Motions of the moon

The motions of the moon through the signs of the zodiac have the most material, concrete affect on our moods and the situations in which we find ourselves. In other words, the moon has the greatest impact on the concrete details of our day-to-day lives. For this reason, I like to devote time at the beginning of these posts to discuss her motions in detail.

We start this month off again with a balsamic moon near the end of her cycle, with her occupying Gemini on July 1st. When the moon is balsamic, we go through a final stage of psychological releasing and letting go in preparation for the next cycle. This will be felt more strongly by people with Sun or Moon in Gemini.

The new moon takes place on July 2nd in Cancer. As always, the new moon will indicate the beginning of a new cycle, and new moon rituals during this period will be especially effective if the intentions set revolve around cultivating emotional health and developing habits that connect one’s self to one’s own body and feelings.  

This new moon is especially poignant since she occupies her domicile of Cancer from the 2nd to the 3rd. Any period where the moon occupies dignity like this signifies good fortune. However, on the 3rd the moon will apply an opposition to Saturn. While the moon is close to Saturn, some outer circumstances (especially for Cancer-dominant people) may make us feel constrained by authority or neglected by people who are close to us.

From July 10th – 11th , the Moon will occupy her fall in Scorpio. The mutual reception between the moon and mars present the last two months has dissolved, and so this will be an easier period than before. She was also be receiving a trine from Venus, which will help to alleviate some of the more anti-social, brooding streaks of the Moon in Scorpio.

The moon will be in Capricorn from the 17th to the 20th, which will likewise be very restricting due to the presence of Saturn in Capricorn. Without the support from a benefic, it will be easier to dwell in frustration and melancholy during this period.

Taking into account business development and financial considerations, neither of these periods are conducive for any major actions or decisions. They should as much as possible be spent in quiet contemplation. We have a relatively peaceful period after that, save the opposition to Mars on the 21st and 22nd.

The moon will be in her exaltation on the 25th to the 27th. This is a positive time for engagement in activity, making important decisions, socialization, etc. All the more so since the Moon is sextile Venus, and Venus and the moon form a mutual reception with each other.

We close out the month with another balsamic moon in Cancer for the last three days. We can also count period as positive on account of the interaction between Venus and Saturn.

Mercury Retrograde

We will experience another Mercury retrograde this month.

From the 4th to the 7th Mercury will be stationing – which means that he appears to stand still in the sky. This station period was considered very important for Mercury’s significations. Activities related to self expression and the intellect will flourish for these few days. From a business perspective, this is a great period to launch campaigns and do marketing.

Mercury enters into his Retrograde period on July 8th, and Mercury will continue to retrograde for the rest of the month.

This Retrograde will be much softer than the last one in Pisces. Mercury in Leo has more dignity than in Pisces, and the diurnal nature of Mercury’s ruler helps Mercury’s agenda of clear communication and philosophical analysis to prosper.

As usual, cars, communiques, and electronics will begin to suffer, but this is only to afford us to the opportunity to reflect on how we use those things and disengage from any overly strong attachments we have to these things.

Mercury will be cazimi the sun in Cancer on the 21st. Like the station, this is considered a “busy” or “activated” period for the planet and its significations, and so topics related to it will flourish.

You can find out more information on Mercury retrograde in general in this post.

Ingressions

Several ingressions occur this month to watch out for:

Mars enters into Leo on July 2nd. This ingression is positive because Mars is exiting his place of detriment (Cancer). With Mars in Leo, we can all expect to be more confidant in how we express ourselves, and firmer in our boundaries.

For people who have difficulty setting boundaries, these six weeks will be a good time to practice. However, this is also a period where people’s tempers can fly, and repressed anger can boil to the surface – sometimes explosively.

If you have a strong Leo emphasis in your natal chart, be especially mindful of the way you express yourself to others. People with important planets in other fixed signs – Scorpio, Aquarius , and Taurus – will experience maltreatment from Mars and could either have their own anger flare up. 

The following day, Venus will ingress out of Gemini into Cancer. This ingression is likewise positive – Venus has difficulty expressing her benevolence in Gemini, and this was heightened by the aversion to her domicile lord, Mercury. In Cancer, however, she has dignity as a triplicity Lord and occupies the domicile of her Sect ruler, the Moon.

If you have a strong Cancer emphasis, you can expect to feel this ingression more strongly – so long as you are not being too much activated by Mars, you will be more apt towards kindness and compassion. People with planets in water signs or earth signs besides Capricorn will also feel a positive change from this.

Mercury will retrograde back into Cancer on the 19th. Since Mercury is of the nighttime sect at this point, he is also of the place of his sect-mate, the Moon, and so has some dignity. This transition will be primarily internal, due to the retrograde.

The Sun enters into Leo on the 23rd, which is a very positive transition. The Sun in Leo is generally considered one of the most positive chart placements, and all the more so now on account of the Trine to Jupiter in Sagitarrius.

This is an excellent period for big picture planning, getting clear on life goals, and engaging in activities that feel related to your purpose. For businesses, this is also a good time for self-promotion or putting on major events.

On the 28th, Venus into Leo as well. This will strengthen the emphasis on self-expression, goals, and purpose, while also affording people the opportunity to explore these things with others and in a group setting.

Other Major Aspects

As Mercury Stations, an aspect with Mars will perfect. Like the Mercury – Mars conjunction last month, we can expect heightened intellectual curiosity and the impulse to digest a lot more information, as well as increased irritability and tendency to argue.

Given that Mercury is stationing, along with the placement in Leo instead of Cancer, the expression of this conjunction will be much more public and apparent in the world, as opposed to the Cancer period, which showed up more as internal rumination and reflection.

There will be a Sun-Saturn Square until the Sun leaves Cancer on the 23rd, perfecting on the 9th. Sun Saturn-squares are notorious for making people feel split and torn. With the Sun in Cancer, feelings of dis-integration may abound for you, especially if you have a strong Cancer or Capricorn emphasis in your chart.