You’re going to need something to clean up with, because the next couple of months are sure to be sweaty, sticky and sweet.
ASTRO OUTLOOK
VENUS IN LEO
13 July ~ 5 August
Hot, sticky, dripping, juicy, wet Venus in Leo spraying drama and romance all over July and August. Romantic Venus is now happily prancing through lively Leo until 5 August. We're eager for some fun of our own (aided by Mercury now in Leo). Love becomes larger than life with incredible romantic opportunities. During this time, romance is going to go into overdrive as Venus moves into Leo.
MERCURY IN LEO
13 July ~ 30 July
You'll speak with such flair that no one will be able to resist your words. Mercury in Leo is about self-expression and self-promotion. Mercury and Venus now in Leo bring out our inner diva, we want to give attention and receive attention, share what we know, but may have a harder time than usual getting out of our own perspective and walking in another shoes. The Leo can bring us out of our shell, we just have to decide if we want to reach out for personal grandstanding, or the collective good. Mercury in Leo is about putting our best self forward, facing life's challenges with a positive attitude, and making your own creative contribution known.
SATURN RETROGRADE
ends 13 August
Since this retrograde came into effect on 25 March, we've been dealt some blows and had called into stark reality, perhaps in unpleasant if not downright dark and violent ways, areas of ourselves and our lives (and our world, especially with regards to power structures and authority figures) that demand change, which can only come about through arduous, hard work. As it goes direct in August, we begin to pick up the pieces and go about the process of (re)establishing the order and structure and sense that is needed for the future. We also begin to (re)claim our own personal sense of sovereignty, power and authority over our own lives, refusing to hand that over any longer to anyone or anything that is not in alignment with our highest good.
NEPTUNE RETROGRADE
through 17 November
Reading between the lines gets easier with Neptune retrograde. You might have a heightened intuitive awareness now, but it could not be so easy to trust it at first. Allow yourself time to meditate or just sit with your hunches and honor what is flowing through your mind. The fogginess is a tool Neptune uses to help us move beyond our attachment to the physical realm, and into a more elevated space. Neptune retrograde is often very positive because the clouds of confusion often pull away allowing us to see things clearly.
We are more introspective and more receptive to our inner voice now. We may also feel more emotionally vulnerable. It is common to feel a greater need for seclusion and privacy when Neptune's influence is strong. Neptune also opens our hearts in compassion and understanding, which helps us see our commonalities more than our differences. As we absorb Neptune's wisdom, we begin to accept the truth of oneness and the interconnectedness of all that exists.
Since Neptune is in the sign of Pisces, whose co-ruler is Jupiter in Virgo, expect a new dose of clarity when it comes to your day to day habits and your job. Take note of any insight you receive as it may have seriously implications in the future.
TAROT for the SEASON OF JUICINESS
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| The Yoga Tarot |
CARD FOR JULY : 3 of Pentacles Reversed
Ponder this ...
• Am I expressing or pursuing my desires in the right way ?
• Am I missing what the moment has to offer because I’m so worried about wha’t supposed to last ?
• Am I cultivating the right kind of reputation ?
« Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear. » ~ Socrates
Reputations are on the line this month. Our reputation could get tarnished if we find ourselves associating or associated with the wrong crowd. We can also do ourselves a disservice if we give in to bragging or indiscretion. What we do over the next few weeks is going to have lasting repercussions to how others perceive us, with misperceptions likely to develop … so conscientiousness is key.
But remember … reputation is pretty much in the hands of others because it’s their perception of you. Little control we have over that. What we do have control over is our character. So it will be the character we live by this month that the reputation will follow. Only invest in that which enriches your character.
There are questions and assessments needed regarding the makeup of who we’re working with, how we’re collaborating, and whether it may be time for us to go it on our own.
Let work take a holiday. Be intentional in making time for fun, frolic and play. Don’t just wait for the week-end, or plan things that are fun, creative, distracting then. At least one day a week (fi not more) over the next four weeks, carve out a portion of a workday to go off and do something non-work related.
Recent studies have shown that our creativity and productivity are far more greatly enhanced when we breakup our periods of intense focus rather than the more traditionally agreed on approach of just buckling down and getting the job done. It’s recommended that we spend no more than about an hour intensely focused on any one activity or task. Our brains need time to daydream, to drift, to relax and process, to recharge. So, for example, an hour of really diving in to that project followed by a period of time of something that doesn’t demand so much brain power, like cleaning out that desk drawer or going and sitting outside to just chill, observe, capture a Pokémon gym.
For our Venus in Leo suggestions, we turn to the Tarot Sutra by Patricia Canova, MSC :
• Purchase erotic sculpture, art or books
• Drop hints of amorous affection
• Subtly suggest rather than offering up details
• Cultivate curiosity, envy, a lust for more
• Experiment with things that are ephemeral, in the moment, here today and gone tomorrow (it’s not meant to last)
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| Cosmic Tribe Tarot |
CARD FOR AUGUST : 3 of Wands Reversed
Ponder this ...
• Do I keep looking for « the other » when what I've been looking for has been right here all along ?
• Am I letting fear of intimacy and vulnerability cause me to withdraw and cut myself off from the outside world ?
• Am I trying to do too much, too fast ?
• Who/What/Where is my safe harbour ?
« The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. » ~ Augustine of Hippo
We can be feeling extra sensitive and less than generous. But this is likely rooted in issues, fears, unresolved traumas related to intimacy. We're tending to pull in and away rather than be open and welcome ... fear of vulnerability.
We can get so caught up in thinking and then believing that we seek, what we need, what will make us happy, lies somewhere « out there » in the hands and power of « the other. »
When we feel we have no safe harbour, let us return to the one that we carry within.
But we are reminded this month of August that what we seek, what we need, can be found right in our own backyard. Instead of looking out, look in. Happiness, peace, joy, serenity, saitsfaction, fulfilment all reside at the very core of ourselves. Let us work to move past making those things dependent on external forces and influences.
We may have a tendency to go overboard this month. Be careful not to over indulge, do too much (too fast) ... or, to give in to the temptation of shutting down, shutting out.
Isolationism and xenophobia may be strong currents during the month. Let's make sure we don't allow ourselves to get swept away by those currents, seeing the adventure of what lies beyond rather than the fear of the foreign.
For our Venus in Leo suggestions, we turn to the Tarot Sutra by Patricia Canova, MSC :
• Take comfort in the desires, fetishes, activities that are proven to turn us on and get us off rather than venturing into the land of experimentation with the new right now
• Take your shoes off and explore the sensations of the feet as often as possible (foot massage, reflexology, tickling, toe sucking)
• Don't spend the night ... leave them longing for your presence along with a surprise gift as a reminder you were there (and making them remember what you just experienced together)
• Let your lover have some space in the closet, or a drawer, or the medicine cabinet to leave something of theirs (and/or you ask to be able to do so at their place)
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| Roots of Asia Tarot |
CARD FOR SEPTEMBER : XVIII The Moon Reversed
Ponder this ...
• What is being revealed that I need to take heed of ?
• What do I see now that the fog is lifting, the veil is parting ?
• Am I keeping a secret thinking that it will never be discovered ?
• Can I look on the bright side rather than giving in and giving up to the darkness ?
« And when I wake up it's wonderful, like I've been carried quietly onto a calm, peaceful shore, and the dream, and its meaning, has broken over me like a wave and is ebbing away now, leaving me with a single, solid certainty. I know now. » ~ Lauren Oliver
On the one hand, the Moon reversed suggests that September will be a month of insight and clarity (the peaking energy of the Neptune retrograde). Things reveal themselves that allows us to understand or move forward with determination and lack of doubt. This may also be a time when things we have been trying to keep hidden or under wraps are revealed ... let's make sure we stay ahead of that rather than thinking we can keep up the illusion or deception forever and then suffering the fallout of consequences.
On the other hand, we can be quite prone to giving in to the darker emotions. This could signal a period of deep depression. Or, it could be a time when we feel the haze is lifting and the emotional waters are parting to allow us to finally feel as if we are moving forward in our healing process.
The choice will be up to us as to whether we are willing to accept things as they are being shown to be, or dive ever deeper into despair and illusion in order to cling desperately onto a narrative and defining of the self that we need to have be real.
We're moving towards a brighter, more optimistic period (just wait until Nov/Dec with the Saturn trine Uranus that is coming ;D ). How to move into that brighter, sunnier space will become more and more clear over the next couple of months.
So don't despair ... don't give up ... don't give in to the dark side ... it gets better.
