July
7th July - Neptune Retrograde in Aries
Neptune turns retrograde in Aries this month, and you might feel a quiet fog lifting from places you didn't even know were obscured. Aries is bold, direct, instinctive, the opposite of Neptune's usual misty diffusion, so this retrograde asks an interesting question: where have you been chasing an ideal of yourself rather than the truth of yourself?
Neptune retrograde periods aren't about losing faith; they're about refining it. Over the coming months, you'll have the chance to look again at any dreams, visions, or spiritual convictions you've built around your sense of identity and ask whether they're genuinely yours or borrowed from somewhere else. There's no need to panic if old certainties start to feel thin. That's the point. What's real will still be left standing when Neptune moves forward again.
9th July - Venus into Virgo
Venus settles into Virgo, and the energy in our relationships and our sense of beauty becomes practical, attentive to detail. This isn't the most romantic placement on paper, but don't mistake quietness for coldness. Venus in Virgo loves through service, through noticing what someone needs rather than what looks good from the outside. It's a good stretch for tidying up neglected corners of your life too, your home, your routines, the small daily rituals that either support you or drain you. If you've felt a bit scattered with love and self-worth lately, this transit brings things back down to earth. Ask yourself what you can polish rather than what you need to dramatically change.
14th July - New Moon in Cancer at 22 Degrees
This New Moon falls in the protective, feeling waters of Cancer, and at 22 degrees it touches something quite personal and specific for each of us, often connected to home, family, or the emotional foundations we were raised with. New Moons are invitations rather than instructions, a chance to plant something without needing to see the full shape of what it will become. Cancer doesn't rush. It asks you to tend rather than force. If you've been feeling disconnected from your sense of emotional safety, this is a good moment to ask what genuinely nourishes you, rather than what you think should nourish you. Trust whatever quietly surfaces, even if it doesn't make immediate sense. Cancer's wisdom often arrives sideways, through a feeling rather than a thought.
22nd July - Sun into Leo
As the Sun moves into Leo, there's a natural brightening, a returning of warmth and confidence after Cancer's introspective pull. Leo season asks us to be seen, properly seen, not performed, but genuinely expressed. This is a wonderful stretch for creative projects, for stepping into a bit more visibility in your work or your personal life, and for remembering that joy isn't frivolous, it's quite essential. If you've been hiding a part of yourself away, even just from caution, Leo season offers gentle encouragement to let it breathe a little.
23rd July - Mercury Direct in Cancer
Mercury finally moves direct, and it does so in the same emotionally attuned sign of Cancer that hosted our New Moon. Whatever's felt foggy, delayed, or oddly stuck in conversations or decisions over recent weeks should start to loosen. Because this shift happens in Cancer, the clarity that arrives is likely to be emotional rather than purely logical. You might find yourself finally understanding why something upset you, or what you need to say to someone close to you. Give yourself a few days for the dust to properly settle before making big decisions, Mercury retrograde shadows tend to linger a little even after the planet turns direct, make a note.
26th July - North Node into Aquarius
This is one of the more significant shifts of the year, so it's worth sitting with properly. The North Node's move into Aquarius, paired with the South Node settling into Leo, marks the beginning of an eighteen month cycle that will shape the collective conversation around individuality, community, and what we owe each other.
Leo, where the South Node has been sitting, asks us to shine, to be recognised, to lead from a personal centre. There's nothing wrong with that energy, but when it tips too far, it can curdle into self-focus for its own sake, performance without purpose, recognition that never quite satisfies. The North Node's arrival in Aquarius now points us somewhere different, towards collective vision, towards innovation that serves more than just the self, towards a kind of belonging that doesn't require you to dim your individuality but does ask you to consider how your gifts fit into a larger pattern.
On a personal level, this is an excellent moment to ask yourself who you're becoming in relation to others, rather than simply who you are on your own. Where have you been overly focused on personal validation, perhaps without realising it? Where might your unique perspective be of use to a wider community, a cause, a group of people working towards something beyond individual gain? Aquarius doesn't ask you to lose your specialness, it asks you to use it differently, in service of something larger than personal applause.
This Node shift will unfold gradually over the coming months and years, so there's no need to feel you must have it all worked out immediately. Just notice where the pull towards collective purpose starts to feel more interesting, more alive, than the pull towards individual recognition. That's the direction worth following.
26th July - Saturn Retrograde in Aries
On the same day, Saturn turns retrograde in Aries, asking us to review how we've been initiating things, asserting ourselves, or perhaps acting before properly thinking things through. Saturn retrograde periods are rarely comfortable, but they're honest. Wherever you've built structures on shaky ground, particularly anything connected to courage, independence, or taking the lead, this transit invites a second look. It's an opportunity to strengthen the foundation before building further.
29th July - Full Moon in Aquarius
The month closes with a Full Moon in Aquarius, illuminating exactly the territory the North Node has just stepped into. Full Moons bring things to a head, to a point of clarity or release, and this one is likely to highlight where personal needs and collective belonging are pulling against each other. Pay attention to what feels ready to be released around old patterns of going it alone, or old fears about losing yourself within a group. Aquarius asks for a bit of detachment, a willingness to see the bigger picture even when emotions are running high. Whatever comes to a natural completion now is making room for the new cycle this Node shift has just begun.