bump into the smooth road where Venus wants to ride out the sunshine. This will be a spicy transit, and although a probably chaotic one, it’s one of my favorite transits in the entire year of 2021. Anything that’s been hovering under the surface will be brought into light. That could be unspoken issues or unrequited love which are finally ready to burst, so prepare yourself to be on both the giving and receiving end of news that you might not be prepared to hear and might not be able to alter.
Venus blows past Mars and moves into their fall of Virgo on July 21, with the Sun moving into their fiery domicile of Leo the next day on July 22. This is a turning point for these planets, both moving from a place of no essential dignity into a place that is very uncomfortable to the former and very comfortable to the latter. Venus wanted to bring pleasure and fun to the Leo party, but both malefics and Uranus weren’t having that, and now they’re moving into the analytical sign of Virgo which does not please them. The beginning of the month’s intense and brooding agitation looks like it will shift into a critical and high strung environment towards the end of the month as planets begin moving into Virgo. The Sun’s ingress into Leo at the same time has our pride and our ego facing the reality of humility. This is the Sun’s favorite place to be, and it’s in their natural wheelhouse to showcase the best parts of themselves and of others. That requires an honest and exposing look at what those parts truly look like and how they contribute to our greater narrative of self worth.
It’s important to remember that no one else decides your worth, only you. It’s important to remember that someone rejecting you doesn’t mean they’re criticizing you. It’s important to remember that you should not respond to rejection with criticism. It’s important to remember that failure does not mean you are not capable and worthy. It’s important to remember that you have to let yourself fail in order to learn how success can be possible because avoiding the inevitable will only frustrate you further.
There is a chance to step back and take stock of what’s happening during the two Aquarius Full Moons this summer. Lunations are roughly 28 days, so sometimes there will be two of the same lunation occurring because the Sun spends right around a month in each sign. The first Aquarius Full Moon is at 1 degree on July 23, and the second is at 29 degrees next month in August, setting up a cycle for us to move through over the next month. When this double lunation occurs, it provides an opportunity to go back over what’s already happened. This is similar to a retrograde planet’s nature of reexamining and readjusting, only without some of the additional hiccups that often happen during a retrograde cycle. Use this time to detach yourself from the outcomes your mind is set on and think about what outcomes would actually be right. We can get stuck on society’s version of how life should go without thinking about if that truly aligns with our wants and needs. Right doesn't always mean easy or conventional, and it can require seeing things from a different perspective to gain context on where you should actually be moving.
The month finishes with a last week of heavy hitters because three planets move into new signs in three days. Mercury moves into Leo on July 27, hoping to pick up some of the lightness that Venus attempted to provide and couldn’t with so much rebuking. Jupiter moves back into Aquarius on July 28, leaving its watery domicile of Pisces and re-starting its copresence with Saturn in Saturn’s airy house. Mars moves into Virgo on July 29, joining a Venus who can’t do what they want here and bringing some turbulence to an already persnickety situation.
Mercury in Leo wants you to channel their boldness and say the thing that you might feel a bit bashful about any other time. It’s asking for you to take charge in a way that feels authentic and remembering to not hog the spotlight. Yes, you deserve to shine for your accomplishments. Yes, everyone else does too. Be willing to call out what others do well, not for the sake of it being given back to you, but for the sake of showing off someone else’s wonder. Jupiter in Aquarius wants you to think about how you can give back to your dang community and the people you interact with regularly. This is more than your friends or family. This is your quiet neighbor, your attentive grocery store clerk, your determined mailman. This is everyone you see and exchange words with who should be thought about when asking the question, “is there someone who isn’t getting what they deserve for all of their hard work?” Mars in Virgo wants you to remember every tiny detail that could make or break the project being completed, the proposal going smoothly, the perfect workout hitting a new personal record. This means using their sharp precision to keep things in order and to execute with finesse. There are things that have to get done and must be worked through in order to feel good. Venus doesn’t love to be in Virgo, so Mars moving here can either exacerbate the dissatisfaction or give some oomph to make things happen.
July is going to feel saucy, perhaps buffalo or teriyaki, but certainly full of flavor. Let yourself feel where you are without holding immediate expectations of moving forward. Sit with your good and bad feelings without rushing into the urge to make those experiences about massive growth. Feelings have value without doing anything for us. Feelings have value simply by existing.
Remember to light your fire and feed it with genuine fuel, nothing artificial.
Many blessings for your month of July, MRM <3
