July continues the eclipse season and kicks off with a bang. The new moon/solar eclipse on July 1st is an intense one and its effects will be felt for a few months.

With sun and moon in sensitive, security-driven Cancer receiving stressful contacts from Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn, expect to feel a bit of pressure for the month. In fact, expect the unexpected. We’re being asked to step outside of our comfort zone and shake up some of our habitual ways of being and responding to the world. We may feel a bit emotionally frazzled and on edge. If some of your feelings surprise you this month, look beneath the surface.

What triggers you? What is your response to change? Do you welcome it or do you feel resistance? Pay attention to your emotions this month, as they will tell you much about your current growth and where you need to delve a bit deeper. Moving forward means owning our emotions and listening to what they signal. Our fears and our ability to be vulnerable are good measuring sticks as to what we have accomplished thus far and the work that remains to be done. Can we identify our concerns and fears and share them openly or do we withdrawal, blame, or hide beneath our protective shell?

Growth demands we identify what emotions we’re experiencing, what fear lies beneath them, and take constructive action. Sometimes, it’s simply sharing our vulnerabilities with others to release the tension and restore intimacy. Other times, it means creating new emotional habits, such as speaking up when someone crosses a boundary or acknowledging our mistakes without weighing ourselves in the balances and finding ourselves wanting. Let your emotions be your teacher this month. They have much to reveal.

By the time of the full moon eclipse on July 15th, begin to examine where your needs and desires conflict. Also explore your capacity for self-love and self-nurturing versus self-discipline and self-determination. A solid sense of self needs a healthy dose of both ends of this spectrum.

Too much discipline and we can become self-denying and allow ourselves little joy. Too much self-approval and we become indulgent and self-involved. When you can hold yourself to high principles and be self-accepting of your fallibility, you walk the road to authenticity and integrity, able to take risks and fully embrace your vulnerability and your passions.

If you identify with your strength and have difficulty allowing others to support you, use this month to consciously develop habits which encourage you to share your emotions, fears, and vulnerabilities with others. If you identify with your sensitivity and vulnerability, write out the core principles you believe in and hold yourself to those standards by using them as a guideline for day-to-day living.

Toward the end of July, Mercury slows down to a crawl in preparation for the August 3rd Mercury retrograde. Think of it as another calling to turn your attention inward and bring your awareness to your internal processes and thoughts.

If you know your ascendant or rising sign (the sign on the horizon at the moment of birth), read that horoscope as well as the one for your sun sign.

Aries: Home, family, and your deep self—the person only those closest to you know—become the focus for this month. If you have unresolved tension with someone close to you, now is the time to clear it. You won’t be able to make the most of the opportunities coming your way without a strong foundation. Appreciate those who support you day-in, day-out, and be prepared to sweep out the rubble if you’re your foundation is crumbling. Gemstone: Prasiolite

Taurus: The past several months have been very active and fairly stressful for you, Taurus. Now is the time to share your feelings and get out a bit. You don’t have to shoulder everything, so open up about your concerns. Be willing to listen to the concerns around you as well. Gemstone: Dendritic Agate

Gemini: Use July to do long- and short-term planning. Where do you want to be in five years? In particular, pay attention to your finances. If it’s time to put aside more or to pay more on your debts, start now. Friends may be unpredictable right now. Pay less attention to their actions and more attention to your internal reactions, as this is where true insight lies. Gemstone: Jade

Cancer: You may find this a more emotional month than usual, sensitive Cancer. Relationships in particular may feel half in the open and half behind closed doors. Don’t get drawn into power plays. Sometimes observation and quietly focusing on your end of the dynamic proves far more fruitful. Emotionally charged battles will tend to blow back on you, so keep yourself on a diet of self-reflection and honest disclosure. Gemstone: Howlite

Leo: Make sure to schedule time away from the spotlight this month. Much is happening below the surface for you this month, and time alone allows emotional truths and creative insights to percolate. Constructive action around your ideas and long-term dreams also proves productive. Gemstone: Chrysophase

Virgo: Career and goals gain momentum this month. Take action: get out and circulate a bit, share what’s on your mind and in your heart. People and friends act as catalysts, helping you make connections and cross-pollinating your ideas so they become richer, more interesting, and powerful. Gemstone: Aragonite

Libra: You continue to define yourself and redefine your relationships with others. Nowhere is this more evident than in your home and family. July is a great month to focus on larger truths and explore the world around you. A trip could provide the perfect opportunity, though work is also fertile ground. Gemstone: Tree Agate

Scorpio: If events keep jumping the tracks, especially at work, check in with yourself. Did you take shortcuts, doing the easy thing rather than the dotting your “i”s and crossing your “t”s? If so, it’s probably come back to take a nip at you. Realign yourself to your higher values this month and hold yourself to your standards. Gemstone: Pietersite

Sagittarius: Put less of a focus on yourself this month and more of a focus on others. Use the feedback you get to gauge where you should put your creative energies and what you should bring to a close. As ideas and projects are coming in fast these days, you need limits not more fuel. Gemstone: Red Tiger Iron

Capricorn: Use this month to share your feelings with others and stop struggling with others. You’re going through a process of deep change, and you can only go so far without the support of those around you. Sometimes when you find yourself in uncharted territories, it’s good to ask others to read the map. Gemstone: Pink Opal

Aquarius: Powerful undercurrents course through your life at present. Use July to renew your work environment, your health routines, and bring more warmth and connection into your daily world. A little nurturing fosters a lot of growth. Others can also help shake up your worldview and enable you to rethink past assumptions you previously held as truth. Gemstone: Sodalite

Pisces: Focus on home and family this month. What essential elements make you feel at home in the world and provide a firm foundation? Sometimes your inner worlds become more important and real than the world around you, Pisces. Make sure those closest understand what is happening internally for you right now. Get the words up and out. Gemstone: Kyanite