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

That Saturn - Neptune opposition that has been calling everyone's attention to some reality versus dreams situation has been in place for several months now and is going to continue for quite a while longer.  Saturn, who is all about structure, discipline, obligations and delays, is parked in your Natural 4th House of home environment.  As a result, you may have been feeling your responsibilities at home a little more than usual.  Meanwhile, Neptune, who is all about illusion, dreams, idealism, fantasies and escapism, has been taking an extended vacation in your Natural 10th House of career and reputation.  Well, well, well, we don't have to be a rocket scientist now, do we, to see what that could do?  If there is anything you don't like about your career, you can bet that it's staring you in the face.  (Just to clarify things, your career is the general field in which you're making your living, such as by being a chef.  Your job would be the specific place where you do the actual work on a daily basis.  In other words, you can change jobs without changing careers.  Just for information purposes, your job and work are covered by the 6th House.)  If it seems meaningless it will be particularly frustrating, even for you, who is usually quite patient.  Possibly too patient.  Maybe you've hated it for years and never quite got around to doing anything about it.  And, if that's the case, it's probably those responsibilities at home that are keeping you there.

So this month the plot thickens.  For one thing, your ruling planet, Venus, has moved into Leo and snuggled up next to Saturn in a cozy little conjunction.  This won't last as long as the Saturn - Neptune thingie because Venus moves a lot faster.  But this doesn't mean it won't do a few things before moving on. With Venus in your 4th House generally you will feel more affection than usual toward your home and family.  You will like being there even more than usual and be pretty content.  You like creature comforts and you might even be inclined to do a few things to make it more comfortable, maybe even do something entirely out of character like buy a big screen TV or home theater system.  You'll be particularly prone to such an indulgence toward the end of the month, but I digress.  Actually, in this case, Venus and Saturn make a good pair with their influences quite complementary.  If Saturn has really been riding you butt about meeting your responsibilities at any cost, this might help you realize that a little enjoyment or pleasure is possible as well.  Bear in mind that Venus is also opposite Neptune, but probably likely to give that Neptunian idealism a little more strength by relaxing some of Saturn's stern, hard-line discipline. 

So we have these negotiations going on between your dreams and reality and along comes Venus as a facilitator, which gives you possibly a new angle on the career issue.  Maybe being happier at home because you feel more satisfied in your career is becoming more important than you realized.  Maybe you see some alternate plans or a way you could make it work.  But you're still basically sitting there thinking about it all.  So this is where it gets interesting toward the end of July.  Enter Mars right smack in the middle and throwing a square to both Neptune and the Saturn/Venus couple.  This configuration is known as a T-square and what is likely to occur is Mars will work on disrupting the balance of that tug-o-war, especially with him in your Natural 1st House, which governs your personality.  This will make the entire situation even more personal than it was before and your inclination to take action at last will be increased.  However, Mars is also going to be squaring your buddy, Venus, which will create a variety of conflicts, not only to you personally but perhaps externally as a male - female crisis of some sort as well.  In other words, if you have a significant other you may not get the support that you'd like.  Nonetheless, the Universe if working with you this month to get off of dead-center on this situation and make some decisions.

While all this other stuff is going on, there is quite a lot going on in your Natural 3rd House which governs your mental processes, short journeys and neighborhood activities.  Mercury is retrograde (RX) there until July 10th, which means it's a good time for some retrospection or rethinking plans of some variety.  This is a good placement for Mercury to get some real seriously clear thinking done.  The Sun is also there bringing attention to this same venue until July 23 when he moves into Leo.  And as if that's not enough influence to jump-start your thought process, the New Moon will occur there on July 14, which usually heralds a new beginning of some sort.  So the stage is set there, as well, for you to put together some serious plans and potential changes.

Other long-term influences are at work in your Natural 8th House of intimate relationships, regeneration and other people's resources.  Pluto has been there for a long time, since November 1995 to be exact, so that has been going on for so long it probably feels entirely normal by now.  Pluto is the Zodiacal roto-rooter who will unearth anything and everything that has been buried or hidden in order to avoid facing something that should be resolved.  He is very much at home in the 8th House where he is likely to have a target-rich environment of things to dig up.  The ultimate effects of a Pluto transit, however, are very positive.  Until old dirt is removed, progress cannot be made.  Only after facing our baggage and assessing whether or not we really need to keep carrying it around can we finally make the decision to move on.  It is also similar to a surgeon removing a cancerous tumor.  Recovering from surgery is no picnic, but after that true healing can take place. 

Pluto has an assistant this month in the form of Jupiter, who is also retrograde.  Jupiter, who is very much at home in Sagittarius, which is where he happens to be right now, will be calling attention to issues relative to ethics.  This will most likely focus on such areas as religion, academia, legal matters, or foreign cultures.  Your philosophy of life will come under review, which is the end-product of your core beliefs.  Whatever they happen to be, you'll be giving them some consideration and, of course, this all ties in to everything else going on for Taurus right now in all those other important houses. 

Can you spell m-a-j-o-r l-i-f-e c-h-a-n-g-e-s???

And for the sake of being thorough, I may as well throw in here what Uranus is up to in your Natural 11th House of friends, group activities, hopes and wishes.  Uranus is the planet of surprises, unexpected events, upsets, disruptions and change.  If your birthday is on or around May 7 - 11 you are likely to have something unexpected come up this month that may just precipitate action in all these other areas.  Maybe a friend or your association with a club or organization will throw an opportunity your way that will answer the mail in those other venues as well.  Or maybe you'll simply decide that it's time to put some action behind those hopes and wishes you've been carrying around for years.

It goes without saying that this should be a significant month for you.  You've just come out of your solar return period (i.e. your birthday) and begun a new cycle, so the timing is right to possibly start moving in a slightly, or perhaps dramatically, different direction.  The Universe is doing everything it can to help you along these days in some major life venues.  It will be in your best interest to pay attention.