We are now in the dog days of summer. Have you ever wondered where that expression came from? It refers to Sirius, the Dog Star, a very bright star in the constellation Canis Major. In fact, Sirius is one of the brightest stars in sky.
 
In the later part of the summer, Sirius rises in the East just ahead of the Sun. Ancient people must have thought having two of the sky’s brightest objects rising together in the early morning signaled the start of summer’s hottest time.

 

The ancient Egyptians equated the appearance of Sirius in the early morning sky with the flooding of the Nile. But with the destruction, the floods also brought renewed soil and fertility to the area. Consequently, the appearance of Sirius was not an unwelcome event.

While the ancient people used astrology to help them predict such mundane events as when to plant and harvest crops, they also used the stars to guide the spiritual lives to some extent. July will be dominated by spiritual re-examination because two planets, Saturn and Neptune, are both occupying Pisces and are in retrograde motion at the beginning of the month. Pisces is a spiritual sign. Saturn represents the security of tradition and religion.  Neptune represents spiritual awakening and expansion.

When outer planets are retrograde, like Saturn and Neptune are in July, this creates a really good time to review and adjust one’s perspective.  For example, if you feel stuck, off track, or disillusioned by your spiritual perspective right now, then July is a good time to re-examine what part you find dissatisfying or inadequate and make changes to improve the quality of your practice or experience.

We are going to need to feel spiritually grounded because we will be experiencing a lot of planetary change in 2025. And change often triggers uneasiness, anxiety, or discontent. We may have already started feeling some of this when Pluto moved into Aquarius in January of this year.  

As the slow-moving outer planets transition between signs, there can be some vacillating. I think this is what causes a difficult to define sense of uneasiness. We are not yet firmly rooted in one sign or the other and are unsure of how to adapt to the change in energy.

In short, it is important for us to look inward for strength and guidance instead of simply reacting to external events. This helps create internal fortitude and resilience, which allows us to make good decisions as we move through a sea of change.

On a lighter note, the New Moon on July 5 has some pleasant aspects to further your enjoyment of the holiday week. The Full moon on July 21 has a little more tension attached to it because Pluto opposes the Sun and conjuncts the Moon. It might be a good time to just kick back and retreat into a book or other quiet entertainment.

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