Last week’s Capricorn Full Moon meant business, and its clarity hit like a cold shower. (For me, the 6th House full moon saw me tweaking my back and realizing that I only pay attention to my meat suit when it’s aching for me to do so. HBU?) As you head into the third week of July, drenched in sober realism and hyper-aware of all the work that still needs to be done, Uranus in Gemini is cracking open fresh ideas and connections, Saturn Retrograde in Aries is backseat driving your goals, and Neptune Retrograde is still dissolving the delusions around your boldest dreams. You probably don’t have anything figured out—and that’s OK.
We’ve reached the halfway point of July, and as much as I hate to say this, things are only going to get muddier. Because starting Thursday, July 17, Mercury stations retrograde in Leo. Which means, plans are changing. Ideas, hot topics, and public displays of idiocy are being revisited, reviewed, and maybe reworked. Chances are, you’ve already noticed the shift: your thoughts aren’t as clear; meetings, appointments, and dates might’ve been cancelled, rescheduled, and then forgotten about; maybe you’ve even got a text from someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Starting Thursday, all of the flubs and mental fuckery gets turned up to 11.
Now, Mercury Retrograde happens three times every year—and this is the 2nd of the third installments, with the next one happening in Sagittarius—so it’s really not that big of a deal. Right? Right. Repeat after me: Mercury Retrograde is not that big of a deal. It’s the pop-capitalist online astrology news machine that has manufactured Mercury Retrograde into a loathsome mess-monger of a transit. That’s not to say that things won’t get messy over the next three or so weeks—because they will—I just don’t want you to freak out (too much) about it.
Because there are other things happening this week. Sure, they aren’t as attention-grabbing as Mercury Retrograde in Leo, but they are happening. On Friday (July 18), Venus meets up with Mercury Rx, sparking a convo about something social, relational, and/or financial. Maybe an unpopular opinion or decision gets rebranded. Maybe our collective cortisol levels spike after hearing yet another news story about tariffs. Either way, Mercury Rx wants to talk about a past plan, deal or idea, and Venus in Gemini is all ears and gossip.
On Saturday (July 19), the Sun in Cancer butts heads with Chiron in Aries, and another (leadership? conflict? toxically masculine?) pain point gets triggered. The Sun’s light and heat could help us actually see what the sore spot is trying to teach us, and maybe even cauterize it. Maybe. The problem is that we have to work through the tension caused by the Sun-Chiron square first; and if we know anything about the world as it is now it’s that we don’t deal with tension in the way that we should.
Speaking of tension…By Sunday (July 20), Mars conjoins the South Node in Virgo, pointing to an aggressive or abrasive loss of facts, productivity, precision, or logic. Alright, fine. Isn’t that happening already? Yes, it is—but I do want you to pay attention to July 20, because Mercury Retrograde is playing a prank on us at the same time Mars and the South Node are meeting up. Anyway, that’s the gist of this week. Here’s the actual astrology:
July 17/18 – Mercury stations retrograde in Leo, 15°
July 18 – Mercury Rx in Leo sextile Venus in Gemini, 15°
July 19 – Sun in Cancer square Chiron in Aries, 26°
July 20 – Mars conjunct South Node in Virgo, 19°
This Week’s Astrology, July 14, 2025 collage art by Cosmic Cannibal
Please listen to the accompanying podcast for the full cosmic tea on these transits!
✨ICYMI: I’m making a short film–and YOU can enter to win a chart reading because of it. I’ve extended the Queens of Noise raffle. It’s running through the Leo New Moon on July 24! Donate ANY amount to our IndieGoGo by July 24, and you’ll get:
A free 20-minute Neptune in Aries reading (audio, $20 value)
Entry to win a 60-min birth chart reading with me ($179 value!) Every dollar you donate counts as an entry! ($1 = 1 entry, $10 = 10 entries, etc.)
Starting this week, Paid Cosmic Almanac subs get double entries (say what?)
✨ Mercury Retrograde in Leo doesn’t care if you’re “ready.” Get ahead of the cosmic chaos—book your 1:1 chart reading and map out your path to change, drama-free(ish).
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