In this week of the Last Quarter Moon in Aries (10 Jul), there will be much internal processing and self-questioning about all Moon in Aries themes such as your future direction, your independence, autonomy and your immediate goals. Edging closer to Chiron, this is the time of the month where you can expect some deeper reflections about how your past experiences of wounds and pain may have led you to your current state of being. 

For society, the Chiron in Aries theme since mid-2018 has opened up big questions about the concept of masculinity, from the divine to the toxicity and all that resides in between. Men in our society have undergone a shift in their personal identification with what it means to be a man in the modern day world and no doubt have gone through a big rebirthing and healing of their identities in the process.

Being ruled by the movements of Mars, this Last Quarter Moon in Aries makes quite a dramatic scene this week, although the dramatics will most likely only live out in your internal consciousness. Mars has been travelling together with Venus in Leo for the past month as if two lovers are interacting with each other and in the process of creating connections together. But this week, Mars presses forward and changes signs while Venus slows down and moves the other direction. What once was an interaction now becomes a departure. Even though the Mars in Virgo (10 Jul) shift might seem a painful desertion, both Venus and Mars know that it’s now necessary to go separate ways to address some personal issues before a stronger union can take place. Venus needs to move back in time to review her past while Mars needs to step out into a brave adventure as a form of self initiation process.

In a lived sense, this archetypal image could make you feel internally torn as two aspects within yourself are splitting off for two very different types of initiation. You’re being forced to undergo a healing of your inner traumas during a time when you also need to bravely step towards the face of a new external conquest. The Mars in Virgo moment appears to be the final boundary that initiates this necessary separation after weeks of hope that ambivalence might lead to certainty. 

Fitting of the internal existential crisis that often occurs during the Last Quarter Moon, it’s important to honour that we are all complex beings and at times, lives can look messy and uncontained. Through my consultation practice, I have seen time and again the walking contradictions that make up our human natures. I’ve learnt that as discomforting as it is, this kind of chaos is an important part of our creative potential. This is one week where you might experience the pain and chaotic feelings as you move outside of the safe parameters of your life into the unknown future. The Mercury opposition to Pluto (10 July), which occurs on the same day, aptly illustrates the readiness of your mind to confront the murky fields of compulsion, obsession and anxieties that might come up for you during the week. It’s as if you’re totally ready to feel and fully embody the reality of what has been mentally anticipated for quite some time.

While I believe Mars in Virgo’s imminent quest is motivated by the need to re-organise and put the parts of ourselves back into neat containers, for the time being, the necessity of a division is a priority just as the process of weaning from the mother is an important stage of our biological and personal development. Accept this separation with optimism for new opportunities to emerge in your horizon or you may crumble in the bitter grasp of your stagnant past. Both Mars and Venus will reunite in Aquarius from February 2024 so expect a seven month journey ahead.

(Nevertheless, use the Mars in Virgo season to keep yourself busy with reorganisational or re-engineering tasks. It’s a great time for anything that requires detail or careful effort.)

But Venus is not completely deserted! Mercury moves into Leo (11 July) and travels to support Venus as she makes her Retrograde entrance later this month and as I’ve taught in my 2023 Venus Retrograde lecture, the Sun will also join in August to reset the Venusian trajectory. More on that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Venus has a friend and playmate in Mercury’s movements which will help her journey into the Underworld. So while you may undergo some ‘pains of separation’, you’ll soon be distracted with new occupations and activities that will keep you busy and inspired. The sextile between Sun and Uranus (14 July) brings the week to a somewhat optimistic close where the excitement of adventure, new interests and disruptions to routines might leave no time for wallowing and being forlorn.

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See you next Sunday for the next installment of planetary news.

Shu xx