Time to Get On With It

The July 2006 Forecast

by Terry Lamb

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Past forecasts

I t feels like “after the storm” both figuratively and literally. June’s unusual collusion of planetary contacts in mid-month leave us with no mysteries as to July’s focal points of activity. July is about follow-through and resolution, with a smattering of newness as two new cycles begin. As such, life will be much simpler to live, as we cease being pulled in so many directions at once. Yes, all the same directions are there, but they’re less demanding of us all at once.

Who Put On the Brakes?

            Yes, it’s down to Mercury again. Its retrograde is here again, and so it’s time to stand everything on its head and see how much change falls out of our pockets. To review, Mercury reverses direction to move backward through the zodiac for 3 weeks every 4 months. During these times, we get a different perspective on our reality than we had before. There are two things that increase the significance of this fast-moving seemingly innocuous planet: contacts with other planets in the heavens now and contacts with our own personal birth charts. The good news is that Mercury will meet none of the greater gods during its retrograde period this time. The other, of course, is highly individual.

            Regardless of strength, Mercury is the messenger, and so during this time, if you pay attention you’ll find that Mercury is speaking more loudly than usual. This is nice, unless we don’t want to hear what he has to say. By listening, we can often avoid difficulty, even experience miracles. The key is being open.

            The theme for this Mercury period is moving from fear to love. It’s time to stop trying to control our feelings because we’re afraid of what will happen if we feel them. We benefit if we can accept our vulnerability and the truth that they represent, then surrender to that truth.

            The way events work around a Mercury retrograde is that as Mercury slows to make its standstill, activities in our lives slow as well. Once it turns backward, it picks up speed like a car after it rounds a curve; so too do the events in our lives. In fact, during the retrograde we can have the experience that situations in our lives are corrected. Events will move at the same pace, but there’s more of a tone of completion to them. Miracles can occur (as can mishaps), depending on what we’ve been creating in our lives for the past 4 months (or more) — and our attitude toward them. (A mishap may be a miracle misunderstood.)

            As Mercury gets near the end of its backward travel period (about 3 weeks), it again slows and so do events once again, except this time there’s a clearer, cleaner feel to them. It’s the feeling of the new cycle that is beginning.

            More than anything, Mercury’s retrograde reminds us of the fact that progress is made following a zig-zag path. When we want it to proceed in a straight line, our impatience is getting the best of us.

            Mercury’s retrograde period begins on July 4 and ends on July 28.

Jupiter Unmasked

            Even though they don’t interact by mathematical angle, Jupiter and Mercury interact in time. Mercury has a way of muting other planetary events, so our unfettered experience of Jupiter’s return to forward motion may be masked or delayed until after Mercury resumes its normal direction. Jupiter governs a yearly cycle of expansion, education, and enterprise that started October 22. We were able to develop a new plan or model of expansion until March 4, when we stepped into the “make it work” period (its 4-month retrograde).

Mercury Gives Us Space and Time for Full Development.

            For many people, the past four months were a time a concentrated effort launching a new enterprise or project that should now be close to ready. If this includes you (it includes me), you may find that you’re almost there but not quite. In that case, the Mercury retrograde gives you 3 more weeks to get ready for that launch. In my own case, I’m doing a “slow launch”. Some things will be ready on Jupiter’s schedule, while others can wait until later in the month.

            We have until the end of November to complete this stage of our development before going on to the next one. We will generally work within the boundaries of what we were able to define last fall and develop since then until November, when we will see new possibilities, even completely redefine our planned approach. This is the way that all good plans evolve. Even though we may make a 5-year plan, we modify it on a year-by-year basis to suit changing needs and trends.

Let’s Party!

            Usually we feel a sense of relief and jubilation — like celebrating — when Jupiter reaches this stage in its cycle. A sense of hurry and pressure is released, and we feel a sense of accomplishment. Frequently, people plan parties at this stage, so Independence Day parties should burgeon just now. Travel, which may have been suppressed for several months, will increase.

At a Deeper Level

            If you’ve been reading the forecasts for the past few months, you know I’ve been talking about a fantastic planetary pattern called a fixed cross. While these occur every few years, each one presents a challenge to us relative to where we are in our lives at the time. For now, humanity is facing difficult truths: those of global warming and the diminishing fossil fuel supply. Both truths point to the same solution — the need to dramatically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels across the board. There are many ingenious solutions and inventions coming to the forefront, among them those of the pragmatic visionary Amory Lovins (see http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-06/features/energizer/ and his website www.rmi.org for a fascinating perspective.). However, the immediate challenges belie the experience that most people have with a fixed pattern: high gasoline prices, a flagging economy, rising interest rates, and falling real estate prices. All these situations promise to go through another round that will continue them in the same direction through 2007. On the bright side, it is an opportunity for people to recognize the truth, because many still have not. On the dark side, this will be difficult for many people who are already living on the edge in cultures or climates where fossil fuels have become essential to survival.

            There is a way to work with this pattern to create personal (and transpersonal) benefit. This is twofold: First, use challenge to your advantage; second, look for win-win opportunities amidst the difficulties, because they are always there. When we refuse to be blinded by obstacles, openings begin to come to light. Ask yourself: What kind of message do you get from an obstacle? Do you have a knee-jerk reaction of a particular reaction, or do you allow yourself to discover what each blockage has to say? You may be surprised at the variety of options that this opens up for you. Some obstacles are clearly there to suggest a redirection of our efforts, while others tell us to work through them. Have a dialogue with your favorite obstacle and see what happens! Thinking out of the box is a more apropos image than you might think — the fixed cross is pictured in astrological charts as a box between the planets (See Chart B.)

            The second way to work through the fixed cross pattern is to remember that “when god closes a door somewhere he opens a window.” (I’m not sure where this comes from. I heard it from the Maria von Trapp character in Sound of Music.) Surely whoever wrote this must have known about trines! There are always opportunity combinations being formed between the planets. Such connections reflect that harmonious movement is available to us and beneficial action can be taken if we can harness these energies through timing. Use your intuition, use astrology — use whatever tool you want. Simply knowing that this is possible will increase your ability to perceive them.

A New Golden Period

            Amory Lovins knows how to use golden energy — you can tell by the ideas that he has conceived. He truly thinks out of the box. We have the opportunity to do the same from June 30 – July 20. There is a rare pattern affording us access to the same innovative spark. This is a grand trine between the Sun, Jupiter, and Uranus. We’ve had a positive contact between Jupiter and Uranus all year, but it is much improved once Jupiter changes directions on the 6^th. This is invention, enterprise, ingenuity, and success all rolled into one. It will make us bolder, perhaps starry-eyed — but who’s to say that life isn’t meant to be lived this way (as long as we keep our feet on the ground at the same time)? This energy doesn’t fit make every situation a winner, and it’s generally not as good for signing contracts as it is for fulfilling ideals, seeking publicity, and virtually any other situation. It even works for contracts through the 14^th for several hours every day.

            This beneficial pattern is shown in Chart A. After the 6^th, our ability to use this pattern becomes less frequent, since we need to use the Moon to bring it together. It recurs for 2 days twice each week until the 20^th. These days are the 9^th, 10^th, 13^th (4 PM on), 14^th, 15^th (morning), 17^th (evening on), 18^th, and 19^th. These benefits are so global — see what you can do by dreaming big! Then set your intention to create what you dream. If you’re beyond the dream stage, use intuitive or astrological timing to launch your project or initiative.

Keeping Tabs on Love’s Journey — and Business Too

            Love and contracts can be requited if your timing is right until the end of the day on the 14^th. This isn’t the end of the story, where you right off into the sunset and live happily ever after, but it is another, positive stage in the process where progress can be made. Look to October 25^th, when the cycle is completed and renewed. In the meantime, don’t miss out!

A Time to Heal

            While there’s no denying that energy can hurt or heal, we know which one we want to foster in our lives. We will have healing energies available to us more abundantly starting the 22^nd, when the Sun and Chiron begin to connect. Chiron, the wounded healer, permits us to heal ourselves and others from the understanding we have gained from our own wounding experiences. This energy culminates on the 30^th and ties in with events that occurred around January 23, April 29, and May 15.

Waves to Ride

            We’ve already seen the powerful golden period of July, as well as the simpatico between the lovers, Venus and Mars. These are the waves to ride in July.

            Every day is a blank slate with unlimited potential in it. This is true in the midst of scheduled events, because the seed of the unexpected lies in each moment. No matter what we’ve experienced in the past, each instant hold fresh potential for total newness, even in old, worn-out situations and relationships. When we rest at the calm center of our awareness, we are in touch with that potential and allow that seed to germinate with our openness. Others cannot help but be drawn into it. An ancient Indian proverb says, “Those who bring happiness into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” When we are open, we slip into happiness, and it cannot help but spread.

Planetary Events

Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are retrograde. Saturn is in detriment.

Sun trines Jupiter ℞ (golden period begins)	9°02' Cancer/Scorpio	June 30
Venus trines Chiron ℞	8°35' Gemini/Aquarius	July 1
Venus quincunxes Jupiter	9°02' Gemini/Scorpio	July 1
Venus sextiles Saturn	10°24' Gemini/Leo	July 2
Mercury stands still to turn backward (stationary retrograde)	1°10' Leo	July 4
Mars opposes Neptune ℞	19°20' Leo/Aquarius	July 5
Venus squares Uranus ℞	14°37' Gemini/Pisces	July 6
Jupiter stands still, returning to forward motion (stationary direct)	8°59' Scorpio	July 6
Sun trines Uranus ℞ (golden period Stage 2 begins)	14°36' Cancer/Pisces	July 6
Sun trines Jupiter ℞	18°49' Pisces/Scorpio	July 9
Mercury re-enters Cancer	29°60' Cancer	July 9
Venus trines Neptune ℞	19°14' Gemini/Aquarius	July 9
Full Moon	18°42' Cancer/Capricorn	July 10
Mars trines Pluto ℞	24°44' Leo/Sagittarius	July 14
Venus opposes Pluto	19°43' Taurus/Aquarius	July 10
Venus sextiles Mars	25°18' Gemini/Leo	July 14
Venus squares the Moon’s Nodes (traveling eclipse points)	28°31' Gemini/Virgo/Pisces	July 17
Mercury ℞ conjoins Sun	25°31' Cancer	July 18
Venus enters Cancer	0°00' Cancer	July 18
Mercury ℞ quincunxes Pluto ℞	24°37' Cancer/Sagittarius	July 19
Golden Period ends	--	July 20
Mars enters Virgo	0°00' Virgo	July 22
Sun enters Leo	0°00' Leo	July 22
New Moon	2°07' Leo	July 24
Venus quincunxes Chiron	7°21' Virgo/Aquarius	July 24
Venus trines Jupiter	9°37' Cancer/Scorpio	July 26
Mercury stands still, returning to forward motion (stationary direct)	21°35' Cancer	July 28
Sun opposes Chiron	7°03' Leo/Aquarius	July 30
Venus trines Uranus	14°05' Cancer/Pisces	July 30
Saturn quincunxes Uranus ℞	14°02' Leo/Pisces	July 31

All dates are based on Pacific Time.

Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging

Events in bold are more significant.