This month has a big focus on your relationship, whether the partner you are thinking about is your romantic one-and-only, such as your spouse or long-term established live-in partner, or your partner in business, such as a bona fide business partner, agent, publicist, writing partner, collaborator, representative, or other person who works with you in a one-on-one way. Your seventh house is lit up, and that is the house that the ancient astrologers called an essentially contractual house. If there is no contract, written or implied, between you, the relationship is not part of the seventh house, and so you won’t be thinking of that person. We don’t think of marriage as a contract, but it is, so you see my point. If you have lived with your partner a long time, and maybe even have a child together, that’s a contractual agreement, so it is a seventh house matter, and this month would be important to you.

Your focus on your partner began last month, when Mars went into this part of your chart on June 4, to remain there until July 20. The new moon of July 23, coming only three days later, added more power and light to this part of your chart. How things will go this month will depend largely on how things have been going all along, especially lately. Some Capricorns will get engaged or married now (or did last month). In the business sense, other Capricorns may be interested in making an alliance official by signing papers.

Part of the job of Mars, now circulating in your partnership house, is to bring to the surface any possible unhappiness on either side, so that you both can talk about the relationship and how to make it better. Sometimes only one party feels something is wrong but mentions nothing, and so the matter festers – not good. At other times, a recurring problem keeps showing up that gets discussed but never gets settled.

If the script of the conversation you have with your partner always goes the same way, and each party can predict word for word what the other person is about to say – it’s a sign that the end of the relationship is near. It’s Mars’ job to clean out situations like that, so perhaps you both can find a new way of discussing this matter and find a more creative way of handling it. Sometimes couples therapy is very helpful. If the relationship is important to both of you (and you will find out if it is now), then you have a chance of moving forward. If not, you will part. It takes two willing people to make a relationship, so alas, one person cannot keep it going if the other person does not want to do so.

You will know where you stand at the full moon, July 8, in Capricorn at 17 degrees. That full moon will come conjunct Pluto, so you will come off strong and powerful, but try not to overdo – a gentle approach may work better. Pluto will be opposite Mars at 180 degrees on July 2, a difficult day, when someone may try to twist your arm to agree to something you are not willing to accept. These planets are moving slowly, so by the full moon, July 8, they will still be within close, significant orb, even though they are separating and heading their different ways. Mars opposed to Pluto usually spells power play, so at the full moon you may feel the tension.

Keep in mind that these planets won’t likely hurt you if you love your romantic partner, or in business, if you admire and support your collaborator, and the feelings go both ways. Times like these reveal true character. If you are getting married, helpfully you will encounter no last-minute surprises, such as if your soon-to-be-mate produces a pre-nuptial contract you never expected, and you are told to sign an hour before the ceremony. As an astrologer, I have heard of every possible situation.

If your birthday falls on January 8, plus or minus four days, you will feel the effects of the full moon the most. The same is true if you have Capricorn rising at 17 degrees, or the natal moon at that degree, allowing a plus or minus five degrees. Also, if you know your natal chart, look to see if you have a natal planet in Capricorn, Virgo, or Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces at 1 degree, plus or minus five degrees, then that planet will be lit up in a powerful way this month.

I should tell you that Mercury will retrograde next month from August 12 to September 5. This is fine if you are going away (good idea), but not good for signing contracts or making large purchases for anything electronic. If you need a car, computer, smart phone, tablet, or anything digital, buy it now, quickly. You should not act too close to August 12!

One day I would not want you to buy anything expensive, especially not anything home related or electronic, is July 17, when Mars will be in hard angle to Uranus. Uranus rules the digital industry. It is also a day when your partner may be touchy, so it’s not a day to bring up any sensitive subject, especially if it is connected to property or family.

Now let’s turn to the start of a very important trend that will take hold in late month. Mars will move into your eighth house of other people’s money and joint resources on July 20 to stay until September 5, and during that period, you will be riveted on financial matters. Again, things can go one of two ways. If you ARE parting from a partner, you will be going into deep conversations, perhaps with both of you present with your respective lawyers, to decide how to fairly divide property at the end of your marriage or business partnership. Mars can often create a contentious situation, depending on the emotions at the time. Try to keep your cool, and see how things go. If you and your partner are right for each other, planets in your partnership house will motivate you to come together and make things official. In your case, this will be a joyous month.

If you are joining forces with a partner, then you will be deciding how to work the finances and perhaps decide which areas you both will have final say over. You may be busy notifying the banks and other institutions about your plans and possibly new address.

If you are starting a business, you may be writing your business plan now, a good idea, for you will have a superb opportunity to generate funding for your idea after Mars enters Leo on July 20. Only three days later, the powerful new moon July 23, in Leo, 1 degree, will help you further. If your business has anything to do with the entertainment business, the cultural arts, expensive real estate, or other areas of the luxury market, you will excel because a buildup of planets in Leo point to these industries as profitable for you.

Other financial management you might be working on could have to do with bank loans, student loans, university financial aid, venture capital, bonuses, cash advance, mortgage or a refinancing plan of a mortgage, commissions, royalties, licensing fees, insurance payouts, child support, alimony, retirement accounts, estate planning, financial negotiations, financial court settlements, and more – these are some examples.

Now here is the interesting part. This entire area of financial management that I have been discussing will be a huge focus for you after July 20 due to the entry of Mars into Leo, and bolstered by the new moon in Leo on July 23 at 1 degree. Yet there there’s MORE evidence that you will be near-obsessed with money matters. Next month we have ANOTHER new moon in Leo on August 21 at a different degree, 29 degrees. Typically, we have one new moon a month, always in a different sign and lighting a different part of your chart. Each month brings opportunity in a different part of your life. This time we will have two new moons – and that second new moon, August 21, will be a total eclipse of the Sun, called a solar eclipse – emphasizing the very same area. To say that you will be focused strongly on money matters is an understatement.

Eclipses are among the most powerful tool the universe uses to affect change. They speed up timetables, and major life events you had planned to take years from now suddenly happen immediately. They shake us out of complacency, and give us courage to act quickly as conditions change. If you are to lose something you feel is valuable, the universe will soon show you that it is about to replace what was lost with something far better and more relevant to your life. Think of Mars, and eclipses, as heat seeking missiles that clean out situations so that we can live life more productively and happily. I will talk more about eclipses next month, for by then we will have two eclipses, a lunar eclipse (full moon) August 7 and a total eclipse of the Sun, a solar eclipse (new moon) August 21. What is so special about the August eclipses is that they are so very friendly. Usually they are mixed (or at times downright challenging), but these will bring you to a better place, especially financially.

In the meantime, put a big circle around July 5, when the Sun and Neptune will align – this should be an enchanting day, filled with magic and wonder, made more so if you travel to a lyrical setting near water.

Other good days for love include Tuesday, July 18, when Venus and Jupiter will trade signals. This will be a great day for your career, and a victory during the day seems to put you in the perfect mood for love and affection later that evening. The transiting moon will be in Taurus, another heavenly coincidence – perfect for you! This could turn out to be a really special day.

Also put a star on the weekend of July 29-30, when surprise planet Uranus will contact love goddess Venus and bubble up fun. Venus rules Capricorn’s solar fifth house of true love, so his day should be memorable too, with plenty of unexpected developments, all of them positive.

You seem to have been focused on a partner who you are in a union with in love (such as marriage) or in a business alliance that is important to you. Your focus on this person will continue through the first three weeks of July, and within that period, the full moon of July 8 will allow you to get in touch with your feelings and help you to finally feel centered and unfettered by others’ opinions. A matter of enormous importance to you is about to come to culmination at this full moon in Capricorn July 8, and you may have worked toward this culmination for quite a while.

This full moon will be conjunct Pluto, so you want to tell others your ideas and opinions, but with Mars opposing Pluto, you run the danger of coming across too strong. Soft pedal your thoughts – others will understand all you have to say without hitting them over the head with the proverbial hammer. Yet at the same time, because Mars and Pluto are at loggerheads in early July, you may feel coerced by someone who is trying to gain power over you. Stand your ground, but do so politely to keep the matter from escalating.

In your career, you are doing well even though you appear to have one or more tough competitors who might be intent on taking away a piece of your pie. You are up to the task of winning any contest of wills, should you encounter one, so make this ruthless competitor sorry he ever chose engage you. This month, as ever, you are alert, determined, and focused on all that you need to do, and are being energized by Mars in your opposite sign of Cancer. Sometimes having something to fight against, in any area of life, is helpful, for it can bring out the strength within you that never knew you had.

If you are in a relationship, you may be ready to come to a decision about where you would like to take it next. Last month’s new moon of June 23 likely started you to think about your emotional future, so if your relationship is working well for you now, you will know that to be true, but if it is not, you will see very strong evidence of that too. In the latter case, you would need to talk out anything that is pressing on you or your partner. With Mars in Cancer, you may be hearing an earful from your partner – things that your partner held inside before now – but if so, be philosophical. It’s always better to know the truth. If this relationship is important to you, whether romantic or business in nature, you can work to smooth out the problems – it begins with talking.

Money will also form a major theme, and that focus will start up in the last part of the month, but will grow steadily in importance in coming weeks, into next month, for three reasons. First, Mars will enter Leo, lighting your eighth house of other people’s money on July 20 to stay until September 5. This area of your chart rules commissions, royalties, bonus, taxes, inheritance, estate planning, insurance payouts, valuable gifts, bank loans, sponsorship and venture capital, mortgage, financial court settlements (including such things as a divorce settlement), and other funds that come to you outside of salary. This is the area you will be focused on mainly due to the start of Mars’ entry into Leo in late July. Mars will increase your spending temporarily, perhaps because you have a large commitment that you had planned for, saved for, or that you expected would come due.

The new moon this month in Leo, July 23, will further emphasize the same type of funds – one of those financial areas will stand out for you. The Sun at the new moon will be conjunct Mars, giving it more power and might. You will be intent on seeing quick progress in any deal you are working on, and for that reason, will accomplish results fairy rapidly. Don’t move too quickly, dear Capricorn. Think out your strategy carefully and take your time. You seem most likely to be spending money to buy property or pay for home improvements, or if you are self-employed, to put together an improved home office. Your spending appears to be property or business-oriented, but it is, admittedly, possible that you will be paying for something else that is expensive such as college tuition, camp for your child, a lavish vacation, the arrival of a baby, or other major landmark in your life.

Each month we see a new moon in a different house of the zodiac, but in July and August we will have the unusual situation of two new moons arriving four weeks apart in the same sign, same house, coming one right after the other, both in Leo – those new moons will be in the part of your chart that rules the money you get outside of salary that I have been discussing in detail. The second new moon will arrive on August 21, which is not only a new moon but a friendly triple-strength solar eclipse.

An eclipse will always give power and might to any matter, and this one, ruling money, will be especially strong and bring noticeable results. It appears you will be seeing money from a new source, for solar eclipses in financial houses are known to bring that news. Keep watching the timing of what occurs when it comes to your finances – you should start to see that a large sum of money is either about to enter your bank account or leave it, in the latter case, because you are about to pay for something you dearly want and feel is important for building a brighter future.