Mirror, Mirror
July 2022The Moon rules the month of July and Cancer the Crab. The moon is a great big, gigantic reflector of light, the Sun’s rays. Cancer is also a water sign and water reflects. Likewise this month, each of us has our reflectors on, mirroring back to others all that we perceive. If you have ever done a mirroring exercise, or simply taken a good hard look at yourself in a mirror, we do not always like what we see. And sometimes, too, we are happily surprised at our reflection. Our eye catches the reflection and we pause, seeing calm, strength, grace, or perhaps a certain power that we did not expect.
It is no accident that during the first full-fledged month of summer, July finds us moving slower and pacing ourselves differently than during the rest of the hurried and harried year. And while none of the inner, personal planets are retrograde in July 2022, we’re now moving on Moon Time, a definite shift to lower gear. Cancer saunters and glides, dives deep for delectables beneath the surface. She rarely races around or rushes. She takes her time collecting and integrating what she comes across. Her magic moonlight bathes us invitingly in warm, delicious rays that form our most cherished memories: creating sandcastles with children on a beloved beach; snuggling under the covers with loved ones; baking sugar cookies with grandma. Memories that surface in private, hidden moments, and surely before we take flight to heaven.
July unfolds just after a New Moon. Fresh energy develops to grow what we want more of in our lives. Generous Jupiter aligns to a festive Leo Moon to kick off the July Fourth weekend, on Friday, July 1. Time to get your FUN on. We’re game for anything especially as Messenger Mercury connects to Saturn in Aquarius. You are connected and The Connector! Pay attention to who and what comes your way over the weekend. It might be a holiday but precious people and information may land in your lap. File away what crosses your radar until you are ready to explore and fully vet potential possibilities as Neptune challenges Mercury during this same time. You will need to do your homework and learn whether opportunities are the real deal or just smoke and mirrors.
Speaking of mirrors: Messenger Mercury joins the Sun in reflective Cancer on Monday, July 5th. It connects to Motivating Mars which shifts into earthy Taurus the exact same day. This is a much needed grounding and practical alliance after the epic violence of June when Mars moved through fiery Aries. Now working together, our minds and motivation imagine and deliver practical solutions. We can certainly use all the help we can get. Take advantage of this useful energy during the week after July 4th. Not only can you get a lot accomplished; but you will find answers to long-standing questions or problems.
Solutions and answers abound as long as you are open to try new paths and strategies. The Sun challenges healer Chiron while Mercury boxes with Jupiter, catalyzing us to do something, anything to get to YES. The Old Days of the Old Guard refusing to budge are rapidly ending. We can all hear the kicking and screaming of those being dragged into the future. However Taskmaster Saturn in Aquarius demands for change for the greatest good, the collective benefit, as it duels with Uranus and the North Node in Taurus: personal values.
Whether over gun rights, gun control, right to life, the right to choose, a stolen election or a government coup, the struggle is real. The national push and pull showdown is ON this July. Often forgotten, Cancer rules the homeland: our nation. Your personal values are the nation’s values. As the individual and family goes, so goes our country.
Our struggle gyrates to peak torque by mid-month. The Full Moon in Capricorn on Wednesday, July 13th is tied to Powerful Pluto opposite the Sun-Mercury in Cancer. Get it in gear people is the message of this Full Moon. The time for fooling around is now long over. This especially includes unnecessary power plays and drama. Any back room or back handed manipulations are reflected in Cancer’s gigantic mirror, witnessed by all. The Sun and Moon represent our respective father and mother astrologically and boy, these parents have had enough. This is one tough-love Mother Moon, and she is deadly serious.
Pluto is Power. The Capricorn-Pluto Full Moon is ruthless: cuts losses, shores up resources, sets stiff limits and boundaries and doesn’t care who it offends. Whining and crying will do you no good. If you are not towing the line, minding your business and doing the work, you will be shown in unmistakably glaring terms what must be done to get your house in order. Cancer rules the home, family, and yes, our national family. You either are an example or you will be made an example of.
The great news is: for those invested in love and right over might, Pluto bestows tremendous power. Those who show up and on path will shine now. Loosely aligning to the lunar north node and Uranus, Pluto bears heavyweight windfalls for otherwise invisible people who put their nose to the grindstone, do the right thing day in and day out with no expectation for award or reward. Will you be one of them?
Reverberations follow in the wake of this immensely strong Full Moon. You may feel as though you’ve been through the spin cycle of your washing machine. Take some time the weekend of July 16-17 to let the dust to settle. We are in the final days of the Sun’s tour through Cancer, when she sends her strongest supportive energy, helping us to stand on our own two feet. Think of the baby bird being pushed out of the nest and you get the sense of the stretch between July 13-18th. We know it is time to evolve and grow. With that comes trepidation and for some, fear. Remember: F.E.A.R is False Evidence Appearing Real. Time to fly one and all.
Easing our transitions great and small, Valuable Venus turns into Cancer the Crab on Monday, July 18th. Gear shifts are afoot. As though passing a runner’s relay baton, the Sun concludes its cycle in this sign of comfort and compassion then hands it off to Venus, who picks it up and begins her passage. Here, Venus extends Cancerian warmth and care toward our relationships, especially family. Family matters now take precedence, including relatives, house and home, food, nurturing (including our own self-care).
The next day, Messenger Mercury shifts into Look-At-Me Leo. Creative and festive with mouth and message, Leo Mercury is the child (or inner child) who will be heard. He also intends to have a really good time while he’s at it. He’s joined by the Sun entering Leo on Saturday, July 23rd. The party is ON the third week of July. We are game for anything as Mercury aligns to Generous Jupiter in Aries. Step aside caution: here comes the FUN. Try anything just once. You may surprise yourself at how much you enjoy whatever it is! If you are planning a wedding or other happenings the weekend of July 23-24th, the energy is ripe for joy. Try paying in advance for activities, as you want to wake up the following Monday full of fun afterglow, rather than facing a sizeable bill.
The cost of life weighs heavily on us all. It is meted out at the New Moon in Leo on Thursday, July 28th. Although the Sun and Moon align to Generous Jupiter, it is worthwhile noting here that Jupiter turns retrograde at the time of New Moon, suggesting that we use the power of intention with particular due regard. Especially as Messenger Mercury opposes Taskmaster Saturn and both challenge Uranus, Mars and the North Node in Taurus. Our ideas and agenda may be waaaay bigger than our pocketbook.
There is real work to do now. We’re required to buckle in and take a deep dive into our priorities: focus on common ground (Taurus) and build a plan from there. It is all visible in the mirror Cancer the Crab holds up for us to reflect upon, that which unites us: shared love for our children, safe homes, secure schools and peaceful neighborhoods. Look in the mirror now. What do you see?
Of Special Note:
Tune into Mystical Messages podcast to hear my conversation with Leah Goldman of FIKA Coaching. No ordinary certified life coach, Leah offers a holistic and nature-based approach with equine facilitated learning. Together with her horse Saint, Leah leads clients to create deeper connection to themselves affording more joyful and creative lives. The episode drops Friday, July 15th and is available via Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts.