Tuesday, JULY 2

Neptune stations and turns retrograde today, a period that will last until December 7th. This station may obscure our affairs, making it challenging to see things clearly this week. However, the retrograde cycle is not only a time of indecision or feeling in limbo. It’s a period of personal discovery and increased receptiveness–a time when we can grow and evolve. Despite the shift happening now, which may initially feel disappointing, it can lead us along a new and improved path.

Mercury leaves Cancer and enters Leo today, but before it does, it forms a trine to Neptune, encouraging us to tap into our imagination. With this transit, we more readily tune into and respond to our hunches. We may easily sense others’ thoughts and feelings, and our words, musings, and ideas can be more imaginative, colorful, subtle, or creative. We experience a sense of knowing and understanding with minimal explanation or instruction.

While we may not be direct or definite, we see the way around obstacles. This transit favors photography, the arts, poetry, fiction, spirituality, advertising, and promotion.

Mercury transits Leo from today until the 25th. With Mercury in Leo in the weeks ahead, our thinking is confident and grand, and clearly defined goals motivate us. We are expressive, convincing, decisive, and persuasive. We want our voices and input heard.

It’s not a time when we’re content with letting others make all the moves or decisions–we must be involved. We take the lead, manage, direct, and create while Mercury is in Leo. For maximum absorption, we need to relate to information or create stories about it. During this cycle, we should watch for being too inflexible or proud to change course.

A Venus-Saturn trine helps us sort out our feelings. We might demonstrate our affection through practical support, service, and shows of loyalty. This influence reminds us of the value of constancy and reliability. We approach love, relationships, money, or pleasure-seeking more maturely, responsibly, and with a level head. It can also be a time when we enjoy our responsibilities, work, or duties more than usual.

However, Mercury opposes Pluto early tomorrow, and its energies color tonight. With this transit, we can face some pressure to deal with problem areas. There can be mental tension, paranoid thoughts, or excessive suspicion to manage. We might either feel compelled to talk and question or withhold information. We can too quickly become embroiled in power struggles. However, if we aim to learn from our resentment, it can bring us closer to understanding what we truly want.

The Moon is void from 11:44 AM EDT, with the Moon’s last aspect before changing signs (a sextile to Neptune), until the Moon enters Gemini at 11:51 AM EDT (a brief VOC period).