Weekly Horoscope: July 14 – 20

As we travel further into the Neptune and Saturn retrogrades, the cosmos have put out a call for a bit of self-care. This starry suggestion comes in the form of a powerful conjunction between a full Moon and Ceres under Capricorn. Ceres is a dwarf planet that governs our need to nurture and receive nurturing, deep relationships and familial energy. This small planet has been in retrograde since mid-May and won’t go direct until late August. 

When Ceres is in retrograde, our urge to nurture shifts turns inward. This months-long retrograde encourages us to ask how we might better take care of ourselves and, in doing so, take better care of others. An opposition between a waxing gibbous Moon and a Uranus-Mars conjunction toward the end of the week indicates the potential for bumpy roads. Luckily, Mars’s proactivity and Uranus’s hyper-creativity promise a much-needed boost over any obstacles. 

How will your sign fare this week? 

Aries: March 19 – April 19

In a world of doers and waiters, you more often identify with the former. You prefer acting as opposed to reacting, leading instead of following, and solving problems instead of seeking help. But get ready to experience the unfamiliar, Aries. Your ruling planet, Mars, spends the week in conjunction with Uranus, suggesting major day-to-day shakeups ahead.

A waxing gibbous Moon faces a tense opposition with this Mars-Uranus conjunction around midweek, shortly after which the Moon will form an auspicious trine with Neptune retrograde, located on the cusp of your sign. Neptune urges you to consider the ways you’ve cheated yourself of the support and affection you deserve in the name of self-sufficiency. 

Taurus: April 20 – May 20

Your celestial alignment is a mixed bag this week, Taurus. On the one hand, the Uranus-Mars conjunction under your sign can bring some chaotic energy into the mix. You might encounter more shake-ups than you’d typically like in your average week, but Mars’ assertive nature will help guide you through even the most daunting uncharted territories. 

Meanwhile, your ruling planet, Venus, forms a tense square with a waxing gibbous Moon early in the week. Venus’ placement under Leo suggests an inner desire to share your resources (emotional, financial, or otherwise) with those around you. However, the Moon under Scorpio calls you to guard these finite assets closely. There’s a difference between generosity and self-sabotage.

Gemini: May 21 – June 20

By Friday, your ruling planet, Mercury, will be forming two auspicious trines with a nearly full Moon under Sagittarius and Chiron under Aries. Our emotional clarity is at its strongest during a full Moon, and as the dwarf planet that governs our most vulnerable, internal “soft spots,” Chiron is no stranger to sentimentality, either. However, this alignment comes with good and bad. 

We’ll start with the good: becoming more aware of our emotions is rarely a bad thing. It promotes greater self-awareness, self-preservation, and better interpersonal skills. However, there’s a reason we often bury our feelings where they can’t get to us. There’s a good chance this process will be painful, Gemini. But there’s an even better chance that it’ll be worth it.

Cancer: June 21 – July 22

Imagine how better off you would be if you put a fraction of the same care and attention toward yourself that you so willingly dole out to others. As the only sign in the Zodiac governed by the Moon, you’re liable to feel the strongest effects of its potent conjunction with Ceres by the week’s end. Makemake is another vital player in your cosmic alignment this week. 

Makemake is a dwarf planet that governs our activist spirit. Typically, this championing spirit is directed outward toward righteous causes, groups, and social efforts. But as Makemake forms a trine with the Ceres-Moon conjunction on Saturday, your alignment suggests it’s time to send some of that moralistic devotion toward your own needs, wants, and problems. 

Leo: July 23 – August 22

Sometimes, the easiest way to solve a problem is to change its description. A tense square between your ruling celestial body, the Sun, and a first-quarter Moon at the start of the week suggests a need to let go of something that no longer serves you. Whether it’s an old relationship, habits, or ways of thinking, releasing these familiar people and feelings is tough.

This challenge is highlighted by a tense square between your ruling celestial body, the Sun, and a first-quarter Moon, the latter of which delivers a tough love message to be brave and let go. Instead of focusing on the idea of throwing certain aspects of your life away, try reimagining it to be a space-saving opportunity meant to make room for things that will help you grow.  

Virgo: August 23 – September 22

Celestial mash-ups like the Ceres-Moon conjunction at the end of the week can be particularly difficult for someone as logical and pragmatic as you, Virgo. Indeed, you’ve often prioritized solving other people’s problems instead of dwelling on your own. The self-focused nature of both the full Moon and Ceres shake up your entire routine by shifting your gaze inward. 

As uncomfortable as this process might be, you can take solace in two auspicious trines your ruling planet, Mercury, will be forming with both the Moon and Chiron by the end of the week. Mercury’s communicative energy will provide much-needed insight into the more opaque feelings dredged up by the Moon, Ceres, and vulnerability-centered Chiron. It might not be the revelations you wanted, but they’re the ones you needed to hear.

Libra: September 23 – October 22

Learning how to help ourselves better will, in turn, allow us to improve the ways in which we help others. This paradoxical fact of life is difficult to accept when you’re so focused on ensuring everyone around you is cared for, advocated for, and supported. After all, if you don’t offer your support and assistance, then how will your friends and family be loved and uplifted? 

The answer for them is the same answer for you: from within. Your ruling planet, Venus, forms a favorable sextile with activist-minded Makemake under your sign while forming a not-so-positive square with the Moon-Ceres conjunction. This alignment suggests a strong message from the stars: don’t let your codependent streak convince you that self-care is selfish.

Scorpio: October 23 – November 21

Your celestial alignment is running rampant with instincts and gut feelings, Scorpio. Are you willing to listen to what these subconscious cues have to say? A sextile between your ruling planet, Pluto, and Neptune retrograde suggests that some part of you is. However, the ongoing square between Pluto and instinctual Haumea opens the door for pesky self-doubt. 

If you are ready to assume a new way of thinking is wrong, what’s stopping you from applying that same logic to perspectives you’ve carried for a while now? If it’s true that nothing is to be trusted, then that rule should include ideas you’ve once regarded as fact, right? The universe is offering you some much-needed clarity. Stop worrying so much and accept it for what it is.

Sagittarius: November 22 – December 21

Sometimes, we have to take a few steps back before we can take a giant leap forward. Success would be linear and easy to follow in a perfect world, but our world isn’t perfect. Consequently, we must occasionally retrace our steps so that we might recalibrate to a life path that better suits us. This isn’t a sign of failure, Sag. On the contrary, it’s a sign of progress. 

Is forward motion so important to you that you would rather stay on the wrong course if it means never having to look backward? This dilemma reaches its apex around Thursday, when a waxing gibbous Moon faces off with your ruling planet, Jupiter, suggesting a need to let go of certain ideas or plans that have begun to hold you back. 

Capricorn: December 22 – January 19

While other signs of the Zodiac might be feeling the effects of the Moon-Ceres conjunction for the first time this week, this cognitive dissonance has been following you around for a while now. As if an extra week or two of self-care struggles wasn’t enough, this potent conjunction takes place under your sign, increasing the chances of you feeling its effects more strongly. 

A square between Makemake and the Moon-Ceres conjunction brings another question to the foreground: what happens when you’re so burnt out that you can no longer do the bare minimum for others? Doesn’t this idea go against your innate desire to be a foundational support for those you love? You have to take care of yourself to take care of them, Cap. 

Aquarius: January 20 – February 18

We often prioritize periods of great energy and motivation as essential to our growth journey. But as fiery Mars pulls away from your ruling planet, Uranus, this vigor will likely wane by the end of the week, leaving you on unsteady ground just in time for the emotional conjunction between the full Moon and Ceres on Saturday. 

The work we do during periods of low energy is just as critical as what we do when our spirits are high. As the conjunction between Uranus and Mars loosens, Uranus falls into a challenging square with communicative Mercury. Now is the time to ask for help, guidance, and even something as seemingly “unproductive” as reassurance. You’ve used your actions. Now, it’s time to use your words. 

Pisces: February 19 – March 20

Just before the Moon locks into its conjunction with nurturing Ceres, encouraging all of us to look within and see how we might better take care of ourselves, the almost-full Moon forms an uneasy square with your ruling (and currently retrograde) planet, Neptune. The obstacles this alignment implies will likely have to do with self-sacrifice and self-deception. 

More specifically, the stars urge you to take stock of the ways in which you’ve tried to convince yourself that you’re okay with your needs going unmet. Why should everyone else’s goals and dreams be top priority but not yours? Figuring out how we’ve slighted ourselves can be a disheartening process, but it’ll make it much easier to embark on a journey of self-love.