Highlights for July 1-7, 2019: Inspire by Example

Inspire by Example

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We happy few

Leo’s great gift is its ability to present a view of ourselves that is ennobling. Mars entering this regal sign (July 1, 2019, 4:20 pm PDT) rallies support for a cause not just because it is worthwhile, but because the fight itself elevates those who support it. Mars is the planet of battles and those who fight them, and in each sign of the zodiac it symbolizes a different style of warrior. As Mars leaves mute, defensive Cancer this week and enters Leo, it’s time to fight like kings.

The classic example is Henry V’s magnificent speech to his troops, badly outnumbered by the French at Agincourt. His essential message? “It’s actually a good thing that we’re outnumbered, because that means a greater share of glory for each of us when we win. This is a very exclusive club we’ve got here. We’re going to kick some serious ass, and as we tell this story for the rest of our lives other men will be green with envy that they weren’t here. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,” etc.

Henry got lucky that day, and they won. But from a rhetorical point of view, it didn’t much matter. Simply fighting alongside your brothers made you better than the next man, shinier and more resplendent.

There can be an ugly, self-serving, bombastic side to Mars in Leo, and one need look no farther than Washington D.C. to see it on display. But the preening, vain, and vacuous playboy is only failed, shadowy Leo. That was Prince Hal of Henry IV, before he renounced his old boozing pal Falstaff and became King Henry V. That Prince Hal could never have rallied the troops at Agincourt. First, he had to become the exemplar of men’s highest vision for themselves.

There’s your struggle for the long, summer days of Mars in Leo: Put forth a vision of yourself that you can be proud of, and apply every ounce of it to each important task at hand; be the example that inspires others to do the same.

A new line in the sand

This New Moon is a Solar Eclipse at 10.38 Cancer (July 2, 2019, 12:16 pm PDT), and it’s remarkably similar to others in July 2011, July 2000, and June 1992, which fell near the same degree. If there are planets in your birth chart between 6 and 14 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, this is a particularly important eclipse for you, and will probably bring up similar issues as those previous eclipses.

But this one, coming at the end of Mars in Cancer’s month-long death march toward Saturn and Pluto, is shaping up to be particularly interesting. Because while the eclipse point stands in opposition to Saturn, Mars in Leo is making a square to Uranus. The lesson of this eclipse is that responsibility needn’t be an unbearable, unceasing burden. Saturn rules boundaries, and sometimes we have to rewrite them by drawing a new line in the sand. (Read more thoughts about this eclipse in my featured essay.)

Nooks and crannies

Venus in Cancer (beginning July 3, 2019, 8:18 a.m. PDT) takes pleasure in what’s familiar and comfortable. It’s happiest with comfort food, comfortable clothes, comfortable chairs, and non-threatening social situations. It loves a cozy, quirky house with nooks and crannies, and it will happily spend money on purchasing, renovating, or furnishing its home. One of its driving financial motivations is safety, but that doesn’t always translate into fiscal prudence or saving – because its other driving financial principle is emotion. Venus in Cancer tends to be an emotional eater and an emotional shopper.

This Venus, following in the fresh footsteps of Mars in Cancer, will eventually have to confront Saturn (July 16), Pluto (July 21), and some hard truths. But it’s also traveling alongside the Moon’s North Node. Meditations on the beauty of home, family, old friends, and old songs and good times we shared, all lead us in the direction that’s nourishing, vital, and ultimately rewarding.

Permission slip

Mercury turns retrograde this week (July 7, 2019, 4:15 pm PDT), early in the sign of Leo. It’s fashionable to groan about Mercury retrograde, and I think we usually make too big of a deal about it. I find I’m every bit as apt to be forgetful or to suffer a hard drive crash while Mercury is direct as when it’s retrograde. What I do savor about Mercury’s retrograde periods is that they give me an astrological permission slip to retrace my steps, reread books I like, and dust off half-finished projects. They’re good times to review life’s mundane chores and details: have we added salt to the water softener lately, does the car need an oil change, are we getting the best rate on our auto insurance, whose birthdays are coming up?

Life moves along at a mad pace for many of us, and we can all benefit, from time to time, by slowing down and letting ourselves catch up. Mercury’s retrograde periods are perfect for this, so don’t dread them – make good use of them!

©2019  April Elliott Kent