Cosmic Weather Report July 2020
Welcome to the Santa Cruz Cosmic Weather Report – Evolutionary Astrology of the moment, your moment in time, our collective moment of change! July starts off with a big bang: Full Moon in Capricorn, 13˚38’, on the anniversary of our country’s birth, the 4th of July, at 9:44 PM PDT, a penumbral lunar eclipse. This is the third in a series of three eclipses. As an earth sign, Capricorn sets a mood of practicality; we feel an urge to get things done, to be in control and responsible, to get “our ducks in a row,” and to make our dreams real.
For some, these eclipses may literally be a time “to reach for the stars!” Their effects can be felt six months before and after. Eclipses, when they touch important degrees in our birth charts, usher in change, often new relationships, new opportunities, sometimes exciting new endeavors. Again, look to see where in your chart the eclipses occur.
In order to fully grasp what the Full Moon brings to fruition, we need to back track and recall the powerful eclipse and New Moon the hours following summer solstice last month. The Sun entered the sign of Cancer, June 20th, 2:44 PM PDT. Solstice was followed by an annular “ring of fire” eclipse that night, 11:41 PM. At 0˚21’ Cancer, the New Moon asked each of us to consider what beginning do I see for myself that is nurturing and healing not only for me, but for my clan, my tribe, as summertime begins – a yummy meal in restaurant I love, a time of bonding with my family and friends, all while our collective voices call out for social justice and implementing REAL systemic change.
The Full Moon on the 4th of July helps us to make manifest some of the seeds we planted during the solstice weekend. Both Sun and Mercury, now retrograde, in Cancer focus our attention on home, where we find security, the family we seek to protect and nurture. These themes continue through early July. On July 4th, the Sun is at mid-Cancer, 13˚38’, conjunct the place, 14˚, where Mercury had stationed retrograde back in mid-June. Emphasis is placed on reevaluating the very nature of what heals and comforts us, what makes us feel safe and who is our tribe, our true family. There can be a heightened sense of nationalism under strong Cancer energies.
At the time of the Full Moon, the asteroid Vesta, at 13˚40’, forms a very close conjunction with the Cancer Sun, adding a spirit of the feminine, the priestess in the temple, into our cauldron at the center of our hearth. The Divine feminine is part of the garden we can harvest under the brightest light of this Capricorn Moon.
As a zodiacal sign, Capricorn is often sadly misunderstood and oversimplified by negatively linking it to the power of the patriarchy, but Capricorn is also the wise crone, the elder who can help us build a better, more just and more viable future. Remember that Greta Thunberg is a Capricorn, her inner wisdom comes through to us, even as a child. When the July Full Moon occurs, Jupiter, at 23˚30’, and Pluto, at 23˚59’, form an exact conjunction in Capricorn, along with the asteroid Pallas Athena, at 23˚20, all retrograde in motion.
Pallas, like Vesta, brings the wisdom of the feminine to this powerful conjunction. Jupiter and Pluto were first conjunct this past April and they have been in close range throughout the spring. Now they return and join up exactly again. Jupiter is expansive, throwing fuel on the fire of the changes, purging and ‘wiping the slates clean’ of the work of planet Pluto. This presents an ongoing time of opportunity and growth, to tear down the old, stuck patterns and outdated structures, and to build anew from the ashes. It is critical to consider where 20˚-26˚ of Capricorn falls in your own birth chart to understand what in your life is being restructured and reconfigured to make a higher road of spiritual development for your soul.
Collectively, we know that when Jupiter and Pluto came together in spring, we had surges in cases of the coronavirus. In mundane astrology, we look to see how the energies of the cosmos affect world events. We will likely see some escalating crisis around the 4th of July. Please play safe!
Hopefully, Cancer season, the Sun and Mercury in the sign, will continue to support a nurturing and healing time, one we sorely need. And just in time to help us, as Mars entered Aries in late June – and will remain in the sign, a very powerful placement for Mars, a very long time, as the planet moves retrograde and then direct until January, 2021. More on Mars in Aries next month!
Happy 4th of July Full Moon folks!
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