Stars Wisdom for July 2021
In these transitional times the Warrior planet, Mars, now heats things up.
Mars entered fiery Leo on June 11th, beginning to boil the alchemical waters of challenge and change, as it creates a circuit of aspects with Saturn and Uranus, July 1 -3 (We feel the intensity of this tension a week before and a week after the exact alignment). Saturn and Uranus, in tensional square relationship, define the collective frequency, theme, and characteristics for 2021; old versus new, traditional versus innovative, control versus freedom. We are challenged to see what is holding us back, no longer life sustaining and to activate higher levels of integration, within ourselves and within our societies.
Each of us can feel the old layers that are needed to be shed and recognized in the mysterious process of transformation. Being in the center of a swirling whirling fast moving uncertain polarized time, we are stretched to find our grounding, steadiness, and resilience. The potential and opportunity here is to transform through this initiation, accessing the deeper aspects of ourselves into fuller embodiment of our unique gifts and being.
In the Tarot, Mars is affiliated with the Tower card: biting through, cutting away, exposing and revealing the underlying tensions, projections, and emotional reactions. All, hopefully, to get to what we are really wanting, stripping away the conditioned ways of responding, to arrive at that fresh presence of intention and action.
Mars in dramatic Leo triggers the Saturn Uranus square (Aquarius to Taurus) and heightens its challenges. How skillful can we be in finding our balance during transitional times?
July 1 – Mars opposes Saturn – when Mars opposes Saturn, Saturn can block, obstruct, present difficulties in achieving what we want. Our instructions are to balance desire and action with patience and wisdom.
Celestial Tarot by Kay Steventon & Brian Clark, and The Haindl Tarot
July 3 – Mars squares Uranus – These two planets together can be explosive, and quick, a flash of lightning. Mars activates Uranus, stimulating disruption, impulsiveness, rebelliousness, and potential breakthrough, if we can hold the tension with steady awareness. How flexible can we be with uncertainty, finding new possibilities and creativity we hadn’t thought of before? Uranus is the awakener, the portal to broader consciousness, imagination and innovation.
More Celestial events for July – the Astrological Highlights for the month ahead
July 6-8 – Venus opposes Saturn and squares Uranus – We are thoughtful now in our relationships as the tension of the Saturn Uranus square challenges our ease in relatedness. We balance our responsibilities with our needs for spaciousness and new ways of relating ourselves to others.
July 9 – New Moon in Cancer – heightens the feeling body in each of us. In this sign the influence of our wild and natural self predominates. Celebrate nature and nurture each other.
July 11 – Mercury enters Cancer – Mercury in Cancer feels into the power of metaphor and symbol. It’s gift is poetry, music, and song. It’s the choreographer of movement, and the one who create visualizations. Cancer Mercury’s challenge is in being mentally overtaken by waves of emotion, or by defensiveness, before being able to think things through.
July 13 – Venus conjuncts Mars in Leo – a time of passionate affection, stimulated creativity, opening of the heart in relationships, dramatic presentation.
July 15 – Sun trines Neptune – a potential time of empathy, compassion and imaginative contemplations, a time for spiritual attunement, or delusion, escapism, denial and fantasy.
July 17 – Sun opposes Pluto – the light of the Sun meets the challenge of shadow material, the intensity of encountering that which needs to be transformed.
July 21 – Venus enters Virgo – relationships become more practical. We assess where we are with ourselves and others in discerning, matter of fact, ways.
July 22 – Venus in Virgo opposes Jupiter in Pisces – love and enjoyment combine the practical and the poetic
July 22 – The Sun enters fiery and radiant Leo. The fullness of summer. Let your light shine, play more, enjoy the children, enjoy creativity within yourself and among others.
July 23 – Full Moon in Aquarius – This airy Moon is cooling to the drama of fiery Leo. The pairing of signs, Aquarius and Leo, highlight individuality and community. We might ask ourselves, “How do I now participant in the opening of communities?”
Affirmation for the Full Moon in Aquarius
“May I feel and experience our interconnectedness (Aquarius) while I center within my heart (Leo).”
July 28 – Jupiter retrogrades back into Aquarius, once again emphasizing how we grow and learn within the community, how we share our creative visioning. As it retrogrades we can review what has been unfolding since the beginning of the year, and take stock of how we will participate, what we might contribute to the well being of the community.
A helpful review as a way to understand the meaning of these times.
The eclipses (May 26 and June 10) intensify our feelings and situations, so we can see what needs to be seen, to realign, let go, and clear.
The Saturn Uranus square is the dominant aspect of the year (exact on June 14). This last square in the cycle challenges us with a crisis, and urges a new level of consciousness to emerge. We hold the tension between structure, discipline, rigor, perseverance, (Saturn) and the drive to break free, to rebell, to stretch ourselves into broader and deeper dimensions of awareness, perception, and possibility (Uranus). We are challenged by our old patterns and ways of being (Saturn) as we are rebirthing into something new (Uranus) without as yet a firm and known way of interacting, (Saturn). Shaky ground, living in uncertainty (Uranus). “What we call uncertainty is actually the open quality of any given moment” (Emily Hilburn Sell). It offers us an opportunity to be exquisitely aware of ourselves, others, and the quality of our relatedness. It offers us the power of conscious choice in our actions and perspectives.
We are now just leaving a very concentrated and intense Mercury retrograde passage, due to its slower than normal retrograde motion. What have we experienced during this time period, May 29th to June 22? (or from May 15th to July 7th, which includes the shadow periods). How were we turned back on ourselves, how did we go deeper, where did we experience polarity, conflict, differing sides of ourselves and each other? What messages did we receive? Gemini focuses on our mental states, the polarity we experience. We can ask ourselves, seeing these different sides, what decisions do I now come to that will assist integrating these differences into a more healthy and harmonious way of being?
Under this last full Moon (in Capricorn) we can honor that each of us possesses a deep soul. An essence of our individuality whose quality is continually birthing itself, bringing more light and clarity to the spirit within that guides us. This spirit moves through all of us and is the essence of earth and cosmos and creation, the “Anima Mundi”. Our soul is literally an ear to the great heart of this loving and intelligent all pervading spirit of the universe. Our soul is our unique embodiment of the grace and expression of the universe. During times like these we are plunged into the churning of the archetypal realms within and outside of ourselves. The Capricorn full Moon encourages us to be steady, one foot in front of the other, to breathe, and now to be with the open quality of not knowing, to be resilient in our presence.
Affirmation for the Full Moon in Capricorn
“During these times of both inner and outer polarity, of uncertainty, of challenge, of being in the in-between, I steady myself by grounding in the earth and continually finding my center. I affirm that through cultivating my steadiness and calmness, the universe’s wisdom and guidance is available to open my pathway forward.”.
Susan Heinz is a professional astrologer in Santa Cruz for 39 years, bringing together traditional & esoteric astrology, Tarot and Qabalah. For info on her Friday monthly astrology groups, her Qabalah, astrology and or, painting classes, and for personal consultations, call (831) 479-3751, or go to www.susanheinz.com