Written and published exclusively for Chatelaine. Read the French version here. Photo: iStock.com via French Chatelaine.

A new month is welcomed in by the planet of action Mars entering the slower pace of Taurus on July 4. The same day, the planet of communication Mercury enters emotionally receptive Cancer. It’s quite the cozy and stay-at-home vibes. The full moon in Capricorn takes place on July 13, the culmination point of whatever began at the beginning of January 2022. What has come to fruition since then?

Venus joins the homebound crew and enters Cancer on July 17. This inspires breakfast in bed, PJs all day and cooking for people instead of eating out. Mercury changes signs and enters Leo on July 19, which primes our summer-ready (for the northern hemisphere, at least) plans.

The sun officially kicks off the deepening of seasons (summer in the north, winter in the south) and goes into Leo on July 22. And finally, a new moon in Leo occurs on July 28, the same day Jupiter in Aries stations retrograde. Have fun and slow down if you can. Read your month-ahead horoscopes for some gentle guidance.

I highly recommend that you primarily read the horoscopes for your rising sign. If you don’t know your rising sign, you can read for your sun sign (born during the day) and/or moon sign (born at night). Read it all if you like, and take what resonates. To figure out these placements, enter your birth date, location and precise birth time into an astrology app like Time Nomad or online at astro.com. For more guidance on how all of these play together, visit charmastrology.com.

Cancer: You must remain pliable and flexible as you move towards your future. Extending the distance between your strategic actions and tolerance for discomfort will strengthen your capacity for difference. This month, people, situations, and even your dreams may show a distinct face. Instead of an immediate aversion to change, nourish wonder instead. If anything, staying curious is more interesting than wallowing in dread. You’re not supposed to always know what comes next. The tension between where you are and what you desire ultimately makes life fascinating.

Leo: The pressure and responsibility of appearing good might be keeping you small, dear Leo. It cuts down on the complexity of your humanity and disrespects your creative potential. It ultimately plays by others’ rule of goodness and disregards your own compass. Experiment with appearing messy, imperfect, incomplete, out of context and chaotic. Stay with the deep fear of rejection and inadequacy this may bring up. Work through that and make friends with the insecure parts of yourself instead of always willing and curing it away.

Virgo: Existentialism is a crisis of meaning. You’re going to be in one of those moods, dear Virgo. But don’t fret, this is all quite healthy and human, albeit uncomfortable. If anyone knows about the value of criticism, it is you. So do question things, your beliefs, your memories, your work, your dreams. Hopefully, in your quest for answers, you arrive at new truths that bring you some ease and solace.

Libra: What are the material consequences of your vulnerability? Take your time answering this, dear Libra. July offers dynamic tension between your desire for meaningful togetherness and the deep fears it brings up. When you’ve attached your usefulness as the gift you bring in your relationships, it can feel like things are amiss when you’re not needed. How much are you deflecting sharing what you need from others by being helpful and available?

Scorpio: Regression is also movement, you know? It may feel like many of the lessons you’ve learned and trials you’ve overcome are useless if others continually misunderstand you. Even if it feels like you’re moving backwards, especially in your significant relationships, just stay the course. Important aspects of your life are going through serious shakeups. Your inherent toughness always prepares you for moments like these. Give things time to settle and land before picking up the pieces again.

Sagittarius: Wellness is such an ambiguous word sometimes, and truthfully, something afforded access to the privileged few. But listen, this month ahead, your sense of well-being demands your care and attention. In the small slice of your world, you’re commanded endlessly by all of your life’s responsibilities that sometimes feel all-consuming, as if the bigger world rests on your shoulders. In all your outpouring of labour and effort, don’t forget to reserve time and space for your own needs for wellness, health, sanity and joy.

Capricorn: When in doubt, go slow. Yes, there are urgent situations that demand your immediacy. But who says they’re pressing matters? Be able to discern if the acute emergencies you’re responding to are inherently true crises, in your opinion, that merit your precious expertise and attention. Otherwise, things can wait. July will rouse you to do some housecleaning and tend to neglected admin-adjacent tasks that keep your life afloat. They may be boring, but they’re also important. Stop delaying.

Aquarius: You care so much and deeply that it hurts when you’re read as indifferent, unconcerned, detached. Quite the contrary. When this happens, what do you do? There is pressure, perhaps, to perform warmth for others’ benefit and understanding. Sometimes this is exhausting. Especially this month ahead, you’re more drawn to cave in to your inner shell. Maybe, instead of responding and reacting to other people’s scripts, come up with your own that is resistant to misunderstandings. You can’t possibly be responsible for everyone’s perspective. Stick to your guns.

Pisces: Resist the entrapments of “pictures or it didn’t happen” phenomenon of digital visibility. There’s so much more to life than what you outwardly share, online or IRL. July inspires you to cultivate and plant seeds for your inner world. It’s about deepening and widening your sense of self through the pulse and quality of your daily life—more than the inflamed and fleeting dopamine hits of once-in-a-lifetime adventures and seduction of visibility. How you live your days is how you live your life, witnessed or not.

Aries: Do you sometimes feel like you have to buy other people’s affections? If yes, what conditions require this kind of dynamic with people in your life? Attaching value to the tangible offerings you bring to the table is completely human. What’s worrying, however, is if this is your main modus operandi. Seek help and support to unlearn the material associations of your lovability. You undoubtedly deserve more than transactional exchanges of care. You deserve sincerity.

Taurus: Sometimes it’s uncomfortable being ourselves, with all our complications, histories, traumas and desires. Sometimes it’s easier to imagine being someone else, living their easier lives. What of being in the body you inhabit feels bitter and sad? The lip service advice of love yourself is, at best, dismissive. Instead, get to the root of this pain. Start healing from there. It’s okay if you don’t know how to even begin. It’s more important that you do start somewhere.

Gemini: It is a sad affair when what once provided immense pleasure no longer gives you much-needed soothing and relief. The fleeting nature of your serotonin boosts might be keeping you unsustainably dependent. This is why the reliability of everyday comforts feels valuable and sacred. Cultivate a solid foundation of routines and regimens to buoy you while you ride the waves of change. Of course, nothing ever stays the same as time moves forward. But you can provide yourself with the solace and respite of ordinary comforts.