July starts the month off immediately with a powerful emotional punch. The five inner planets - Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars - are all in Cancer within 9 degrees of each other on July 1 and 2. And a solar eclipse occurs July 1 on the North Node (future) of the Moon at 10/11 degrees Cancer. The theme for this month and all summer is emotional self-reliance.

The five inner planets relate to our personal inner self via our personality, emotions, thoughts, needs, desires, etc. The good news is that this is energy we have the power to change and develop as we desire. The challenge is to address any area of emotional dysfunction and codependency and rebirth into greater emotional self-reliance. Emotional self-reliance means we are each responsible for our own emotional needs and happiness no matter what our circumstances.

We are all being given the opportunity to love ourselves better this month. Issues occur where we perceive ourselves to not be receiving the love we want in the ways we want, usually from others in our lives. Others are also letting us know that we are not loving them as they want to be loved. Through Cancer, and its' polarity sign Capricorn, emotions are involved in personal relationships, gender issues, home and family matters and career concerns. Our emotions are everywhere.

Mars is right there with the Sun, Moon and the Moon's North Node on the first solar eclipse in July. Emotional energy keeps building up within us again and again, and must be released somehow. At its worst, emotional/sexual abuse can occur. At best we are learning how to act in loving ways toward ourselves and others.

Mars is not always comfortable in Cancer. Mars is the planet of acting upon the soul's desires in evolutionary astrology. Mars wants freedom to move at all times. Cancer moves when it feels safe and secure. Mars doesn't want to take the time to honor emotions. It likes to throw them all over the place. Society doesn't accept emotional outbursts. So Mars in Cancer tries to control those emotions, until the container (our bodies) becomes too full and our emotions must be released somehow.

The original anxiety of separation from the womb is represented by Cancer and its first quarter square (crisis in action) to Aries. Aries, and it ruler Mars, correlate to initiation, instinctive action and the birth of anything. Energy moving outward. Cancer is energy moving inward. It is very much aware of the separation and wants to feel connected again. Cancer represents mothering, nurturing and the womb - the ultimate container.

Souls who had healthy bonding with parents, especially mother, can utilize this Cancerian energy to love themselves and others in better ways. They realize they carry the womb within them. Souls who did not experience healthy bonding with parents carry those emotional dsyfunctions into adulthood, and project those unmet needs onto others always looking for the mother-love outside themselves. Many times it takes lifetimes to learn how to love ourselves and carry the womb, our own emotional self-reliance, within.

This is the energy in July. The solar eclipse on July 1 offers us the opportunity to make new beginnings in loving ourselves. Being an eclipse of the Sun on the North Node of the Moon, our emotions can seem overwhelming. The key is to be unconditional and totally nurturing to ourselves. To continually ask, "How can I love myself better?" "What must I change to love myself better?"

More answers to those questions come on July 6 when Mercury retrograde passes back over the Sun at 14/15 degrees Cancer. This is the time period to mentally seek answers to this emotional chaos within and with others. Mercury is retrograde in Cancer from June 23 to July 17. We can seem mentally overwhelmed with trying to decide what to think and do about all these emotions in our lives.

Mercury retrograde in Cancer can add to the emotional outbursts this month. Our emotions color our thinking process. Luckily the Sun-Mercury inferior conjunction brings enlightenment and the last half of the Mercury retrograde cycle. We have been pondering all those emotions over the last few weeks and the best mental course of action is starting to become clearer.

Venus makes a waxing sextile to Saturn at 27/28 degrees Cancer-Taurus on July 11. Bless this interaction to bring us the energy to make the steps to take care of ourselves and our needs better. Venus-Saturn shows us that we are each responsible for taking care of our own situations.

Venus moves into Leo on July 13. Yes, we are learning to love ourselves better. Venus in Leo wants to be loved, wants to be special and unique. If we have not been learning the lessons from earlier this month then Venus in Leo may take risks in an effort to be noticed and make others love us. If we are sincerely working on loving ourselves better, then Venus in Leo can show us the way. We are realizing the best love comes from within, God/Goddess.

Then on July 15 Venus makes a waxing sextile to Jupiter at 2/3 degrees Leo-Gemini. Here again we are learning to express our love for ourselves and others in healthier ways. The old ways are not working anymore and this Venus-Jupiter interaction brings lots of ideas for new ways give and receive love, optimism is returning.

We are still not through the emotional lessons yet though. July 16 brings the second of three eclipses this month, a lunar eclipse at 24/25 degrees Cancer-Capricorn. Just to make sure there are not any more buried or suppressed emotions below the surface. This is also a test to fine-tune those new beginnings in loving ourselves from the July 1 solar eclipse.

The Sun is conjunct the Moon's North Node (future) and the Moon is conjunct its South Node (past). Emotions may trip us up one more time, old, old layers coming to the surface. Full moons are time periods for awareness, answers and rewards. This is the emotional quest: "What else must I know and address on emotional levels?"

Twice a month the Moon's path around Earth crosses the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent path around Earth. When the Moon's path crosses north of the Sun's path the point at which it crosses is called the North Node. It represents the future and where we are striving to grow and learn new things. When the Moon's path crosses south of the Sun's path the point at which it crosses is called the South Node. It represents the past which we are working to release and rebirth.

These points, the North Node and South Node, slowly move backwards along the ecliptic taking 19 years to make a complete cycle. Twice a year the Moon and Sun are at these points at the same time and the Moon, Sun and Earth line up and solar and lunar eclipses occur.

The Moon represents our emotional nature, our self-image and psyche, and this is always changing and growing, as fast as the Moon moves around the sky, around our charts. The Moon makes every possible aspect (angular relationship) it can make to every other object in the sky in one month. We can experience every possible emotion there is in this same time period.

As the Moon's nodes move backwards along the ecliptic and through the signs of the tropical (moving) zodiac, this nodal axis shows where we are presented with opportunities to release our emotional past and move forward. It is a subtle yet very important way in which our self-image is always changing. It relates directly to the soul trying to release its karmic emotional past and evolve forward.

The North Node passes through Cancer and the South Node passes through Capricorn April 4, 2000 through October 12, 2001. The Moon's North Node will be in Cancer, the sign that the Moon has rulership over. Again, lots of emotional self-reliance lessons, emotional rebirthings and lessons in nurturing ourselves.

With the South Node in Capricorn many of us will experience lessons with emotional issues we have tried to suppress or deny. Old emotional family patterns will surface once again, mainly with the parent who was the most authoritarian with us. We may try to pretend we have no family issues affecting us anymore which can make the eclipses more impactful yet. It is time once again to embrace old emotional wounds from our families of origin, working to heal, again, on deeper and deeper levels. We may put all of our energy into career and try to avoid our emotions. Somehow the emotions just end up in the work environment.

Remember with the nodal axis in Cancer-Capricorn that all emotions are valid and need to be surfaced, acknowledged, accepted, processed and healed in order to move on into new emotional growth. Yes, its time to beat the pillow with the baseball bat again as we strive to find healthy ways to release suppressed emotions. Emotional denial will only keep us stuck in the past.

Then the next day on July 17 Mercury goes direct again at 10/11 degrees Cancer. Yes, we can think again. All these emotions coming up are telling our story, and we are getting better at expressing to others what is going on for us emotionally. There is opportunity to really communicate about those sensitive emotions we avoid.

Also on July 17 Venus opposes Neptune at 5/6 degrees Leo-Aquarius. Venus, the planet of personal love, and Neptune, the highest, altruistic love, ask how we may love on the most intimate and broadest levels. Can we do both? Can we love both ourselves and others equally, or is there an extreme? Neptune wants to just love the ideal and Venus demands that it is personalized.

Several days later Venus makes a waning trine to Pluto at 10/11 degrees Leo-Sagittarius. It is getting easier to understand how our personal needs to give and receive love can fit into the larger picture of taking everyone's needs into consideration. We can shine here and others will notice our glow from within. If we have been working towards greater levels of self-reliance then it is becoming easier to love others as they really want it, versus giving conditionally as we want to receive back which is not really loving at all.

The Sun makes a waxing sextile to Saturn in late Cancer-Taurus, 28/29 degrees, on July 20. There is opportunity to really put into motion those ways in which to nurture and take care ourselves. It is time to be building deeper, more solid foundations of inner self-reliance that let us go out into the world and take care of ourselves in every way.

Then Sun enters Leo on July 22. The evolutionary astrology mantra for Leo is: I align my will with Divine Will. This is the annual time of the year for each of us to shine. Leo is full of self - healthiest when it is neither selfish or selfless. It is time to bloom and let creativity through. We must remember though that we are the channel for Divine Creativity to come through us. We are not the source but an expression of it with free choice to express our will as we desire. May it be Divine Will we desire.

All 12 signs of the zodiac have lessons to teach us. Leo is the time of the year to move forward in emotional self-reliance (Cancer) to create and express that which is uniquely us. Leo is when we strive to realize what that creative spark within us is. It is time to bloom. It is time to be ourselves.

Next Sun, Jupiter and Neptune dance with each other on July 27. First Jupiter makes a waxing trine to Neptune at 5/6 degrees Gemini-Aquarius. The two planets of spirituality and belief systems making a harmonious, expanding alignment with each other. This is a wonderful opportunity to believe in ourselves and really open up to the intuition and psychic powers we all possess.

Jupiter is our personal belief system (refer to the June Monthly Forecast for more information for Jupiter's one year transit through Gemini) and Neptune represents the collective conscious/unconscious belief systems. We can each tune in as to how best to evolve our personal beliefs with humanity's evolving needs.

We have lots of ideas coming through on how to grow and expand through our belief in ourselves. The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus in late May adds to the picture with ideas to expand on financially. We all feel this year's theme from the new Jupiter-Saturn 20-year prosperity cycle in May. We are initiating and building new ways to be self-reliant (Taurus) and take care of ourselves in every way.

Then later the same day Sun makes an opposition to Neptune at 5/6 degrees Leo-Aquarius. More ability to believe in ourselves. Energy to see how each of us uniquely fits into the larger scheme of humanity. If we have been working on all those emotional self-reliance lessons then this energy can be very uplifting. About time. It has been heavy this month.

Also on July 27, Sun makes a waxing sextile to Jupiter at 5/6 degrees Leo-Gemini. Yes we are starting to feel good about ourselves again. Realizing we can be flexible and grow emotionally, and enter into even more freedom to be ourselves. Optimism is returning and possibilities to grow are expanding. We may have insights as to what all our emotional lessons were over the last two months. We feel like we can move forward into greater levels of self-reliance (the May Taurean lessons) in all areas of our lives.

Venus makes an opposition to Uranus before the month is over on July 28 at 18/19 Leo-Aquarius. Fine-tuning those love needs again. Unpredictability in love. Unconscious needs coming to the surface. Realizing yet again that the one who will love us the best is ourselves. Venus-Uranus shows us how we can liberate from societal conditioning of looking for the magic lover outside and find it inside. Then the lovers in our lives can be supportive and innovative in helping us love better but not responsible for our love needs.

This year is full of a lot of personal energy to take care of ourselves in every way (2000 is a 2 year). The last eclipse of the month is a solar eclipse at 8/9 degrees Leo on July 30. The potential to really love ourselves in the healthiest ways possible is now with us. This is the last eclipse in the North Node-Leo / South Node-Aquarius axis for the next 19 years. Great energy for the end of the month. I love me and who I am and what I do. Again, full of self that is in alignment with Divine Self that is neither selfish or selfless. Blooming of self in its full potential is the opportunity. Go for it. Love yourself. Love others and the Divine Spark they are.

That same day Mars makes a waxing sextile to Saturn at 28/29 degrees Cancer-Taurus. With impetus from the solar eclipse, we can make major, real strides in moving forward with our lives. The self-reliance lessons, both physical and emotional, are almost behind us now. We have greater understanding how to move forward and evolve in our own, very personal ways. We can lay more foundations to really grow, slowly and steadily towards our personal desires.

Then on the last day of July Mars enters Leo. Mars is back in a fire sign and it is full speed ahead. Mars in Leo must watch its egotisticalness; my way is the only way. Healthy Mars in Leo knows, "This is my path and I will take it and do the best that I can, always alert for better ways to personally move forward in harmony with the universe."

It has been a long month. The Sun is shining again. Lightness is there. Reach into your own darkness this month, face it with light and watch your fears be addressed and dissolved. Let yourself grow.

May God/Goddess bless you in July!

P.O. Box 552, Rapid City, SD, 57709 605-348-5111, 877-348-5111 Email: kimmarie@astrologybykimmarie.com