Welcome to the our monthly astrology column coming by way of Kelli Jenkins and Hayley Trussell, better known around Indy as the Spellsisters. Check out their website and Instagram feed for even more info from the world of horoscopes and tarot, or to book a private reading.
JULY 2020 OVERVIEW
As we bridge the gap between the wild astro configurations of June, we are slowly opening up to a deeper, more subtle influence in July. Right off the bat, the Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn on July 1 brings an emotional breakthrough to an unstable situation in your career or home life. If things have been confrontational, chaotic, or downright crazy, this month you will begin to shed the last layer of your snakeskin and molt any remaining baggage out of your consciousness.
With eclipses, particularly in Earth signs like Capricorn, events beyond your control step in to loosen up bolts that may have felt locked in place for years. Often with so many eclipses in a row, you are forced to make a decision you’ve been putting off or finally “do the thing,” even though you feel super un-ready. You’re being tasked by the universe to move time forward and not remain a casualty of your comfort. The Sun simultaneously connects with Mercury at the beginning of the month, allowing you to express yourself with a firm tenderness here, even as the edifices of your former self collapse around you. July is going to invite you to act bravely. The spiritual volatility of Cancer (the sign of the mother) blends with the harsh reality of Saturn (the sign of the father) to make some serious waves between your inner life and your outer responsibilities.
With Mercury and Venus both stationed direct by July 12, delays that have made you feel unable to act since last month are going to untangle themselves and you’ll suddenly know what to do. You’ll be firing on all cylinders and looking your best—and most of all, you’ll be armed with new information that will allow you to make decisions naturally, without fear you’re making a mistake. With the Sun in a tense relationship with Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn at mid-month, you will be thinking positively but sensing a shift in terms of what you expect from others and what you’re willing to let go of to have all the wonderful things you’ve always wanted. We’re sensing a sacrifice needs to be made or the tension will continue to build until the sacrifice is made for you.
The New Moon on July 20 is actually the second new moon to occur in Cancer this year. A second pass and final pressure is being put on you to make your inner world sacred. If you didn’t have time last month, it’s your second chance to broach difficult subjects with family, stir up old wounds, and heal yourself and others. You are being invited to go deeper in the human experience and get more vulnerable with the people you interact with comfortably on a surface level. You’ll likely feel very emotional, as events that seem simple or small reduce you to tears. The lost self is being unearthed under this lunar influence and encouraging you to return to your own innocence. Unlike full moons or eclipses, new moons luckily feel effortless. This one will inspire you to relax into the changes you’ve made and find your new normal.
The end of July is marked by some very sparkly placements that encourage you to romanticize your reality and believe that maybe miracles are really possible. On July 27, Venus touches Neptune on its hazy, retrograde spin to Jupiter and does everything in its power to encourage you to take a foolish risk. It could work out, darlings. But just in case it doesn’t, we urge you to have a contingency plan (very Capricorn) and to consider maybe taking a break from your rose-colored glasses in the afterglow of the eclipse season. You’re being rekindled this month and setting on fire what no longer serves you in favor of your transformation.
BIRTHDAY SPOTLIGHT: CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)
Happy birthday, baby Cancer! It’s your season and it’s time to show everyone what you’ve been cooking up over the past few months. New people and opportunities you encounter this month will make you feel reignited and inspired. This lunar cycle is placing an emphasis on your houses of identity and relationships, directly impacting your emotions. Your intuition is strong and clear as heck right now, giving you the gift of knowing when to be in the right places this month and how best to benefit yourself and others when you get there.
July brings the opportunity to shed any old patterns that no longer fit you. You’ll feel a snap of clarity, guiding you to take inspired action in your relationships that makes you feel seen and heard; any questions you had in June will be answered in July. This month, you can let go of your old selves that felt lost and ignored and turn them inside out; you’re realizing that the universe is giving you the perfect, rare birthday gift: control over how you are perceived.
You will feel particularly blessed in money matters, self expression, and independence. Tread lightly when it comes to agreements and signing on the dotted line; don’t make any promises, even when it is related to your family. Don’t promise anything, but especially not what you know you won’t be able to deliver. Others will likely forgive you if you fall short, but you have a tendency to not be able to forgive yourself when you don’t measure up how you’d planned. This is your birthday month and you certainly don’t have to do more than you feel like doing!
Cancer season activity: Take yourself out to Comida for an indulgent dinner followed by milkshakes at Gordon’s Milkshake Bar.
Local Cancer: Tatjana Rebelle, activist and founder/curator of VOCAB, spoken word series
AND NOW FOR THE REST OF YOU...
LEO (JULY 23-AUGUST 22)
Your physical health is on your mind, and routines you’ve let fall by the wayside are starting to pick back up. Restoring positive behavior patterns suddenly seems vital for you this month. You have the gift of powerful astrological influences on your side, inspiring you to take action. And you’re blessed with even more charisma than you usually have! You have a golden touch when it comes to making major headway on personal projects, but relationships are not as easy for you this month. Tread lightly and don’t speak too soon, especially before the 12th when Mercury goes direct. You can afford to be bold in business and projects this month, but you’ll likely regret bold moves in love.
VIRGO (AUGUST 23-SEPTEMBER 22)
You could find yourself in the spotlight this month. If you receive credit for something you did, even though it’s not in your nature to bask in praise, accept it. All of your hard work is finally paying off, and you seriously deserve the recognition. The stars are sparkling for you and the extra hit of confidence is making you feel way more socially inclined than usual. You have a lot of action inspiring rebirth in your 5th house of creative expression, love, and romance this month, which could prove challenging for your relationships— but honestly it’s for the best, and anything that disappears during this time is something you’re ready to let go of for your highest good anyway.
LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23-OCTOBER 22)
Libra, angel, you need to slow down this month. Have you been trying to do too much socially-distanced butterflying? You have some compromises to make this month when it comes to where you spend your energy and place your attention. You’ll feel like work and play are more important than your domesticity in July, but remember that you can’t make much progress in any direction if you don’t give yourself enough time to recharge. This is likely to make you feel restricted and frustrated this month because you don’t want to slow down and eclipse season has been tough on how you feel about personal freedom. You’re trying to buck the universe, and that is simply exhausting, not to mention completely ineffectual.
SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23-NOVEMBER 21)
This year has been full of unexpected and unpredictable changes for all of us, but the past month or so has been particularly hard for you, Scorpio. You’re pretty good at being open-minded and adapting for the greater good—but this month, you’ll notice that all of these changes have been building up to a pivot point for you. While last month’s eclipses might have made you feel restricted, the lunar eclipse early this month will cut you loose. Your (usually more reserved) communication prowess is specially lit this month, gifting you with an uncanny ability to negotiate and advocate for yourself. After Mercury goes direct on the 12th, your intuition will feel supercharged, which magnetizes exciting and creative opportunities to you. You should feel especially comfortable expressing the side of you that you usually consider to be too “weird” to show.
SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 21)
At the beginning of the month, you might feel antsy to make some radical changes to the basics of your life—things like where you live, what you do for work, your image. While you’re eager to change things up and feel pretty solid in your ideals, be aware of your inclination to make rash decisions that you later regret. Mid-month, you’ll feel a lot different than you did just days earlier, so please, please, hold out on major elective changes. The lunar eclipse will shed light on something you’ve ignored or mistaken as a non-issue that suddenly becomes a very important wake-up call. Mid-month you could receive a super important opportunity and take it, just for fun, but soon realize it could blow you up majorly. You’ll be glad you stayed put at the beginning of the month, and by the new moon at the end of the month, it’ll be smooth sailing.
CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22-JANUARY 19)
Listen, there is so much going on for you this month. There’s an undercurrent of change surrounding you and it’s definitely significant—but feels low-key just, like, happening in the background without you even having to try. You’re simply busy and won’t really notice all of these things affecting you until later when you marvel at your life. Just go with the flow. The tail end of Mercury retrograde is challenging AF for you, so hold your tongue—you have an aspect to Mars here, which will make you feel super irritable. It’s highly likely you’ll have an incredibly hard time reading the room, and could very easily tend to say the wrong thing. It’s best not to act in the heat of the moment until at least after Mercury goes direct on the 12th.
AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20-FEBRUARY 18)
July will feel good-natured and laidback for you, Aqua. Your relationships and professional life are smooth sailing with very few bumps in the road predicted for July, but your routine could use some disruption. You’re good at compartmentalizing your life to stay productive and, dare I say it … detached. But literally everything is boring to you right now. This month is a good time to start new health regimens and routines. Your skin-suit could use some love and it’s time to revive your resolutions–remember New Years Eve, lol? What did you set out to accomplish this year? We know you’ve likely been active in the revolution that’s happening all around us, but this is a good time to revolutionize yourself, as well. You might even have a health scare that kick starts or reignites your interest in taking care of yourself.
PISCES (FEBRUARY 19-MARCH 20)
July’s early lunar eclipse will be so beneficial for you, sweet water babe. Life takes a turn for the more chill this month, giving you a lot more freedom to relax and lean into it all. Your relationships (love and platonic) are impacted, which could be a little confusing, but ultimately ends up bringing clarity to foggy situations in your life. After Mercury goes direct, you should feel comfortable opening up and being vulnerable, especially if you’re having some trust issues; get it all out in the open. You’ll feel better to clear it up and know the truth. Your questions about your career and fidelity can reveal deep truths about you that are usually hard to expose. However, it’s so important for you right now to examine whether or not you want to be the boss or the employee, the late-night call or the potential partner. July brings you so much clarity.
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19)
July is a month of forward motion and heavy progress for you. You won’t feel settled unless you’re making big moves toward your goals this month. It’s like being snapped awake from hypnosis: Suddenly, it’s crystal clear what steps you need to take. This month’s full moon is going to feel like a wake-up call for you, but it’s also a lunar eclipse, so be aware that inspired action could help you make major progress, igniting big, sparkly changes in your life. The only thing is, this doesn’t come easy. It involves a lot of effort and self control on your part, but the pay-off is worth all the work. By the time the new moon comes around later this month, you’ll be feeling a lot more like an active participant in your life than you have been the past few months.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)
This month’s full moon could have you leaning full-tilt into a little bit of an identity crisis, especially if your identity is wrapped up in your career. You’ve been feeling pretty cozy up until now, but now suddenly you’re feeling a lil misunderstood, and you’re about to crawl out of your skin if you don’t find a way to express yourself articulately to other people. Mercury, which has been retrograde since mid-June, goes direct on the 12th, and you’ll be feeling so much relief, like you’re coming back to yourself by then. The lunar eclipse on the 5th is really the only catalyst making you question yourself so heavily; don’t worry—no matter what you do, it’ll work itself out. This month’s focus is on relationships for you. Let the work issues fall to the side, and they’ll resolve themselves eventually.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)
Babe. Listen. Have you been self-soothing by over-spending, over-sexing, over-indulging? Some old habits might be finally catching up with you this month. This month’s full moon lunar eclipse is going to have you undergoing a bit of a rebirth inspired by some unhealthy coping behaviors you have recently developed. You have an unresolved, recurring issue that’s rearing its ugly head once again in July. Every time you squelch it by turning a blind eye, it multiplies. July feels kinda like a Tower month for you in the sense that you ultimately have to tame an inner demon once and for all, but this will allow you a truly unbelievably beautiful opportunity to reset and rebuild.
Photo by Schwebach Photography.
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