Queer Kentucky Horoscopes: StarGazing for July

7/2- Mercury enters Leo

7/2- Neptune Retrograde in Pisces

7/5- New Moon in 14° Cancer

7/10- Pluto trine Lilith

7/11- Venus enters Leo

7/12 Jupiter sextile North Node

7/20- Mars enters Gemini

7/21- Full Moon in 29° Capricorn 

7/22- Sun enters Leo

7/25- Mercury enters Virgo

 

On the 2nd, Mercury will roam into Leo’s lair where conversations become more of a performance and ideas come to life.

The Lion within Mercury’s grasp is not something to tame. It saunters, wild and free. Bold and commanding. Yes, Leo wants to be noticed but it does not beg for attention. There’s a gravitational pull with Leo’s mind and voice, even if it comes out disjointed, quiet, or slow. Mercury in Leo is not subtle by any means but sometimes what is soft strikes a chord the loudest. Roaring or quiet, its power rings loud, the resonance deafening.   

The allure is all in Leo’s ability to expose itself. Its confidence is either repulsive or captivating but it is honest. In Leo’s mind, life is a stage and we are all merely players. This placement doesn’t spend too much time in its head. It rather act but that does not mean it does not analyze. There are standards and Leo will gladly share them regardless of how it is felt by others…as long as something is felt. This Mercurial energy doesn’t need you to “talk nice”. It needs you to be real with yourself. With others about what makes your blood pump. Have an opinion. 

Do something about it. 

Life is an art piece that begs to be designed. Leo’s energy awakens our passions and we cannot be contained only within the mind. We must wander. Get lost in our sauce. We feel called or driven by some primordial pull towards our ideas and we take up space. Place our dreams center stage to be gawked at or to stir something within but the point is to express authentically. To bring something exciting and fun into view. 

If we allow ourselves to be in awe of our majesty, we can inspire others to revel in theirs too. 

 

The new moon in Cancer on the 5th will open us up to unexpected intuition and continued inspiration. 

The Moon knows just what to do when it treks through Cancer because this is where the Moon feels at home. It rests in Cancer’s bosom, moving with grace. We begin to mimic, our internal phases shifting in and out beautifully. As we cruise through our emotions, we find genius along the way, silver nuggets of wisdom that nudge us in the right direction if we trust. 

There’s a sacred unraveling that happens when the Moon is in Cancer. It leads us to our best discoveries and our worst fears. Awareness and not scrutiny becomes key. We can resist succumbing to the weight of our emotions and instead, be taken on a journey. Cancer doesn’t aim to judge or try to tell you how to feel. It will just show you what it is you do feel. Simply and plainly. A sudden current that rushes in and brushes your feet. It can be shocking at first and then the realization settles in, damp feet sifting into the sand, grounding deeper. The knowledge of where you are and where you can go becomes clear.

A Cancer Moon is fearless. Rugged and yes, sometimes stormy. But it can weather it. It allows itself to be taken by the moment, wherever its ethos or creative waters lead it. Truth is found in Cancer’s gut and it knows that its instincts won’t lead them astray. 

A path towards hidden gems and artistry can come through this lunation. We use the depths of how we feel to display our inner brilliance. We give a new home for these feelings to live outside of us and for others to resonate with, and to see themselves in. A Cancer Moon is a chance to dive into our intuitiveness and intensity with abandon. 

 

When Venus moves into Leo on the 11th our hearts cannot help but throb. 

We become true lovers underneath this Venusian influence. We arrive at a place where art, creation, and play take precedence. All else can wait. The urgency in which Leo loves can be both inspiring and a threat. Those who are not comfortable with such openness can find Leo overbearing or “too much” but Leo will just sigh and smile at that sentiment. How silly. Don’t you know that life is meant to be devoured? 

Leo knows. It feeds its natural inquisitiveness but not with more questions and sticking its head in the pages of books. Revelations come in the form of taking action and diving in because it desires to deeply know…in and out, flesh and bone. A Lion transfixed on its prey, it attacks, satiated by performing and participating in life. It gives its heart to another or artistry in the way of utter devotion. God  is found in the stroke of a paintbrush or a fingertip. Gentle licks of a guitar and a shake of the hips melt Leo into oblivion. This Venusian energy is not refined or graceful. It is raw, bloodied with passion and vulnerability. Without hesitancy or resistance, Leo leans into their interests and embodies their values. 

L’art pour l’art- it is the phrase written across Leo’s heart. 

We celebrate those dearest to us. We celebrate ourselves. We choose to collaborate on projects not as a way of recognition or fame but for simple adoration even though we cannot help but to shine. Our radiance brings attention to anything we decide to dedicate ourselves to. If we have a moment of feeling lost or searching, Leo’s light will guide us. It urges us to follow the thick thump in our chest and the fire ignited in our belly. 

 

On the 20th, Mars enters Gemini’s domain and we find ourselves following our curiosity. 

We take a deeper interest in the magic in our immediate surroundings. What or who is around us. The answers we seek to our daily problems feel as though they are right in front of us and within reach if we choose to observe. Mars in Gemini does make our problems visible. Like a siren, Gemini calls attention to what needs to be done better, what we could do more or less of. And just like fellow Mercurial sign Virgo, critique is no mystery to Gemini but underneath Mars’ tutelage, Gemini embraces putting action behind words. It wants to welcome more of the external.

Its energy is bouncy. It stays light and flexible ready to take on any task. This helps us make room as things begin to fall away. We take note of the talents and skills that we should be developing at this time. Mars in Gemini reminds us that we can’t predict when lightning will strike. We can’t predict what will cause a new crater to form within and rouse us to fill it with new knowledge and experience. We can only stay ready and gain new perspectives. 

This placement can also be nervous in its energy. It can be hard to focus with so much excitement and new opportunities but we find it worthwhile to reinvigorate our spirits. If we can balance our time as much as possible, we can see a beautiful expansiveness in our world. 

 

Collectively, we are entering a peak as the Moon enters Capricorn at 29° on the 21st. 

This is an accumulation. Maturation. The last stop before the soul reincarnates and even if this isn’t our final form, we feel powerful. We have been building towards something magnificent. We may have had a hard time accepting these impending changes but Daddy Capricorn doesn’t give a damn. Its energy is peaking and intense. For some of us, it can feel like a scolding. 

The emotions that arise from this lunation can pose some big questions. We begin to contemplate our past and where it has taken us. Has it been worth it and are we satisfied with what we are leaving behind? But something will be left behind. A mindset, a complicated relationship, a problematic habit… we’ve reached the limit. Something has to give. 

Capricorn in the Moon position urges us to let go and have faith that we have done all we can do. It tests our strength because it does not doubt it. It knows how deep our divine knowledge and talents go. Capricorn believes in us wholeheartedly and it wants us to see our magic too. It is a delicate symmetry between our high intuition at this time and our analytical mind. We can balance our complicated emotions around what we feel with what we need to do. Capricorn’s influence pushes us through the other side into our next life. 

 

On the 22nd, the Sun will blaze within the constellation Leo further stoking our inner fires. 

The Sun hits differently within Leo. Comfortable and rightfully on its throne, Leo’s energy lets us laze and luxuriate. We feel decadent and the high of the sunshine encourages even the most shy to bare it all and become naked. 

We let others soak in our aura because we become something to behold underneath this Sun. Shimmery and royal. We fight through our reticence even if our confidence is buried beneath our anxieties and fears. We withstand the risk of sparkling and flickering and welcome attention as a form of appreciation. The warmth and kindness found in Leo encourages us to bow down and show undeniable love to others. We learn to worship ourselves too, allowing our holiness to dust us like glitter. 

This is the time to admire how far we have come and to be proud of our evolution. There are times for growth and there are times to decay but Leo is the season where we can just be. Exactly who we are, as we are, in that moment. We learn to have a healthy ego as a form of protection and use it as a remedy to fight our doubts. When we begin to question why we are here and our purpose in this life this Sun helps to remind us of our style, taste, and effervescent grace. 

We see the vibrancy that we offer and that surrounds us. 

 

Mercury will move into contemplative Virgo on the 25th.

The fire starts to die down and we begin to mentally ground after the uproar of Mercury passing through Leo. Our thoughts were once consumed with passion and grit, and we danced underneath the glow of creation but now Virgo wants us to look at the bounty. What is left? What is it that we have been toying with?

This exalted placement examines like no other. Virgo slows us down and lengthens us out. We quiet down and begin to retract again, keeping our ideas and thoughts in an incubation stage. We become more discriminating. 

Mercury in Virgo can pick apart and dissect with deftness and fluency. Its energy wants to help us fine-tune our inner critic but not as a form of obsession and ill-treatment towards our ideas or the way we think. If mistakes have been made, we were not wrong. We were experimenting. Virgo helps us to realize that it is okay to tweak and adjust. Something truly clever is hardly ever evident on the first try. It comes after alterations and refinement. 

We are careful not to become cynical. Just because life is beckoning us to change, it doesn’t mean that we sit in negativity. Our ruminating thoughts are not meant to drive us down into a mental hole. It comes from a place of wanting real improvement and dedication to seeing something great come through. We don’t mind going back to the drawing board or back to the lab. This transit allows us to fully squeeze the juice out of what is available to us, making sure to capture every bit of essence. 

Virgo’s questioning, effort, intelligence, and precision guide us towards something uniquely us yet well-rounded. Everything thought of and nothing missed.