Astrology Highlights for July 8-15, 2024: Let Someone Give You a Drink

A Fascinating Beauty

I once saw a documentary about casting actors for films and television, and a casting director who was interviewed about her work said something I’ve never forgotten. She said that what made actors stand out to her, and eventually get cast, was some quality of strangeness about them. She said that’s the quality casting directors are looking for, because it’s fascinating and the camera loves it.

Venus rules attractiveness, and Uranus rules strangeness. When the two meet this week in the spark of a sextile aspect (July 8, 2024, 4:04 am PDT), what is odd and unique becomes beautiful. Find a quality that makes you unique – a physical feature, your walk, your voice – and call attention to it. Unleash your personal attractiveness, and see what connections are formed, and what doors might open.

Keep the Nose Up

Even when the schedule is already packed, we’re out of groceries, and we’ve been wearing the same clothes for days because there’s no time to do laundry, it can be surprisingly hard to turn down tempting opportunities to do even more. But Mercury’s sextile to Jupiter (July 8, 2024, 7:26 am PDT) is a reminder that we needn’t – and probably shouldn’t – take every opportunity that comes our way.

Everyone loves making contact with Jupiter. Each of Mercury in Leo’s inspired notions seems even more dazzling when it teams up with the god of Big Ideas. Jupiter is that terrific friend who says “Yes! – and more!” to everything you propose. A night out with Jupiter is such fun… until it becomes exhausting.

At this sextile, Jupiter is on Sabian symbol 10 Gemini, An airplane falling. Don’t go too far, too fast. Think things through before you leap. Have fun with Jupiter, but keep the nose up on your aircraft. Know when it’s time to say “enough.”

Open the Claw

Venus in Cancer loves truly and deeply – but it can be a bit possessive. As it makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces this week (July 11, 2024, 7:32 am PDT), remember that real love means leaving your loved ones free to go their own way and dream their own dreams. Nurture with nourishment and comfort, and be the warm, loving presence that keeps the home fires burning. But don’t hold on too tight. After all, you, too, need caretaking and private time to think your own thoughts and move at your own pace. Remember that if your Cancerian claw is holding on tight to something, then it isn’t open to receive whatever new thing wants to come your way.

Hankering

What are you hankering for? As Venus enters Leo (July 11, 2024, 9:18 am PDT), it can probably be conveyed with a single word: passion. A love that curls your toes, music that stirs your heart and sets your toes tapping, a performance that elevates your spirit.

Venus’ transit through Leo is a most appropriate season for celebrations and recreation. Dress in the colors of Leo, the colors of the Sun. Add a little sparkle. Whenever you leave the house, look spectacular. Enjoy fizzy drinks. Flirt. Play. Venus enters Virgo in a few short weeks (Aug. 4), and the tide will turn toward self-improvement. For now, appreciate everything that you already are.

Compensation

I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos these days on the subject of personal finance, and what’s often discussed is the way money, ruled by Venus, is used to compensate for other things that are lacking in our lives. Especially love and affection (also ruled by Venus).

Particular when Venus is in luxury-loving Leo, we have an eye for the finer things in life. That’s fine, as long as we don’t live beyond our means or rely on shopping to bolster self-esteem. But when Venus is opposed Pluto (July 12, 2024, 7:12 am PDT, 01°07′ Leo/Aquarius), there is the tendency to take things to extremes, whether it’s spending vast wads of money or even pursuing potential partners or friends a little too intensely.

If you’re feeling a strong urge this week to go out on a shopping spree, or to send off a text to somebody you’re really interested in getting to know better, maybe it would be best to wait a couple of days for that Pluto intensity to subside a bit. Spend that time thinking of ways you can feel better about yourself without using overspending or relationships to do it.

Giving Birds a Drink

The First Quarter Moon phase is the time to put forth action behind the intentions that we set at the previous New Moon – in this case, the Cancer New Moon (July 5). Cancer is the sign of home, among other things, and let’s say that one of your New Moon goals was about moving into a new home. The First Quarter is the phase for taking a step toward making this goal a reality.

This First Quarter Moon is in Libra (July 13, 3:49 PM PDT), the sign associated with relationships of all kinds, personal and professional. It’s on the Sabian symbol 22 Libra, A child giving birds a drink, and it could be that the message of this First Quarter Moon is about letting yourself rely more on other people to help you reach your goals. If you’re making this move with a partner, you’ll need to tighten up your team work. And it could be time to rely on a realtor to help you find exactly the right house, and maybe a mortgage broker who can help you sort out financing.

And sometimes, it’s just helpful to bounce ideas off a trusted friend or family member. On the eve of my marriage, I asked my mother, long a widow, what she had appreciated most about being married, and she said, “I think it was just having somebody to talk to about things.” Several decades later, I completely understand what she meant.

Even if you’re a strong, independent person, it can be difficult to feel you have to make every decision 100 percent on your own. At this First Quarter Moon, let someone give you a drink and help you decide on your next steps.