Mercury Direct, Saturn Retrograde

The Big Picture

Many of us feel the whoosh of energy that’s come in this past weekend, and it builds. That’s how it goes with the slower-moving planets — we feel them coming for a while. As we’ve moved into fire and air this summer, with Pluto in Aquarius, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune and Saturn in Aries, and now Jupiter in Leo, the thrust to move forward gets ready to break out and happen.

Let me say this first: people who know me know I have strong opinions — about food, the environment, you name it. Aquarians tend to think the world would be better if everyone just thought and acted the way we think. That said, I’m also an astrologer, so I keep a quick eye on the news. Fortunately I speed-read, because it’s easy to get lost in the weeds with this stuff. I’ll say up front: we all have our perspectives and prejudices, whether we admit it or not. I run my conclusions through the checks and balances of astrology and ask — is this what I want to happen, or do I see the potential in what’s ahead?

I listened to a recent interview with New York City’s mayor, Mamdani. The newscaster keep pressing him on whether AOC will be the Democratic candidate for president. My take: let’s stop pushing and let her, and the party, decide when the time comes — though part of me quietly wondered if the country is ready for that, but —the potential for change is huge and unpredictable.

What struck me was his answer (paraphrased): we’re not just talking about one person and what one person can do — we’re talking about a collective, a body of people behind whatever the focus is. That’s worth remembering whenever people have strong opinions about the U.S. government right now — it’s always more than one person. We’ve moved out of the first millennium’s energy — 1: the single leader, the despot, the patriarchy — and into the second (2) millennium, which is about working together. Our present millennium began with deep fractures, separate camps: “I’m over here, you’re over there.” But as that 2 energy gains strength, the ideal is collaboration across different points of view.

What we’re seeing right now, is a kind of desperate last grab by the small group who’ve held all the power and money — looting the store before the upheaval hits. It echoes the French Revolution: a wealthy, powerful class that keeps taxing and taking from the poor, until it gets turned over. I’m not cheering for a bloody revolution — believe me, I’m not. But I am aware that as this collective energy keeps coalescing, a shift is coming, sooner rather than later. The proposed looting of sacred indigenous monuments in a rabid search for earth minerals, is grabbing what they can before they have to escape on a rocket to Mars.

Uranus in Gemini is about small communities coming together — and today, “community” can be global, connected through the internet. Pluto in Aquarius is absolute, irrevocable change happening because of and for humanity. We live on an incredible planet, a gift for biological life — are we working with it cooperatively, or just looting and pillaging? Gen Z, the Pluto-in-Sagittarius generation, came in with a kind of “okay, here we are in the wilderness” instinct — working cooperatively, staying alert to what’s around them, sorting out who’s in it for survival and the long run and who’s just there to take.

Monday, July 20 — Mercury Still Retrograde, Moon in Libra

Mercury goes direct midweek, which means we can finally move more concretely on the things we want to put in motion. But it’s still retrograde as the week opens, so keep that in mind Monday. This is a good time to put things in order and get ready for forward movement, knowing Mercury will retrace the ground it covered during the retrograde — so expect some revisiting and editing.

The Moon is in Libra. The key thing to remember: we’re in the waxing Moon cycle, opening into new projects or fresh momentum on things already underway. We’re also approaching the first-quarter Moon, so we may be evaluating how we began things and how they need to shift — especially with the retrograde still in play. That makes this a good week for editing anything you’re putting out — a post, an ad, a contract. Read it closely and ask: is this the message I actually want to send?

One thing I’ve learned from a lifetime of writing and editing: it always helps to have another pair of eyes on something, especially someone who doesn’t think the way you do. Mercury moves through twelve different signs and forms all kinds of aspects with other planets — each of us thinks our own way of communicating is “the way,” but it isn’t. Once you understand how a spouse, coworker, child or parent receives information, you communicate far more effectively. That matters even more now, in a world of AI shorthand — where we ask “tell me about this disease” and get a quick menu-blurb back, and a lot of people settle for that one bite instead of the real picture. In this fire-and-air season, everything feels like it’s moving at the speed of light, but that doesn’t mean we move faster too. We have to chew on things. Put the right fuel in the fire — and know where that fuel actually comes from: research, history, real thoughts and conclusions, not the drive-through version.

Tuesday, July 21 — Moon Void, Then Into Scorpio

The Moon goes void of course at 7:06 a.m. Eastern, then enters Scorpio at 9:35 a.m. This is a great stretch for deep-dive research — go back over things, double-check, pump the brakes before finalizing anything you’re launching. We can make conscious adjustments with a more holistic perspective, which opens the door to real healing and revelation — though it won’t necessarily feel easy, especially by Tuesday afternoon or evening.

Some of us may run into confrontational conversations or realizations — about money, about power, with someone else, or purely internal. Scorpio energy is one of the most dissed in the zodiac largely because it’s so strong. When it isn’t owning its power, it turns toxic and vengeful — cutting off its nose to spite its face, losing sight of its real gift: the ability to regenerate and come back stronger. This stretch, where you might have to look in the mirror, can also be a chance to see things fresh and channel that energy into real growth.

Wednesday, July 22 — Sun Into Leo, Moon Still Void

The Moon goes void of course at 5:48 p.m. That same day, the Sun enters Leo — party time for the summer. Every Leo you know will either throw a party or have one thrown for them. But it can also highlight differences, especially with the Moon still void of course in Scorpio, which carries through the next day.

Thursday, July 23 — Mercury Goes Direct, Long Void Moon

Mercury goes direct at 6:58 p.m. Eastern, and the Moon doesn’t enter its next sign until 9:07 p.m. — a long void-of-course stretch in Scorpio. That can feel raw for some, without an obvious reason why. When the Moon is void of course, there’s no “emotional glue” to hold an idea together or commit to something — that sense of “I’m not sure how I feel about this.” In Scorpio, it can feel like a low-grade unease: I don’t know if I trust that, I don’t know if I like that.

Moon in Scorpio, as a placement, asks for real self-awareness, because underneath it there’s often an old history of wounds or betrayals — a baseline question of, is this safe? The gift is that once you understand the pattern, you can work with it and turn it into something constructive. So one of the best things you can do Wednesday evening or Thursday, if you’re feeling raw, is something genuinely therapeutic — even if it’s just a walk in the woods or drawing, something that gets you beyond thought so you can float with the feelings instead of fighting them.

Later Thursday evening, the Moon enters Sagittarius — like an arrow pulled back in a bow, ready to assert. But know why you’re aiming before you do; assertive tipping into aggressive isn’t the way in. Use Thursday evening for planning and strategy, because in the early hours of Friday, the Moon opposes Uranus.

Friday, July 24 — Moon Opposes Uranus, Then Opportunity Opens

If you’re out early Friday, pay attention to your surroundings — things move quickly, and anyone feeling righteous, angry, or in a hurry won’t be paying attention to what’s around them. By later morning, we move into a window of real opportunity, especially for anyone who’s planned strategically. Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign, and as the Moon moves through it, its last aspect is an opposition to Mars — which can bring heated, overly assertive conversations that don’t leave much room to breathe.

Oppositions work like a seesaw, a tug of war. The question is how to assert what needs to be said without being too forceful, and without losing sight of bringing separate camps together rather than pushing them further apart. Moon in Sagittarius brings expanded ideas, risk-taking, big-picture thinking; Mars in Gemini brings active discussion within a small — though sometimes quite large — collective. The work is bridging the two, finding the in-between space that lets you be assertive without pushing away the people you’re trying to reach.

Saturday–Sunday, July 25–26 — Void Moon, Saturn Retrograde

The Moon goes void of course at 10:58 a.m. Saturday and stays that way until Sunday at 9:44 a.m., when it enters Capricorn. What makes Sunday interesting is that Saturn goes retrograde while the Moon is in Capricorn — a strong day.

My suggestion for Saturday, while the Moon is void of course, is to let out whatever needs to come out — if anger, transmute the urge to shake someone: exercise, dance, yell in private — when its released in an insular way, you are so much better able to move forward with grace.

The rest of the week and more in-depth on the podcast…

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