I’ve been sitting with the month of July 2024, because the astrology itself is not fun, and it is far too easy for astrologers to scare people about the future. Fearmongering probably does benefit astrologers’ social media reach, and maybe even their bottom line. But that doesn’t mean it’s right, or even true. What’s more true is that July’s got a nasty transit in it, and this could be a huge deal for you, or you might not even notice it. Whatever is going on in the sky hits everybody’s individual circumstances and charts differently. So maybe the best place to start is with this question:
What was going on for you in 2021-22 that peaked or got ugly in early August 2022?
Think back. Maybe this was a totally unremarkable moment for you. Maybe you are a Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius rising or have many placements in these signs, and this was a challenging time when big areas of life were changing, and things felt pretty out of control. Maybe your life was fine, but you remember holding others through difficulty. Maybe as you scroll back through your calendar, you find that nothing earth-shattering happened, but that work was particularly intense.
The news this month is the way July 11–19th is likely to feel like a callback to a time marked by particularly intense eclipses involving the fixed star Algol, and the August 1, 2022 Mars conjunction with the North Node and Uranus. This time, the amplifying North Node is not a feature, but Mars and Uranus are conjoining right where Algol sits. This is challenging! Algol is associated with destructiveness and violence. Mars is the god of war. And Uranus… well, who knows what that crazy bastard Uranus is going to do. This week might be… wrathful in a brave and authentic way! Or someone you love could lose their head in a reckless and impulsive way. Either way, I think there are two useful handholds. The first is the way challenging, difficult times can bring about positive change, especially if you accept the challenge. And I also think it’s a good idea to ground yourself in the fact that you survived the last one of these! In fact, you might not have even noticed it.
If this was not a big deal for you two years ago, it is not very likely to be a big deal for you this time either. Maybe you can simply focus on having some grace for those around you. And if August 2022 was a big deal, I think it’s a good idea to reflect on what that moment, and perhaps the entirety of 2021-2022, taught you. How did you handle this time in your life? What is your continued personal homework about the topics that came up? What would you have done differently? What are you grateful for?
Usually it is irrelevant-to-downright-misleading to focus on my personal experience of a transit. But this one hit me so hard that it might serve as a useful worst-case scenario. In 2021-22, I left the nonprofit I founded and spent twelve years building; stepped away from a professional partnership that defined about eighteen years of my life; decided to dedicate myself to my passions, including astrology; and relocated from Brooklyn to Ithaca, New York. August 1, 2022 was an awful moment in that process for me. I was holed up in an airbnb with my cat, a toddler, and my husband, with covid, realizing that the inexpensive little renovation project we planned for our new home was about to go massively sideways. For me, what was most memorable about this moment was not the outrageous overspending that was on the horizon, or the loneliness and discomfort of moving, or getting covid for the first time, or keeping an old cat and a little kid comfortable while kind of homeless. Those pressures were lame. But in August 2022, what was truly memorable was the way I had to face the fact that I deal with stressful situations by getting totally enraged. I found myself raging out in front of my daughter, and was deeply ashamed because I recognized myself acting like my angry parents. The universe was asking me to do better, and it was hard! The rest of 2022 and the first half of 2023 were all about deciding a hundred times each day to feel that strong current of ancestral rage that runs through me, close my eyes, and let it go so I could respond to my child with the compassion and patience she deserves.
The good news I can offer you is that most people are not going to experience anything that comes close to being this impactful or difficult! The planet that challenges me the most, Mars, had me coming and going in 2022. I could describe exactly how, but that’s technical and boring. What’s important is that I did not merely survive this. I am grateful that it happened, and grateful that this work to heal my ancestral trauma is ongoing. I have a much better relationship with my daughter than I would have if I didn’t have this intense situation that exposed what I needed to work on so clearly. For that matter, I am nicer to my husband and more likely to respond to random aggression calmly. I mean… I used to be the kind of person who routinely yelled and threw my phone and stomped up stairs and slammed doors, and I cannot remember the last time I totally lost my shit at an automated phone tree. That is good!
I don’t want round two of dealing with my own anger, but that is almost certainly what this transit is going to be for me. I can accept that this work gets easier and easier, but is of course neverending. I see where there is more to do, and am proud of myself for coming as far as I have. To prepare for July, I am embracing the challenge of facing my own anger today, by sharing this experience with you. Maybe if August 1, 2022 was a lot for you, you can share that burden with someone else. Find a confidant, write publicly, make a pact. There’s accountability in sharing your story of two summers ago, and it can unlock quite a bit of compassion and help. Let me know how it goes, and be good to yourself!
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