July 2007 Astrocast

Key Events:  

New Moon 7/14/2007

New Moon 7/29/2007

Mercury Direct 7/10/2007

Venus Retrograde 7/28/2007

Other RX Planets:  Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

That long-term reality versus dreams opposition between Saturn and Neptune will have a bit of interference this month, which could perturb a bit of action in some way or another.  Saturn, who is all about discipline, responsibility, delays and obligations, is in your Natural 3rd House, which governs your mental processes, short journeys and neighborhood activities.  Since Geminis are, by nature, a bit ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, for those of you who aren't familiar with this term), this should serve to slow down and focus your thinking patterns in what could be a very useful way.  Neptune, on the other hand, is camped out in your Natural 9th House of religion, foreign travel, academia and legal matters.  Neptune is everything that Saturn is not.  He's all about idealism, escape, transcendence, illusion, and sometimes delusion.  In other words, if you're involved in any activity that is related to the 9th House, you'll be very inclined to be too idealistic about it.  This will be tempered, however, by Saturn messing with your thought processes.  Of course the end result could be that you are very disciplined about your thinking while your thoughts themselves wander off into unrealistic territory. 

As previously mentioned, this is a long-term aspect that will be in effect for quite a while.  This month, however, will see a couple of other planets getting into the action.  First of all, Venus is snuggled up with Saturn in a nice, cozy conjunction for the better part of the month.  These two planets are very different in their influences, yet they can complement each other quite well.  Venus is all about comforts, pleasures, and of course love and relationships, which can soften Saturn's stern, rigid discipline in a positive way.  It kind of goes along with the thought that it isn't what you say so much as how you say it; you can be firm without being hateful.  I remember hearing someone say one time at a seminar about parenting that you have the same amount of authority whether or not you choose to be forceful or kind about it.  If Venus manages to soften up Saturn a bit, this could also give Neptune just a bit of an advantage.  This could manifest itself in any number of ways since we're basically talking about your thoughts (3rd House) and your philosophy of life (9th House).  Maybe it will do no more than to change your political views somewhat, who knows?  You probably do, because you know what has been on your mind lately and what dreams versus reality scenario is on your personal radar.

In addition to Venus, however, Mars is going to get into the action, also, toward the last week of July.  Needless to say, Mars does not have the same, friendly influence of Venus.  He is currently transiting your Natural 12th House, which includes such esoteric things as transcendence, spirituality, inspiration and the collective consciousness.  That is not necessarily a very good combination, but you can rest assured he'll be stirring up something relative to how you relate to such things.  Bear in mind that spirituality and religion are NOT the same thing; indeed, religion is 9th House and spirituality the 12th, but I digress.  Nonetheless, they will be tied together toward the end of the month because Mars will be in between Neptune and Saturn, which will form an aspect known as a T-square, meaning he will be squaring both of them, and knowing Mars this will start some crap, since that is what Mars does best.

Since we've been talking primarily about mental action, this will more than likely be in that same arena.  Nonetheless, something is bound to get your attention that will further exacerbate that ongoing argument between idealism and reality.  This may not be life-changing, but it's likely to have an impact of some description.  Furthermore, the Full Moon on July 29 occurs in Aquarius, which is where Neptune is currently residing.  A Full Moon will ordinarily represent a culmination, change of phase or ending of some description, so possibly all of this will help you make a decision of some description relative to all this mental activity.  Geminis process data at a tremendous rate, but aren't always prone to make decisions.  Rather, they tend to simply move onto another thought, so this could definitely give you a nudge toward making up your mind about something, even if it's only your political or religious views.

There has been ongoing action in your 7th House of one on one relationships for quite a while now thanks to Pluto.  He has been parked in Sagittarius since November 1995 and isn't leaving anytime soon.  As the Zodiacal backhoe, Pluto will unearth anything that has been buried or hidden as an avoidance maneuver.  He will force you to look at things you swept under the rug and resolve them once and for all.  This is usually not a pleasant process, but it paves the way for shedding unneeded baggage and moving forward without it.  It's like having surgery to have a tumor removed, which is painful at the time, yet allows true healing to take place thereafter.  Thus, if you have any issues with relationships, whether they're your close friends, business associates or significant others, how you handle them will come under scrutiny.  This aspect could also incline you to enter relationships that by their very nature require you to look at yourself and how you interact with others.  For example, if you're too passive, you may find yourself in repeated situations where someone is taking advantage of you until you learn to stand up for yourself.  Pluto will rub your nose in any unhealthy patterns you may have.

Pluto is not alone out there; Jupiter is there, as well.  Jupiter rules Sagittarius, so is very comfortable on his home ground.  He is currently retrograde, which tends to bring various ethics issues to our attention.  Our core beliefs and philosophy of life are also likely targets.  He comes out of RX August 7th, which will probably throw some luck and expansion to this area, so be on the lookout for improvements.

While all this other stuff is going on, Uranus is chugging along in your Natural 10th House of career and reputation.  Uranus is the planet of unexpected events, upsets, disruptions and change.  More than likely you've already noticed this, since this transit has been in force for quite a while.  If your birthday is on or around June 8 - 12 you can especially expect something to come up that you didn't expect this month that is likely to cause a conflict of some sort.  It won't necessarily be bad, but it is likely to take you by surprise. 

Needless to say, this will be an active month for you in your favorite venue, i.e. your mind.  Pay attention to some of the lessons the Universe is trying to teach you because there is always a reason behind anything that happens.