july's astrological forecast: the architecture of change
insane transits + horoscopes for your rising sign
July kicks off a packed month of some of the year’s more significant transits. It may feel like we’re waking up in a different world here momentarily as a result of some of these planetary plot twists.
Here are some of the most important ingresses and aspects:
Mars enters Gemini at the nodal bendings on June 28th
Jupiter enters Leo on June 29th
Mars conjoins Uranus in Gemini on July 3rd
Venus enters Virgo on July 9th, squaring the nodes upon ingress
Venus squares Uranus on July 13th
Jupiter opposes Pluto on the 20th
Venus squares Mars on July 29th
the Nodes move into Aquarius-Leo on the 26th
MARS-URANUS IN GEMINI: A NARRATIVE DRIVEN DISRUPTION
In a recent article, we discussed the symbolism of Mars conjoining Uranus in Gemini and Jupiter’s ingress to Leo.
Here are a few more considerations for Mars-Uranus since it exacts on July 3rd and 4th:
This Mars-Uranus conjunction is highly discussed because it happens to be the first one that we’ve had in Gemini since the 1940s, during World War II– it’s starting a significant cycle, but it shouldn’t be treated as a singular or even a rare occurrence. We have Mars-Uranus aspects routinely and we survive them!
While Mars-Uranus aspects can be volatile, bringing unexpected breakthroughs or directional shifts, it's helpful to think of them as the beginning of a story that unfolds across Uranus's entire transit through Gemini (until 2033). The conjunction plants the seed, often through a disruption whose larger purpose isn't immediately obvious. Its meaning becomes much clearer by the opposition, when that theme reaches a climax. It's the same cycle we observe with the New and Full Moons: the New Moon is a conjunction between the Sun and the Moon, while the Full Moon is an opposition between the two. It’s the same symbolism.
For example, during one of the first Mars-Uranus conjunctions in Taurus, I was visiting Chicago, and by the opposition, I had just made an official move to Chicago. The move wasn’t just a relocation, it initiated a chain of unexpected changes that never would’ve happened otherwise. This is just one way these astrological seeds can turn into a story with meaning.
Below are the dates of the conjunctions and oppositions of Mars to Uranus in Taurus (one Aries conjunction is in there as a partner to the next opposition). Even though Uranus is in Gemini now, it’s always a great exercise to reflect on what happened around each aspect of previous transits, you may find that there’s a thematic through line articulated by change, radical meetings and partings, and unconventional circumstances. Looking back can help us realize the function of the planets and contextualize present and future aspects.
While this will be the first conjunction we’ve had in Gemini, we did already have our first opposition between Mars in Sagittarius and Uranus in Gemini in November 2025, we can look back on that time for reference. It seemed to act as a bridge between Uranus in Taurus and Gemini, since Uranus was retrograding between the two last year.
We should be looking specifically for themes around communication, travel, transport, and technology. The Gemini-Sagittarius archetypes love to bring us experiences or people that are foreign from us in some way to challenge our perceptions, beliefs, and approach to communicating effectively. This axis discusses availability and unavailability, what is local and what is at a distance from us. Navigating these gaps between one mind to another or one place to another.
Mars-Uranus in these signs can bring surprises and directional shifts that guide us to open our minds and ourselves up to ideas, people, and paths that rub up against a growth edge. It’s not typically very comfortable, but it can be powerful and bring out our inner genius. We may see whatever we were dealing with from November 2025, the things that fit this Gemini-Sag theme, coming back again to help us start a new cycle.
Since the Mars-Uranus conjunction is in Gemini, it’s ruled by Mercury and is deeply embedded into the Mercury retrograde theme. We can expect these Cancer and Gemini sectors to link, maybe even bringing things back from the past as fuel for these changes and disturbances.
VENUS IN VIRGO: SURRENDERED DEVOTION
The upcoming Venus in Virgo transit begins on July 9th. It aspects the Nodes, Uranus, Mars, and will be ruled by the Mercury retrograde for part of its transit. Mars-Uranus and Venus are making the last aspects to the Nodes in Pisces-Virgo before they change signs at the end of the month. Venus already struggles in Virgo, this is the sign of its “fall” where the usual significations of Venus (pleasure, relational harmony, and value) struggle to express themselves in a typical way.
Virgo has a critical side and is often more focused on improvement than unabashed pleasure. Even so, Virgo has a hidden lore– a wild and untethered side– it’s a shapeshifter. We can think about the ordinary wisdom of animals and plants when considering Virgo, how it shape shifts from something typical into something meaningful, something that speaks to us.
Ultimately, this is a placement that values transparency over telling you what you want to hear or maintaining a mystery that harmony can sometimes require. That’s just not Virgo’s objective, and while sometimes this is healthier than living in a fantasy, it also doesn’t buy into the more positive forms of seduction and receptivity. That can make this transit challenging for our egos.
With the South Node having moved through Virgo over the last year and a half, we have been clearing and making this area of our lives a bit smaller, but more efficient. Assessing reciprocity, our agendas, mastering the art of accurate translation, and learning how to let go of control. We have been exploring what it means to be devoted to something and surrender to its process at the same time, it’s a very delicate balance.
When Venus links up with the South Node and squares Mars-Uranus, we are hitting on these lessons again: it may be difficult to let go of control, to remain devoted to something while also trusting its unfolding, especially when Mars-Uranus is so unpredictable. There is a level of transparency and effort required, but not so much that we become attached and skeptical, pushing our goals further from us.
With so much Mercurial influence between the retrograde and transits from Gemini and Virgo, a lot of July is about the mind and our ever-changing perspectives. Pivotal information and conversations have the potential to change us this month.
Generally, when planets hit the nodes, there’s a sense of “fate” at play, the feeling that something is somewhat out of our hands and our task is to lean on the lessons we’ve already been learning in the Virgo-Pisces sector since the nodes ingressed at the beginning of 2025.
JUPITER OPPOSITE PLUTO: SELF MAGNIFICATION
In a previous article, we discussed the Jupiter in Leo transit at length, emphasizing how it’s not a typical Jupiter transit as it meets with Pluto, the eclipses, and eventually a Mars retrograde.
I would caution against expecting Jupiter's more stereotypically "lucky" significations. Like Saturn, Jupiter teaches through experience, especially when meeting planets as formidable as Pluto. Even so, I think our Leo sectors need this revamp.
Jupiter makes its first big aspect this month when it opposes Pluto on July 20th. I have this aspect natally, there’s a small group of every generation who does. I’ve always found it hilarious that Tom Cruise has a Jupiter-Pluto opposition as he’s known for such extreme romantic gestures, stunts, and for his fanatical involvement with Scientology. It can be such a cult leader aspect and it makes sense once we dissect these planets.
Jupiter and Pluto both share the ability to make something very big and important.
Jupiter does this by giving us something in abundance, he’s the god of thunderstorms for that reason, rain dispels drought and allows the land to grow prolifically. Jupiter, or Zeus in Greek myth, is the king of the gods, personifying faith, authority, and cosmic law. Jupiter wants us to reach beyond where we currently are by introducing us to a wide variety, taste testing everything. His power primarily comes from knowledge, experience, and an open mind.
Pluto’s power and importance comes from intense magnification or control. The point of Pluto is often to either conceal or to expose something. If something is to be concealed, it must be powerful, it must be very important to somebody. Secrets can’t exist without power and control. The magnification piece comes from Pluto’s tendency to obsess and pick apart details. Think crime show evidence board. Just like holding something up to a magnifying glass, you have to make things bigger to expose a core essence, stripping it bare and ultimately changing it over a longer period of time. Pluto’s transit can take 20 years or more, spending several years transiting over personal planets. This can be a painful process of metamorphosis.
When Jupiter opposes Pluto, one side of the chart is asking for dissection and exposure of the clandestine, while the other is asking for variety and expansion. Oppositions can engage us in a struggle, it can be hard to reconcile two completely different energies, and yet they have to be joined by something. That’s where the signs come in.
The opposition is taking place on the Leo-Aquarius axis, Jupiter in Leo wants recognition. It wants to find itself, to understand who we are as individuals, and it may do this by trying on a wide variety of roles and hats. With the South Node conjoining Jupiter over the course of the transit, we may have to find who we are by first narrowing down who we are not. Generally, Jupiter in Leo is the understanding that we have to grow into ourselves and grow in confidence.
Meanwhile, Pluto in Aquarius points to a collective metamorphosis. Aquarius deals with the groups, communities, and societies that surround an individual. It’s the transit that is helping us break away from our current version of homogenization.
Uniformity won’t be as useful for survival anymore, but our niche and unique qualities will be. There is still great power in groups, but these are groups that support a common goal. For reference, Pluto was last in Aquarius during the American revolution– a great example of breaking away from an old form of homogenization and creating a new group of unique individuals.
This may be a time where a process of exposure is occurring in our Aquarius sectors, one that pushes uncomfortable growth in the process of becoming in the Leo sectors. There may be no choice but to step into a new identity or role because of the changing world, because of our underlying need to survive.
The Jupiter-Pluto aspect could signify a period that requires us to reject what is widely accepted and go for something that is inimitable and different. With the North Node moving into Aquarius, the road less travelled is the one that makes it, and we may have to let go of the desire for recognition at the beginning.
Recognition will be an accumulation, not an instant result.
RISING SIGN HOROSCOPES
Read for your rising (ascendant) sign, you can calculate your birth chart here.
aries rising:
unexpected conversations, local travel, learning, or changes within your 3rd house may set off a much larger story than they first appear to. as your 6th house of work, health, and daily routines becomes more distilled, you're learning that devotion sometimes requires releasing control rather than perfecting every detail. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto highlights your 5th and 11th houses, asking you to grow into a more authentic creative voice while redefining the communities and long-term goals that truly support it.
taurus rising:
disruptions in your 2nd house of money, resources, and self-worth may ultimately redefine what security means to you. at the same time, your 5th house of creativity, pleasure, and romance is asking you to become more intentional about where you invest your energy. meanwhile, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto brings your 4th and 10th houses into focus, encouraging you to build a public life that's rooted in a stronger, more authentic foundation.
gemini rising:
the disruption begins in your 1st house of identity, initiating a version of yourself that's still unfolding. meanwhile, your 4th house of home, family, and emotional foundations is being refined, asking you to release old patterns that no longer support who you're becoming. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto activates your 3rd and 9th houses, expanding your voice while challenging you to outgrow beliefs that no longer fit the person you're becoming.
cancer rising:
changes unfolding within your 12th house may remain behind the scenes for now, but they're quietly redirecting your path. as your 3rd house of communication, learning, and everyday life becomes more intentional, you're discovering that clarity often comes through surrender rather than certainty. meanwhile, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto draws attention to your 2nd and 8th houses, encouraging you to redefine what truly supports you and where your deepest sources of power reside.
leo rising:
unexpected developments in your 11th house of friendships, communities, and future plans may introduce people or opportunities that change your direction. in response, your 2nd house of money and self-worth is asking you to become more discerning about what truly deserves your time and energy. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto emphasizes your 1st and 7th houses, asking you to grow into yourself even as your closest relationships continue to transform.
virgo rising:
career shifts or changes within your 10th house may feel disruptive now, but they're beginning a much longer story about your purpose. meanwhile, Venus moving through your 1st house asks you to release perfectionism in favor of authenticity, allowing your identity to become simpler and more honest. at the same time, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto brings your 12th and 6th houses into focus, reminding you that lasting growth begins with the invisible changes happening beneath the surface.
libra rising:
experiences connected to your 9th house of travel, education, or belief systems may challenge your assumptions and open entirely new directions. your 12th house asks you to surrender what can't be controlled, trusting that not every process can be rushed or understood immediately. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto activates your 11th and 5th houses, encouraging you to develop a creative voice that's unmistakably your own rather than seeking approval from the collective.
scorpio rising:
unexpected developments in your 8th house of intimacy, shared resources, or emotional vulnerability may begin rewriting your understanding of trust. your 11th house of friendships and community is also becoming more intentional, encouraging you to invest only where reciprocity exists. meanwhile, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto highlights your 10th and 4th houses, asking you to step into a new public role while rebuilding the foundations that support it.
sagittarius rising:
relationships and significant people entering your 7th house may become the catalyst for a much larger change in direction. meanwhile, your 10th house career and reputation ask for steady refinement instead of chasing immediate recognition. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto activates your 9th and 3rd houses, encouraging you to challenge old beliefs and develop a perspective that's distinctly your own.
capricorn rising:
unexpected shifts in your 6th house of work, health, and routines may redirect your everyday life in ways that only make sense over time. your 9th house encourages you to refine your beliefs and pursue wisdom with greater intention rather than simply accumulating more information. meanwhile, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto emphasizes your 8th and 2nd houses, reshaping your understanding of shared resources, personal value, and what truly creates lasting security.
aquarius rising:
creative projects, romance, or children connected to your 5th house may introduce unexpected twists that encourage a more authentic form of self-expression. your 8th house asks for greater honesty around intimacy, trust, and shared commitments, letting go of dynamics that no longer feel reciprocal. elsewhere this month, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto brings your 7th and 1st houses into focus, reminding you that becoming more fully yourself naturally transforms the relationships that can grow alongside you.
pisces rising:
changes within your 4th house of home, family, and emotional foundations may feel like the beginning of a much longer story that's still unfolding. relationships in your 7th house ask for greater honesty, discernment, and a willingness to release familiar patterns that no longer support mutual growth. meanwhile, Jupiter's opposition to Pluto activates your 6th and 12th houses, encouraging you to reshape both your daily life and your inner world into something that can sustain the future you're growing toward.
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