July starts with a practical full moon in Capricorn on the 3rd and Mars’s ingress into task-oriented Virgo on the 10th. It might look like we’re in for a work-filled, rule-following month, but that’s where the industriousness ends. The second half of the month has us flying by the seat of our pants and following our passions. Two major astrological events will have us honing our abilities to handle hot emotions and our desire for self-expression.
The north node of the moon enters the fiery sign of Aries on July 17th. This means that for the next 18 months we will experience eclipses on the Aries-Libra axis. Eclipses are events that accelerate change and fast-track advancement. We’re shifting our individual and collective focus to themes of independence within relationships. The moon’s north node is where the volume gets turned up, and in Aries that means an increase of impulsiveness, assertiveness, and instinct. We only experience eclipses about four times a year, but nodal activity is always humming in the background. During this time our emotions will be triggered by the interplay of Mars and Venus.
The second major event of July is Venus’s station retrograde in Leo on the 22nd—the same day that the Sun enters Leo. Venus typically spends about three weeks in each sign, but due to its retrograde, it will spend roughly four months in Leo. This means four months of a more extraverted expression of Venus, more heat, drama, passion, fierce pride, and pageantry. When any planet goes through its retrograde phase, it goes through a deep dive of what that planet and sign represents in your chart. Venus and Leo symbolize matters of the heart. During Venus’s station our hearts stop and prepare their journeys into the past and below the surface.
This article appears in July 2023.
