Though this week may jolt us with transitional revelations and lapses of regrets, this road we are on can always surprise us with opportunities to learn from what went down behind us. Our worries can be laid to rest, assured that these learning experiences are fueling the fires that will allow us to glow brighter every step of the way. We walk alone, but our hearts are imbued with the magic of all the adventurous journeys we share with each other under the diamond sky.
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Moon in Cancer sextile Jupiter in Taurus
Today is a beautiful Sunday to treat ourselves to some good food, to make love to our home, to delight in sensual delights, and to reassess our financial circumstances. The helpful sextile between Moon and Jupiter in the most emotional and sensual signs really makes for a pampering day of comfort. Though we might be cautious to overindulge, consider this aspect a voucher to just let it go and relax, because new beginnings are just around the corner.
These are earth and water signs, so getting a massage, taking a hike, walking in the woods, or going for a swim are all great self-care remedies that can help ground us before tomorrow’s New Moon in Cancer and nodal shift. It is always good to consciously prepare for New Moons by assessing how the previous 28 days went for us and how we might want the next 28 days to unfold. What is our intention? What is our motive? Let’s figure that out!
Monday, July 17, 2023
Moon in Cancer square Chiron in Aries
Mercury in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus
Moon in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus
*New Moon at 24° Cancer (2:32pm EDT)
*Moon’s Nodes ingress Libra and Aries (South and North, respectively)* (4:00pm EDT)
Moon in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces
Moon in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn
It cannot be understated how activating today’s transitions are. Aside from the multiple planetary aspects, the New Moon is followed by its nodes shifting into Libra (south node) and Aries (north node). The nodes shift signs approximately every year and a half, but the last time they shifted into these signs in the same way (south-Libra, north-Aries) was December 26, 2004 hours before a Full Moon in Cancer. These are cycles that speak volumes to us if we make the time to reflect deeply on the circumstances and mindset we were experiencing back then.
I am only going to focus on the New Moon and a little on the nodal shift. First of all, it is of primary importance to honor and respect this New Moon, not just because it is a New Moon, but because her nodal points are transitioning at nearly the exact same moment. This is about how we process our feelings, the heavy weights we carry around, the nagging, gnawing, silent, and invisible rocks we can’t seem to remove from down in our guts.
How can we learn to accept, forgive, and lay down our pain, suffering, and perhaps unresolved traumatic experiences from the past? Some say face it and work through it, some say let it go and move on. With so many conflicting self-help suggestions out there these days, the confusion can be debilitating. But if we ask ourselves how we would feel if we did not have to carry those burdens around with us everywhere we go, it’s very likely that gives us a very warm fuzzy feeling inside.
While we cannot lay down everything, we can take careful stock of what troubles us, worries us, and keeps us up at night and choose anything that doesn’t have to do that to us anymore. This is about our inner security and well-being, so we need to dispel any habits of self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-sabotage. The dreams and ideals we contemplate from time to time should be nurtured and honored so they can begin to take shape in our lives. We are all capable of doing what we want if we learn to follow our bliss.
This nodal shift is going to put the spotlight on the contrast between our relationships and our individuality. The goal is to learn how our relationships have shaped our identity and influenced how well we have individuated in this life. What codependencies do we have? Do we feel free to do and express ourselves completely, or are there inhibitions we have not let go of yet? Let’s embrace our passion to be us as honestly and entirely as possible!
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Moon ingresses Leo
Yesterday certainly stole all the aspects from today, because aside from Moon ingressing Leo, there are no major aspects to report on. But this can be an exuberant day to light a new fire in the purged chamber of our solar plexus. If we finagled the rocks out of there and laid them down on the side of our dusty road, we can build quite a healthy new fire. Perhaps we have not had a fire in there for a long time, so feed it gently, diligently, and give it enough air to blaze as long as possible.
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Moon conjunct Mercury in Leo
Moon in Leo trine Chiron in Aries
Moon in Leo square Uranus in Taurus
The fires get stoked today, exciting our ambitions to fearlessly put ourselves out there and express our gusto for whatever it is we are passionately pursuing. The momentum from the New Moon can be harnessed with flair and style that only we each uniquely possess. Drawing on the newly minted North Node in Aries, our motivation to stand up for our individuality and embody our identity in the face of opposition is coming in hot and strong today.
As is often the case with strong Leo signatures, we must be mindful that we are not overdoing our pride and prejudice. The Moon-Uranus square can impel us to stumble into snags of regret if we don’t exercise ample tact and discernment. The flames are already blazing beautifully, so we don’t need to be fanning them unnecessarily just to prove something rooted in our egoic pride. Let’s step out onto the planet and sing our song as gracefully and naturally as possible. It is bound to be heard and loved by many.
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Sun in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces
Moon conjunct Venus in Leo
Mars in Leo opposite Saturn in Pisces
Our feelings may seem especially sensitive this morning, trickling down from the clouds into the basin deep within us and stirring up issues we have been wanting to express. Perhaps there are relationship concerns that have gotten in the way of our individuation process, or maybe we are noticing the effects of excessive foolish pride and how that has caused boundaries to be crossed. It’s not that these aspects are inherently challenging or onerous, but with Mars opposing Saturn, difficulties are bound to surface at least peripherally.
If we are mindful and aligned harmoniously, today can actually impart a powerful shift in new directions relating to our health and how we manage our lives. But there is an emanating drive to stand up against the overarching authority that seems to control much of what we can and can’t do, which can mutate into anger and aggression. This could even be a battle within us as we try to sort out how we feel about our decisions and the path we are on. Needless to say that today could be wracked with angst, frustration, and combative behavior, so the warning is out. How we handle knowing this reflects the value of astrology and the art of living.
Friday, July 21, 2023
Moon conjunct Mars in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces
Moon in Virgo trine Jupiter in Taurus
*Sun in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn square Moon’s nodes*
Fortunately for most of us, Moon and Mars join very early in the morning, so it will be waning by the time we start our morning. However, this is a magnification of the sensitivities that were bound to surface yesterday. A healthy approach to this window of time would be to keep our heads down while we focus on our work and achieving what we set out to do. The more we find ourselves in conversations with others talking about things we might disagree on, the more we might find ourselves edgy and irritable. The Moon-Jupiter trine should bring some decompressing relief and help ground us enough to handle the weight on our shoulders.
This potentially challenging configuration gets ramped up by the grand cross between Sun, Pluto, and Moon’s nodes just around midnight tonight. As is always the case with aspects, their influence can sometimes be experienced days, weeks, or even months before or after they perfect. Obviously longer when the outer planets are aspecting each other.
So, during these few days where Sun in passing through this gauntlet, issues that were playing out in our lives back in mid-April, when we had a solar eclipse at the same degree as this cross. What was difficult to reckon with at that time? How far have we come? There are culminations that are taking place right now; finalizations before embarking into new territories. It would be best to notice what needs to be wrapped up and laid to rest. Our past mistakes can be reconciled for some much needed redemption.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Mercury in Leo trine Chiron in Aries
Moon in Virgo trine Uranus in Taurus
Moon in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces
Pluto in Capricorn square Moon’s Nodes
*Sun ingresses Leo*
We just might feel confident and prepared enough to embrace and harness the hardships we have been through to help heal how they conditioned us. We might even be able to help others who may have been living in distress over similar struggles. There is an especially potent capacity today to better understand how to improve and sustain a healthier lifestyle, so connecting the dots between our pain, our choices, our perspective, and the whirling dervishes of hope can realign us back onto the tracks so we can beat it on down that line into the great wide open.
There is so much focus on Moon’s nodes shifting and Pluto aspecting them that other aspects seem to pale in comparison. As mentioned yesterday, we may regret some of the choices we made in our lives that brought us where we are now, but this is how we learn and grow to have a deeper understanding and respect for ourselves and others. Bad decisions don’t always result in bad circumstances. They often do, but sometimes they bring us exactly where we need to be. So, we can be grateful to be where we are today and know that we can ask ourselves where we would like to go and how we would like to get there. Let’s embrace the playful joy of Sun moving into Leo!
This week contains quite an array of pivotal transition-inducing alignments. From a New Moon to a nodal shift to a Grand Cross that is sure to ignite some initiations in our lives. These are not transitions to fear whatsoever, they are just necessary steps on our introspective path through life. All the whims and follies we have innocently followed may arise into sharp focus and cause us to wonder why we took those routes and chances, but we can rest assured that all of those choices took us down the road that will lead us home. We must hold away despair and find new inspiration that moves us brightly furthur.