Skywatch is posted! And New Moon today

Only a day late. :) Here's what's going on in early July:

As July begins, Pluto, in retrograde motion, has just re-entered Sagittarius on its final journey through Sagittarius. We're seeing its influence on the airline industry (travel is associated with Sagittarius), along with a resurgence of fears (Pluto) over differing religious beliefs (Sagittarius also rules religion and shared ideals and theologies). With Pluto in Sag throughout the rest of the year we are sure to see religion raise its head even more in this year's US presidential election. Pluto in Sag has also had a great deal to do with xenophobia - the fear (Pluto) of other cultures (Sagittarius).

We are in a heavy retrograde period now, with four traditional planets plus Chiron all appearing to travel retrograde now. Retrograde periods force us to re-examine all that we do; we are constantly re-negotiating and re-vising our plans. Forget about two steps forward and one step back; we're retracing our steps now so that we can perfect all that we do with clarity and intention.

Uranus has just turned retrograde and we saw the tendency of Uranus to create shocking reversals mirrored in the news in the fall of the stock markets on the last few days of June, and the new Supreme Court decision that legitimizes gun ownership by individuals. Mercury will be moving into position to square Uranus over the next few days, and information and communication (Mercury) will be subject to misunderstandings and disruption as Uranus seeks to break us out of our routines and create new neural pathways for information to travel through.

Chiron is exactly conjunct the North Node, as it will be for the next few months. The North Node of the Moon is a signpost rather than a planet; it marks the path of the moon along the path that we see the Sun travel each year. The North Node marks the portal of our evolutionary direction into the future; the South Node gives us an exit into the past. Chiron's presence conjunct the North Node signifies the healing energy (Chiron) that is available now to bring us into our future (North Node) and release the bonds of the past (South Node). The Chironic healing process is not always easy; it requires that we enter fully into our emotions and mind - what Eckart Tolle calls "presence." Once we are fully connected to ourselves internally, feeling completely whatever wound we have tried to avoid, we are able to release the past and move forward once and for all.

On July 1 Mars leaves the showier sign of Leo for the more subdued Virgo. Mars is our aggressive urge - our anger, our rage, our desire. In Virgo, all of these take the back seat to what is appropriate and orderly, both items of concern to Virgo.

The New Moon takes place on the evening of July 2, with not only the Sun and Moon in Cancer, but Venus as well. The triple shot of Cancer means the focus will be on the home and our loved ones - not just our family of origin, but the tribe we have chosen to affiliate with as well. New Moons are times of new beginnings, and this new beginning includes an opposition of Venus in Cancer to Jupiter in Capricorn. This is a marvelous time to invite friends (Venus) into our homes (Cancer) for social events (Jupiter) that share a common goal or purpose (Capricorn). Responsibility is also highlighted as Mars (drive, energy) approaches a conjunction to Saturn (discipline, hard work and goals).

Mercury forms an exact trine to the Chiron/North Node combination which brings our mental function and communication abilities to the table so that we can better communicate and express (Mercury) the healing process that we are going through either willingly or not. Mercury is in its own sign of Gemini where it is nimble and quick and can manifest in its Trickster aspect more easily than not. The Trickster knows how to manipulate matter in order to manifest ideas, and this is a fertile time for that sort of activity.

The square of Mercury to Uranus mentioned above perfects on July 5, and in tandem with the Chiron influence may create difficulty in our dealings with others and the processing of our own experience. This is not a good time to plan a court trial or a job interview! However, the influence of a trine to Neptune from Mercury is already felt, and when these two planets move into alignment on July 6 there is more harmony and more understanding (Mercury) on a purely intuitive (Neptune) level. Relationships with others become easier as well under a trine from Venus (relating to others) to Uranus (in fresh new ways).

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