There’s a Mystic Rectangle forming that will be in play through the 2nd of August; let’s walk through the situation, and see where it leads.

A Mystic Rectangle is a configuration made up of a pair of sextiles, with each pair opposing the other; that is, point A sextiles B, and point C sextiles D, with A opposed D, and B opposed C. This generates a certain synergy among the energies, a positive dynamic that otherwise would allow the oppositions to have a greater, and decidedly more negative, say.

Now that you’re thoroughly alphabet-confused, we’ll describe what’s actually in the sky, as the Sun in Leo moves into place to complete the pattern. The Sun sextiles the North Node, forming one end of the rectangle; the other end is the South Node closely conjoined by Juno sextile Earth, the latter approaching conjunction to Saturn. It’s not unusual for the Nodes to act as ‘anchor points’ in the forming of this configuration, and as well for the Sun-Earth axis to move into position, almost as if our energy, attention, and surroundings develop until we reach a point to make choices (relatively easy ones–the sextiles) that have, one way or another, life-direction changing impact.

This config suggests illumination (Sun) of the future (NN) we are currently generating via our thoughts and ideas (Gemini), especially as they make statements about who we are and the role(s) we wish to play (Leo), and the way these notions confront (oppositions) our status, roles, and empowerment circumstances of the past (Juno-SN), specifically as these attempted to expand our horizons, help us learn, or exposed the facts (Sagittarius) and created current material surroundings (Earth) and, subsequently, our reality (Saturn). So, it’s a period of assessment and evaluation focused on ourselves and our methods, and where those ideas and efforts have taken us.

We might initially think immediate action is the answer, as the first two days of the Rectangle coincide with Mars at 29 tense degrees of Leo. The issue is that actions at this point may be purely motivated by ego or a need to put the Self forward, to ‘shine’, because our ‘I Am’, our action urge, is under stress, even panic, wanting to redress and make corrections to our previous conduct, because we see quite clearly where that led, and where it did and didn’t bring success. The ‘I Am’ is roaring during this period, so be prepared for some chest-thumping and a few pirouettes, from ourselves or others, and see them more as blowing off steam than as serious assertions of who we are–and this may happen publicly, is definitely exaggerated, but could generate opportunities or some balloon-ready-to-burst optimism (Jupiter in Aquarius, also at 29 degrees and opp Mars).

Too, we see Ceres-Sedna closely conjoined at 29 Taurus. Though not part of the config, those 29 degree bodies fill the air with tension and encourage rash (and sometimes disastrous) action. In this case this pairing adds a dash of desperate-to-be-seen-as-autonomous (Ceres) to the inner landscape (Sedna), stimulating our ‘blind spot’ material (Sedna) and making us sitting ducks to act out, rather innocently believing we’re following instinct when we’re really riding on a subtle current of info we ‘know but don’t know’ (Sedna).

By the 30th we’re not as prone to act (Mars enters Virgo, and gets a lot more inclined to demand to know the odds, the details, and the stats before doing), and Mercury flies close to the Sun in Leo, adding a prompt to think. Are we, Icarus-like, prone to be blinded by consideration of ourselves and our purpose and intentions, so much so that we flame out and plunge back to earth? Maybe, but the real message here could be that we pull back from being dazzled by our own potentials and intentions, and start to apply our smarts in service of getting closer to our goals.

Superior Conjunction of Mercury and the Sun on August 1st says we’re successful at drawing useful conclusions and making effective plans, and the ability to bring our ideas into solid reality only increases, peaking on the 2nd as Earth and Saturn finally perfect their meeting. Plan accordingly, and expect by the 3rd to get a good emotional reading on life direction and modification of efforts as the Gemini Moon passes over the North Node.

Today’s Word Image is a woman, seated in a pool of lamplight, in the middle of the night. What, literally or figuratively, is ‘keeping you up at night’? The image suggests awareness at a point when rest would be more appropriate, and could speak of overwork, hyper-vigilance, or an emphasis on being overly responsible, probably for things outside one’s control, as well as a state of worry. Since the woman in the image isn’t doing anything, it may suggest that anxiety without action is just wasted energy, and that it may be keeping us from getting what we genuinely need (in this case, sleep!)