July Horoscope: How to Decorate your Doomsday Bunker

Written with love by Mariah the Mystic

As I sit down to write this month’s column, I feel a buttoned-up paralysis. The world feels bleak and my mind doesn’t know how to process it, never mind process it into bite-size kernels of wisdom. If I’m feeling this from my semi-cushioned perch, I can only imagine the weight others, perhaps you, are shouldering elsewhere. In moments of overwhelm like these — uncertainty and stretched thinly to a breaking point — astrology might not be the medicine called for. You might find more ease in gathering and sharing wordless space with others. Use July’s astrology as an indicator of larger patterns and potential outcomes. As a faint flavor diffused in your water jug rather than a cold hard factoid scribbled in indelible marker. You have permission to stop interacting with the ethers at any time and instead pull into the beat of the minute, anchoring into the tasks in front of you that are within reach. This is a valid approach and does not make you less divine or less committed to the practice. Cherry-pick the things you’re able to work within your own sphere and toss the pits in the garden. They will root and grow and become useful to someone else.

July is not easy-breezy-beautiful this year. It’s showing up at our doorstep like a debt collector who expects a reckoning. In their hand is the bill of unfinished business, a balance demanding settlement, a ticket for faulty foundations, and a warning to maintain the speed limit.

This is a month of open-wound tending, a wound that won’t scab over and requires both patience and persistence. This is the kind of repair that lacks glamour; it is messy, ill-mannered, and packing a surprise crunch. July invites surrender, so lay back and let it lead if need be.

July 4: Venus enters Gemini + Neptune Retrograde Begins

Venus moves into the sign of Gemini, but not before Uranus breathes down its back in a sweaty conjunction. This fleeting conjunction jolts Venus out of its creature comforts and into a new mood: curiosity, flirtation, stimulation, and learning. This is somewhat of a cheeky handoff, with Uranus, the disruptor, enticing Venus with some forbidden fruit. You may feel pulled to experiment or rebel — with your look, your rituals, your intellectual appetites. You might find stimulation in conversation, in travel, or in the art of asking more thoughtful questions. Embody the student archetype in whatever way it fits. This could be in a formal classroom environment or certification program Perhaps it is by breaking ground on a new venture or interest. Venus here wants a mind-meld, a sexy little debate, a group chat that invigorates or chortles. This can also be an opportunity to take a stand for a cause or your truth, with your heart forward. Although…

This time is somewhat tempered with an undercurrent of flightiness. Don’t let your mind jet off completely, as the Neptune Retrograde will be testing our abilities to stay concentrated on the physical plane.

This Retrograde begins a cycle that runs through December 2025. Forming a sextile to Pluto in Aquarius, we are nudged to the precipice of our comfort zones with an unfamiliar veil over our eyes. With our eyes blocked, it might be best to limit our gaze to four or five paces ahead of us. This time emphasizes the importance of mise en place, prepping your set up before beginning to cook. From the outside, this could tempt someone to enter into fantastical wormholes, sexy what-ifs, and visions of future possibilities. (Remember that forbidden fruit). It is asking us to focus on maintenance, not manifestation.

The retrograde begins in Aries but will slip back into Pisces — meaning we’ll be toggling between initiation and imagination. The rose-colored snare happily traps us if we move recklessly. From a distance, it shows us where our mind is leading, what it is that is coaxing us toward.

Get clear on what habits, addictions, obsessions, and structural supports we gravitate toward. It isn’t a full-on intervention from the get-go, this is an offering to start small. Get granular about your goals, reorganize or edit your resume and portfolio, prep background, or research on an idea you have.

With Neptune swimming backward, illusions surface more easily, and our job is to notice them without attaching to them.

July 7: Uranus Enters Gemini

On the 7th, Uranus enters Gemini for the first time since the 1940s. This is the start of a long transition — with Uranus fully committing fully to Gemini in April 2026, where it will camp out until 2032. Outer planet movements can invite large collective developments and transformations.

For Uranus, the ultimate anarchist, this can signal tech innovations and advance our mental understanding. There can be positive potential in sparking ideas or revolutionizing how we connect and protect each other, especially through mutual commitment to a safer and more cared-for world. Perhaps even more AI than we want, or the creation of new social media platforms.

Collective cycles sometimes tend to subvert from peacefulness to push their agenda, though. It is important to acknowledge the wars and conflicts that have characterized previous Uranus in Gemini. I know this can be a scary forecast to read. Remember that large scale revolutions in the past were sometimes necessary, and beneficial for humanity. It is easy in times like these to focus only on the feckless legacy and petty wars of powerful men.

Continue to hold onto the notion that through contentive chaos, we band together, across lines and systems that previously separated us. We will prevail and perhaps even close the chapter on major downfalls or failures of our current society and system.

July 10: Full Moon in Capricorn

This Full Moon shines a light on our relationship to our sense of security — both physical and emotional. This moon invites us to find small revelry in the things that we currently have in our safekeeping that feel sufficient, if not bountiful. It could be money, value, identity, worth, foundations. Also take a silent and non-judgemental stock on the things that might be lacking. What do you need to feel abundant? Not just monetarily, but from the standpoint of joy and fulfillment? Are there parts of your structure that no longer support the architecture of who you are becoming?

There may be tension building between what once worked and what you now require to thrive. Let this Moon bring definition to that dissonance while still opening up a small portal for us to appreciate our hard work and our sacrifices. That in order to meet our hierarchy of needs, despite the scarcity mentality, we can be sure we’ve done enough.

July 12: Saturn Retrograde in Pisces

Saturn begins its retrograde journey in Aries and dips back into Pisces, lasting until November 28. This is a time to spend reflecting on your boundaries, your responsibilities, your commitments, and the largest obstacles you are facing. I imagine a lot of this feels redundant with the other planetary motion. If there is one seed to pull, it is to slow down and be an active observer of your, and our, world.

Are you currently overextending, or oppositely under-investing? Saturn’s slow spin is prodding us toward addressing open-ended conflicts or unfinished investments or ‘business’. If your toxic nighttime routine is winning the fight against good sleep, take note. If you continue to feel unhappy and unfulfilled every day at work, take note. If the same fight keeps occurring with your partner or friend, take note.

This isn’t a call to warp your reality at hyper speed, or to take a wrecking ball to your life. It is an opportunity to apply apt attention and thought to your partnerships, your career, and the timelines of your goals.

If you’re experiencing your Saturn Return — especially in late Pisces or early Aries — this stretch may feel intense. For Saturn in Pisces generation, this cycle is coming to a close soon. For Saturn in Aries, hunker down into your bunker, your return has just become. Don’t fear it like a mythical monster, embrace it as you would an obstacle course. A challenge that you will overcome and learn priceless lessons from.

July 17: Mercury Retrograde in Leo

Adding fuel to the fire, Mercury also stations Retrograde, shifting in reverse from July 17 to August 10 in the sign of Leo. In the whirlpool, try not to fight, but to give into the swirl. If you fight it, the deeper you get sucked in. I know this is intense, but it is quite wonderful to be able to blame our problems on the stars, no?

Here, Mercury asks us to reflect on our voice, our visibility, and our ego. Hone in on the people and environments in your life where you notice you put on a front. This could be through withholding personality or by over-performing to fit in. We are coming face to face with the way we react and interact, where we propel our creative attention, and how we express what is truly meaningful for us.

Retrogrades remind us not to charge forward — that sometimes rewinding is pivotal for transcribing the full message. Take a breath before you react, avoid drama, and if you feel a tender need for affirmation — ask for it directly. This Mercury Retrograde is a wonderful respite, which can feel ironic to say. Spend it cleaning out your closet or your contacts list. Write a list of the things that you notice yourself doing in the public spheres that don’t feel aligned with who you are. Try to spend time in the places that are familiar to you with people for whom you don’t need to shrink.

July 22: Sun enters Leo

Leo Season officially begins on July 22, but this year it comes with caveats, not caviar. With Mercury retrograde and Chiron, an intense and symbolic asteroid, also stationing retrograde, we’re being asked to revisit old narratives and old patterns before we can fully enjoy the spotlight.

While it may not be a brat summer this year, Leo brings so much more than glitter and on-stage presence. Leo is honest, a loyal defender, and an archetype that moves with profound individuality. Focus on empowering yourself. Connect with beloved friends, sink into your current projects, and find time to get out of the house and enjoy being part of the world at large. Find pockets of authentic celebration that feel both safe and bold. Avoid (as much as possible) people, places, and things that don’t provide any joy or acceptance.

July 24: New Moon in Leo

This New Moon is pushing us towards new and unfamiliar territory. Opening up a window into something more vulnerable, possibly life-altering, and fiercely sovereign. This is the beginning of a version of us that feels unbridled. A version of our community that is filled with allies, people in our corner who share in our passion. This lunation opposes Pluto and finds harmony with Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. We are departing from our current grazing meadow towards new pastures. This journey may test us, and require us to leave behind things that we can no longer carry. Be sure that if we channel the energy of Leo to guide us that we will be illuminated by the sun itself. Leo masters the input and the output, moving through tasks with creative versatility and natural courage.

July 30: Venus enters Cancer + Chiron Retrograde

Chiron, the wounded healer, stations retrograde the same day that Venus moves into Cancer. The remedy is in the scar.

The best we can do for ourselves is to swat away the toxic ideal that things would be better if we could 'cure' ourselves. When we adhere to this mindset, we are tasked with the impossible. Trying to fix the unfixable, amorphous, flawed, and mortal in ourselves. Witness yourself, the younger versions of you, the current body you’re inhabiting, and the contorting fantasy of you that has not yet been called into form. Don’t veer quickly from what still aches or bleeds.

With Venus finding Cancer, we are becoming nurturers and protectors of the kept secrets too painful to speak. Not only are we caring for these traumas, we are facing them squarely, and working through ways to wear them on our body without shame. Venus and Chiron work in tandem to break open our ribs and restart our hearts, making meaning of the past, for us, for our community, and for our ancestors.

July 31: Mercury Retrograde Cazimi in Leo

The month ends with a moment of exalted clarity — Mercury retrograde cazimi, meeting the heart of the Sun. Cazimi can be conducive for breakthroughs, insights, or comic-strip-light-bulb moments. Be open to what might manifest in your mind that could perhaps feel surprising or deeply necessary. You are expanding but you are whole.