Forecast for week of July 15-22, 2012

It’s so cliché but I’m going to say it anyway: Can you believe that the year is half over already? On the other hand, doesn’t it feel as if a lifetime has passed since New Year’s? That’s certainly fitting for our current experience of time. So much is happening, and yet so much is taking for-e-ver.

The for-e-ver bits are the most frequently frustrating, but they are actually a saving grace these days. They prevent us from vanishing into a whirlwind or tumbling into one of the crevasses that are cracking open all around.

So who knows; you may actually count your blessings a time or two during Mercury’s current retrograde. His apparent backward motion will coming to the fore this week and, as usual, slow, confuse and sometimes snarl communication, technology and getting around.

Stay alert to this. Avoid making assumptions; ask questions; do your research. If your phone or Internet service becomes unreliable (there’s precedent), whatever you were trying to do can wait. When you drive into a traffic jam as far as the eye can see — and last week’s buildup to the retrograde birthed some doozies — treat it as a time out.

The slowed or outright snarled moments afford the opportunity to catch up mentally, emotionally and energetically. Resting is by itself a great perk (especially during what appears to be an epidemic of disrupted sleep). Too, when you’re not in the thick of the action thoughts and realizations pop up that have been swirling in the back of your mind.

Besides, it’s hardly going to be a week of stillness, thanks to a do-si-do involving the planets of action, expansion and regeneration. (Trust me; you WILL welcome the quiet.) Relationship and agreement issues will zoom into high gear, as opportunities mushroom — and incentive and impulses skyrocket — to Do Something About Them. Some connections or situations will move forward, some will be amputated or reworked; some will hit a crossroads requiring a permanent choice.

The whirlwind of activity (and talk; there will be lots of talk) spins out from a cooperative link between go-getter Mars and bigger-is-better Jupiter. Once action starts, there’s no telling how far it will go. Some of it will escalate into outright drama, as the warrior god challenges Pluto, lord of the underworld. These two will inflame passions, cravings and tempers alike and amp up pressure to make huge, drastic, even scary changes, within ourselves as well as in the structure of affected arrangements.

When Jupiter cuts in on the dance and joins Pluto in an adjustment aspect, we cross a line of no going back. (Fence-sitters, take note: You may have to take a side at last this week.) The intent behind the choice is as important — possibly more so — than the outer nature of the choice. Are you guided by fear? By your personal truth and power? Whichever it is, Jupiter will be pumping it up. Go for what’s most beneficial for you. He excels at delivering that.

Mars, meanwhile, has a showdown with unpredictable Uranus, who is under the warrior god’s rule. (“Command” is not an appropriate word when that idiosyncratic rebel is involved.) Anger, accidents and umbrage are all likely; treat it as stopping at a scenic overlook and take in the long-distance view. The panorama contains something to your benefit. It could pop when Uranus changes partners over the weekend and winks at Jupiter. A lucky break may well be yours.

A cycle is beginning in the midst of all this, courtesy of Wednesday’s New Moon in Cancer. (Read about it in my forecast, which will be on the site by Tuesday). Don’t be anxious about what may be coming. The week is likely to play out in with a twist that you can’t (and couldn’t) see coming, and that’s probably better than what you could have imagined. Likely there’s a connection to early June, too.

That’s because this weekend Venus returns to the degree of her transit, where she moved across the Sun on June 5. Something that could not fully come out then will resurface now, involving or engaging your heart in some way. One or more of love, money, beauty and the arts are in the mix. It’s riding the tailwinds of the Mars/Jupiter link, so it should be attention-getting…and enjoyable!

For more big-picture information (and strategies), visit my Summer of 2012 Resource page. Bookmark this and come back to it again and again!

For another take on this week’s events, listen to my quickie podcast. If you like it, please give it five stars on iTunes! NEW: You can now get my podcast as an app for your iPhone, iPad or iPod! Info under this week’s podcast.

Monday: The week gets a soft launch. Putter your way into your to-do list, because the Moon is void of course from 6:57 AM to 8:32 PM EDT. Nice and easy is a good thing, especially given what’s coming tomorrow. In the morning, weird aggressions are steering the unconscious everywhere you turn, and that includes yours.

Tuesday: Do-nothing day gives way to ACTION. Something’s gotta give; something’s gotta move — inside you, for starters. Bountiful Jupiter is pumping up the planet of action, Mars, who is pressing against the ruler of our deepest, darkest, most powerful emotions, cravings and obsessions. That would be Pluto, whom the Moon is joining today to bear down on volatile Uranus. Which translates to: The ongoing tension of the Uranus/Pluto square becomes downright personal, propelling us toward the bold, the new, the liberating, the more appropriate for the present-time you. Relationships are in for surprises.

Wednesday: Today brings a momentous crossroad. Stand in your power when you choose your direction and you’ll enhance your confidence and sense of well-being. Choose otherwise and you may end up simply self-indulgent and entitled. Either is pleasurable; one may be healthier and more beneficial in the long run. Use flare-ups of aggression as an opportunity to gain distance, especially where I vs. You (or I vs. Us) is involved. The latter part of those equations is getting stressed out by the Cancer New Moon and the hard line it’s taking with Saturn. (Read more in my mooncast, which will be posted by Tuesday.) Relationships are becoming real. Comforting, or oppressing? It depends.

Thursday: This is a largely internal day, heavy on quiet, nuanced processing. There are no major aspects until late evening EDT, when the processing spits out grounds for optimism, an openness to fresh air, and the incentive to go for it.

Friday: Walls, responsibilities and obligations loom large. No matter how unwelcome, or oppressive, they might be, think of their super-sizing as enlarging the fine print so that you see, read and understand it. If you don’t like it, do something about it. (Inspirational scene: Chico and Groucho’s contract negotiations in “A Night At the Opera.”)

Saturday: This is a morning to sleep in, be quiet and allow the week’s events to settle in. Straighten up and do your laundry if that feels right, but otherwise no hustle and bustle, please, since the Moon is void of course from 1:19 AM until 1:25 PM EDT. Epiphanies will be popping well into the night. So will new slants and unexpected opportunities. So what if plans go crazily out of whack? Disruptions R Us today, and each one has a silver lining.

Sunday: Prospects are superb for a high-energy, fun day. The Sun encourages basking in your own warmth as he makes his annual move into Leo. Moods and conversations are upbeat. Doors fly open to walk your talk — or put an idea into action. Enjoy!

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