July is a particularly intense, charged month, sparked by a Mercury Retrograde, a Solar Eclipse in Cancer on July 2 and a Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn, occurring July 17. As always, when Mercury (ruler of communication, short journeys and travel) goes retrograde, we are called to re-examine and evaluate the way we speak to one another and how we think. Eclipses bring about sudden changes, culminating the old and bringing about a celestial hit of newness and fresh perspective. This month we will see sudden awakenings and fearless ascent into higher beginnings. Cancer, the sign of emotions, the home, and nurturing, sets the stage for a series of changes and potential moves in where we go to feel at home. We may be feeling needier than usual, as we are confronted by the needs we have dismissed, in ourselves and others, and called to stop neglecting our innate desire to receive love and security. The month explores themes related to our place at home and our place out in the world. You may find yourself being pushed to move away from childhood habits, or physically moving towards more suitable living and working environments that reflect the future you – rather than the image of you shaped by early childhood. Look for clues in your early upbringing, in what you received and were lacking, and assess where that has seeped into adulthood.

Themes of caretaking, femininity, family, emotional security, homes and motherhood prevail all through July. There is a collective shift urging us to end all cycles that deprive us of nourishment. Ask yourself, have you met your inner nurturer? Do you care for yourself the way you would care for a daughter- do you brush your hair and fold your laundry? Do you allow yourself to cry and to eat? As always, we as individuals, are responsible for our own caretaking. The Cancerian themes of July remind us to treat ourselves internally the way we want the world to respond to us externally. The more we care for our emotional needs, the greater prosperity and luck we get back.