Daily Astrological Currents

It isn't easy to establish or identify a true 'sense of purpose' today but if we are dedicated to something beyond ourselves, there is some support to 'persist'. We are in somewhat of a holding pattern here. There is a strong tendency towards isolation and continued difficulty in establishing trust. The retrograding Mercury is continuing to force reexamination of what we believed to have been a stable foundation. However, we have several 'cycles' ahead of us before we can actually set upon a new course towards true stability. We aren't comfortable making clear commitments but neither are we confident in any commitments that are offered by others. What seems like cold calculation may, in fact, be the most productive approach — at least until we get to Tuesday's Cancer New Moon (2:43 AM PDT 21° Cancer).

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Weekly Summary

"He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted."

— Lao Tzu

Even though the Moon wanes in light, there is still plenty of intensity to process this week, beginning with a Mars-Pluto trine. Mars makes the final connection — the trine to Pluto — with the 'Big 3' (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) on Sunday. But when the Moon arrives in Aries the following day, on Monday, we're likely to actually see the 'lid coming off', as the journey of Mars through Gemini assumes a powerful 'direct action', communication platform. Intellect is stirred in dramatic fashion — the retrograde Mercury notwithstanding. There is extraordinary courage to challenge whatever seems to be blocking our path, powerfully assisted by the responsibility that is demanded by the Sun's square to Saturn. The energy truly seems 'unstoppable'. Neptune, which has been slowing down for some time now, finally stations retrograde on Tuesday, lending emphasis to the building demands that we ground our inspiration with tangible action. We're still in the process of finding ways to integrate the the swirls of powerful intellect with intense emotional factors. The challenge presented under the retrograding Mercury brings up the reexamination of our dependence on others which must be balanced with our need for independence and 'freedom of thought'. For some, the challenges of dependency may be leading to a great deal of emotional turmoil. We are being offered an opportunity to reexamine our situation and begin to make new commitments that will — hopefully — lead to a more equitable balance between freedom and security. Venus arrives in Virgo by Thursday, adding further challenges to our dependence on the input of others — "Who can we really trust?" Venus also begins to 'see' the challenges of next week's square to Uranus and the followup square to Mars coming on July 29th, which will continue to increase our discomfort surrounding our dependence on the input that we receive from others. Venus, Mars, and Uranus are all in signs that are ruled by the retrograding Mercury. We may be easily lured into a belief that it is the 'bad advice' from others that is contributing to our disappointments. The lessons of personal accountability involving our individual initiatives will become increasingly challenging following Mercury's inferior conjunction with the Sun next Monday, as well as at the beginning of the next lunar cycle at the Cancer New Moon (2:34 AM PDT, 21° Cancer). We may begin to drift towards isolation and try to avoid commitments of any kind if we feel that we are losing our independence. However, our need for others won't be going away any time soon — which is the ultimate lesson that we begin to run into this week.

Intellect and intuition are surprisingly in sync on Sunday. We reach an intense culmination of incredibly insightful opportunities for profound breakthroughs. There is extraordinary courage to challenge whatever seems to be blocking our path on Monday. The 'lid comes off' of some powerful energies and, for better or worse, the energy seems quite unstoppable. Tuesday brings something of a 'gut check' — suggesting some degree of 'questioning' that presents challenges to our interactions with others, bringing a bit more circumspection. There is plenty of support for quickly correcting our mistakes or at least recognizing a clear path to make future adjustments with hope that we haven't completely lost our chance for redemption. On Wednesday, the challenge of depending on others while maintaining our freedom begins to draw increasing focus. For some, the challenges of dependency may be leading to a great deal of emotional turmoil. It is especially difficult to trust the broad generosity and optimism suggested by Thursday's environment. We're beginning to suspect that there are hidden price tags on just about everything. There are few 'hiding places' in Friday's environment. The challenge is feeling comfortable enough to share our nervousness or vulnerability with others in order to gain enough support to establish a firm footing. We are in somewhat of a holding pattern on Saturday. There is a strong tendency towards isolation and continued difficulty in establishing trust.

Today's Venus-Uranus square may suggest some restlessness or a lack of commitment. Nonetheless, Venus also forms an extremely powerful YOD with Neptune and Pluto, offering Venus a platform to lay out the details of what is required in order to establish meaningful trust. This represents a rather surprising 'take it or leave it' ultimatum, which suggests a much more comprehensive 'set of demands' than we might be expecting. Tomorrow morning's Cancer New Moon (2:43 AM PDT 21° Cancer) makes only a square to Vesta before going VOC for much of the day. But today's activity is actually preparatory, 'seeding' a potent set of determined intentions and demands into the next lunar cycle.

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Weekly Summary

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

— Henry David Thoreau

We reach (at least) two extremely important milestones in the waxing cycles of the three 'outer planets' this week, connected to significant societal and cultural shifts. Uranus in Gemini completes the first of three exact sextiles to Neptune in Aries on Wednesday, marking an important milestone in the cycle that began under the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn in 1993. (That conjunction is often most associated with the 'jump start' of the World Wide Web. The European Union was also formally established that year.) The 3rd and final sextile — with both Uranus and Neptune direct — will complete next June (2027). On Friday of this week, Uranus also completes the first of five exact trines with Pluto in Aquarius. The fifth trine of this series won't complete until May 2028. This 'opening trine' of the waxing Uranus-Pluto cycle builds on what was 'seeded' during the conjunction that occurred in 1965. (Of course, this conjunction ties directly into the societal and cultural upheaval of the 1960s.) It is also important to note that we are currently in the midst of an extended Neptune and Pluto sextile that is in 'orb' for nearly 80 years. (The first completion of that sextile occurred in 1950, with Pluto in Leo and Neptune in Libra. That sextile has made several exact connections with a final completion due in 2032. This sextile is generally considered to coincide with an extended renaissance period.) One of several in the series of exact sextiles between Pluto and Neptune will actually occur next Friday, July 24th, which further emphasizes the heightened energies that are converging as these planetary cycles combine. Jupiter is pulling all of these important connections together. By the end of this week, Jupiter reaches 4° Leo, and will complete a sextile to Uranus, a trine to Neptune, and an opposition to Pluto — over the course of just two days — Monday and Tuesday of next week. Jupiter in Leo encourages exuberant, creative, dramatic, demonstrative expression and is generally expansive and optimistic. Jupiter's involvement certainly applies a crescendo effect to this moment but makes just one, single pass to set off these connections. Jupiter's optimism can often be misleading and the extraordinary preponderance of barely contained 'Air' and 'Fire' element energies in this atmosphere do certainly stimulate our intellect and inspire action — but the 'Air' (Mars, Uranus, and Pluto) and 'Fire' (Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune) elements do not offer much inherent stability, offering little to ground Jupiter's expansive optimism with tangible progress — at least, in this moment. A great deal of effort will be required if we are going to actually manifest the idealistic, inspirational visions that are 'kindled' this week.

This week begins with Mercury's inferior conjunction with the Sun. That conjunction offers a powerful activation of whatever integration that we have been able to manifest as we reach the end of the last lunar cycle — the Gemini New Moon, June 14th (7:53 PM PDT 24° Gemini) — which has encouraged us to find a balance between our intellectual and emotional understanding. Following the activation from the Sun-Mercury conjunction, this Tuesday's Cancer New Moon (2:43 AM PDT 21° Cancer) brings a significant restless rebelliousness. But we don't find many quick outlets for that restlessness even after the Moon moves into Leo. The Leo Moon squares Chiron and 'carries the light' into a conjunction with Jupiter — as Jupiter approaches all of the significant aspects described above — which compounds a lack of any clear direction or reliable intuition. We are more likely to linger on the pursuit of vaguely egocentric 'spiritual rainbows' instead of using Leo's will-power to confidently lay out a new course. Emotional sensitivity temporarily overrides any of the initial potential of the New Moon's energy. Nonetheless, this week's 'lunar cycle reset' is likely to be far more 'precipitous' than we can fully recognize from the perspectives that we are offered this week. Mercury's retrograde activity in Cancer is suggesting that depending on others for our stability may create untenable limitations to our independence and freedom of thought — ultimately encouraging us to find stability 'within'. A forming Mars-Saturn sextile (which will complete at the beginning of next week) offers a bit of promising restraint and self-discipline that may provide an improved sense of direction and help us to harness the expansive optimism emanating from Jupiter. Nonetheless, while the 'Air' and 'Fire' elements in this atmosphere are certainly 'kindling' a great deal of powerful inspiration, stability seems to be extremely difficult to manifest. There will be very few 'Earth/Water' connections over the next few months to offer some balance with the 'Air' and 'Fire' elements, which will draw more and more of our attention. The need to find stability within will remain important throughout the rest of this year.

There is a significant 'activation' underway on Sunday that can help us to ground our intellect. We have an opportunity to gain our footing in a very powerful way. There is some restlessness or a lack of commitment on Monday. This represents a rather surprising 'take it or leave it' ultimatum, which suggests a much more comprehensive 'set of demands' than we might be expecting. There is quite a significant restless rebelliousness on Tuesday. We are more likely to linger on the pursuit of vaguely egocentric 'spiritual rainbows' instead of confidently laying out a new course. There isn't much inner confidence on Wednesday and the broader desire for a 'deeper connection' seems to be rather elusive. There is a strikingly self-centered impulse that seems to dominate the environment on Thursday. The atmosphere does not really offer much to suggest that we can ground our restlessness with a new plan of action. There is an extraordinary preponderance of barely contained energies in Friday's atmosphere, stimulating our intellect and inspiring action — but not providing any inherent stability. There are only some quiet whispers that plea for stability. We can feel the tangible expansion of restless rebelliousness on Saturday. The overall effects may actually produce a great deal of optimism — which may not be as reliable as we might want to believe.