July 2007 Astrocast

Key Events:  

New Moon 7/14/2007

Full Moon 7/29/2007

Mercury Direct:  7/10/2007

Venus Retrograde 7/28/2007

Other RX Planets:  Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto 

With Uranus, your ruling planet, in your Natural 2nd House of pleasures, comforts and possessions, you may have been seeing annoying disruptions, upsets or surprises in these areas for quite a while now.  It probably seems that if there's a lemon to be had that it somehow finds its way into your hands.  I hate to tell you this, but it's not going to change anytime soon.  If your birthday is around February 6 - 11 this month you will be particularly prone to encounter something in this area.  It may be no more than your washing machine going out right before you leave on vacation, but at any rate be a little extra cautious.  Especially don't be careless and invite a problem.  For example, the gals should be extra careful with their purses.  Don't leave them in the shopping basket untended because it might not be there by the time you pick out that cantaloup.

Mars is transiting your Natural 4th House of home environment this month, all month.  This may bring some annoyances in this area as well since Mars packs a lot of energy that is often seen as aggression.  It's important to express this in a positive way.  If there is work you need to do around the house, now is a good time to tackle it.  These activities could come into conflict with your relationships in some manner toward the end of the month.  Perhaps your plans or ideas won't be in synch with other family members, who'll give you some crap, or perhaps other responsibilities will get in the way.  Try not to get too frustrated as this will pass relatively quickly since Mars will move into your Natural 5th House on August 8. 

There is quite a bit of action in your Natural 6th House of work, health and pets this month.  The Sun is there for the better part of the month, which should highlight one or more of these areas in some manner, plus the New Moon occurs there on July 14.  As you probably already know if you read these regularly, a New Moon usually heralds a new beginning of some sort.  This could mean a new project on the job or even a new job.  It's also an excellent time to start a diet or fitness routine.  Mercury is retrograde (RX) there until July 10, but this doesn't have to be a bad thing.  If there is anything you've been working on it's an excellent time to go back over what you have and check for mistakes or misconceptions you may have missed previously.  We usually associated Mercury RX with communication problems such as computers and cell phones misbehaving and while this is certainly true, it is actually one of the best times to rethink things.  Going forward with something new is likely to meet with frustrations until it's over, so you may as well retrace your steps as appropriate until then, anyway.

As the Sun moves into Leo on July 23 he will bring light and attention to your 7th House of relationships.  The Sun is the ruler of Leo and therefore very powerful in that astrological locale.  Bear in mind that these are all one on one relationships which include close friends, business associates as well as significant others.  Saturn and Venus have been there for a while now, in fact they're holding hands for roughly the first half of the month.  These two aren't exactly what you'd call the best of friends as planets go since their influences tend to be nearly diametrically opposed.  However, this could actually come out quite nicely since Venus will soften some of Saturn's stern, practical, structured influences and put a positive spin on them.  In your 7th House this will be particularly important since you have probably been seeing delays and frustrations in this area for quite a while now. 

Saturn has been in opposition with Neptune for quite some time now, which has been probably rubbing your nose in that dreams versus reality theme.  What you want and what you get in life aren't always to your liking or in your direct control.  Examining the difference is actually a healthy exercise that will benefit you later, if this is an area that has presented a problem or two.  Toward the end of the month, a home-related conflict may draw further attention to this area, as noted above.  The most important thing is to look yourself square in the mirror and take note of where you fit into the picture.  If you have any self-defeating behaviors that are keeping you from having the relationship you want, now is the time to look them squarely in the eye.

An area that has been undergoing significant transformations, whether or not you're aware of it, is  you 11th House, which governs groups, friends, hopes and wishes.  Pluto has been there for many years (since November 1995 to be exact) and he's in the Zodiacal Yellow Pages under septic tanks services, medical examiners and private investigators.  If there is anything hidden that is causing a problem, he will root it out and bring it to your attention.  He may very well shove your nose into a few things you don't want to see, but when all is said and done you'll confront old baggage and then leave it beside the garbage can for removal where it belongs.  Healing and personal renewal can't take place with exhuming and dealing with the past so in reality he performs a valuable service, just like those other individuals in the phone directory.  This is an important House for you since Aquarius governs the Universal 11th House; friends and group interactions are important to you so when they're not going well the effects ripple over into your entire life and you have a general feeling of discomfort.  You have probably had a regular parade of friends come and go over the years that have been a disappointment in one way or another.  Also, any hopes and wishes have probably been torn to shreds as well. 

Never fear, relief is already coming in the form of Jupiter, who is currently residing in this same house.  He's currently RX, which will draw attention to various ethics issues.  This will nicely complement Pluto's work by helping you to put together a better philosophy relative to what you expect from your friends as well as what you give in return.  When he comes out of retrograde around August 8 he will bring some luck and assistance your way and help you start putting some of these less than pleasant lessons in perspective.

This may not be what you'd call your favorite month of the year, but it should nonetheless bring some progress in various areas.  Try to reserve judgment as much as possible and gather data before making any snap decisions.  The Universe doesn't publish what it has in store for us, but it does gently guide us in the right direction.