MONTH OF July
Don’t defer those ambitious plans just because it’s summer. The Sun is in Cancer and your tenth house of career and success until July 22, putting your focus on accomplishing goals. Sure you’ll make time to balance it out, Libra style, with all the pleasures of the season. But don’t scootch those lofty priorities too far down the list! Cancer season lasts for just four weeks of the year, and it’s an opportunity to make some decisive moves.
Mid-month brings a big moment for you as the lunar nodes shift onto the Aries/Libra axis from July 17, 2023, until January 11, 2025. With the karmic south node moving into Libra for 18 months, you may take some of your personal plans into the “incubator” for the next year and a half. Make time to process strong feelings that can rise up unexpectedly. You may go underground a bit to reinvent yourself, explore new facets of your identity or just to have time to yourself. In the right amounts, this is very healthy. Just make sure you don’t get isolated—a lonely Libra is NOT a good thing!
With the karmic north node moving into Aries and your relationship house, some important people could enter your inner circle. In fact, you may have more people around than usual, and you might just welcome some sacred solitude.
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Another reason for that? Well, you’ll find out once Leo season begins on July 22. Normally this is one of the most social four-week periods of the year for Libras. But in 2023, your ruling planet, Venus, will be retrograde, also in Leo, from July 22 until September 3. Tension could flare up with friends or in group gatherings. An ex could resurface, and since Leo rules your technology sector, they might slide into your DMs without provocation, taking you by surprise.
Tread carefully if you consider any kind of reunion. Healer-feeler Chiron also turns retrograde on July 23, backing through Aries and your partnership house. Consider any returning past loves (or news of their latest shenanigans) an opportunity to do some deeper releasing of attachments that no longer serve you. A current relationship could move into new levels of vulnerability and closeness during Venus and Chiron retrograde—it’s not all bad, Libra. In fact, your connections could emerge stronger than ever!
It’s Cancer season until July 22
While others are cashing in their vacation days and lazing around at the beach, you could be raising the temperatures as a hot commodity at work. The Sun is in Cancer and your ambitious tenth house until July 22, revving up your career mojo and bringing some power players into your sphere. Whatever your long-term goals are, this three-week period helps you prioritize and organize your time to accomplish them.
Don’t worry, Libra—you can get back to your usual social schedule after July 22. In the meantime, mix business and pleasure whenever you can. You could certainly mingle with the impresarios under billowing white tents, sipping custom cocktails in your finest day-into-evening resort wear, of course. But if you happen to rock that dapper linen suit in a morning meeting or strut around the office in your chic summer sandals, so be it. The Sun only comes here once a year, so use it to your advantage.
The Capricorn full moon is on July 3
Take a brief, heart-centered pause from your ambitious plans this July 3, when the annual Capricorn full moon illuminates your fourth house of home and family. You could have an intense moment of connection with a relative, or you might become aware of just how desperately a certain cord needs to be cut! (Ah, the ties that bind indeed.)
With Jupiter, the planet of truth-telling and freedom, in your intimate eighth house, you won’t be able to stem the tide of authentic emotions once those floodgates open. The Capricorn full moon will form an activating angle to outspoken Jupiter, putting you in touch with your honest feelings. As a balance-seeking Libra, you love closeness but also need your sovereign space to be respected. Today, you may need to have an open conversation with an important person who’s gotten a little too demanding of your free time and attention.
A powerful and influential woman could play into events at this full moon. You may also become keenly aware of places in your home where the energy feels off-kilter. Could Chateau Libra use some space clearing or Feng Shui?
The north node enters Aries on July 17
Where do others end and you begin? The line between “me” and “we” becomes more important than ever to delineate in the latter half of this month. From July 17, 2023, until January 11, 2025, the lunar nodes will travel across the Aries/Libra axis, activating your relationship sector (ruled by Aries) and your first house of selfhood (governed by Libra).
Have you set aside your priorities to elevate someone else’s dreams? Or, on the flip side, have you become SO set in your ways that there’s no room for another person to contribute to your life? Over the next year and a half, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to explore this. Perhaps it’s time to shed certain parts of your identity that you’ve outgrown. There’s no sense in clinging stubbornly—and the karmic south node in your sign will make resistance futile. Sometimes you have to get lost in order to find yourself again.
The north node only visits Aries every 18.5 years; it was last here from December 27, 2004 to June 22, 2006. If you can remember back to that time, you may notice similar themes arising again. Stay open to new partnerships, both business and personal, because the evolutionary north node could connect you to someone whose soul frequency truly aligns with yours.
The July 17 Cancer new moon catalyzes your career
On July 17, the Cancer new moon marks a powerful turning point for your career and big-picture plans. New moons herald fresh starts and beginnings, making this an ideal day to set intentions or make a decisive move. You’ll see the results of your actions unfold over the coming six months, so take a step—any step—and the universe will respond in kind. If you’ve been unclear about your life purpose or professional path, this new moon is a great time to explore your options.
Have you been playing “nice” or fading into the background a bit too much? We all need a break from the pressure of responsibility, but today’s new moon calls on you to own your power. No more hiding! In return, you could receive a prestigious leadership opportunity or recognition for your talents.
New moons kick off new six-month chapters, and this one will culminate at the December 26 Cancer full moon. Get clear about a couple big goals you’d like to accomplish before the calendar turns. Set intentions and create actionable steps to get there.
Whiplash! The July 20 Mars-Saturn opposition
Shift out of martyr mode, Libra. Intense Mars in your self-sacrificing twelfth house puts the squeeze on somber Saturn this July 20, highlighting a need for firm boundaries. You’ve had enough of taking one (or is that one hundred?) for the team. Reconfigure the load and put duties in the capable hands of others.
When impatient Mars and cautious Saturn are opposite each other, it’s like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. To avoid a case of cosmic whiplash, be discerning when you delegate and make sure anyone you add to your support squad is truly up to the task. The shoulder of a trusted friend does not replace a trained therapist. That new college grad may charge next to nothing, but their services may not deliver pro results. You get back what you put in now, so invest wisely.
The Sun enters Leo July 22—and Venus turns retrograde in Leo
All work and no play? Not after July 22, when the Sun moves into Leo and powers up your eleventh house of group activity and friendship. The balanced life you long for returns, and you can spread those social butterfly wings of yours wide, Libra. In fact, you’ll accomplish more now by stepping away from your workspace and engaging with the wider world. Get busy networking, hitting the parties and industry events, and introducing your ideas to the world via social media.
That said, Leo season has a cosmic challenge this year that you’ll need to carefully navigate. Your ruling planet, Venus, will turn retrograde (backward) from July 22 to September 3, a plot twist that will last for the entire Leo season and spill into part of Virgo time. Venus goes retrograde every 18 months for about six weeks, which can disrupt the harmony in your closest ties and make people uncharitable, judgmental and generally unloving.
You may have second thoughts about certain relationships now too. Venus retrograde in Leo may throw a wrench into the bonds of a friendship or group endeavor. You might need to put a collaboration on ice if you can’t see eye-to-eye or take a break from a person who’s stirring up trouble in your life. Single? Be careful about online dating now and screen people carefully before agreeing to meet IRL. Your preferred pace is to take it slow, and you’re wise to stick with that now.
Chiron turns retrograde July 23
As if Venus retrograde wasn’t enough, you’ve got even more cosmic encouragement to repair any intimate patterns. Are you still carrying past hurts into your partnerships? Your relationship—or a love interest, or your desire for a partner—comes into the spotlight on July 23 and stays there for almost the rest of the year, thanks to the backspin of “wounded healer” Chiron in your seventh house of dynamic duos.
Between now and December 6, don’t shy away from looking below the surface. Even (and sometimes especially) conflict can be a guiding light that takes you to the heart of the matter. These next five months are a wonderful time to explore your deeper issues around ALL your closest ties—perhaps with a therapist or a spiritual teacher. Remember: It’s not so much the people in your life that are the issue but the entrenched dynamics that you’ve been unable to break. With both Chiron and Venus retrograde, you could finally gain the insight you’ve needed to start shifting these patterns.
Friendly fire? The month opens with love planets Venus and Mars visiting Leo, spicing up your eleventh house of platonic ties, technology and casual connections. You might feel sparks flying with a friend or someone you meet through your social circles. Or, if a no-strings fling would add a playful twist to summer, we’re not judging you! Venus is immersed in an extended four-month trip to Leo from June 5 to October 8 while Mars is wrapping up a seven-week stint in Leo this July 10.
By the second week of the month, the winds shift a bit. With impassioned Mars trundling through Virgo and your subterranean twelfth house from July 10 until August 27, you’ll have alternating jolts of fantasy and chemistry punctuated with a few intense emotional spikes. You may be simultaneously dreaming about a new love interest and mourning the ending of another affair.
Is there an old wound you’re ready to heal for once and for all, Libra? Everyone’s been hurt, but it’s when we fully process and release that we grow. Mars in Virgo can support you with that. And if that’s not enough, just wait until July 22, when your ruling planet, Venus, starts its six-week retrograde, a time to reflect on past romantic choices and put any regrets and ruminations to rest for once and for all.
Venus retrograde is considered by many astrologers to be a “blackout” period for love since our normal stores of compassion and harmony can go AWOL. And it’s true that exes resurface and relationships go through tests during this cycle. Even if your connection is rock-solid, there could be difficulties seeing eye-to-eye. Although most astrologers caution against getting married during Venus retrograde, this period CAN be a good time to renew your vows or commitment.
From July 22 until September 3, Venus will be retrograde in Leo, disrupting your eleventh house of friendship and casual connections. Silver lining: If you MUST go through a Venus retrograde cycle, at least it’s in one of the least romantic parts of your chart. If anything, you may feel the friction more in your social circle. The eleventh house rules technology, so this might be a good time to take a sabbatical from online dating.
You or another person could seem cool and aloof—”I need some space” may be a line you either utter or hear. Sometimes couples separate or reevaluate their connection during Venus retrograde. Take a step back from any heated emotions now. If you’re feeling a bit claustrophobic in a relationship, this would be a good time to go visit old friends or just enjoy your separate interests a little more. Absence can indeed make the heart grow fonder while Venus is retrograde.
A new career chapter is opening up for you this month, Libra! For starters, the Sun in Cancer is heating up your professional tenth house until July 22, putting you in mogul mode. Not exactly well-timed with summer, but on the positive side, you can get ahead while others are off on vacation.
On July 17, an ambitious Cancer new moon breaks ground for a six-month cycle of success. Take the first steps toward a lofty goal, focusing on where you’d like to be by the end of this year and early 2024. Then, reverse-engineer the process needed to help you reach this milestone.
Just leave room in your summer sojourns for self-discovery—and that could mean letting yourself feel a little lost. That same day (July 17), the karmic south node slips into Libra, an 18-month transit that will last until January 2025. You’ll have moments that require deep evaluation of your current life and identity. Have you evolved beyond the role you’ve played for the last significant portion of your life? You may shed some of those old self-conceptions, and this could even come with a mourning process. Trust that as you shed these layers, you’ll soon find new facets of yourself that you’ll fall in love with—and in due time, the world will too.
Love Days: 8, 12
Money Days:18, 1
Luck Days: 16, 26
Off Days: 24, 14
Identical twin sisters Ophira and Tali Edut (a.k.a. The AstroTwins) are ELLE.com’s resident astrologers. They have written several astrology books, including Momstrology and Supercouple, and star as the astrological matchmakers for Prime Video’s Cosmic Love. The Eduts have read charts for celebrities the likes of Beyoncé, Karlie Kloss, and Emma Roberts. For their spot-on predictions, books, and online courses, check out our horoscopes coverage or visit astrostyle.com.