the aerial view
a brief survival guide for the month of July
The action promised through the astrology of July rivals that of February—the latter, already a global dynamic we can expect to ripple for years to come. Loud outer planetary dynamics, such as February’s conjunction between Saturn and Neptune, are spectacular (literally, sometimes) in the world of mundane predictions (and in astrology speak, “mundane predictions” refer specifically to events that impact large collectives). Outer planetary transits bring quaking and shifting on a grand scale. And in July, we only have a handful of such events.
Mars will conjoin Uranus in the sign of Gemini tomorrow, July 4th, and if ever there was an astrological symbol for the firework, that’s the one. Given that fireworks are ordinarily exploding in droves on this day, we might expect something a little more profound this year. A couple weeks later, Uranus and Pluto will perfect their trine; while this aspect has been in the air since last summer, expanding horizons around things relating to technology, communications and social structures, this month’s particular transit might bring a new twist. With the hosts of these two planets being in tricky spots right now (Saturn, host of Pluto is in its place of fall while Mercury, host of Uranus, is retrograde) we might expect major revisions and restructuring taking place around ventures that started off with a bang but have since found themselves stuck in the mud. Only a few days later, Jupiter moves into opposition with Pluto, lighting up all of our outer planets in the process (a dynamic I previewed here when Venus inhabited this place just a couple weeks ago). Not only is Jupiter opposite Pluto in this moment, but also trining Neptune and sextiling Uranus. The same can be said for Pluto, in reverse.
So yeah, some pretty wild stuff astrologically speaking. As always though, here at dream the wilderness we’ll be paying special attention to the smaller moments, the subtle shifts and changes happening in the quiet (we’ll take what little we can get, this month, folks). We’ll be focusing on staying rooted, keeping in breath, remembering the network of relationships that make all this wild stuff possible—because it’s the same network of relationships that will pick up the pieces, to make something brave and vulnerable and beautiful, when all is said and done.
This month, I also have the privilege of sharing some real visionary work contributed by my fellow astrologers and artists: Czander Tan, anne greenwood, and Jody Wright. Czander will be sharing an exquisite piece on the correlation between beavers, Venus and Virgo, and the digestive processes of the earth; Anne’s Lunar Maria oracle deck unfolds the depths and layers of the moon and is the perfect imagery, in my opinion, for meditative contemplation during Mercury’s retrograde period through Cancer; and towards the end of the month, Jody will be sharing a collage that lives and breathes the creative tensions popping for Venus this month, between Venus’s two squares to Uranus and Mars. I can’t wait for you to see them <3
In the meantime, be sure to take care of yourselves, my loves! Defend your sleep like it’s a dragon’s hoard; drink plenty of clean water; prioritize breaks for fresh air over working extra (you’ll get more done anyways, if you do); and don’t forget to bring snacks before you leave the house—a good snack comes in handy for making friends just as much as for getting through unexpected delays and detours 🍎 And it might be just what we need, this month.
If you’d like to work more deeply with these themes as they appear in your own life, you can book a sliding-scale or recorded reading with me here; current students of Hellenistic astrology can now book tutoring sessions with me there as well.
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