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

Opposing Neptune, however, is Saturn, who has taken up residence in your Natural 6th House of work, health and pets.  Saturn represents stark, cold reality, responsibility, obligations and everything that you hate.  You don't mind working hard for something as long as it's something you want; work for the sake of work in some unsatisfying, meaningless job will be hard on you and unless you have a significant amount of self-discipline you will probably do everything you can to mooch off someone else so as to avoid the "W" word.  If you're old enough to remember Maynard J. Krebs on the old Dobie Gillis show a LONG time ago, you'll recall that he had a very strong, negative reaction to the word "work;"  there is little doubt in my mind that Maynard was a Pisces.  If Maynard had Saturn in his 6th house, he would be slinging burgers and asking if you want fries with that.  He would also be hating every minute of it.  In a nutshell, Neptune is trying to get you to chill out and merge with the collective consciousness and Saturn is trying to get you to assume your responsibilities and work your ass off.  Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S?

Most of this month you have a little relief from all this in the form of Venus, who is currently wooing Saturn.  Venus has quite a different personality, but she likes her creature comforts so the two actually get along quite well.  She will soften Saturn up a bit and perhaps help him to shift some of his focus to a more meaningful venue at the least.  This should also help you find something you like to do in order to earn a living.  It could also bring you some positive recognition or honor at work, which of course will make you feel better about doing something during your waking hours other than what you'd really like to be doing. 

Venus goes RX in your Natural 7th House toward the end of the month, which will internalize some of your feelings relative to your relationships.  You may find it a little harder to express your feelings than usual, yet they will be quite strong.  You may find yourself thinking a lot of those who mean a lot to you and what love really means.  Remember that this house includes all one on one relationships whether it's close friends, business partners or significant others. 

But the plot thickens.  Around the end of the month, Mars will jockey himself into a position that is right between Neptune and Saturn into a configuration known as a "T-square."  This will create additional tension between those two.  Nonetheless, if you handle it properly, this idea that Mars is championing could be the answer or at least the focal point for solving that dreams vs. reality issue.  There are no guarantees that you'll like the outcome, but there will definitely be some action in this area before the month is out so stay tuned.

In an somewhat related area, there are a two heavy hitters in your Natural 10th House of career and reputation as well.  Pluto has been there since November 1995, so that is nothing new.  In fact, you've probably gotten so used to it that you hardly recognize it anymore.  Pluto is the astrological roto-rooter who will dig up anything buried or forgotten that requires attention.  In this house, he could very well be helping you to unearth whatever it is inside you that requires satisfaction via your life's work.  With your 10th House in Sagittarius it's likely that a career related to academia, foreign travel or cultures, or the law are likely candidates.  Jupiter, who rules Sagittarius, is there as well, and very much at home.  He's currently retrograde and causing a lot of consideration relative to ethics issues of various kinds.  These, however, will play into Pluto's work and help you make some significant progress toward finding the satisfaction you crave.  When he comes out of RX around August 7th he will bring expansion in this area, though it probably won't come easily.  (Sorry, Maynard.)

For those of you born on or within a few days of March 9, expect the unexpected this month as Uranus conjoins your Natal Sun.  Depending on how this strikes other planets in your Natal Chart, you are likely to encounter a surprise, disruption or upset of some description at the personal level, or possibly even more than one.  Know that something is coming your way and be as prepared as possible.

Your Natural 5th House, which governs your children, creativity and love affairs should be busy this month as well.  The Sun is there until the 23rd, which always serves to bring some attention to the house in which he's resident.  Mercury, as always, is in the same general neighborhood, but he's retrograde (RX) until July 10.  Everyone groans when our little winged friend goes RX because communications break down.  Computers, cell phones, internet connections, traffic lights and communications of every variety go nuts.  However, this is a good time to redo or rethink anything that hasn't come to completion.  Moving forward is unlikely, but making sure you're ready to indeed do so is time well-spent.  The New Moon is also in this House, heralding a new beginning or some sort.  What this seems to indicate is that it's a good time to talk about unfinished business with your children or lovers or perhaps revisit a creative project.  The ideas will begin to progress again after the 10th.

All in all this should be a busy and possibly significant month.  You already have deep emotions and they're going to get a bit of a workout in various venues.  This should be familiar ground, however, so you should be able to navigate through the various challenges with the usual resilience characteristic of the Water Signs.