Our projects are ripening along with the fruits of the summer, as the planets spread out through the Zodiac. These celestial bodies bring us valuable perspective, which will shatter illusions and dispel confusion. There is the striking figure of an hourglass, made up of the fast-moving planets (plus Saturn) on one side, and the slow-movers on the other. One by one, the fast-moving bodies will light up the slow ones, bringing the full phase of each of these planet's yearly cycles. This makes the summer very hot indeed.

July, however, is a month in between culminations: The Sun reached its opposition to Pluto in late June, and it will not encounter our Aquarian trio (Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune) until mid-August. In the meantime, we will encounter those quincunxes that bring out the agonizing ambiguity in our lives (for more on the meaning of quincunxes, see here). Am I on the right path to accomplish my goals? Did I do enough? Too much?

The primary quincunxes occur from Cancer to Aquarius. Cancer-Aquarius can be defined as the Social Reformer. Cancer cares about its tribe, while Aquarius wants reform to support it. Cancer adds compassion, while Aquarius brings objectivity to this blend. Quincunxes generally give us too much information, so that we are unsure of our path in the overwhelm of detail. Once again, we are asked to broaden our sense of who is our family. Now, Iranians are our family too, and so is the rest of the world.

The feeling of being in-between is difficult, yet this is where the creative spot lies. If we can stay with our ambiguity, we can live in this sweet spot, responding in the present to what arises with complete freshness rather than tired strategies and formulae. We will not know for certain what our efforts will yield until we pass the harvest period, which happens to coincide with the autumn months—oddly enough.

What gives us some feeling of definition, the sense that our feet are planted on something firm, is the July eclipses. There are three eclipses in this series, a somewhat unusual occurrence, with two weak lunar eclipses surrounding a strong total eclipse on July 21. This is also an astrological Blue Moon, the second full moon in Cancer. The first two eclipses are in Cancer-Capricorn for the first time in 8 years.

With the planetary diaspora of the summer, July brings us more planetary interactions than have been seen for many months. They come in groupings like the beats in a musical measure, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat. This makes us feel busy, overstimulated.

Our triple conjunction in Aquarius continues, although the partners change places. At the end of May, Jupiter inched by Chiron and Neptune in a lumbering race of the tortoises, so close to stationary were they. Now Jupiter is retrograde and backing up over its compadres. As they continue to operate as a single unit in our consciousness while retrograde, idealism is replaced by disillusionment, then realism. This will be played out in public opinion, and those idols on whom we have pinned our hopes will show their feet of clay.

Venus is quite up to speed and, after their June 21 conjunction, has outdistanced Mars; they will not make substantive harmonious contact again until October 13. Mars is active once again as it finds its legs in Taurus and squares Jupiter, Chiron, and Uranus. Its inflammatory tendencies will continue as it heads toward an August T-square to Saturn-Uranus.

It depends on what nodal axis you "believe in," but the mean node of the Moon makes its regress into Capricorn on July 26. This signals a shift in consciousness that will become palpable on our two Cancer-Capricorn eclipses. Whenever eclipses and the nodes enter this axis, our focus turns to survival in some way. We become more interested in building resilience into our lives, laying a firm foundation, and looking at the big picture and the long haul. We may also scare ourselves unnecessarily.

WEDNESDAY JULY 1

A virtual month's worth of planetary interactions occurs today! First up is Uranus, which makes its station just after midnight. We've been directing the awakening process in our lives to a certain extent up to this point. Now it's time to ride the lightning-bolt of Uranus and let it take us where it will! Get ready to cut through your expectations and rise above the law of cause and effect! We get five months to fully express our potential in a new way, until December 1, when it goes direct again.

Mercury and Venus are also active today, triggering Chiron-Neptune-Jupiter in Aquarius. Mercury trines them all today, granting us insight what's real for us. Venus squares them, disturbing our treasured images of what is really going on in our relationships. Uranus gets into this mix as well, receiving a square from Mercury and a sextile from Venus. We can flex our minds with lightning speed to accommodate our new awareness. The Moon lurks in the background, quite appropriate to its placement in Scorpio. Its trine to the Sun at tea time smoothes the rough edges and permits us to integrate our experiences.

THURSDAY JULY 2

It's all about the Moon today, which continues its way through Scorpio. After a restful night on the wings of its sextile to Saturn, a day of striving, even discord, lies ahead as Moon heads toward an evening opposition to Mars. It carries Mars's light to Chiron-Neptune-Jupiter, giving us a hint of what is to come on Sunday and Monday when Mars squares them. Observe your interests and mood this evening to gain valuable insight.

FRIDAY JULY 3

All the action occurs while we sleep, as the Moon squares Jupiter and trines Uranus just after midnight. Moon enters its void period on an opposition to Venus at 3:03 am. This makes for colorful and instructive dreams, useful if we can bring them into the new day. The Moon's void period ends at 7:11 am, when it enters Sagittarius. Mercury leaves its sign of rulership when it moves into Cancer at 12:20 pm, bringing more emotion into our thinking process, but permitting the head and heart to commingle their energies more easily. We'll be aware of and making decisions based on our instincts for the next two weeks.

SATURDAY JULY 4

The Moon finds a lot of empty space in the first half of Sagittarius, finally making contact through a square to Saturn in the late afternoon. This reminds us of the restructuring process we were challenged with last fall, now more remote. How are you doing? Mercury helps us connect with our deepest urges before then as it opposes Pluto.

Sunday July 5

Venus leaves her dignity when she enters Gemini at 1:24 am. Relationships are chattier now, lighter in tone. Shallow interactions can be used to cultivate camaraderie. The Moon is busy in the morning, making its numerous end-of-sign contacts—sextiles to Chiron-Neptune-Jupiter and a square to Uranus, bringing a little agitation with our eagerness to see change we can believe in. The Moon's void period begins with that contact at 12:17 pm, giving us a few hours of respite; however the Moon's void while in Sagittarius can be used to bring an unchallenged gain into our lives if we prefer to use the time more creatively. Soon after the Moon enters Capricorn at 7:07 pm, she opposes Pluto to bring deep integrative thought to our evening's musings. When Mars squares Chiron in mid-afternoon, it opens the door to two days of greater activism. We will identify a situation that requires our attention, even our sacrifice, in order to heal it. We will certainly be more aware of the big issues that affect our lives, even take on a cause.

MONDAY JULY 6

As the Moon sails through Capricorn, we experience a Mars-tinted existence as it finishes its squares to Chiron-Neptune-Jupiter in Aquarius. We'll be activating our vision of what we want the future to hold. Early on, a Moon opposition to Mercury adds clarity to where we're headed and why, what the rewards and consequences will be. Venus's quincunx to Pluto adds the complexity of unknown factors to the mix.

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