Thoughts for July 2008

1 July 2008

Graphic Ephemeris July 2008

New Moon 3 July 2008

1st Quarter Moon 10 July 2008

Full Moon 18 July 2008

3rd Quarter Moon 25 July 2008

Hopefully July should see us moving forward as we have much more movement this month. Mercury regains its retrograde position on 4th the day after the new moon and the faster moving planets actually are moving faster now. Mercury will see three signs this month, Venus sees two and Mars moves into Virgo on 2nd ensuring that everything is ship shape and Bristol fashion. Mercury reaches the point at which it went retrograde on 4th, so exiting its shadow, and finally gets to make the square to Uranus that it didn't quite make before its detour. There's much more movement and dynamism this month. Even though it's summer (in the north, that is), things will begin to take shape now.

The first week of July sees, as mentioned above, the new Moon in Cancer on 3rd together with a Venus Jupiter opposition also in Cancer. The Cancer new Moon can be seen as the ultimate new Moon: this is certainly the time to set new ideas in play and consider new resolutions but be careful of overreaching yourself with ebullient Jupiter opposite.

Mars moves into Virgo on the afternoon of 1st and now it's time to pay attention to the small print. Details matter. Now is the time to put our energy into small stuff; the big picture can wait. Details certainly are the order of the day around 10th as Mars will conjoin Saturn at 5 Virgo. This is likely to be a tough few days. Anyone who has anything around this degree might like to spend sometime getting things neat and tidy ahead of this. Mars and Saturn are traditionally considered one of the worst planetary combinations. This is a bit judgemental but these two certainly make for a tough and uncompromising combination. Think of authority with might; of an armed barricade; of focused and disciplined force; these are the two malefics coming together and they don't mess around.

Malefic doesn't necessarily mean "bad guy". I like Rob Hand's description of a malefic: something that requires you to move and adjust. This could be a stone in your shoe or a gun at your head. Which ever, you need to adjust your position. It doesn't necessarily say anything about your greater situation. The benefics don't force you to move. I like to refer to this as a "gin and tonic moment". If you're sitting in a sun dappled garden with a very cold, perfectly G&T there is no incentive to move. Again, there is no information on your greater situation. If a large, out of control truck is heading in your direction then you need to move, you do not need to savour your G&T. Hence you need context before you make a judgement.

The 6th sees Mercury trine Neptune and Venus square Uranus. This makes things both a bit softer and sharper at the same time. Be aware that we may be feeling more romantic and spontaneous but that doesn't aid our logical thought processes or practical reasoning.

Jupiter opposes the Sun on 9th. This is a day for optimism, even with the close proximity of Mars and Saturn, and research shows that peace treaties signed with this aspect have a high chance of success.

There is a great deal of Mercury activity for the rest of the month, almost as if he's making up for lost time having been retrograde. On 10th he's opposite Pluto. This could add another layer to the Mars Saturn conjunction. Pluto gives Mercury a guided tour of the underworld when they aspect each other – he doesn't need a VIP pass as he can already go freely between the two worlds. News with a dark edge may be heard. What ever this may be – and yes, that is an extremely broad description – it will gather momentum through the rest of the month. Mercury sextiles Saturn on 14th giving structure to what may have been simply rumour. The accompanying Sun Uranus trine may bring the courage for someone to be outspoken or simply outrageous. What ever shape this takes the 15th will see a full and frank exchange of view as Mercury conjoins Mars.

Days with Mercury Mars aspects tend to be a little fraught and tense. Be calm in traffic, leave extra time if you need to queue and count to ten before answering flippantly. The scope for arguments flaring up is considerable. Forceful communication is the theme of the day. Don't choose today to pick a fight.

Mercury's next aspect is on 19th, he's probably licking his wounds, when he opposes Jupiter. This is the classic big picture vs details clash. Given the background of Mars and Saturn in Virgo I'd put my money on the details but don't forget those details have to be within a greater context. Mercury and Jupiter aspects force us to consider both and remember that both are necessary for us to get anywhere.

Mercury trine Uranus comes round on 22nd. If this was a news story then it would have moved from rumour (Pluto) through evidence (Saturn), apportioning of blame and shouting (Mars), shock and unexpected consequences (Uranus) and would end with someone being picked out to take the fall (conjunct the Sun on 29th). Helping that surge towards a resolution is a Mars Jupiter trine on 26th – the Truth will out. The edge will be taken off any public outcry by the Venus Neptune opposition on 31st.
This last pocket of Pluto in Sagittarius should give us time to put our houses in order, if we are so minded. We will have to live with the plan we've put down while Pluto is in Capricorn – it goes back at the end of November and November also sees the first of five Saturn Uranus oppositions. You'll definitely hear more on that in the months to come – both from me and the cosmos. Have a good summer.