Astrology Highlights for July 17-23, 2023: The Book Between the Covers

Give Birth to Something

It’s a singularly courageous act to bring children into the world. Few things throw into such bold relief how little control we have. As a child leaves the womb, when it starts school, and eventually moves away from home altogether, a parent’s control lessens exponentially. And if you’re a person who really values being in control, this must be a nightmare.

This New Moon is in Cancer (July 17, 2023, 11:32 am PDT, at 24º56’ Cancer), the sign of nurturing, finds the Sun and Moon opposed control-loving Pluto. Whether you’re creating a human or bringing a project to fruition, you have to contend with the limits of your control. Whether you love a pet, plant a garden, or build a home, there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

This is the last New Moon in Cancer that will oppose Pluto in Capricorn in our lifetimes. The great Mother, the divine feminine, is sitting still, preparing to hatch something. Across the ecliptic lies Pluto in Capricorn, the sign of worldly focus – a heavy presence. The New Moon’s Sabian symbol is 25 Cancer The dark shadow or mantle (cloak) thrown suddenly over the right shoulder. Let’s say Pluto represents the shadow, and Capricorn symbolizes the heavy mantle of responsibility.

But what are the responsibilities we’re prepared to assume? That’s part of the old business between Cancer and Capricorn, the balance of homely connections and worldly ambitions.

The New Moon point is also trine Neptune (the Sun’s trine is exact on July 20, 2023, 6:06 am PDT), a symbol of healing, forgiveness, and faith in the face of powerlessness. And just last week on July 14th, the Sun’s sextile to Uranus presented an opportunity to escape from the person we think we have to be.

These are sobering visions. But beneath it all, this New Moon offers a simple message: However scary, futile, menacing, or hopeless it seems to do so, give birth to something. Nourish someone. Nurture the life force. Do everything that is within your power – and learn to let go of what isn’t.

The Shift

The Lunar Nodes travel backward through the zodiac in an 18-year cycle, spending about a year and a half in a pair of signs before retrograding into the next. Astrologers often describe the Moon’s South Node as symbolizing negative qualities we should seek to release, while the North Node represents a positive path to growth.

Since January 2022, the Nodes have traveled through the signs of Scorpio (South Node) and Taurus (North Node). The work of these nodes has been to pry our fingers away from negative Scorpio qualities like suspicion, fear, jealousy, and vengeance, and to reach toward the Taurus brass ring of practicality, security, common sense, and willingness to take things at face value.

This week, the Nodal axis shifts again (July 17, 2023, 1 pm PDT – through Jan. 11, 2025), this time to the polarity of Aries (North Node) and Libra (South Node). This nodal configuration, last seen in Dec. 2004-June 2006, asks us to give up the relative safety of partnership and its shadow qualities of overaccommodation and codependence, and to embrace the Aries brass ring of courage, initiative, and independence. If at any time during the next 18 months you find yourself wondering whether you should take on a daunting task – take that challenge! It issues from the bold heart of Aries, which is calling you to be a pioneer.

Soon after shifting signs, the Nodes get a catalyzing square from Pluto (July 22, 2023, 9:37 pm PDT). Immediately, we’re called upon to be courageous. The temptation will be strong to scurry into our safe hobbit holes and let others fight the dragon. If you act on that impulse, simply take notice of it. You’ve got many months to get better at this. Look to the eclipses in October and April for turning points in the struggle.

The Quality of the Conversation

Mercury in Leo makes two aspects this week. It squares Jupiter (July 17, 2023, 5:49 AM PDT) at 11º53’ Leo and Taurus. Mercury is on a delightful Sabian symbol, An evening lawn party. In that context, it’s easy to imagine that overconsumption might interfere with, say, the quality of the conversation.

A few days later, Mercury squares Uranus at 22º32’ Leo and Taurus (July 23, 2:39 PM PDT). This aspect can bring some very innovative thoughts and ideas, but it can make it a little bit of a challenge to settle down and focus on any one of them. If you do manage to it, though, Uranus’ Sabian symbol, A jewelry shop, suggests that one of these ideas could prove to be something really valuable.

Costs and Obstacles

Mars opposing Saturn (July 20, 2023, 1:39 pm PDT, 6º20′ Virgo-Pisces) is a reminder that there are costs and obstacles associated with walking any path. Moving forward in your life may mean turning your back on opportunities that would increase your status or reputation, simply because you have the heart of a craftsman and the dream of creating something that’s as perfect as you can make it, rather than something that’s lucrative.

This week is filled with high-pressure astrology, and it might feel from time to time that you haven’t set the bar high enough for yourself. It may also be frustrating when others don’t share your passion for excellence and stand in your way of achieving it. Believe in your convictions and in your dream – as well as your ability to overcome what you must to make it a reality.

The Book Between the Covers

Every now and then, I pick up my phone to take a photo and accidentally activate the selfie view. The sight of my everyday, no-makeup, ever-graying face in an inevitably unflattering pose is always startling, and usually dismaying.

When Venus turns retrograde, as she does this week in the sign of Leo (July 22, 2023, 6:33 pm PDT – through Sep. 3), she turns on the selfie view.

Venus symbolizes how attractive, valued, and beloved we feel. Often, we turn to the outside world to reassure us of our desirability, and it’s not always forthcoming. The world places a premium on attractiveness, and when it turns a critical lens at us, our inner beauty might not feel like it’s enough.

In August 2015, when Venus was last retrograde in Leo (and my ninth house), my book Astrological Transits was published. And while I felt good about what I’d written, I was mortified by the book’s cover, which I’ve always thought was just plain ugly.

Over the years, I’ve had occasion to dip into that book from time to time, and I’m always surprised and gratified by how much I like what’s inside. But if I’m completely honest, I’ve always been a bit embarrassed by it, all because of this ugly cover.

Venus’s retrograde periods coax us to look within for the reassurance that we’re beautiful and valuable. To appreciate the book that lies between the covers and reconnect with its beauty – no matter how it might look from the outside.

Creating Your World

The desire for self-expression is pretty high up on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You have to have an awful lot going right in your life before it occurs to you to want more fun. That said, even a life that offers a roof over your head, food to eat, and safety from imminent peril can be flat, gray, and filled with despair, if there is nothing to feed your creative spirit and no sense that your life has meaning.

This week, the Sun enters Leo (July 22, 2023, 6:50 pm PDT), which is called the sign of creativity; but that doesn’t tell the full story. It evokes visions of a child’s playroom, filled with bright plastic toys, or a crafts room with construction paper and Elmer’s glue. But Leo’s desire for creativity transcends the tools we use to summon it. Leo symbolizes pursuits that open the heart and make you feel completely alive, to the extent that you don’t even question whether you’re doing it well, just whether you’re doing it exactly as you like.

We all have something inside us that wants to be engaged and needs to be shared and noticed. It says, “This is what it’s like to be me. This is how I see the world.” That’s Leo’s destination, and practically any road can take us there. You may enjoy quilting, or cooking, or designing video games; you may be called to play softball, mandolin, or Lady Macbeth. Whatever it is, you’ll know the right tools for creating it – they’re the ones you can’t stop fiddling with long enough to get a decent night’s sleep.