The Astrology Blog 9 July 2018
If you want to check the sign and degrees in your own natal chart here’s the link to Astrotheme. Enter your data into the boxes provided:
https://www.astrotheme.com/horoscope_chart_sign_ascendant.php
All times given are stated in BST
I’m away in the UK from Wednesday until the 29th so here’s a speedy blog to cover the rest of the month. The Big Event as we go into the second week of July is Jupiter turning around in powerful Scorpio, and in square to Mercury –
Monday 9 July
- Mercury 13 Leo square Jupiter 13 Scorpio 10.15
Tuesday 10 July
- Jupiter turns direct 13 Scorpio 18.04
Jupiter turned retrograde at 23 Scorpio on 9 March so it’s been a long wait, but as above, so below. Look out for literal turning points and for evidence of all Jupiter issues taking a turn for the better. This will be especially significant for you if you have planets or angles within a couple of degrees of 13 Scorpio (or opposite sign of Taurus) and/or within a couple of degrees of where Jupiter turned retrograde – ie 23 Scorpio (or opposite sign of Taurus), and for some there will be links to events that have been ongoing since March, or even longer.
The square to Mercury is classic for exaggeration or “over the top” reactions, but it’s also a tipping point. Jupiter’s principle is expansion – his job is to make our world bigger, better, fairer and happier. Jupiter loves to liberate. So if you’re in the wrong job, wrong relationship, stuck in any situation that is not good for you, opportunity maker Jupiter is on the case. Other areas ruled by Jupiter are higher education, travel, legal concerns and all things and people related to overseas.
Look out too for Scorpio themes, which often amount to power issues. Who has too much power over you and your thoughts/feelings? How do you give your power away? Has your sex life ground to a halt? Why? Answers to these sort of questions are now in the making. Single? New attractions starting at this time are likely to be intense, emotionally and sexually, and you may get that feeling of famine to feast.
Jupiter has to pick up speed again, so let a new attraction or new project or new anything also gather its own pace, but you may well get a sense of a definite window of opportunity. There may be something that you say or do or decide that will make a difference, even if you don’t realize it at the time. And with Jupiter in one of the water signs this turning point reminds me of Brutus’ famous speech to Cassius in Julius Caesar –
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat.
And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
The love planet Venus is also in the news, changing sign this week and linking up with Uranus, then with Saturn who is strong in his own sign but currently retrograde –
Tuesday 10 July
- Venus ingress Virgo 03.33
Thursday 12 July
- Venus 2 Virgo trine Uranus 2 Taurus 04.27
Saturday 14 July
- Venus 4 Virgo trine Saturn 4 Capricorn 07.46
The Venus – Uranus combination is whacky, unconventional or sudden. The Venus – Saturn combination is the exact opposite – cautious, dutiful or stuck. The three planets together are forming a Grand Trine – ie three planets each in the three different signs of the same element, in this instance the element of Earth – so look out for triangular situations in which three very different people are involved. Affairs are the most obvious, but it can be any triangle, such as a household of three people, a work team of three people and so on. Progress may be hindered by an over concern with practical issues, such as finances. Jupiter’s hand is at work, remember, and he reminds us of the need for a leap of faith. Don’t stay with anything just because “it makes sense” …. Go with your gut too.
In traditional astrology this is a tricky sign for Venus, as it’s her sign of “fall”. Virgo belongs to the mind planet Mercury, whereas Venus’ love stuff is about feeling rather than analyzing. Venus will be travelling through this sign until 6 August so here’s a flavor of what to expect, from my book Be Your Own Astrologer –
Venus in Virgo (fall)
Virgo’s analysis and precision reach their full potential through Mercury, planet of the mind, but these same qualities can be passion killers for Venus. After all, what lover, partner, friend, child wants to feel as if they are constantly being scrutinized, dissected under a microscope and given marks out of ten? Whether they are thinking it or saying it loud these Venus people tend to have a running commentary in terms of picking apart their loved ones’ behavior, habits, views, choices and so on. However, criticism is rarely the conscious intention. Venus in Mercury’s sign has to understand those they care and worry about but their challenge is to practice tolerance.
Venus in her sign of fall suggests that these individuals by definition should all be celibates, sexually repressed or not blessed with beauty. This textbook interpretation falls straight into the astrological trap of putting two and two together and making five. Sex symbols with this Venus are plentiful, numbering Julia Roberts, Brigitte Bardot and Kim Kardashian amongst the women, and Sean Penn, Antonio Banderas and Patrick Swayze amongst the men. I rest my case.
Venus in Virgo, then, oozes a particular brand of sex appeal. The look is well groomed, beautifully assembled and never garish. The nature is similarly self contained and flirting is not overt. They have their own definite partner criteria, usually including good health and a work ethic, and discreetly put newcomers to the test.
In a nutshell: choosy, curious, subtle.
The Venus activity is followed by a New Moon that is also a Solar Eclipse, falling opposite Pluto (who is co-ruler of Scorpio, so again this is linking into Jupiter turning direct in that sign) – here’s the sequence –
Thursday 12 July
- Sun 20 Cancer opposite Pluto 20 Capricorn 11.02
Friday 13 July
- New Moon/Solar Eclipse 21 Cancer 03.49
What do Eclipses symbolize?
Eclipses are often considered as “power points” in a developing situation, or in any chain of events that are about change. As this Eclipse falls in Cancer themes of family/property are likely to be the most significant.
Sometimes events show literally within hours of the eclipse, other times up to several days either side, but not usually more than two weeks (ie before the next new or full Moon). They are milestones, markers on the tracks and signal the moment when it’s time to change trains. One journey ends, another begins, so there’s often death/rebirth imagery at work.
For example, being overshadowed by another, or coming out of the shadows, a light going out and then coming back on again to reveal a new landscape, or power battles and decisive moments/events in triangular matters (like the Grand Trine in Earth mentioned earlier, with three planets forming the equilateral triangle, three bodies are involved in Eclipses, the dance between the Sun, Moon and Earth) again such as affairs. Something tilts the balance, matters come to a head, light and power are transferred, ready or not. In a Lunar Eclipse a woman may feature more prominently, a man in a Solar Eclipse, but this is not a hard and fast rule.
The Third Week of July
Everything is very quiet, maybe suspiciously quiet, as it starts with two awkward alignments –
Monday 16 July
- Venus 7 Virgo quinqunx Mars 7 Aquarius 08.57
- Mercury 20 Leo quinqunx Pluto 20 Capricorn 16.21
The quinqunx aspect is formed when two planets are exactly five signs apart. Although it’s considered to be a minor aspect it can be troublesome as it’s associated with blind spots. It can also speak of things that are done in secret. These two aspects are especially complicated as they involve the two “Malefics” Mars and Saturn who are both retrograde. Don’t take anything at face value and try not to take risks.
There’s a theme of sitting things out and watching how a situation unfolds, so it’s a week for being patient. Lovely weekend in store though, starting with the monthly Moon – Jupiter conjunction that will be “applying” (becoming exact) on Friday evening, followed by a harmonious aspect between the two “Benefics” and then the Sun arriving in his own sign of Leo. Here’s the sequence –
Saturday 21 July
- Moon conjunct Jupiter 13 Scorpio 03.30
Sunday 22 July
- Venus 13 Virgo sextile Jupiter 13 Scorpio 10.22
- Sun ingress Leo 22.01
This is going to be a lovely weekend for me as, in spite of the tragedy of deaths in my family in the last couple of years, there is some longevity too! I’ll be going to my aunt’s 90th birthday and seeing all my cousins – seven of them and all of their children too, and then going to see my niece in Somerset and her daughter, my great niece, so the Cancerian themes of family are very much in evidence.
Last Week of the Month
Venus continues her journey through Virgo and these are her final aspects before she enters her own sign of Libra on 6 August.
Tuesday 24 July
- Venus 16 Virgo opposite Neptune 16 Pisces 20.24
Saturday 28 July
- Venus 19 Virgo trine Pluto 19 Capricorn 02.24
Again, the two aspects are somewhat contradictory. Venus – Neptune combinations are everything on the scale of romanticism from infatuation to delusional beliefs! Venus – Pluto combinations, even by good aspect, can also speak of obsessive emotions, so whatever you’re dealing with the big message is to keep a sense of proportion and to spot when matters are escalating. There’s a lot of sensitivity – even hypersensitivity – in this picture and it will pay to tread carefully with anyone in a delicate state and to cut them some slack. Similarly, if you’re the one in the doldrums, pick your friends carefully. Choose the company of those who know you well and who can meet your needs.
Pluto’s presence is important as he features so largely in the Solar Eclipse on the 13th. Plutonic symbolism is ultimately about change of the death/rebirth variety, ie out with the old and in with the new, shaking off the dust of the past and embracing fresh starts, even though they may be scary. “Transformation” is a Pluto keyword beloved of astrological text books but nothing is an overnight sensation with this planet. Think rather in terms of transformative processes, things that have been changing over a long period of time reaching their finale. Also look for themes of inevitability.
In the middle of these last Venus aspects we have other major astrological events. Mercury turns retrograde, followed by another “blind spot” aspect between Sun and Saturn. We then have the Lunar Eclipse (Eclipses are always in pairs or threes two weeks apart) that falls conjunct retrograde Mars… ouch.
Thursday 26 July
- Mercury turns retrograde at 23 Leo 06.03
- Sun 4 Leo quinqunx Saturn 4 Capricorn 22.41
Friday 27 July
- Sun 4 Leo opposite Mars 4 Aquarius 06.14
- Full Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse 5 Aquarius 21.21
This is touchy stuff, see above for the Eclipse symbolism, and on this occasion add into the mix that Mars demands courage. Mars can wound – but sometimes we can’t avoid scenarios of no pain, no gain. Think twice about people pleasing … we all like others to think well of us but if we make that the top criteria for our actions and decisions it’s usually a recipe for resentment, which is a top ingredient in unhappiness or even illness. I sometimes think that being “nice” is seriously overrated! We must do what is right for us because our personal fulfillment is part of our spiritual purpose, and that starts with having love and compassion for ourselves.
It’s amazing how hard it can be to put this into real practice, but it’s easier when we remember that this doesn’t mean that you stop caring about other people. The payoff and the spinoff is that the more we love ourselves the more we have to give. Love is a self perpetuating energy.
Mercury will be retrograde from 26 July until 19 August – will turn direct at 11 Leo – and I’ll be talking a lot more about this in the next blog which will be for the week beginning 30 July. In the meantime wherever you can get ahead, get cracking as the time bandits are lurking!
Until the end of the month,
Love from Greece
Joanna