Commonsense Almanac By Ben Commons | July 2024
“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” -Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
Tips for almanac use: All the aspects can be felt in advance of the occurrence. It is good policy to view these as due dates for various energies and prepare accordingly for your context. It’s akin to bringing an umbrella with you when rain is expected, but it also helps us to not take the weather personally. When we proactively manifest these symbols then the world doesn’t have to do it for us. Choose to be con(with)-siderate(the stars). Reach out to me for in-depth personal explorations of these times.
July is upon us, already. As always, it’s going to be a super different month depending on your chart and what in the world has been going on around you lately. I can say that it is a staccato month, pushing back and forth and again between trying to find repose and recovery versus pushing forward into newer territory,even if that newness mostly involves purging our minds, selves, and worlds of oldness and stagnation. As usual, flexibility and awareness would help us mitigate this up and down and all around charcuterie of potential peril and deliciousness. Hopefully it will make a lot more sense as we pass it by.
Neptune stations retrograde on Tuesday the 2nd at 3:40 am pacific,and will remain retrograde until December 7th. This starts us on along ordeal of trying to find our blind spots, shine light upon them, and illuminate greater clarity. It is never easy to see what we have not seen before, and this run through will be especially amorphous and intangible. Best protocol is to trust our higher intuition and not what we think we know, and be wary of what was once known. Let us feel through it carefully.
Mercury trines Neptune on Tuesday the 2nd at 4:53 am pacific. This tempts us towards the past and its idealistic visions. We should be focusing on what needs to be trimmed and streamlined in the immediate future, with compassion for all involved,especially ourselves. Be careful with communication as things can easily be misinterpreted.
Mercury moves into Leo on Tuesday the 2nd at 5:50 am pacific, where it will be until the 25th.This suggests letting our hair down and focusing on having more fun and joy in our worlds. But there will be strong currents against this happening at the outset. Appreciate the little things and try to tap into the hilarity of existence.
Venus trines Saturn on Tuesday the 2nd at 6:41 pm pacific. This will tempt us towards hyper seriousness, financial and relationship worry, and other counter-productive wallowing. It’s wiser to affirm and appreciate those that we care for and support us through life. Trust is earned, so cherish those that deserve. But do make appropriate plans towards your needs and goals.
Mercury opposes Pluto on Wednesday the 3rd at 12:27 am pacific. Be careful. Trust your intuition more than the impulsive mind whether something should be shared/said at this point. Work on letting go of grievances towards others and the repetitive thoughts that come along for that whirly gig. Go forward, move ahead.
Mars sextiles Saturn on Friday the 5th at 12:02 pm pacific.Ideally, this could motivate us to plan for consistent action while reinvigorating our motivation tempered with patience. But there are pitfalls from impatience or doubt, carelessness or frustration. Some magical balance would serve us best, but requires constant course correction.
The New Moon is in Cancer on Friday the 5th at 3:57 pm pacific in 14 degrees. This lunation looks relatively mellow by itself, but within the context of the last three months it could be quite complicated; largely depending on the momentum and the personal circumstances of late. If things have been tough, this a time to double down our efforts on relaxation, or at least getting ourselves out of fight-or-flight. If things have been mellow,keep trimming down the central focus of attention and energy outputs. This is a period of centering in our inner circles of close ties and nurturing endeavors.Snuggle up as you ritual up!
Venus sextiles Uranus on Monday the 8th at 4:04 am pacific,giving us space to spice it up. Things have been so real and serious for most for a while. Now is the chance to let loose and do something out of the box/norm/usual. It doesn’t have to be crazy; it’s just about keeping ourselves flexible and open to experimentation and novelty.
The Sun trines Saturn on Wednesday the 10th at 8:05 pm pacific.Bringing things back to the practicalities and the push to organize,streamline, and plan accordingly. The challenge with Saturn can be choosing doubt and regret instead of powering through, cutting whatever losses, and moving on up and through to something that may not yet be visible. Strive as the path to thrive.
Venus trines Neptune on Thursday the 11th at 7:32 am pacific.Pulling us back towards a dreamy calm. Hopefully yesterday was productive because this would be more suited to day-dreaming, music appreciation, relaxing in water, and generally letting the stress wash away. If these things aren’t possible, at least work on finding an inner serenity wherever possible.
Venus moves into Leo on Thursday the 11th at 9:19 am pacific where itwill be until August 4th. Again, we should be trying to have more fun and laugh more. There’s been a lot of heaviness of late, so if we can dance it out, shake it off, twist and shout, that could do us some good. The ideal is to retrieve our innocence amid our wisdom learning adventures.
Venus opposes Pluto on Friday the 12th at 7:12 am pacific. This emphasizes everything in the way of the previous entry about being youthful and free. There’s bound to be some things that could use removal, deep cleaning,exposure to the light. Let us recycle our own detritus and make space for more enjoyment. Don’t hold on too tight.
Mars conjoins Uranus on Monday the 15th at 7:05 am pacific.This could be a breakthrough moment if we’ve adequately prepared the rockets for launch with sufficient safety protocols and preparation. The clear impetuses towards reckless abandon and wild aspirations, but even rockets need steady thrust and enough fuel to make it to the destination. Cruise control sounds so boring, but the consistent gas is better than bursts and stops. Harness yourself!
The Sun sextiles Uranus on Thursday the 18th at 7:00 am pacific.This adds more volatility and desire to escape from anything that’s found us under-challenged or the b-word (bored.) It’s a delicate dance of needing some safety while feeling overly placated by the comfort of said lack of risk. As per usual, middle ground it wisely.
Mars sextiles Neptune on Saturday the 20th at 8:17 am pacific.This leaves more room for us to cool down and relax the main thrusters. The push here would be best oriented towards letting go of outdated reaction tendencies along with frustration, anger, and such. Some peaceful ritual utilizing water would be appropriate. Be one with the flow.
Mars moves into Gemini on Saturday the 20th at 1:43 pm pacific where it will be until September 4th. This placement will quicken and spice up all things local and mundane; errands, communication, driving, etc. Stay cautious and conscious. This period is great for looking at where our mental energies go and noticing how extremist they may be. Try to find the calmness between arguments within oneself or with others. Don’t indulge in overthinking,but do explore ideas and new hypotheses and maybe journal or something of that nature.
The Full Moon is in Capricorn on Sunday the 21st at 3:17 am pacific in 29 degrees. Well, this lunation packs a punch. It’s a big opportunity to let go of things, people, feelings, hurts, obsessions, illusions, the list goes on and on, lest they be taken from us. There is no easy fix, and, as always, it depends on where we are now and our level of retention versus loss. It has an essentialist streak, if it’s not serving you, enhancing your life, or needed,it could become a burden, so choose wisely. Let us trust our growth enough to let go of the reminders of the mistakes.
Venus sextiles Jupiter on Sunday the 21st at 1:43 pm pacific,giving us a bit of levity to hold onto during life alterations. Appreciate as much as you can and reward yourself for increased understanding without indulging unnecessarily. Practice gratitude for self and accept the need for us all to express our truest beings.
Mercury squares Uranus on Sunday the 21st at 3:21 pm pacific, pulling the rebellious streaks out of us all. It’s another middle ground to find, not taking anybody’s crap, while not speaking our own truths too loudly. To truly be above the fray would mean that we wouldn’t act the urge to enlighten the others, or even be aware of the urge, because we truly wouldn’t give a hoot.Break on through to your other side.
The Sun trines Neptune on Sunday the 21st at 8:25 pm pacific, calming things down a bit. Ideally, this is another time to release outdated self-identities, emotional hangups, insecurities, escapist tendencies, and co-dependencies. Doing any of that is never simple and requires a level of surrender that is not normal in modern society. Feel into your heart and the higher versions of yourself to navigate these murky, but presently well-lit waters.
Mars trines Pluto on Sunday the 21st at 8:48 pm pacific, stirring the pot around and around. The push is to keep ourselves involved and exploring the communities that interest us, but to not spread ourselves too thin by giving or taking on too much. Watch what goes through your mind and be careful of what is shared out loud. Choose your people and your investments in them carefully and focus on trimming down your own baggage instead of following the urge to share it.
The Sun moves into Leo on Monday the 22nd at 12:44 am pacific. It’s time for fun and a return to innocence, or at least to work towards finding and reviving our innocence and mixing it with functional maturity. This Leo season will start tough, get nicer in the middle, and then end on a confusing note.Most importantly, stay true to yourself, try to not sweat the worldly issues looming over us and focus on what lights and lightens you up.
The Sun opposes Pluto on Monday the 22nd at 10:38 pm pacific,dredging more and more funk from the depths for composting, repurposing, and removal. The crucial thing here is with what/whom we identify. While we partake of so many archetypes and patterns, it doesn’t mean that they are us. Self-cleansing and compassion all around are recommended.
Mercury moves into Virgo on Thursday the 25th at 3:42 pm pacific where it will be until August 14th. Mercury will be stationing retrograde in Virgo on the 4th of August, so this will be a prolonged and completed unfolding. This early phase is about improvement; clearing deadwood,supporting healthy habits, mindful communication, and editing our own minds.Stay as flexible as you can and be prepared to revisit issues later, but,overall, the goal is plasticity.
The Sun sextiles Mars on Thursday the 25th at 7:32 pm pacific. This aspect should find us more energized to put ourselves out there, get exposure,have fun interactions, and generally avoid stasis. Again, there’s a theme of innocence and mixing that with a renewed passion for learning and/or acquiring better tools and communication skills. Let us stay wise while we peer with the eyes of youth.
So, yeah, July. Who knows where we will end up after all that. I suppose it depends largely on how much we engage the energies and dance towards optimization with each opportunity, or if we externalize, blame, get swept away, distracted,embroiled, and whatever other shenanigan distractions. Ideally, we could come out of this month with a cleaner slate, and a more plastic and excited mental framework, a solid inner-circle of close relations, and a cautiously expanding interaction with our greater communities. All in all, let us try to have some fun, or at least a good sense of humor, because we’ll need the latter. Ritual up!
Ben Commons
ASTROLOGER | Ben has been studying astrology since 1994 and started doing readings professionally in 2002. He is also a practicing Reiki master, and works with stones for healing. He uses astrology as a strategic tool and calls himself an Astro-strategist..
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