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.

July is due to be a wild month, with many twists and turns. We are entering eclipse season, and that means changes are due for everyone, but especially for you. One of the eclipses will be in Aquarius on July 27, and next month, one will be in your opposite sign of Leo, found six months from yours on the horoscope wheel. This suggests you will be thinking about your dreams and goals for the future, and about your relationship with your committed partner, in love or business.

You have had a long series of eclipses in Aquarius and Leo. According to my Table of Eclipses 1994-2030, found on my homepage of Astrology Zone in the lower left hand side if you scroll down, you have already come through the following eclipses:

In 2017, a lunar eclipse in Leo on February 10, 2017; a lunar eclipse in Aquarius on August 7, 2017; followed by that famous eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017 (you might have worn the glasses to look at the Sun if you reside in the US).

In 2018, earlier this year, a lunar eclipse on January 31 occurred in Leo, followed by an eclipse of the Sun on February 15. Take a look at this list to see if anything important happened in your life near the dates listed. For the ones that I listed in August 2017, you’d have to have been born near February 4 for the August 7 eclipse or February 16 for the August 21 eclipse.

This month you will have an eclipse in Aquarius on July 27, affecting Aquarians born January 26, and next month a new moon solar eclipse will arrive on August 11 and fall in Leo 19 degrees (affecting those Aquarians born February 7). I don’t have time to discuss the August 11 eclipse yet, but rest assured, it’s friendly, and nothing like the one July 27 this month.

I will get to discuss the July 27 eclipse in a moment. All I can say in shorthand is that if your birthday falls on January 25 or near that date, you can expect life changes. Next month, a solar eclipse will occur on August 11, so you’d have to have been born near February 7 plus or minus five days to feel its affects.

Let’s start at the top of the month when the Sun and Jupiter will be in perfect sync, July 5. Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck, will receive shimmering golden rays from the Sun and put your name on everyone’s lips for work exceptionally well done. Jupiter is shining in your tenth house of honors and achievement, and the Sun is in your workaday assignment sixth house. The particular project that you are working on now could help you make quite a name for yourself in your industry, or possibly the world. Use July 5 for an important meeting, presentation, or speech, or to hand in a big project.

    In case you feel Jupiter has not been working hard enough for you in the career realm, you are about to see a welcome change. Jupiter has been retrograde since March 8, but will go direct now on July 10. Jupiter, the good fortune planet, will give a big boost to your efforts.

In case you feel Jupiter has not been working hard enough for you in the career realm, you are about to see a welcome change. Jupiter has been retrograde since March 8, but will go direct now on July 10. Jupiter, the good fortune planet, will give you a big boost to your efforts and add to your reputation. You have not seen Jupiter in this area of your chart for 12 years, so buckle up, you are about to show everyone what you are capable of doing. You will start to feel this change as soon as July 5, when you have that lovely interplay between the Sun and Jupiter.

Mars is still currently in Aquarius, putting you in the lead, and actually giving you quite a bit of control. The problem is, Mars slowed down June 26 when it went retrograde, and it will stay that way until August 27. Mars is a high-energy planet that helps to focus us in whatever house it happens to be visiting. Mars is now in your fifth house of leadership and vitality, and so you are anxious to do something new and innovative, but with Mars so lethargic, I don’t want you to start any new projects until September.

Let me show you how I know Mars is sleepy, and has his run down his batteries. Usually, when Mars is perky and in good form, he takes two days to travel one degree. Last month, a few days before Mars went officially retrograde, on June 26, on June 21, he started to crawl across a tiny portion of the sky. It took little Mars 12 days to go one degree. Mama Mia! Do you see why you should not launch anything of vital importance now?

You can do market research by doing polling, sending up a trial balloon on a certain aspect of your project, or by going through the methodical process of challenging every assumption you made to build your strategy. You cannot launch now, for if you do, the birth of your venture will have a tired Mars built into the venture for the term of its existence.

Mars teaches us how to be assertive, competitive, and how to win. Mars gives us motivation, confidence, and drive. This energetic little planet comes by to your sign every two years, but don’t be concerned that you will lose Mars’ advantage. Mars will remain in Aquarius until November 15, an extraordinarily long time for Mars to be in any one sign. As you see, you will have September, October, and half of November to push forward.

To complicate – and slow things down – even more, Mars’ brother, Mercury, will also go retrograde this month from July 25 to August 18. This is no time to sign papers, for anything you negotiate now will only have to be renegotiated later. If you want to buy a computer, an air conditioner, refrigerator, smart phone, expensive headphones, or even a car, you should do that now, or wait until September (avoiding September 18. (I am waiting for Apple to release new products in time for the holidays in September.)

Now let’s look at the eclipses. The first one will arrive July 12 as a new moon solar eclipse in Cancer, 21 degrees. This one will light your workaday sector, so you will have to be in the office and not on vacation when this hits. You may have a trusted member of your team announce a departure, or a client or manager may completely change the nature of a project you’ve been working on. All hands will be needed to be on deck.

There is one very difficult aspect to this eclipse, and that one involves Pluto in opposition to the Sun and new moon. Pluto is currently in your behind-the-scenes sector, so someone may be working at cross-purposes to you and try to undermine all or part of your effort. This seems like an internal political move, made by someone who is threatened by your confidence and savvy judgment, or who is jealous of your success.

You have Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck, in your tenth house of fame and professional achievement, protecting your every move. You are likely to have another victory to cheer about on July 5 (discussed earlier), so this person may be very envious of you. All year, Neptune has been in beautiful conversation with Jupiter, increasing your creativity and giving you the ability to think outside the box in a very original way. I don’t want to raise your anxiety, dear Aquarius. This person is working under the radar, so I just want you to keep your antenna up. I doubt anyone can touch you with the aces you have in your pocket for you career.

You should monitor your health this month too, as the sixth house, where this eclipse is falling, will also emphasize all the good things you do to keep strong and in good condition. This is a new moon, so you may sign up for a series of training sessions at the gym (it would be good timing), or think about if you are eating nutritiously.

After this July 12 eclipse occurs, it is the ideal time to go in for your annual medical exam, and when you do, besides all the blood tests those little medical vampires like to do, check in with your eye doctor and dentist, too.

Now we come to the difficult eclipse, July 27, in Aquarius, 5 degrees, falling in your first house, making you feel this eclipse very personally. The reason I don’t like this eclipse is that Uranus is based in your fourth house of home, other property you may rent or own, and your parents. Uranus is the planet of out-of-the-blue surprise. Uranus is in the middle between the Sun in Leo and the lunar full moon eclipse in Aquarius. Imagine a seesaw – Uranus in the middle, at the fulcrum, and it will exert difficulties to both the full moon and Sun. Leo rules your partner, such as with your spouse or a business partner or collaborator, and the moon in your chart rules your work projects. A change could occur with the team, or with the project. Protect computer data, and back up all that you are doing.

Still, I feel the surprise comes from home – a landlord, tenant, contractor, architect, decorator, au pair or nanny, housekeeper, or other such person connected to your home and with your well-being there. It alternatively could point to a sudden need of your mother or father, so if that is how things play out, you will need to have time to drop everything and help out near July 27, plus or minus four days. You will not see this coming, and trying to guess what Uranus will do is always futile, for Uranus is the quintessential planet of the unexpected – this planet always delivers what you would have never even considered possible.

Uranus is your ruling planet, making this a more important eclipse for you. If your birthday falls on January 25, or you have Aquarius rising at 5 degrees, you will need to be ready for news. If you have a natal planet in Aquarius at 5 degrees, plus or minus four degrees, you, too, will notice something.

You need to take very good care of yourself, dear Aquarius, for it appears you are working too hard, and may not be getting enough sleep. You entered July just after the appearance of a full moon of last month, June 27, when you had to wrap and ship a major job that either was due or will have a deadline no later than July 3.

That full moon at the end of June arrived conjunct Saturn, an indication of just how a strenuous that job was to work on over past weeks – it likely took all the energy you had to give. You reputation was at stake, and in this project, details counted.

Mars, the energy planet, is in Aquarius, putting you in the lead until November 15, but Mars went retrograde last month on June 26, rendering Mars in weakened position until August 27. For this reason, go over past decisions and projects to root out flaws and any misguided assumptions. Refine your strategy and streamline the project’s design. Mars’ brother, Mercury, will also be retrograde, June 25 to August 18, so miscommunications might proliferate in coming weeks.

The solar eclipse in Cancer on July 12 will light your house of work projects, so you could easily soon see changes in department personnel, or be told one or two co-workers will soon leave. The client may say to go in another direction, changing his or her mind on what the final outcome should look like. Additionally, you may hear about improved methods to approach projects handed down from management, perhaps by being given new equipment or software.

This eclipse is mixed in outlook, so on the down side, Pluto will oppose the Sun and new moon, indicating a ruthless competitor might be about to move aggressively in on your territory. This person, oddly, seems to work in your company, not from the outside, but seems jealous of the success you are having and wants to undermine you. I don’t want to make you paranoid that someone is out to get you. I just want you to know that someone is envious of the victories you are racking up. It’s pathetic, and I doubt this person can lay a finger on you.

You can outwit this person – half the battle is knowing that you need to protect what is yours. Alternatively you might see a client whose demands border on outrageous – an 800 lb. gorilla who, as the saying goes, can sit anywhere he pleases and boss you around.

At the same time, at this critical new moon eclipse July 12, good fortune Jupiter will be in the best place to help you showcase your talents and creativity. There is indication you’d be paid well for your efforts too, so speak up for your due.

Furthermore, Jupiter has been retrograde for months, but will go direct on July 10, giving you a boost to your reputation and provide you with the opportunity to see impressive career growth. Although Jupiter will take time to ramp up to full power after turning direct orbit on July 10, you will start to feel the positive difference this month, and every little bit will help.

The same eclipse that will be lit by the new moon solar eclipse on July 12 rules the preventative steps you take to stay healthy. This is a new moon, so that suggests you will see a new chapter forming in your well-being. It’s time to revamp your workout, diet, and schedule to feel stronger, firmer, faster – better.

The month will end on another eclipse, this time in your sign, Aquarius, on July 27, almost forcing you to think about what you have been giving in a relationship and whether you feel the alliance is growing or not. If you are frustrated by elements of your relationship, you need to either fix things or leave. The universe does not allow for stagnation.

Although this eclipse could be about your relationship, it seems to center more on your home and family or on the people you have hired to help you create your space (or vacation home) the way you want it to be. You may be dealing with erratic landlord or psycho-contractor, as two examples.

You may also be considering the idea of living with your sweetheart if you are happy, or conversely opting for time apart if you need space to think. With Mars and Mercury retrograde, the world seems confusing, and progress will be slow. The fog will gradually lift, and by September, your path will open and your mind will become clearer about what you need to do next.

This is not a strong month for romance for Aquarius, but it is a time to think about your future and what you want for yourself. What are you willing to do, and what are you willing to give? Venus will be in your opposite sign of Leo until July 9. If you want to have a conversation with someone close to mend a fence and grow closer, you can do that during the first days of July. Venus brings a silky smoothness to all that she touches, and because Venus is in your committed relationship sector, that’s precisely where you want Venus to be to see a good response.