Hi Everyone

Hope you’re having a good start to your summer. July looks to be quite busy – August a little less so.

Saturn/Neptune Conjunction

I want to begin by talking about the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Aries, which actually began last month. It will last until early next May using a pretty wide orb.  At first glance this seems to be a strange couple: Saturn, an earth sign, the ruler of order, status quo, authority figures and big business, and Neptune, a water sign, the ruler of dreams, otherworldliness, unable (or unwilling) to cope with this plane. Neptune seeks to escape this plane in a positive (meditation, spirituality) or negative (drugs, alcohol) way. Saturn seeks to maintain its version of order.

Both planets are very unhappy in Aries, the fiery sign of new beginnings (spring), quests, movement, excitement. It is a restless sign, always seeking something new. The energy of Aries does not fit easily with the energy of either Saturn or Neptune.

In astrology planets have signs that they “rule,” such as Neptune in Pisces or Saturn in Capricorn. They also have another sign that they like to be in, which is called their sign of “exaltation.” Sounds pretty cool, eh? And of course, the opposite sign to their sign of “exaltation” is their sign of “fall.” Saturn in exalted in Libra, because Libra is the sign of balance and perfect balance is stagnation, which Saturn loves. Now the opposing sign to Libra is Aries. So Saturn is not happy in the sign of the initiator, innovator, let’s get going and be ready to do battle. Neptune likes to dream, vacate the earth plane and generally hang out, so moving forward – or moving at all, except escaping – is not something Neptune likes to do, being happier in the realm of emotions. These two will back into Pisces in the fall, and Neptune will definitely have the upper hand when that happens until February when they’re both back in Aries. Saturn is also unhappy in Pisces, although the water of Pisces may soften the rigidity of Saturn.

But there is perhaps another way to look at this planetary combination. Neptune is the mystic, and more esoterically Saturn is the sure-footed goat that climbs the mountain of spiritual growth. And Aries energy can be used as an impetus (or a kick in the you-know-where) to move to another level of spiritual understanding and a different view of our world and ourselves. . . and that view would get another perspective when these two re-enter Pisces for the last time this fall. And their retrograde periods could signal a more inward focus. All fire signs are on a quest – and for Aries it is the quest for High Self – our higher understanding of who we are in truth. And he doesn’t let anything get in the way of his completing his quest.

Those with placements in early degrees Aries, Cancer, Capricorn and Libra may feel the impact of this conjunction more than others. And also late degrees Pisces, Virgo, Gemini and Sagittarius when both planets are again in Pisces. You might also look at where this conjunction occurs in your chart (which house), as this could be an area of impact of this conjunction.

July

Three planets station retrograde this month, including everyone’s favorite – Mercury. So, from the top:

On the 4^th in addition to fireworks, Neptune stations retrograde at 2⁰ Aries at 5:34 p.m. On the 13^th, her buddy Saturn stations retrograde at 1⁰ Aries at 12:07 a.m.  And on the 18^th Mercury stations retrograde at 15⁰ Leo at 3:59 a.m. (He goes direct on August 11.) Lots of fire here.

On July 7^th Uranus moves into Gemini, where he is much happier. (He will back up into Taurus in November.) Gemini is an air sign and much better suited to Uranian energy than Taurus. There could be a frenetic quality to the energy, as Gemini likes to flit from thing to thing, but the ideas could be more visionary in their scope. Venus moves into Cancer on the 30^th at 11:57 p.m. She will square (challenging relationship) the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Aries. Cancer is a water sign and Aries is a fire sign – need I say more? And Venus and Mars are very different energies as well.

The Sun moves into Leo, the sign it rules, on the 22^nd at 9:29 a.m. The Full Moon is on the 10^th at 4:37 p.m. She’ll be at 18⁰ Virgo. The New Moon occurs on the 24^th at 3:11 p.m. She’ll be at 2⁰ Leo.

August

August is a bit quieter. Good thing!

On the 6^th Mars moves into Libra. Not only does Mars oppose the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Aries, which he rules, but he is most unhappy in Venus’ sign of relationship and balance. However, he has Saturn and Neptune and Venus to play with. He also is trine Uranus in Gemini, so there may be more energy (Mars) put into balancing some of the ideas and chatter from Uranus in Gemini.

On the 11^th Mercury ends his retrograde period at 3:30 a.m. He’ll be at 4⁰ Leo. Phew! And Venus joins him in Leo on the 25^th.

On the 22^nd the Sun enters Virgo and the next day there is the New Moon at 0⁰ Virgo, signaling the beginning of the change of season. Virgo is the sign of the harvest – the harvest of self as well as all those great veggies. The Full Moon occurs on the 9^th. She’ll be at 17⁰ Aquarius.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your summer!

Peace and abundant blessings.

Margaret