Your July Horoscope Is Here

If you had a relatively uneventful June, consider yourself lucky - between the solar eclipse on the 10th and the Mercury retrograde that ended on the 22nd, last month likely saw you weathering chaos from all sides. Where the former may have diverted your journey into the future, the latter hit you where you live here and now, resurfacing old flames, scrambling communications, and generally disrupting your regularly scheduled programming. In short, we all had a lot going on, perhaps to the point that we forgot to check in with others. This month, which will be a-swirl with generous, humanitarian, and maternal energy, you'll have plenty of opportunities to nurture any relationships you may have neglected in June.

For the first half of the month, think about how you're showing up for your loved ones in times of need. This could mean when they could use a shoulder to cry on, but it could also apply to those times they've simply needed a ride to work. You may actually derive particular pleasure from helping your friends meet their most basic, fundamental needs this month - but with that enjoyment may come a tendency to nag, so choose your words carefully. When Leo season kicks off on the 22nd, the giving spirit in the air will intensify and we'll all be eager to share our resources, flex our hosting muscles, and shower ourselves and others in some much-needed praise. The challenge here will be to know the difference between good-intentioned giving and receiving, and purely transactional glad-handing.

Aries

It's possible you're still reeling from last month's Mercury retrograde, which put both your online correspondences and IRL interactions through the wringer. Luckily, the messenger planet will post up in your domestic sphere from the 11th to the 27th, granting your mind two weeks to rest and recharge. This period may expose a quieter side of your normally boisterous sign, as your priorities briefly shift to securing lines of communication between family members and creating an air of calm around the house. In your pursuit of mental recovery, you could end up retreating into memory. Nostalgia and old scars could resurface in equal measure. Keep in mind that the past is yours to use as you wish - and that can mean cherishing it, learning from it, or letting it drift away in the rearview.

You'll be ready to emerge on the 22nd when the sun moves into Leo. Mercury will join the party in your fellow fire sign on the 27th. Your regular ways and most basic instincts (read: your thirst for competition, your impulsive desires) will feel new and exciting. Going after and asking for what you want will feel natural and blessedly low-risk after last month's retrograde. Savor this month-long period, dear Ram, and pursue any passions you may have put on hold in the recent months.

Taurus

The month begins with the sun in Cancer and your calendar at maximum capacity. If the last few weeks have felt chaotic, don't feel compelled to accept every invitation that comes your way. Boundaries and the word "no" can still exist even as we reunite in a post-pandemic world. Besides, when ruling planet Venus drifts into your pleasure sector on the 21st, you'll know exactly what - and who - you truly want to say "yes" to. From this position, the planet of love and beauty will enable you to fully embody the peaceful bull that symbolizes your sign. Languid, playful, and with your feet firmly planted on the ground, you'll have the space to pursue your desires as well as the magnetism to draw them directly to you. Which route you take to get what you want is up to you.

Leo season, which kicks off on the 22nd, is to do one of the things that Taureans do best: Stay home and chill. This month-long period, in which the sun camps out in Leo and the domestic sector of your chart, is a wonderful time to redecorate and reconnect with loved ones you haven't seen in a long time. Even the simple act of cooking a new recipe will feel especially enriching while the sun warms your celestial hearth. If there's one thing to watch out for, it's family drama - try as you might to avoid it, you may find yourself embroiled in a squabble that doesn't even concern you.

Gemini

The month begins with your mind fixed squarely on your finances, Gemini. Maybe you went a little too hard during your birthday season last month and the time has come to tighten the purse strings. Or, perhaps you're dipping a toe into a new form of investment or working on long-term savings. Whatever your personal situation with cash may be, keep your eyes on the horizon with a clear goal in mind. If you've been feeling aimless when it comes to money, mark your calendar for the 9th, when the new moon will provide some clarity on this topic. With a bit of consideration (and willingness to get honest about your spending habits), you could emerge from this lunar phase with a renewed sense of purpose around handling money.

More seemingly mundane matters will occupy your thoughts as the month unfolds - and you'll find that there is actually plenty to keep you busy. Venus moves into your home zone on the 21st, casting a rosy glow over family memories (could this be a sign to give a relative a call?) and encouraging you to feather your nest. The following day, Leo season kicks off and fills your calendar and to-do list with pre-pandemic levels of activity. Your ability to turn on a dime will come in handy as the invites and paperwork pile up. Take a breather on the 23rd and seek out a change of scenery. Touring an unfamiliar neighborhood or reading a new book will do nicely.

Cancer

You enjoy your birthday season as much as any other Zodiac sign, Cancer, but you also have a tendency to weather this period with some amount of trepidation. Hosting the sun in your sign for its annual month-long visit is not unlike living under a celestial spotlight, which is enough to make an introverted Crab insecure and eager to withdraw. Take some quiet time if you wish, but don't let a little extra attention undermine your confidence. Instead, spend these final weeks of Cancer season reinvesting in yourself and reflecting on your innate skills, strengths, and value. When Leo season begins on the 22nd, these questions of self-worth will take a turn for the literal. Is your savings account in decent shape? Have you canceled those out-of-date subscriptions? Check in with your spending and tie up the loose ends.

The full moon on the 23rd will expand upon this theme of resources and reveal where your most precious assets are actually going. Don't be surprised if you discover someone in your life who views the time and energy you reserve for them as expendable. Try to address this imbalance and reach a fair agreement about how your dynamic needs to change. If you don't, your tendency to hold a grudge could rear its head. This is a difficult instinct to dampen for many Crabs, but thinking back to the last time you gave someone the cold shoulder and considering how far that approach got you (our guess: not very) should be enough of a reminder that passive-aggression is rarely going to get you what you want.

Leo

Cancer season always finds you in a subdued mood, more likely to stay in than to hit the town and prone to sleeping late. But, let's be clear - this is hardly a case of summertime sadness. What you're feeling, more accurately, is a sense of winding down, of cocooning yourself away ahead of a transformative moment. This need to retreat will reach a head during the new moon on the 9th. Meditate without irony and look back on the last 12 months without judgment. Use this lunar phase to think seriously about how your past can inform your future. When Leo season begins later this month, you'll be able to spring forward with new life, energy, and goals.

The moment you've been waiting for all year will arrive on the 22nd when the sun moves into your sign and kicks off your month-long birthday season. This is your annual time to shine, Leo: Don't let anything curb your confidence or dampen your dramatic side. Mercury will be close behind and join the sun in your sign on the 27th, providing your wit with a little extra snap-crackle and your advice with even more warmth and wisdom. Don't be surprised if your social calendar is full to the brim as July comes to a close. The month may be ending but Leo season is just heating up.

Virgo

Your social life tends to look like a VIPs-only event most of the time. Earth sign that you are, you prefer to count on a sure thing rather than go out on an unfamiliar limb. In other words, why would you spend time on acquaintances when you already know who your innermost circle consists of? The new moon on the 9th will gently ask that you deviate from this M.O. for at least a moment and, if you're willing, see where it takes you. Is it possible that finally grabbing a drink with that new coworker could lead to a new friendship or valuable connection? Are you so certain that you and your neighbors have nothing in common that it wouldn't be fun to accept their barbecue invitation? This is not about abandoning or widening your inner circle, Virgo. It's actually about stepping out on that limb even though you can't predict exactly what will happen when you put your foot down.

The desire to indulge will crop up on the 21st, when Venus enters your sign. Of course, indulgence probably means something different to your rather disciplined sign than it does to someone with more lavish sensibilities. In fact, is allowing yourself the space and time you need in order to feel rested, comfortable, and cared for an indulgence by anyone's standards? Let's instead think of this transit like so: Do what feels good and trust that you do, in fact, have time to figure out what that may be for you at this moment. The full moon on the 23rd will help light the way.

Libra

Last month brought a bounty of good vibes to your work sector, Libra, and hopefully you're holding onto those warm and fuzzy feelings going into July. In fact, if you can find a way to leverage any favor or good graces you earned in June, this will be a month extremely well spent. You'll be surprised how far down your career path you can get by, quite simply, asking for what you want. Speaking your mind at the office is, of course, often easier said than done, but trust your convictions - and do your research. Arm yourself with information and charm in equal measure and you'll be on your way toward securing that raise, title change, or plum project.

The full moon on the 23rd will beam its way through Aquarius, your fellow air sign, and return a much-needed spring to your step. You're all about balance, and the month thus far has been largely dominated by your professional life and needs. What a treat it will be, then, to spend the night of the full moon in your personal element, with the space to speak, create, and, if love and lust are top-of-mind right now, flirt as freely as you wish. For all the important seeds you've sown at work this month, you'd be going into August feeling off-kilter if you didn't make time to nurture your personal, more private life, as well. In doing so, you'll end the month feeling whole and even-keeled, just as a Libra should.

Scorpio

This month will present you with a risk-free chance to broaden your horizons by way of your mind, Scorp. If an actual vacation isn't in the cards, book a Master Class on a topic you've always wanted to explore or dust off your library card and pore over a new outlandish genre of fiction. Your mind is aching to be stretched right now - give it a workout before the 22nd, when the sun blazes into your career sector and eclipses any knock-around time you had to spare. In return for your free time, you'll feel a renewed sense of energy when it comes to your work. This change could come from within yourself, but it's also possible that a change in the company at large will trickle down to make your day-to-day much more pleasant.

Mark the 23rd on your calendar now and make plans for a night in, because the full moon will reach its peak in your zone of home and hearth that evening. Everyone's relationship with their living space - if not their very definition of "home" - has changed in the last year, but for your private sign, where you hang your hat is of particular importance. Whether you've been saving up for a move, redecorating your current place, or adding members to the household, the culmination of your efforts is within sight. At the very least, the night of the 23rd will afford you a chance to breathe and actually feel safe to live, thrive, and be vulnerable in the space you find yourself in at that very moment.

Sagittarius

As a sign that likes to keep matters of the heart light and breezy (if not downright non-committal), you may be surprised to find that, during the new moon on the 9th, you're ready to open and go deep. This may be an extremely powerful evening for coupled Sags, in which you may bare a new side to each other or reach a plan about your next romantic milestone. However, this is not to say that intimacy of a platonic sort is out of the question. This new moon is also a wonderful time to strengthen your bonds of friendship, perhaps through swapping secrets, sharing early memories, or, in true Sagittarian form, telling some seriously twisted jokes.

On the 22nd, the sun moves into Leo and ignites your wanderlust for the next month. No vacation on the books? No problem. If anyone can pull off an impromptu getaway, it's you, intrepid Archer. And it doesn't matter if you go far, stay close to home, or plan an adventure of the intellectual sort, which you can accomplish through a stack of new books. What actually matters is that you step outside of your routine and expose yourself to something unfamiliar. In doing so, you'll learn something new and gain a newfound perspective on your usual schedule. Whether you come away feeling more secure in your everyday life or eager to make a change, you've done something right.

Capricorn

Love, lust, and long-lasting connections dominate your usually detached thoughts this month, Cap. With the sun continuing its tour through your relationship zone, you're in the mood for some one-on-one time with your partner or BFF. In fact, group hangs will feel draining and awkward by comparison. Only in a quiet, low-key setting will you feel at ease to speak freely and build on your relationships. And, when the sun moves into Leo on the 22nd, building toward some kind of milestone or new level of intimacy will be of the utmost importance for you. Yes, this could be something major like sharing a bank account, a house key, or a marriage certificate. However, you may judge your progress as a couple less formally and more on, say, what you know about each other's childhoods or how you support each other during times of illness or stress. Sharing a life with someone else can mean all sorts of things to different people. It all comes down to what's being shared.

The full moon on the 23rd illuminates your house of money and poses a simple - yet staggering - question: What do you need to feel secure? The multitude of follow-up questions that come in its wake might revolve around the barriers (perceived or real) preventing you from feeling financially stable or even the people that help you feel like you're on solid ground regardless of your cash flow.

Aquarius

It's time to address your pain points, Aquarius - literally. If you're waking up with a stiff neck every morning or dealing with the same tension headache every time you check your phone, let this be your cue to stop dismissing these discomforts as minor or unimportant. This month, the stars would like to see you practicing meaningful self-care. This has more to do with posture correction and proper hydration than it does bubble baths and $6 cold brews. By all means, take a bath and get your coffee if you like, but remember caring and treating are not the same. Addressing your needs often requires you to break habits you've developed out of convenience or familiarity. As challenging as it may be to stop hunching over your desk or remember to eat a balanced lunch, keep in mind that your everyday life could vastly improve as a result of these small yet enduring changes.

The full moon on the 23rd will take place in your very own sign, highlighting all that you stand to receive - and, perhaps, what may be owed to you. Resist the urge to chase down petty debts and, instead, lean into a mindset centered around abundance. Under the expansive full moon, it'll be easier to see the true depth of the praise, care, and support you receive (and give to yourself) on a daily basis. A demonstration of gratitude, or simply a reflection upon the subject, may be in order.

Pisces

The sun has been coasting through fellow water sign Cancer since late June and imbuing you with an irresistible joie de vivre, Pisces. Perhaps you've felt compelled to dip back into your local dating scene, dust off your paint set, or crack the silly jokes that you usually just keep to yourself. Whatever the specific urge may be, it's coming from the purest, most essential part of yourself - the bit of your heart that thrills when you speak your mind in front of a group; the bottom of your gut that flips when you catch a certain someone's eye. It goes without saying that this is an invaluable part of yourself. If you haven't had the time to indulge it yet, this is your sign to make the time - demand it, if you need to.

Indulgences of any sort will be off the table starting on the 22nd, when the sun moves out of your pleasure sector and into your house of wellness. Personal work (i.e. self-maintenance tasks like scheduling rest days, cooking full meals for just yourself, and getting some fresh air on a daily basis) is just as important as the playtime you (hopefully) enjoyed earlier in the month. And now is the time to make those tasks a priority: Fine-tune your bedtime routine (or start one if yours is nonexistent) and clean out your medicine cabinet. You'll be surprised how much freer you feel when you let go of old habits and toss out old skin-care products.