Mitchel Lewis Astro Notes for the Next week:

 

http://www.mitchastro.com/mitchastro_files/newsletters/2016/jul16.html

 

 

MERCURY SQUARES MARS: On Friday July 29

^th at 4:49 P.M. EDT 

 this intense and possibly angry aspect will push a lot of mental and verbal energy out into the public. If this sets off your chart you could be easily irritated and might overreact to some small slight. Egos will be prominent especially in all communications. Try to keep things in perspective and don't take the bait if someone is projecting their own anger in your direction. Use caution in all communications and while traveling. This is an argument or road rage waiting to happen. Don't let it happen to you. Sidestep any disputes that are not important enough to confront right now. If there is an issue that hasn't been resolved you may be better off waiting until this passes and then dealing with it. It makes little sense to antagonize someone when the energy is so fraught with tension.

 

URANUS RETROGRADES: Also on Friday July 29^th at 5:06 P.M. EDT this most unusual planet begins its yearly backward motion. Uranus rules electronics and the internet. While in retrograde there will be more problems with those devices we have all become so addicted to and complacent about. Computers may be more of a problem than usual. It also has much to do with electricity and there may be some issues there as well. In the human body, Mercury rules the RAM of the brain, while Uranus rules the HARD DRIVE, so to speak. This is a time when mediation and anything that centers your thoughts will be especially important. If you are nervous by nature you may feel this retrograde more intensely. In any case, it's important to calm your thoughts and allow the brain time to assimilate new information. Retrograde planets internalize the energy of that planet, and there may be too much data coming to you all at once.

 

MERCURY ENTERS VIRGO: On Saturday July 30^th at 2:19 P.M. EDT Mercury enters one of the 2 signs we give it rulership over. It does very well in this mutable earth sign and can be helpful in a number of ways. Virgo is very good with the little details, although it can be too critical at times. It's important not to get caught up in the small things and ignore the bigger picture. This is a good placement for all business issues. In the arts this is a great placement for editors or anyone whose attention to detail is required. Try not to be too picky or you could push people away. A good balance between honesty and compassion will help use this energy to your best advantage.

 

VENUS TRINES URANUS: On Monday August 1^st at 12:07 A.M. EDT this positive trine completes and we will all be looking for some excitement and adventure. This falls early in the morning, so its effects will be felt more strongly the night before. This is a time to take off the blinders and explore what the world has to offer. It's not a time to sit in front of a computer, but an opportunity to undertake a journey of exploration. This is followed by the Sun trine Saturn, (see below) a less enthusiastic transit that tends to deal more with responsibility, so try to enjoy this trine and get out and see what the universe has to offer.

 

THE SUN TRINES SATURN: Also on Monday August 1^st at 1:49 P.M. EDT this positive but rather dour transit will put us all into the mind frame of responsibilities and work. This isn't an exciting aspect, but it can be a very useful one. It's a good day to clean up your desk and put things in order. A realistic attitude will prevail, and business will be more on our minds than play. Because it is a positive trine we can make use of this mood without feeling trapped or restricted as many Saturn transits can do. Get your work done, make plans for the future, and as we approach the Dark of the Moon put down a strong foundation for next month.

MARS ENTERS SAGITTARIUS: On Tuesday August 2^nd at 1:49 P.M. EDT until September 27^th Mars travels through the most expansive of signs. This can be a very positive transit as long as some precautions are taken. It's a good time to expand and push the usual limitations. You can attempt things that you may normally not try, and there is a sort of unfettered bravery this placement can project. Egos will be somewhat outrageous for the next 8 weeks as many people will project a very aggressive and outlandish persona, especially if this sets off the individual's chart, so use some care as you approach others. As with most transits this has a potentially positive and negative side. There will be no shortage of arrogance and forcefulness. But it's important to avoid direct confrontations or bruised egos. This Jupiter-ruled sign has little use for boundaries, so it can be easy to offend or irritate others, especially if that person is usually shy or has hidden self-esteem issues. If your goal is to annoy them, then this is the time for such actions. But if you're trying to avoid confrontations, you must walk lightly and speak with a gentler voice. Otherwise you may inadvertently upset someone. Travel will be enjoyable and there are many adventures to seek out. But remember that everyone will be more outgoing and won't have the usual filters that normally prevent crossing over borders and restrictions.

 

DARK OF THE MOON: The next New Moon falls on Tuesday August 2^nd at 4:44 P.M. EDT at 10 degrees Leo 56 minutes. The day or two leading up to it will be a particularly low energy period. If you tend to be emotional this may be a very trying time each month. I have found that people with prominent moons or a Cancer Sun, Moon or ascendant respond to the lunar cycles more intensely than others. Spend this time finishing up anything that is incomplete, don't try to initiate new projects on a waning moon, it just won't work out. Once the New Moon hits you begin new projects or attempt a new approach to an existing problem. If you have been living in a situation or involved in a relationship that is intolerable or has outlived its usefulness this would be the proper time to move on with your life. If you have been working on a project that is almost complete but you seem to lack the energy for the finality, you must push during these low energy days to end the matter once and for all. If you don't, when the New Moon arrives it will bring this "dead" energy along with it and conflict with the newer force being presented. Each month we are offered a chance to clean house, so to speak.

 

Note: All aspects are most powerful and effective as they apply. Once the transit has completed, its force is lessened. The further it separates the weaker it becomes. 

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Below is a list of times this month when the Moon is Void of Course and neither important decisions nor purchases should be made during these periods. The Void of Course Moon is a time when we should try to center ourselves and deal with spiritual matters not materialistic ones. Any decisions made on the VC Moon will not turn out the way we had expected.

 

The Moon is Void of Course from the time it makes its last major aspect in a sign until it enters the next sign. For example, if the Moon squares Mars at 27 degrees Aries and then has no more aspects until it enters Taurus it will be Void of Course for three degrees or about 6 hours. The aspects used are the conjunction, sextile, square, trine, and opposition.

 

All times are Eastern Daylight Time: