Transit Forecast July 2020
The Butterfly Effect - July 2020
Are you enjoying the ride? Let us go back to the beginning for a moment.
Astrologically, this first started back when transiting Saturn (a 30-year cycle) entered Capricorn back in December of 2017. Phase 2 began when transiting Jupiter (a 12-year cycle) also entered Capricorn in early December of 2019. Phase 3 began with the Saturn/Pluto conjunction and the first of this year’s seven eclipses in the second week of January 2020. Phase 4 started with the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in early April. We are beginning phase 5 as July begins with our recent Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in late June and the monthlong eclipse zone which ends July 5th. Phase 6 does not start until mid-November 2020, culminating in phase 7 and the almost 800-year Grand Mutation cycle that begins on the Winter Solstice December 21st, 2020. These are important “gates” and it would behoove us all to go back and become aware of what has happened in our lives as these phases triggered and take special note of how we reacted to these shifts in planetary energies.
In plain English, we are experiencing a drastic transmutation of humanity (and Gaia herself) which will continue to play out over the next forty generations, with a very noticeable “bump” two generations from now. It is as if we have been experiencing an, other-worldly class roller coaster ride that consists of seven major hair-raising, thrills-and-chills type peaks and valleys. And on this ride, the biggest and most radical thrill is left for last. The Grand Mutation of 2020 in December.
Once we get off the ride, we are going to be finding various degrees of difficulty in gaining our bearings and our equilibrium. It is going to take time for our physical bodies, and our brains, to integrate what we have been going through. To further clarify, I want you to ruminate on these two questions. Does a caterpillar know what it is doing when it builds its cocoon? And, does the butterfly know it was a caterpillar? Do not be too concerned if you cannot relate to these questions now. I will ask you again in the Spring of 2021.
July of 2020 has some uncomfortable lessons for us to experience. From an astrological perspective, it has much to do with the interactions of the planets Mercury and Mars. Mercury is our ability to perceive, understand and then communicate that perception to others. Mars is pretty much the warrior. Physicality in all its gory/glory. In 2020 we see three Mercury/Mars squares an aspect of 90 degrees that takes a whole lot of time and effort in order to blend and integrate the two planetary energies involved. In 2020 the first Mercury/Mars square was in mid-May. Both the second and third squares occur in July. The second square aspect is on July 8th, and the third on July 27th. The best way I could put this, with no disrespect intended toward any who may have the disease, is that the whole world is coming down with a temporary case of cosmic Tourette’s syndrome. Take a moment and read what symptoms can manifest with this disease. Tourette's Syndrome
Mercury and Mars, when combined, can result in some very noticeable activities. Protests and provocations. Prolific pronouncements. Procedural problems. Prodigious profanities. Profuse prognostications. Prohibitions and projections. Propaganda and prophecy. But most importantly providence, provision, and prowess. It is as if the whole world has been bingeing on Red Bull. Especially when we see a square aspect.
The negative side of Mercury square Mars, which is in effect ALL month, is irritability, repressed rage, hostility, hair triggers, aggressiveness, accidents and burns, especially to the face and hands.
The positive side of Mercury square Mars which is also in effect all month long is the intelligent and very effective use of words and actions, valiant efforts and major movement toward a peaceful and totally unique outcome. Please folks, don’t get caught up in the minutia. Keep you eye on the bigger picture. Don’t let yourself be dragged down into the mental manipulations and machinations that are occurring this month. As I said in last month’s forecast, start SLOW. “If you come right out of the gate in July with nostrils flaring you will not make it (emotionally speaking) to the end of the year.” We have a long road ahead of us before the Winter Solstice is here. And I want all of us to be healthy and in a position of personal power and credibility when it comes. Back in 2012, I wrote on the importance of these current times we are now in and how we had until 2024 to solidify the defining moments of the new Aquarian Age. I have included the text of that missive at the bottom of this forecast. For those of you who are Twitter users, I think it is time to create the hashtag #OccupyAquarius.
To go back to some basic astrological cycle theory, when two planets are seen at the same celestial longitude from the earth they are called “in conjunction”. The conjunction signifies the end of the previous cycle and the beginning of the next cycle. It is like a new birth. To be followed by growth, maturation, and death as reliably as day follows night. Our current Mercury/Mars cycle began back on September 3, 2019 at 11 degrees of Virgo and will continue until mid-August of 2021. What I find interesting is that on September 3rd, 2019 the world was introduced to a theretofore unknown treatise on religious tolerance written by John Locke in 1667-68 entitled “Reasons for Tolerating Papists Equally with Others”. For those of you who study philosophy, as all should, Locke was one of the most influential thinkers of the period of time known as the Enlightenment and was considered one of the “founders” of modern day social contract theory. Our Founding Fathers were greatly influenced by his writings and I dare say our Declaration of Independence would not be what it is today if not for Locke.
Now, the really interesting part is that the last time in history we had a Mercury/Mars conjunction at 11 degrees of Virgo was in August of 1942. At that time Erich Fromm released his book entitled “The Fear of Freedom” which is a deep dive into authoritarian idealism and the human character in relation to society. Fromm tells us that the price of “community” is high, and that it is the individuals who are the ones who pay the most.
Me thinks someone is trying to tell us something here!
Obviously, our many world leaders and pundits need to take a refresher course in tolerance and walking a mile in another’s shoes and these two authors are a great start. What are you willing to go to bat for in July? Especially as Mercury turns direct July 12th. I would highly recommend adding these two tomes to your lockdown reading lists. Then we can all choose to come from the more positive side of Mercury and Mars and truly make some ripples in the pond of life. Where’s Walden?
The second most powerful aspect for July, IMO, is Saturn retrograding back into Capricorn on July 1st, there until December 16th. This is going to be a rather large shift in our thinking. For the rest of this year, regardless of almost everything we hear in the media, it is time to go back and finish up getting rid of what doesn’t work in our lives. It is not a time to think about replacing what we are discarding right now. It is only important, for the moment, to actually DO the ridding. Study how it had been done in the past. Mimic the folks who were the movers and shakers of old. Nature abhors a vacuum. Dump the cup, as I like to say, and Nature/Spirit will do the rest. For you tarot heads out there, think 4 of Cups.
And I am going to say this again. The last time Saturn moved back and forth from Capricorn to Aquarius, back into Capricorn, and then into Aquarius again was in 1932. Read your history. Bad year for Democracy. Great year for Despots and Dictators. And again, I am going to say as I did this Spring, there are way more Lightworkers on the planet now than there were in 1932. I am trusting this (and the three Jupiter/Pluto conjunctions of 2020) will make all the difference. With Venus now direct in Gemini, don’t just do it for yourself, do it for the children who have to live with our actions.
The next big thing happening in July, especially for the good ole US of A, is the Lunar Eclipse on America’s Birthday at 13 ½ degrees of Capricorn, the degree of the Zodiac that has to do with HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE and in the words of Dane Rudhyar signifies “the will to unearth, in our culture as well as in any culture, what has permanent value, and to let go of nonessentials”.
Again, me thinks someone is trying to tell us something. Can you hear it yet????
It will be much more obvious to those that live anywhere in the Americas other than in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. The Northwest Americas will only see a light shadow of the eclipse. Everyone else in the Americas will see the full shadow…if you get my drift. For you eclipse watchers, you want to be outside under a clear night sky at 9:44 pm PDT on the evening of July 4th. For those of you who do not get to see any great fireworks shows that night due to COVID 19 restrictions, think of this as God putting on a firework show in its stead.
In astrology, we have what are called Solar Returns. They are astrology charts that are set up for the exact moment the transiting Sun gets back to the exact same degree of the Zodiac where the person’s, or in this case the country’s, Sun sat at the time of their birth. Solar Returns are great for forecasting what is in store for the coming year. The fact that there is an eclipse in the US Solar Return chart indicates that the whole year, from this July 4th to July of 2021, means that this is going to be an extremely emotional one, especially since the transits during the Solar Return form a T-Square to the US Sun (transiting Sun, and Mercury retrograde, conjunct Sun, opposed by the Moon and squared by Mars on the US nadir). Many Americans are going to die this next year, some in rather awful ways, although fortunately, way more Americans are going to pass through this figurative 40 days in the wilderness with ease and come back reborn as “butterflies”. When a butterfly flaps its wings….as the saying goes…
Other events in July include the transiting Sun in opposition to Jupiter on the 14th, in opposition to Pluto on the 15th and in opposition to Saturn on the 20th. Jupiter oppositions usually result in what I call an “everything goes” effect. We tend to want to throw everything we have at the issues that arise at these times. There is usually very little strategy other than to try everything and anything. Which sometimes works, although more often than not, just complicates the initial issue with layers of obfuscation and unnecessary minutia. With the Sun opposite Jupiter, it is way too easy to come off as righteous and arrogant, so check your attitude at the door going into the middle of July. And with the Sun opposite Pluto at the same time also check you need to feel powerful at the expense of others. There will be plenty of folks with authoritarian airs wanting to tell us all what we should and should not be doing. Don’t let it get to you. And don’t just cave into their demands. Use that mental clarity afforded us this July from Mercury and Mars and think it through for yourselves. Then quietly and calmly, as the Sun opposes Saturn on the 20th, do what you know in your heart to be the right thing. And please remember here the old axiom about those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
As I mentioned in last month’s forecast, Venus is now the Morning star and the Feminine principle will be guiding our course for the rest of the year. I am grateful for this, for otherwise that Mercury/Mars in your face attitude would be untenable. Now in July, Mercury too, will become the morning star rising before the Sun for the next few months. The Greeks referred to Mercury in the morning star position as Apollo, the Greek god of music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases. So when you look out in the early morning dawn before sunrise and you see Mercury just below Venus low on the Eastern horizon, send out a little song or dance that cooler, calmer and more collected heads will make sway over our world this month. Flap those butterfly wings and know that you will be heard in the universe. More in my August forecast.