Astrological update for the week of July 24-31, 2023

Mercury in Virgo July 28. Mercury was known to the Romans as the messenger god, and was the only one of all the gods to be able to travel between the world of the gods, the world of humans, and the Underworld, the transformational realm governed by Pluto. I love this story because astrological Mercury, as the planet which guides our understanding of our life experiences and helps us to transmute these learnings into knowledge and wisdom, can be a powerful activator of these transformational forces.

Virgo is one of the signs ruled by Mercury (Gemini is the other), and as an Earth sign Virgo is involved in earthly matters of the mundane world. Our habits and routines, our learning ability, our daily routines – all of these fall under the domain of Virgo. When Mercury, planet of the mind, is in Virgo, our ability to organize and structure our lives with greater precision and analytic mindfulness is increased. Mercury is quite at home in this earth sign where a practical application of our ideas can be put to good use as we sort through puzzle of ideas and mental data which flow through the mind constantly, and assemble it into a cohesive picture in the pursuit of perfection.

Mercury usually travels through a sign in a few weeks but it will turn retrograde in Virgo and remain in Virgo for quite a long time – all the way until October 4th. This period is well suited for anything requiring detailed analysis or the paring down of non-essentials in order to reveal that which is most important. This can happen in all kinds of venues: In your closet, at your workplace, in your organization — anywhere there is a bit of chaos that needs to be corralled into order.

Chiron retrograde. Chiron turned retrograde on Sunday and will continue to travel at a snail’s place, activating old wounds of any of us with planets around 18-19 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn). Nobody relishes a Chironic experience but the truth is that the triggering of old wounds is the only way that they can be released and healed.

Sidebar: This is why I am concerned about the hypersensitivity and fear of being triggered that we see with the young people today, particularly the Pluto in Scorpio generation.  Emotional triggers are real, but avoidance of those emotions simply leads to heightened reactivity and deeper trenches in which these old wounds and fears can lurk.

Chiron is just midway through the journey through Aries, a journey that takes quite a long time because of Chiron’s elliptical orbit so those of us (myself included) being activated by this transit will be enjoying it for a good while. We might as well sit back and do the work of facing our emotional demons and coming to terms with them.

Pluto square the Nodes. I talked about this in last week’s forecast, but Pluto is still in challenging aspect to the lunar nodes: the planet of fate (Pluto) activating the signposts of destiny (nodes of the Moon). We don’t always notice the small events that change the course of history, but they are at work now. Approach with caution and respect. 💖

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Here’s what else you need to know this week (Dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, here is a time zone converter to adjust for your locality.)

Monday July 24. After the action-packed astrological news of last week, we get a bit of a break this week and Monday is the lightest day of all. The Libra Moon seeks a peaceful balance and that could be disrupted a bit for a few hours, but otherwise the astrological seas are fairly calm. (Moon opposite Chiron 5:29 pm.)

Tuesday July 25.  The Libra Moon is buffeted around by multiple forces on Tuesday which may disturb our equilibrium a bit, especially in the late morning when it activates the Pluto/nodal drama. Finding a few minutes to locate our calm center will help to navigate the rough waves.

Once the Moon enters Scorpio just after noon EDT our resolve gets stronger and we will likely feel less affected by storms around us. (Moon sextile Mercury 2:39 am, Pluto square North Node (true calculation) 5:25 am, Moon sextile Venus 10 am, square Pluto 11:05 am, opposite North Node 11:05 am, Moon enters Scorpio 12:55 pm, Moon square Sun 6:06 pm.)

Wednesday July 26. Wednesday brings clear skies and smooth astrological weather. A few lunar aspects deepen our confidence and expands our awareness. Wednesday and Thursday are good days for social interactions and anything which requires communication skills. (Moon trine Saturn 12:27 am, sextile Mars 7:31 am, opposite Jupiter 1:38 pm.)

Thursday July 27. Personal interactions continue to be highlighted today, even though the Scorpio Moon gets involved to intensify situations or bring out truths which may be somewhat uncomfortable. By evening EDT the Moon will move into Sagittarius and lighten the atmosphere but until then the Scorpionic barbs could make an appearance. (Moon opposite Uranus 7:10 am, Mercury conjunct Venus 11:15 am, Moon trine Neptune 3:55 pm, square Venus 5:05 pm, square Mercury 5:53 pm, sextile Pluto 6:35 pm, Moon enters Sagittarius 8:23 pm.)

Friday July 28. When the Moon is in Sagittarius we tend to seek the high road even when minor conflicts arise, and that will be true on Friday. Later in the day Mercury enters Virgo (see introduction above) so get out your notebooks and get ready to make some plans! (Moon trine Sun 5:21 am, square Saturn 6:51 am, Pluto square North Node 2:36 pm, Moon square Mars 4:08 pm, Mercury enters Virgo 5:31 pm.)

Saturday July 29. Saturday is a day of celebration – the optimistic Sagittarius Moon harmonizes with Chiron and Venus to smooth any rough edges in our lives. There is a small risk of confusion in the early evening when we might feel somewhat destabilized but that will soon move through. The Moon makes the shift into Capricorn just before midnight EDT which helps to ground and refocus any disrupted energies. (Moon trine Chiron 6:57 am, square Neptune 7:32 pm, trine Venus 7:51 pm, Moon enters Capricorn 11:44 pm.)

Sunday July 30. Sunday is full of supportive lunar influences and astral juju. The Capricorn Moon helps us to stabilize and feel comfortable in the earthly domain, and looking ahead into early next week there are no dramatic planetary forces to interrupt the flow. (Moon trine Mercury 2:55 am, sextile Saturn 9:15 am, trine Mars 8:18 pm, trine Jupiter 9:51 pm.)

I hope you have a wonderful week! 💖

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