Sweet peas. Pink cactus flowers. A honeybee napping in a bloom. Wild geraniums dot the irrigation ditch. The damp sage brush perfumes the mornings. I count in my head the many riches that precipitation brings to the parched arroyos and creek-beds. New blooms I hardly recognize.
This summer is lush. Last year we got a “nonsoon”. A wet spring gave way to a dry summer. The color leached out of the hillsides. The foxtails turned early, lodging themselves in Pluto’s undercoat and foot pads. From June 29th until mid-September, not a drop of rain graced our little valley. Everything went into survival mode.
The prairie dogs were indistinguishable from the yellow-brown, overgrazed fields below our rental house. Everything was hungry. Desperate.
Now? There is a glut. The fields are growing back, marshy and lush. Oxeye daisies and pale pink bindweed flowers abound. Thistles and mullein tower above the alfalfa and clover. Life snakes through, following the overflow from the acequia. The prairie dogs emerge in stark contrast to the deep greens, announcing coyotes and turkey vultures swooping down. New growth is sprouting on trees that we thought were dead.
Everywhere, pinks and greens and yellows. Each day of rain brings another three inches of ragweed, new leaves unfurling.
I know that water is life. I know that Cancer is an archetype of nurturance, but to see how much can be done with so little floors me. A cloudburst immediately put to use. The green spreading, deepening.
It is true that pressure and stress can promote growth, too. Our cannabis stash from last year’s hot, dry season is potent and powerful. All that effort distilled. Confined. We will grow, no matter the conditions. But there are limits.
But when the world is soft? Gentle? When we have easy access to the things we need? When our roots are watered and fed? How high we can stretch! How kind we can be! How much more we have to share.
As the world continues to become starker, harsher, I want to know how you are holding up? I also want to know how you’re finding ways to stay soft, to be warm and enthusiastic. To create small pockets of ease for yourselves and others. To see how deep and green you might become with the right nutrients, a gentler touch.
objects in motion
7/5 New Moon in Cancer
Tomorrow afternoon brings a New Moon in Cancer at 14 ° of the sign. Venus is nestled up near the Luminaries, and the rest of the chart is contained in one hemisphere, cordoned off by Mercury and Pluto opposing one another in Leo and Aquarius.
The Void beckons. We are lent the courage to return its gaze, if only for a moment. Oppositions bring clarity, so even in this seed time—as bestowed by the Moon and its dark mystery—there is also an awareness and some action born of it. Something is growing, just that side of dawn. We’ll see it breaking in time.
This New Moon invites us to commit. To show through sustained, sustainable action that we can become the support we need from each other. There is an urgency, and also an understanding underneath it. We have work to do. We must dream a new world and then build it. Bit by bit.
7/8 Venus in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus, Mercury in Leo sextile Jupiter in Gemini, Mercury in Leo trine N. Node in Aries
Monday, July 8th, brings a flurry of activity. First up? A sextile from Venus in Cancer to Uranus in Taurus. An excitation. Something stirring, drawing you in a different direction. A path less traveled, perhaps overgrown or running up a wall. Down an Escher staircase. There is pleasure to be found, and maybe an unexpected ally. This won’t be earth shattering, but it might shake something loose that’s been stuck for a long while.
Mercury in Leo sextiles Jupiter in Gemini on the same day, before moving on to trine the North Node of fate in fellow fire sign of Aries. A big idea! Excitement and curiosity abound. An opportunity to grow your reach, news traveling fast. And later? Confirmation. A cosmic pat on the back, letting you know that that chance you took, betting on yourself? It’s paying off.
7/9 Jupiter in Gemini sextile N. Node of Fate in Aries
On Tuesday, Jupiter in Gemini makes its own contact with the Node of Fate. In a way, today’s transit is enmeshed; inextricably linked to yesterday’s two. Mercury is, of course, the go-between. The messenger darting from door to door. Exchanging goods and information. Sometimes adding a flourish en route. And so, the emissary precedes Jupiter. The lesser God trotting out ahead. Make way! While some news or inkling may arrive on Monday, the full package may come the following day. So make some room, it might be bigger (or busier) than you thought…
7/10 Sun in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces
On Wednesday, July 10th, the Sun in Cancer trines Saturn in Pisces. Something is being strengthened. Made real. Concretizing. We are becoming more conscious of purpose, goals, and also our duties. What comes along with our own authentic path and role. Who are we bound to? What are we charged with protecting, seeing through, and what consequences are we willing to take on?
7/11: Venus trine Neptune, Venus enters Leo
On Thursday, July 11th, Venus in Cancer makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces, both planets at the last degree. A glint or glimmer. A vision so enticing it may not be real. And yet, the capacity for creative alchemy and divine collaboration is unmatched. A good day to dream away if you’re able to, and if not, at least fit some little treat in. It’ll be all the sweeter after your toiling.
Shortly after this trine, Venus enters the fixed fire of Leo. Though there are plenty of quieter feline fire signs, this placement isn’t exactly known for subtlety. The bigger the hair the closer to god. Dramatic is in. There is a deep desire to be adored. Celebrated. Our priorities shift from cultivating emotional resonance and creative containers to the outpouring of expression. Chasing the divine spark and watching it grow into a roaring fire.
7/12 Venus in Leo opposite Pluto in Aquarius
Something is deepening. This particular aspect has been building since Aquarius season, when the two planets conjoined. Remember, an opposition is a Full Moon point. A culmination—the full strength is felt. If you forged some new bond this winter, you may be coming to realize its potency. The power of this connection, and the intensity, too.
7/15 Mars conjunct Uranus in Taurus
A dramatic act. A turn of events. Deus Ex Machina. On a more practical note, this can be an aspect of accidents, so wear your seatbelts. Come to a complete stop. Look both ways—you get the picture. It’s exciting, restless, and a little chaotic, so move slow if you can, and maybe leave some room for surprises if you have any leeway.
7/18 Sun in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus
On July 18th, the Sun steps forward. Reflects on its meeting with Uranus at the tail end of Taurus season. What were you initiating? What kind of revelation occurred? Were you made conscious of something that completely reoriented you? Uranus is a planet of polarization, yes, but it also urges integration. We are invited to understand that the two poles demarcate the spectrum of experience but are not our only options. This opening sextile may bring further clarification around the patterns that are beginning to play out.
7/19 Venus in Leo trine N. Node in Aries
On Friday, July 19th, Venus in Leo forms a trine to the North Node in Aries. Someone is nudging you along. A cosmic cheerleader, or perhaps an enthusiastic friend. Creative expression in pursuit of purpose. Whatever you have going on around this date, if it feels good, you’re probably on the right track. Keep pushing.
7/20 Mars in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces, Mars enters Gemini
On July 20th, Mars in Taurus forms a sextile to Neptune in Pisces. Some dream was seeded, a course was set this spring. Perhaps you are recalibrating. Maybe you are starting to see some progress, feel some sense of accomplishment on this slow walk to bring your vision down to earth.
Later Saturday, Mars enters the mutable air of Gemini. There is a quickening—a pick up of pace. Motivation shifts from a place of sensual experience to intellectual stimulation. We move towards that which grabs our interest, sparks our curiosity. Things begin to dart and buzz, leaving behind the plodding energy Mars embodies in the fixed earth of Taurus. If you’ve been growing impatient, you might be relieved as things accelerate.
July 21st is action-packed, with four exact aspects and the second Full Moon in Capricorn, followed by the Sun’s ingress into Leo the very next day. But that’s for next time, gentle reader.
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❤️super poetic - appreciate the lay of the land for the month, Rose!
Beautiful visualization of the high desert landscape, Rose! So evocative <3