Welcome to your July 2016 forecast!   Click on “read article” and scroll down til you find your sign of the zodiac….

 CANCER (JUNE 21- JUL 21) July has a lot going on, that’s for sure! Mars has just turned direct, so you should have more of a sense of straightforward movement in your life. Early on the 4^th is a gorgeous new moon in your own sign of Cancer, which is great for pulling inward and ruminating on what and who you need in your innermost circle. The mushy-gushy feelings are enhanced by a pretty Jupiter-North Node conjunction. The week after brings you some interesting aspects: the Sun and Mercury in Cancer oppose Pluto and Venus in Cancer squares Uranus. You’ll be thinking deeply about your desire to change some circumstance of your life, especially a relationship. The Pluto influence highlights our shadow side so dive into your unconscious and see what it has to tell you. Alternatively, you could be in a situation where you feel overshadowed by something or someone, so be very aware of your anger and your feelings of powerlessness. By the week of the 10^th your thirst for change makes you antsy and feeling like you’re about to jump out of your skin. Keep in mind that the backdrop of the whole month is a slightly uncomfortable Saturn-Neptune square, highlighting the places where you feel really stuck. It’s time to engage some discipline, if you haven’t already, and focus on your art and your health; otherwise the boggy force of Saturn –Neptune can be an energy sink. Use it to set up a productive routine for yourself so that you can start moving the energy and feeling supported by it. It can be a beautiful aspect for harnessing creativity. By the 15^th your vision of change will become clearer, just in time for the Capricorn full moon on the 19^th which will illuminate the hell out of it. A situation in your life will become so polarized that you will have no choice but to act. Don’t you love it when the planets conspire to hit you over the head with a realization? The Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, and the last week of the month has you very busy and active with your big brain operating on all cylinders. The North Node opposes Neptune at the end of the month and you will have to work hard to stay clear-minded and not lose your boundaries.

LEO (JUL 22-AUG 21) July is downright odd, I must say. Some of that is due to the Saturn-Neptune square in effect for the month and for the rest of the summer. We had all better get used to it! This strange combination puts two disparate energies together in a somewhat uncomfortable way. Saturn’s boundaries and groundedness rub

Babycatt takes a break from writing her memoir.

up against Neptune’s formlessness and dreaminess. It is easy to feel disillusioned and disappointed under this aspect but what it requires is a disciplined approach to Neptune’s realm.   If we can do that, the payoff is big in terms of spiritual practice, healing, and creative expression. So your task is to find a routine and stick to it because once youdo the watery connectedness of Neptune will become accessible. So go to yoga, go to acupuncture, meditate, play the piano. Whatever it is, do it and do it as much as you can. But back to what else is happening this month… There is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th, wonderful for generating a vision for your home. The week after new moon brings powerful aspects for focusing deeply on a project or idea. The middle of the month is more agitating, making you antsy for change. Use the full moon on the 19^th to see how that change might manifest in your life. The Sun enters your own sign of Leo on the 22^nd. By the 27^th the Sun makes an angle to Mercury and Mars. You’ll be full of energy and perspicacity. It’s time to apply your mental acumen in a serious way.   At the very end of the month the North Lunar Node opposes Neptune, so be sure to keep track of your boundaries in relation to people in your life.

VIRGO (AUG 22- SEPT 21) Here’s the story: July is a weird month. The Saturn-Neptune square continues to dominate our lives, and this aspect requires discipline to deal with lest you fall into a bog of lethargy – very unlike you, I know. Still. You may find yourself so horrified at world events and at Donald Trump that you decide to lay on the couch for a month and watch reruns of The West Wing. You could do that, but I would recommend you establish a discipline for yourself and just do it. That is the best way to handle the Saturn-Neptune bog. Although Mars has

turned direct and has liberated some energy, the Saturn Neptune combination brings a kind of stuckness unless you work at it. But back to the details of July… There is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th, nice for planning home improvements and gatherings of friends and family. The following week brings interesting aspects of tremendous mental focus. Use them to accomplish a piece of work.   At the same time Venus squares Uranus so you will be itching for change and excitement, or even romance. Then mid month the Sun squares Uranus – making the Republican convention an absolute spectacle – and making you quite agitated. You may feel hamstrung about a choice you need to make in your life, and this will become very exaggerated around the full moon on July 19^th. The Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, followed by interesting Mars-Mercury aspects the following week.  Be careful of arguments and focus that brainpower of yours. The month ends with mushy relationship influences.

LIBRA (SEPT 22-OCT21) Oh well! July is just plain weird—what can I say! First, there is the bog of the Saturn-Neptune square which can be a demoralizing combination unless you create a structure for dealing with it. No excuses – you absolutely have to set up multiples routines for yourself for creative work, spiritual work, and health. If you can do that you’ll be fine… mostly! World events will be so agitating you will want nothing more than to lay on your couch and have a month-long nap but try to resist that impulse! The month begins with a beautiful New Moon in Cancer on the 4^th. That’s a delicious one for enjoying family and friends. The week after brings an intense Sun Mercury Pluto aspect which is very good for deep reflection and focused work.   Then The Uranus effects start to kick in – first a Venus-Uranus square on the 8^th for a few days of excited creativity and romance, followed by an agitating Mercury-Uranus square and finally by the 15^th, a Sun Uranus aspect on the earth axis. So you will feel antsy and stirred up, and some of it will be the effect of world events, especially as we approach the full moon in Capricorn on the 19^th.   There is a lot of planetary action in cardinal signs, and since Libra is also cardinal, you will be triggered.   Some part of your life is likely to feel very polarized, and the tension that creates will be unavoidable around that full moon.   Then the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, followed by some Mercury – Mars action the next week. It will be a good time for thinking and writing and using your big brain.

SCORPIO (OCT 22-NOV 21) July is just plain weird! The Saturn Neptune square continues to be in effect and this uncomfortable aspect can make you feel rather stuck. Paradoxically, the only way to get the energy to start to move is to get moving. Set up a routine or regimen and do it, whatever it is – creative, spiritual, or healing-related. And even though Mars just moved direct on June 29, it is still in Scorpio and spends the month still moving slowly through the end of your sign. This gives your will an extra boost which should help you manage Saturn and Neptune. Meanwhile the month begins with a beautiful new moon in Cancer, which is all about home and family and friends. The following week brings interesting Pluto aspects which will facilitate some very focused mental work on your part. If you have something gnarly to accomplish this is the week to do it. Then by the 8^th Uranus gets starts squaring Venus, then Mercury, and by the 15^th, the Sun itself.   So you will find yourself increasingly antsy and yearning for change. By the time the full moon in Capricorn rolls around on the 19^th , you will see clearly that there is some situation you need to change. The Uranus effect is a polarizing one, so remember not to get stuck in an “either/or” state. The way through is always a “both/and”…. Then the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, followed by a Mercury Mars Sun angle. Be careful of arguments this week; your verbal wits are better put towards something other than conflict. The month ends with a North Node –Neptune aspect, bringing you unity and connection with intimates.

 SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22- DEC 21) July is an odd little month!   First, the Saturn-Neptune square continues this month and really all summer long, so it is critical to learn to work with it. There is some situation in your life that feels stuck and there isn’t anything you can do about it. But beware of spending too much time in pointless political rants or on your couch watching The Food Network to soothe your fevered Sagittarian brain. The answer is to set up routines and structures for yourself to be able to work Saturn and Neptune so they don’t work you. It is a great combination for healing, for spiritual discipline, for creative work, but a lousy combination for thinking too much. Once you find those grooves, you’ll be fine. But back to the month at hand… July 4^th brings a pretty new moon in Cancer, great for connections with family and friends. The following week facilitates some deep mental work. By the 8^th Uranus starts aspecting Venus, then Mercury, then the Sun. Your agitation will increase along with everyone else’s, because some of this is global…. so remember that spiritual practice I just referred to? Better stick to that, honey, or you’ll be a mess, especially around the Capricorn full moon on the 19^th. Uranus will also be inspiring you to want change and expansion and that desire for change will also become very evident around the full moon.   Then the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd and the week following brings feisty Mars Mercury aspects. Watch your famous tendency to speak before you think….The month ends with mushy and romantic Neptune –North Node aspects.

 CAPRICORN (Dec 21-Jan19) Ah, what an odd month July is! July 4^th does bring a gorgeous New moon in Cancer, your opposite sign, and as if that wouldn’t be grounding enough it comes with nice Jupiter-North Node aspects. It’s a great lunation for appreciating family and friends, and thinking about who you want in your life. The following week Mercury in Cancer opposes Pluto, giving you the capacity to accomplish a gnarly mental task or two.   Then we have a string of Uranus aspects starting on the 8^th, first to Venus, then Mercury, and then to the Sun.   That makes for one agitating stretch of about 10 days, especially since all of this action is in cardinal signs which is likely to trigger your Capricorn self. You’ll be fired up, revved up, wanting change and freedom. Some situation in your life – probably a relationship—is likely to become polarized. The polarity will become very visible under the bright light of the Capricorn full moon on the 19^th.   You may have to work hard to keep a grip on your impulsivity…. Meanwhile the backdrop for the whole month is the ongoing Saturn-Neptune square, which can create a boggy sense of stuckness. It is very important that you harness some Capricorn discipline and work out a regimen for yourself around self care, spiritual practice and creative work. The Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, and the following week brings some potentially fractious Mars-Mercury aspects. Apply your mental energy to something productive. The month ends with mushy relationship dynamics. Enjoy!

AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 19) July is just plain weird! First we have to get through the ongoing Saturn-Neptune square which dominates the sky all month. This slightly uncomfortable influence can make you feel stuck and in a holding pattern, because Saturn’s real -world structuring runs up against Neptune’s formlessness. The only way to handle it is to engage Saturn’s concreteness to try to harness the creative and dreamy part of Neptune. So you will need a regimen – for self-care, spiritual practice, creative expression. And realize that we are in a period of confusion as a planet. Oh well! But to the details of July…. There is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th with delicious Jupiter-North Node aspects. It’s a great lunation for reveling in the abundance of love and friendship and focusing on friends, family and home. The following week is excellent for applying your brain to a difficult project. Then your ruling planet Uranus starts stirring things up on the 8^th and we get a good 10 days of agitating transits of Uranus to Venus, Mercury and the Sun. You’ll be filled with creative ideas and feeling expansive and needing change. By the 15^th when the Sun and Uranus square we’ll see some (more) global drama and that will fire you up along with everyone else just in time for the Capricorn full moon on the 19^th. The Sun enters your opposite sign of Leo on the 22^nd, and the following week makes you scarily productive. The month ends with dreamy and mushy relationship aspects.

 PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 19) July is a wee bit strange! Keep in mind that we have the ongoing utterly confusing Saturn-Neptune square to contend with! This slightly uncomfortable angle pits Sagittarian hubris against Neptunian formlessness, and what do we get? A great potential for disappointment. I have said this before but it bears repeating: this influence gives you no choice but allow inspiration to take hold of you by creating structures for it. Get into the studio, go to the gym, meditate. It’s non-negotiable. Beware of losing hope. Meanwhile there are some aspects this month to help nudge you. First there is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th, which is all about enjoying friends, intimates, and family, and relishing in creature comforts of home. The following week Mercury and Pluto allow you to accomplish a gnarly mental task that requires great focus. That will feel good! Then on the 8^th Uranus starts stirring things up, with aspects to Venus, then Mercury, and then the Sun by the 15^th. This gives us an agitating 10 days, the first part of which is good for creative inspiration, expansion, and change. The Sun Uranus aspects unfortunately are likely to bring us more global upset (big surprise), exaggerated by the Capricorn full moon on the 19^th.   The Sun enters Leo on the 22nd , and the next week brings a lot of activity. Remember that spiritual and physical and creative routine, because you’ll need methods for chilling out in the face of a lot of work and stress. There are mushy-gushy relationship aspects at end of the month – enjoy!

ARIES (MAR 20-APRIL19) Well, Mars may have gone direct June 29 but you have other issues to contend with this month, sorry to say! The main one is the ongoing Saturn-Neptune square which continues this month and all summer long. It’s a weird one because Saturn in Sag wants to resort to intellectual hubris in the face of having no control over Neptune in Pisces, and that doesn’t work at all. That strategy lands you in a big bog of disappointment. The only way through this is to harness some Saturnian discipline and the Neptunian inspiration will follow. So, you just have to set up a regimen for yourself and give in to it, whether it be creative, spiritual, or healing-related. But back to the details of July…. There is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th, so enjoy this lunation that is all about home and family and friends. The following week gives you the ability to focus on gnarly mental piece of work.   Then starting on the 8^th Uranus starts stirring up the pot, since Venus, then Mercury, then the Sun in Cancer square Uranus in quick succession. You’ll be agitated, firing on all cylinders, full of ideas. By the 15^th when the Sun gets involved there is likely to be more global drama which will contribute to your agitation, especially near the full moon in Capricorn on the 19^th.   Things begin to settle down for you once the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd.   That next week bring you a lot of work and activity. Make sure you engage those self-care routines that week!

 TAURUS (APR 20-MAY 20) July is weird, what can I say? Mars has gone direct as of June 29 but it still moves slowly through the end of Scorpio all month. If you are a late Taurus you will finally get some sense of movement and resolution. Yet at the same time the dominant influence this month is the Saturn-Neptune square, which can make you feel as though you’re in a holding pattern, waiting for things to gel. This transit absolutely forces you to have no expectations and to set up regimens and routines to harness your spiritual and creative energies. You have no choice but to focus on the moment, because our monkey minds are completely useless right now. But back to July! There is a beautiful new moon in Cancer on the 4^th which is all about being a homebody and relishing in connections with friends and family. Enjoy it! The following week Mercury and Pluto work together to allow you to complete some very focused mental tasks. Then starting on the 8^th we have a good 10 days of agitating Uranus aspects to Venus, then Mercury, then the Sun.   You’ll have lots of inspiring ideas and it will be an exciting stretch, but after the 15^th the world is on edge and there is likely to be global tension, especially around the full moon in Capricorn on the 19^th.   The full moon will also illuminate a polarized situation in your life – god knows the world is filled with a great deal of polarization right now, both personally and politically. Then the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd, and the last week of the month finds you busy and stressed, engaged in a lot of negotiations and work.   It’s all good, just be sure to think before you act. Your force field is big right now and people experience you as very powerful.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) Well, July is a weird month, and there is nothing to be done about it except to go on a month long meditation retreat, kayak trip, or music camp. Seriously! The main issue this month is that Saturn and Neptune continue to be in that pesky 90-degree angle, with Saturn in Sag and Neptune in Pisces. This is a challenging aspect for Gemini because you’re a mutable sign like Sag and Pisces. As a Gemini, your default mode is to think too much and too rationally, and this aspect exaggerates Sagittarian intellectual hubris and pits it against Neptunian inspiration. You need to get out of your head and stay out of it, or you will be frustrated and disappointed. That means if you cant go away for a month that you will need to engage some Saturnian discipline and create a routine or regimen for yourself no matter what.  Okay, I’m done being bossy – back to July. There is a beautiful new moon in cancer on the 4^th which is wonderful for reveling in the joys of staying at home with loved ones. The next week allows you to tackle a gnarly piece of work with a lot of tenacity and focus. Then Uranus starts stirring things up around the 8^th. You’ll be jumpy and antsy and having a Gemini’s difficulty staying still. Use it for creative inspiration, but be sure you’re taking steps to calm yourself because by the 15^th the world will be a (bigger) mess. Tensions and polarizations will be exaggerated by the full moon on the 19^th.   Then the Sun enters Leo on the 22^nd and what a relief. The last week of July brings a lot of activity and work and busy-ness. Make sure you take time out for yourself.