“Then when you come to Pluto’s region,
I pray you deliver him this petition.”

• Titus Andronicus in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus 4.3.13-4

The Sun moves into the Tropical Zodiac sign of Cancer June 21, at 4:14 AM (local). Summer Solstice.

• Venus enters Gemini June 23.
• New Moon in Cancer at 7° June 29.
• Mercury enters Cancer July 5.
• Mars enters Taurus July 5.
• Mercury enters Leo July 20.
• Full Moon Cancer/Capricorn at 21° July 13.

The Sun moves into Leo on July 22, 2022.

Horoscopes for Cancer 2022

Cancer

Don’t judge based on words. Don’t judge based on actions. Watch for patterns. Simple advice as the summer swelters onward. It’s not matter of believing what we hear, no, not even I believe most of what I hear. Then, in part, it’s what we read? No, I don’t believe everything I read, either. “Judge not lest ye be judged”? Nope, that’s almost too biblical. This is about what the basis is for the way you’re thinking. What’s your thinking on this? Words, words don’t seem to matter much, not anymore. Can’t use them, as a basis for sound judgement. Actions, actions may speak louder than words, but again, a single act doesn’t qualify as enough information to reliably draw a conclusion. No, this is about observing overlaying patterns. Not a single word, or even whole book of words, and not a single action, but a repeated pattern of actions? That’s where we can reliably draw conclusions. During this long, sweltering summer fraught with weird events? Do you judge based on words? Do you judge based on actions? Or do we reserve our Cancer, Moon Children judgements for patterns? Whichever way? Happy birthday, anyway. That last bit, I mean it. You can trust me.

The Leo

I make a strong effort to not offend anyone. In the era in which we all live, such discourse gets nowhere, fast. Still, in as much as I try, I mange to step on toes, hurt feelings, and otherwise ruffle feathers along the way. It is not my intention, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In other terms? Stuff happens. Consider, too, the way the planets are stacking up for and against The Leo. Mercury is against and for, at the same time. I tried, unsuccessfully, to smooth over a butt-hurt person who took offense to something I’d written, I tried to use the passage from Puck at the conclusion of Mid-Summer’s Night’s Eve, and despite my sincere, heartfelt apology? I got nowhere in a hurry, and, in fact, might’ve made it worse. Win some. Lose some. Some days, it’s not worth getting out of bed. However, my intentions, my heart, all of that is coming from a point of love, and efforts are to be understood as a “What I feel like is best,” with the addendum, “and no intent to harm.” Clear? My pain, from causing harm where it wasn’t thusly intended? That’s The Leo pain in the coming weeks. None of this is bad, but there are times, when not helping out until you’re asked? That might be better than jumping right in, even though, I know, and you know, you know what’s best.

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumb’red here
While these visions did appear.

Puck, Midsummer’s Night’s Eve (V.i.367-9)

Virgo

Mark Twain had a snarky commentary about July 4th, and the way Americans responded to it. I always appreciated the holiday because it came soon after the marker for mid-summer’s night’s eve, in a nod to that celebration. Locally, it’s the dog days of the summer, long days, short nights, and frequently the heat never seems to abate. In Virgo-land? The relentless heat, cloying patriotism, and fawning Virgo-fans wear thin. There’s always this love/hate thing going on, too, and that sentiment is more pronounced. It feels stronger, and differentiating between the two emotions becomes more difficult. Personally, and I’m not Virgo, but personally, I’ve always maintained that there there is a strong connection between those two emotions, and there is room for both. Two sides of a philosophical coin, so to speak, and two emotions that have roots thoroughly intertwined. As the summer’s heat drags onward, learning to tell the difference between the two emotions that are so close? It gets more difficult — with a final idea, what I used to call “Hate at first sight?” Begrudging respect, physical attraction, soul-mate-like connections? “Hate at first sight” is that sense. At its heart, there’s a tension angle, or an oblique angle, or, misplaced balance point. These next few weeks tip that balance out of a proper equilibrium, creating extra tension that might — or might not — be unrealistic. The Virgo job is to seek out the balance, and try to regain that equilibrium. It’s a goal, not a destination, this summer.

Libra

I stumbled across an older notion of mine, “Men need to be reachable all of the time while women don’t, and if this sounds like a double standard, leave a message.” Think that was from a buddy’s answering machine, back when those things ran on tape, and before the relative explosion of wireless and digital media. It was also at a time when when we were all much less aware of micro-aggressions, and the hidden value of the words themselves, or the possibly deeply sexist message. For me, I was thinking, it was a funny answering machine message, and let’s keep it light, like that. There is a double standard, and that’s the way it was, back then. Careful, though, as Libra can’t afford to get stuck in that past. Moving into the current times, I don’t think I can use a message like that on any voice mail, not now. I am reachable, damn near around the clock, via my usual contacts — and the electronic mail tends to be fastest. Not always the most reliable, but quicker than just about anything else. That makes me reachable, and that was the first question. Only times I tend to be disconnected is along the spine of the broken stumps of the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, and certain times when the fish are biting. But otherwise, I’m reachable, and shoot me a message. That apparent double standard from less than two decades before? Made me think about the way certain summer events are unraveling in Libra-land, and how some of this seems totally out of whack. Just as a hint? It is. Like that message machine missive, like the way things are going, good days bracketed by less than good days, bracketed by good days again? Up one minute and down the next? The over-all trend is ever upward, but that feeling of hope and goodness needs to be a tempered with some realism, and regrettably, there wil be some of that inserted in this month’s Libra fantasy life. I just wish I had the nerve, the cojones, to put that message on one of my own voices mail systems. Alas, I don’t.

Scorpio

I love me my Scorpio but there are terms. Terms to come to terms with? Sure, there is that. One of the most notorious of the Scorpio characteristics is the perception of the need for control. I still recall one Scorpio lass looking at me, “You say ‘control’ like it’s a bad thing.” To me, as a silly Sagittarius, especially next to serious Scorpio, sure ‘control’ is bad characteristic — I need my freedom. Or my illusion of freedom, whatever. However, we’re not talking about me, but what Scorpio has as there seems to be some opposing viewpoints in the next few weeks. The trick? “Relinquish” control. Not giving it up, not totally, and not really, but make that gesture, “Here, I’m washing my hands, you do what you need to do.” Another expression I’ve long favored? Not my rodeo, not my bull to ride. Which is even funnier, to me, because Mars spends some time in Taurus, the sign of the bull. Venus and Mercury play tag with this kind of sentiment, but mostly I was thinking about Mars and that element wherein the Scorpio master feels like “control” is evading one’s grasp. In fact? I doubt it. However, the approach? What this next few weeks require? A way to figure out what is yours and what’s not yours.

Sagittarius

It’s a matter of timing it correctly. It’s a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, and hitting it just perfect. For our Sagittarius selves, hitting this correctly is about timing, and when I looked? I was amazed at the bookend-effect of New and Full Moon. The New Moon is June 28-29, and its companion is July 13. We got some time until that New Moon, and the Sagittarius trick is to get that stuff lined up so it’s ready to fire it all off on the New Moon. Get it lined up, new stuff, and in order to get that new stuff started? Got some cleanup for the next few days. Clean and site prep. Site preparation. Get the Sagittarius self ready for the upgrade, and to make sure we’re ready to level up? Clean out the old material that doesn’t function, won’t function with the new, or just no longer does us any service. “Out with the old and in with the new.” The bookends of the Moon’s phases help with this as it gives us a timeline to follow. However, as a good Sagittarius myself, I think of these as guidelines, not rules. Potential target dates rather than time that it must be absolutely done by. BBQ is as good example as any, “This brisket, after the rub? It needs to be smoked for at least 8 hours on low heat.” 8 hours exactly? 8 hours, or more? Like 9 hours, is that too much? Last time, buddy left it on for almost 10 hors, and it was super-tender and moist. New plan, hatched, and we started that on? A New Moon.

Capricorn

There is a single summer image I’ve carried most of my life. It’s a red dirt road, washboard in places, follows a straight fence line for a near a mile or more, then turns, and continues onward across the plains. The red dirt itself should give an idea as to location, the now famous “North East Texas” area has even spawned its own musical collective, “Red Dirt Rock.” It was a summer I’ve, though, from a long time distant, and truck was bouncing down that road, kicking up a trail of red dirt dust. Made it easy to see, long before the truck’s cab was visible over the hay in the field, that plume of dust, indicating where a vehicle definitely was, and what rate of speed the vehicle was moving at. Just a single plume of dirty red dust in the unnaturally clear and calm summer sky. As a child, I recall walking that fence line, looking at the field mice and other rodents, watching the hawks, chasing lizards, and collecting errant turtles. That long-dormant memory surfaced as I thought about Capricorn and the coming month, what to watch for, what kind of trail to blaze, and how your Capricorn self will leave a mark in the sky, like that plume of dust. While the indication and evidence of the dust against the brilliant blue of a Texas sky is fleeting, at best, walking along on the fence line? That red dust coats the plants at the edge, and the dust drifts down the side into the small ditch beside the dirt track. It’s everywhere. A temporary beacon is less temporary than one would think. Consider that, Capricorn, as you hop in a metaphorical truck and barrel off down the dirt road. Just as an additional note? There’s some nasty washboard-like stutter bumps right before you hit the pavement. Best to slow down for that.

Aquarius

While it’s not a flavor for a whole month, as the days creep past us in Aquarius? Long, hot summer? Silly kind of a July 4th holiday in the middle? There’s a deep kind of dive worth taking — straight into the underpinnings of the Aquarius world, the beliefs that have shaped our worldview over the years. Less about the various branches, the stuff that grows above ground, and more about the roots, the parts that are unseen, but support the visible growth. “Roots and branches,” and this time, it’s best to look at the roots themselves. Maybe not dig up the plant, that might kill it, but a good time, as good as any, to look at the sources for that Aquarius motivation. What are the causes of that belief system? Where did that stuff take root in your psyche and what caused it to grow? The root sources, or what appear to be root sources of what it is you fervently believe? That’s what comes up for examination. As an example, from me, I was raised nominally Xtian, protestant, etc. So when I wandered into a high Catholic church, the iconography, some of the rituals and rites, all of that felt oddly familiar. I was in one Greek orthodox, same thing. I was oddly comforted by the strange rites and customs, and I did adhere to those customs. My underpinning, in these situations, my roots? Lightweight, vaguely protestant almost generic bible church material. It’s about the layers and layered, and as much as I pretend to divorce myself from that past eduction and its inherent views, it is still present. All I’ll do is acknowledge its sources, or, like I was suggesting, roots. Look at the roots, Aquarius, look at your own roots to see what the major influences are. Were. That way? Like I opened with, “When you come to Pluto’s region, you can tell him this…”

Pisces

Reading a client chart, I was trying to explain about an overlay. While, ostensibly, I was addressing issues with one set of chart influences, what I was really doing? The placement of the planets gave a different “overlay,” an inherent sense belonging to another sign, prevalent in that chart.

“Ain’t my first rodeo.”

So while I was pretending to address one sign’s behavior characteristics, Pisces, I was really addressing a natal conjunctions that added a very different, non-Pisces essence to the chart. “You are so right!” Squeal. Got a firm idea of what this like, now? While I labeled it as one kind of essence, that was really a faulty word choice, only, it worked in that scenario. Part of this might be confirmation bias, but I don’t have enough time to address that idea. What I did? Most expedient method to deliver the information. What the client got? A serious amount of data input that helps with the situations at hand. Was it all labeled correctly? That becomes a foggy, clouded issue. I used astrology terms, and I used valid points in the chart, but processes and behaviors that I would attribute to other signs, I might’ve mislabeled them a little to help ease the situation, and help the person listening to me, help that person adjust to the energies. Not a “white lie,” nor, strictly speaking, a mistruth, but it did offend my own sensibilities because what I was saying didn’t line up with my own beliefs. Did however get a point across the listener, and that person was happy to have the material delivered in language that was easy to understand, and I used terms that were familiar. So Pisces?

“Ain’t my first rodeo.”

There are days, weeks, months, and this month is an example, there are times when we have to tailor the message to the listener. Put it in palliative words that the other person can hear best.

Aries

I used a quote from Titus Andronicus for an intro. As an almost unrelated note, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry VI part 2, and the aforementioned Titus Andronicus are some of the earliest plays — chronologically — attributed to Shakespeare. Not that it matters, but publication sequence, I was thinking, when it first appeared, the “history” play, Henry VI, now called part 2, was a stand-alone play. Just about every textbook tries to order the plays based on an accepted format, like Henry VI, parts 1,2, & 3, in that order, when the historical record of performance shows differently. One of the reasons I like digging around in Shakespeare stuff is the near-constant state of revision and a constant of change due to interpretation. Mars is a player for Aries, and Mars is leaving right after July 4. Until then? Just go with whatever is the accepted norm. Whatever seems to fit the status quo for the Life of Aries at the time? Don’t fight with it. Struggling, especially with hot-tempered Mars riding you? Struggling, fighting, or rebelling does no good. Makes noise. Gets you noticed as a hot-head. Then, the problem itself? Never goes away. So rebelling, fighting, or struggling against the power of Mars? Just a suggestion, but I doubt you’ll win. That’s being noted? The single idea is that there is an over-abundance of good Aries energies, and there is a place for that. Use it wisely.

Taurus

Buddy told me I needed to take his motorcycle for a spin around the block. Been many years since I rode a motorcycle, and I don’t have the “motorcycle also” on my license, not anymore. Strictly speaking, it was illegal for me, but I didn’t get caught, and the experience made me think about Taurus and Mars — for now. I straddled the little crotch-rocket, blipped the throttle, toed the gear into first, one-down, four-up, shifted the gear back into first, tested the front brake, looked over my shoulder, and twisted the throttle a little, easing out on the clutch. I almost stalled the motor, and it took off very slowly, not a ferocious sprint, no great roaring of the motor. From my muscle memory, motorcycles usually had a 5-speed gearbox, first gear was down, and the next four were up. My buddy’s street-racer(ish) bike had a six-speed gearbox, so before I ever rolled out of the driveway, I was in second gear. I nearly stalled the motor and would’ve said something unkind, but I was more concerned with appearances than actions. Figured I looked pretty stupid, nearly stalling his bike. Around the block without a hitch, once I figured it out, and the old skills are still there, if rusty and near-forgotten. Muscle memory served to get me around without a single mishap, and I think I hit third gear and 60+ MPH on the backside of the block. Coasted back in, hopped off and handed it over, and there was the usual male camaraderie chatter. Thinking back, though, that ride, nearly stalling, starting in second gear, not first? What this next month looks like for Taurus. Nearly stalling out at first, and then? Mars enters Taurus, and the motor speed, gear-box ratio, and throttle are aligned, and we’re suddenly moving at an almost dangerous rate of speed.

Gemini

July 4th is always a weird time for me. There’s an expectant glee from a mid-summer jubilation, but then, it’s also after the longest day of the year, and such, it’s marked by the Sun setting sooner and sooner, although, to be honest in South Texas? Who can tell? Universally hot, with summer tempers to match? The way Mars shifts gears right after July 4? For Gemini, I’m serious here, for Gemini? Step away from the celebrations. Step away from the lighted party favors. Step away from the firecrackers, poppers, uppers, bottle rockets, and anything else that might have a combustible nature. Up to July 4? You’re. Safe to play with matches. July 4th and onward? I recommend staying away from anything that might burn, and that’s not limited to just matches and fireworks. Anything that can be too hot to handle? Ex-wives come to my mind, but your mileage may vary. Mars is tricky and this doubly so for the Sign of the Twins, since this triples or quadruples the essence of the Mars energy while not allowing for a productive and constructive outlet. As Taurus is the sign that precedes Gemini? That puts the Mars energy in a dark place for The Twins, and as such? More problematic and more prone to clumsy mistakes, either a verbal gaffe or slapstick fall, but in either situation? Gemini feels the pain, and that’s what I’m suggesting we avoid.

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