I feel we all live in our heads so much of the time that when we are faced with a circumstance that forces us to acknowledge that we really do have a body to care for, it sometimes comes as a bit of shock. I suppose if you are an athlete and reading this, you are laughing at me. It’s true, as an astrologer and a writer, I spend most of my days thinking.

When I was wheeled to the outside of the operating room on the morning of June 12, wearing the special blue paper surgical gown and shower cap to cover my hair, it occurred to me that some things in life have to be faced straightforwardly, and gone through by ourselves without help. I feel these experiences make us stronger and also more compassionate of others.

Yet, then I thought about how lucky I was – so many of you, dear readers, said you would send a prayer for me when I posted on Twitter and Facebook that I was about to have an operation. You responded so warmly, far beyond my expectations, and it made my heart swell. Thank you so much.

Life would be glorious if your money weren’t so tight these days. For that you can blame Saturn, the taskmaster planet that is working hard to show you how to get more from the money you earn, and also teaching you the importance of slashing waste, and how to negotiate better deals for yourself. Keep the faith, for powerful eclipses this month might bring a sudden opportunity to get an influx of cash. It would be best not to go on vacation this month, as you will want to be easy to reach when news strikes. August would be a better time to go.

We are now in eclipse season, and usually eclipses come in pairs, but this time we will see three eclipses, each consecutive eclipse coming two weeks apart, starting with a solar new moon eclipse in Cancer, July 12. After that, we will have a full moon lunar eclipse in Aquarius on July 27. Two weeks later brings a new moon solar eclipse in Leo on August 11.

Before I discuss the eclipses, I want to draw your attention to the very best day of the month and possibly the best day of the entire season. It will come up quickly on July 5. On this day, Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck and planet of healing and even miracles, will receive sparkling rays from the mighty Sun, the star that gives vitality.

Jupiter is currently in your twelfth house ruling behind-the-scenes talks, as well as places of confinement, like hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and rehab centers. At the same time, the transiting Sun is in your eighth house, which rules, in addition to money, medical procedures, including surgery, for this is the house of transformation. Surgery is covered in that house because the doctor takes away the part of you that you don’t need (and that may be hurting you) so that you can transform back into a healthy person. Surgery is often expensive and other people’s money comes into play when you put in a claim to your health insurance company.

July 5 would be a superb time to schedule any kind of medical or dental procedure. Lucky you, Jupiter is Sagittarius’ ruler, so while everyone of every sign will enjoy July 5for various and different reasons, Jupiter’s role as ruler to you means you will get a double dip of luck from these golden rays. Matters of health and money shine brilliantly for you on July 5, but so will a host of other actions you may take on that day.

Now let’s turn to the new about the eclipses. The new moon solar eclipse of July 12 in Cancer, 21 degrees, will light this same eighth house portion of your chart, and for most people centers on other people’s money, so this eclipse might help you find a pipeline of cash.

The type of money you might see is NOT related to salary or your savings, for that would be your second house that covers those kinds of income, savings, and personal spending. Instead it is the kind of money you would receive as a large, one-time payment – as an insurance payout for a claim, infusion of venture capital, large commission, a bonus, prize winning, inheritance, bank loan or line of credit, or you may receive back child support. You might be opening talks on the fair division of assets in a divorce or if you are closing your business, starting talks with your business partner on how to fairly split profits the business generated.

    July 5 would be a superb time to schedule any kind of medical or dental procedure. Matters of health and money shine brilliantly for you on July 5, but so will a host of other actions you may take on that day.

Solar eclipses often bring opportunities, and this one will too, for there are unusually fine aspects surrounding this eclipse. I will get to those in a moment, but there will also be a very tough aspect, and it’s a major one – Pluto will be in opposition to the Sun and new moon. Pluto can come in any number of guises. He can be a creditor who demands to be paid now, leaving you no room for negotiation. Or, he may be the taxman or government official who also wants money. This person will be unfair and domineering, and demand payment. Somehow you will need to find a way to deal with him, so knowing this is coming, you might want to set up a contingency plan.

This is a purely financial matter, so while this eclipse will emphasize money, because the eighth house will also be highlighted, your health and possible surgery will be, too. You may have to call your health insurance company to find out how they will cover – hopefully, the answer will be the total of the bill with maybe only small copay. If you don’t have health insurance, then you will set up a payment plan. The hospital can’t quite take blood from a rock if you simply don’t have the money.

Do your best to investigate insurance plans after you get well, for there are plans available that you will likely be able to afford. Saturn is in the background, hoping you will see the reason having health insurance is so important. The secret no one will ever tell you is that if you don’t have insurance, you will have trouble getting the best doctor, the one who earned all A’s in medical school. A lot of doctors don’t take insurance anymore, but hospitals do, and that’s where the big costs mount quickly. I grew up in hospitals due to my birth defect, and you probably know I continue to be in hospitals now and then more than anyone you know.

The good side of this July 12 eclipse will be substantial. At the time of this new moon eclipse, a golden triangle will appear of pure harmony, linking your ruler, Jupiter in Scorpio, to Neptune in Pisces, the latter now in your house of home and family. Both Jupiter and Neptune will link to the Sun and new moon in Cancer. Neptune will see to it that you get considerable family support this month, and if you need luck with moving or renovating, you will have that as well. If you are having confidential talks, or having a medical procedure on or near July 12, Jupiter will be on hand to help you recover. The fourth house, according to the ancients, also rules “the end of all matters,” for it is the house aligned with midnight, where tomorrow magically becomes today, so with Jupiter beaming brilliant rays to your fourth house, an action you will do in early July should go very well for you.

There will be TWO golden triangles his month, happening simultaneously! This is extraordinary! I have no recollection of ever seeing two golden triangles at eclipse time! Wow. This one will link Venus in Virgo, shining at the very top of your chart, in your tenth house of honors, awards, and career achievement, indicating critics and VIPs are impressed with your work. Venus will link in a dazzlingly friendly way to Uranus in Taurus, now in your house of work assignments, and to Saturn in an equally friendly way, to your second house of earned income and salary. This tells me your reputation will lead you to a surprise assignment that will pay you well and that will likely bring on a comforting sense of financial security. Hooray!

More good news: Jupiter, your ruler, has been in retrograde in Scorpio since March 8, but will turn direct this month on July 10. This means this planet of good fortune will exert much stronger beams and help you in a more powerful way from now on. Jupiter will not go retrograde again until April 2019.

The eclipse will arrive on July 27 in Aquarius, 5 degrees. The full moon lunar eclipse will occur in your third house, suggesting you will be doing a lot of negotiation this month, perhaps over one or more contracts. I suggest that you stay away from signing anything this month, for eclipses bring changes, and until you know which way the wind is blowing, you won’t know how to properly structure the deal. There are other reasons you should not sign, and I will get into those in a moment.

The second eclipse of July 27 will be a full moon, so you will be pressured to hurry up and sign, but that full moon will receive a hard glace from Uranus, at 90 degrees, from your house of work projects, suggesting that a last-minute clause in the contract may worry you – rightly so. Or, it may be an assignment that you are doing will go off the rails and need instant attention. This eclipse relates to a work assignment, so it alternatively could be that a key person who is reporting to you will announce a departure, leaving the team shorthanded and under pressure to get it done. You won’t expect the news that comes up. That is the nature of Uranus, called the Great Awakener, who strikes suddenly, without any clues about what is coming.

The third house also rules sisters, brothers, and cousins, so be sure to check in with your close kin at month’s end to see how they are doing. If one needs help, you will want to be there quickly because that is what families do for one another.

I feel the universe sends Uranus to shake us up once in a while to keep us flexible and resourceful. I know, it’s not fun, but afterward, after you find the solution, you will feel like a superhero. You are what astrologers call a mutable sign, which means you, along with Virgo, Pisces, and Gemini, are the signs most capable to respond instantly to challenges. You will show others how it is done.

Here are more reasons why I don’t want you to sign papers or to make critical decisions in July or August. Last month, Mars went retrograde on June 26, and Mars will remain in weak retrograde position until August 27. Mars is the planet that is known for imparting to each of us the energy, courage, and drive that we need to compete effectively. But when Mars is napping in retrograde, we don’t have access to Mars’ high energy, and feeling overwhelmed, we find the will to win lacking, and the possibility of being number one nearly impossible.

Mars acts as a booster to big rockets to help them to rise high in the sky, into the stratosphere where they will enter into their orbit. When the rocket achieves the proper elevation needed, the work of Mars is done. The rocket will be finally in orbit and needs no more help from Mars. However, without Mars’ booster effect, getting that multi-ton rocket into space is a near-impossible job.

What can you do when Mars is retrograde? It’s a good time to go back and review former work you’ve done to see if you can make the project better. Revisit your assumptions to see if they are on target or not. Mars rules your fifth house of creativity, so you may find that a creative project may need more attention by making tweaks. The fifth house also rules love and romance, and you may change your mind about a person you are dating, one way or another, and then maybe change your mind all over again. There are three planets that obit close to earth – Mercury, Mars, and Venus, and when one of those retrogrades, we feel the effect very strongly.

To make all this clearer to you, astrologers have tables that track the path and speed of planets. Usually it takes Mars two days to go one degree, but last month, as Mars got closer to going retrograde on June 25, starting June 21, Mars took 12 days to go one degree. We will all feel like we will be walking through glue.

One last day to have an important meeting for your career will be Sunday, July 22, or Monday, July 23, when Venus in your house of fame will signal Venus, already there. Confidential talks should go exceedingly well.

To complicate matters more, Mercury will go retrograde from June 25 to August 19. Mercury is the planet that rules your tenth house of career prestige, your reputation, and professional success, but with Mercury retrograde, it will be hard to make any progress in your career. (You WILL make progress before Mercury retrogrades, particularly just after July 12, but not as you get closer to June 25 through August 19.) For this reason, wrap up all-important deals in early July.

I have friend who rush up against the day Mercury goes retrograde, but that’s not a good idea. Mercury is at his worst, a real wild child, on the days he goes retrograde or direct. If you HAVE to act during Mercury retrograde (and I don’t advise it), do it in the middle days of the retrograde, about 10 days into that period. If you have my astrological 2018 calendar, you see that on August 1 you a very bad day coming up, when Mars in Aquarius will challenge Uranus in Taurus to exact degree, so here, that rule does not apply. People will be out of sorts, cranky, or even quick to anger on August 1, so wait to act on August 7. (This is why I print a calendar so you can plan ahead.)

A temporary tightening of cash flow may have you tense as you enter July. The full moon of June 27 that appeared just days before the start of this month seems to have forced you to juggle your finances, perhaps forcing you to take money from Peter to pay Paul. That full moon was conjunct Saturn, so certain financial realities had to be acknowledged. It seems you had (or will soon have) no way to delay making a payment. The discussion on the table might have to do with an international project, funds to pay for a legal situation, or money you need to pay as tuition.

Just when you assume all is lost, a surprise assignment seems to come in near July 5 to calm your nerves and bring you part (or all) of the money you need to keep your creditors happy. Uranus will be perfectly positioned to bring you help from an unusual source. Your best day of the month will be July 5, when the Sun and Jupiter will align perfectly and you will find support – possibly financial support – from an influential person who believes in you. This same day would be a sterling day for surgery or other medical procedure.

Although the early part of the month shows money coming in as well as going out, your financial juggling won’t be quite over yet. Another test of your ability to find money when you need it will arrive at the new moon solar eclipse of July 12. You can triumph over this test – this is not the first time you have faced a similar situation. The surrounding little planets will give you all the ammunition you need to generate more income mid-month, for you will have powerful support from your ruling planet, Jupiter, and from the patron planet of the arts, Neptune – together – a formidable team.

You also have Venus, Saturn, and Uranus joining hands to create a glittering triangle in the night sky, which will help you get an unexpected project that pays well and that will lift your profile in your industry.

The villain in this episode at the July 12 eclipse will be Pluto based in your second house of personal savings and salary. At the July 12 eclipse, Pluto will directly oppose the new moon eclipse in your other financial sector ruling joint financial funds, namely, your eighth house, ruling creditors, loans, venture capital, court settlements, taxes, and so forth – the area called the house of other people’s money. Although Pluto is being harsh and demanding, keep in mind that you get help from good fortune Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck, suggesting you may get financial help from someone behind the scenes who may want to help you in the eleventh hour. If you are in talks over splitting proceeds in a divorce, talks may become very contentious.

The month’s last eclipse on July 27 will emphasize your third house of agreements and contracts, but under no circumstance should you sign papers at month’s end. Mercury will be retrograde from July 25 to August 18, making it a bad time to sign any papers.

Conditions are rapidly changing due to the appearance of eclipses and Mercury retrograde, but at this point, you won’t be able to see which direction events will be headed. It is also not the time to buy a car, an appliance, or any electronic item, for you if you do shop during Mercury retrograde, you are NOT likely to enjoy the purchase later on. If you need an electronic item, shop for it in the first week of July.

Additionally, Mars, the planet that helps you summon courage, energy, and drive, will be retrograde too, a trend that started June 26 and that will go until August 27. With these two planets that orbit close to earth, Mars and Mercury, in lethargic condition, it will be hard for you to make a profit or excel in any competitive venture that you set in motion. Instead, use this time to examine work previously finished and find ways to make them more profitable, possibly by tweaking the actual product. Revisit your original assumptions and overall strategy to see if those choices held up. September will bring a far better time to launch your biggest initiatives.

You will have a chance to get a change of scene in the last week of July, and to go back to enjoy a location you once loved but haven’t seen in years. Take the opportunity and reminisce about the last time you were there and how much fun you had then, and will again.