Dateblog: July 2014

 

Since Google was so kind (?) as to inform me that as of several days ago at least a few of you were nosing around a few of the past month 'dateblog' posts (which struck me as a bit wistful), I put together a couple of diagrams to outline the month ahead (the first of which is above).

And as you can see, once Mercury goes direct on July 1st, nothing much happens until the Capricorn New Moon on July 12th, which brings up one of those quandaries about when to do things.

Question: should you wait until there is an astrological indicator to do something?

Answer: not necessarily. While there are indicators (for instance, Mercury's retrograde periods) under which it's traditionally not a good idea to start something, since neither the Rome on the banks of the River Tiber nor any Rome in your head is likely to be built in a day, there have to be 'work times' when all that's going on is life processing life apace.

Then along comes a transit or a planet changing signs or some other event and that changes the dynamic. In other words, if you're working on some long-term project, the many days, weeks, months or even years of your ongoing effort are not likely to be 'punctuated' (or marked) by astrological transits.

But the finish is. The reward, the accomplishment, the turn of events, the reaction, the shocking motivation, the moment of decision...those are the kinds of things normally marked by transits. (And yes, generally those are personal transits to your very own natal chart, but global transits do add much to our understanding of how our individual life operates as part of the world around us.)

As for this month in particular, Mercury starts the month in Gemini and will clear its original point of retrograde on July 15th (in Cancer)...

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...as Venus nearly mimics this pattern, give or take the fact that Venus' retrograde (thankfully) has been over now for a few months.

Basically, what this tells us is that the Sun will be in an experiential 'feeling' mode during a period when we're well attuned to [Mercury and Venus in Gemini] evaluating matters and figuring out how to proceed...and then as the Sun moves into its more imagination/image-oriented (Leo) mode...

...Venus and Mercury keep operations palatable (for us and for those who have to deal with us) by maintaining a modicum of sensibility and sensitivity in spite of Sun-in-Leo's tendency to cause us to see what we want to see and have difficulties with those who don't see things our way (and who may even have the bad taste to rain on our parade...!).

That the Sun enters Leo on the same date that Uranus goes retrograde (in Aries) asks for flexibility without promising that we'll be in the mood to flex an inch - and with Eris connecting to the North Node on the day after the Sun's Leo ingress there is every possibility of arrogance and actions which completely ignore (often purposefully) the idea that others may neither agree with us nor be particularly happy with our habit of 'lording over' others (a habit which under any Leo influence can seem particularly annoying).

And let us please not forget to note that this Sun/Leo ingress will be happening not even a week after Jupiter itself enters Leo...

That would really be the big news for this month - Jupiter leaving Cancer means a shift from 'where' to 'what' and from foundational issues to the need to build and produce for a future we may not yet know the entire parameters of. Moreover, it's interesting to note going how this Jupiter, Sun, Eris-North Node passage will be happening with Mars still in Libra just as Mars concludes the retrograde cycle it entered into back on December 25th of last year. Given that...and how almost as soon as Mars exits its shadow (as Saturn goes direct on July 20th) it will finish its seven month transit of Libra and enter Scorpio...those of us who have learned our lesson(s) about who we are to others and how they are not our 'problem' but more often our triggers and teachers...those people will now take a step forward (at least in their own life).

And of course how that happens is up to each one of us.

I've have a few thoughts about posting between now and the Full Moon though it's finally occurred to me that I'm seriously half-past exhausted.

But you never know. I have indeed noticed that the post on the 2011 Fixed Star Eclipses and the US Congress has become one of astroPPM's most-read posts - and what with the exceeding noisiness of the US political scene visiting/revisiting congressional names old and new to see how fixed stars Hamal and Schedir's being eclipsed this past April played out.

Yes, I looked - and you're right, the eclipse is in play. And yes, if as they say 'the creek don't rise and the sky don't fall' there will be posts on all of these subjects (and a few others) in the weeks ahead...leaving me to hope your July starts on a warmly productive note as in the spirit of being the rather diminutive American I tend to be (a giant, I'm not)...I simply sign off here wishing you and yours a safe and happy 4th of July.

That's right - even if you're not American. If it's the 4th of July or Thanksgiving somehow Americans always have party enough to share, so pull up a hot dog and enjoy the fireworks!
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