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This week gives room for change. As the lunar nodes begin a new 18-month chapter of evolution, the Moon begins a new cycle in the waters of Cancer. And as Venus begins its six-week retrograde, the Sun moves forward into Leo.

New Moon in Cancer

The moon in astrology speaks of our intuition. Something that comes from our inner reserves, not outside of us. An inner compass that guides us in every direction. Knowledge from the depths of our body. Our heart that speaks to us. Our sense that advises us.

Cancer, as a zodiac sign, draws us into our emotional experience so that we can hear, feel, receive and be with it. Cancer then allows our consciousness to transform into the changes that our emotions and the cosmos prompt us to explore.

Moon at home in Cancer. There is a natural receptivity and harmony between the Moon and Cancer, and this feeling of being nurtured and supported is reflected in the New Moon invitations this week of July 17, 2023.

As the Moon moves back into the Water Sign of Cancer, it invites us to dream and move, feel and heal, open and fill, reflect and close, so that we can take a step forward.

There are other planetary influences shaping the invitations and offerings of this new Moon, including Pluto, which invites a deep inner journey into our shadows and asks us to pour love into the spaces that are desperate for it. And Neptune, which opens access to the spaces of the spirit, the all-encompassing energy of love. And Uranus, which reflects an inner readiness for change and supports us with a surge of inspiration, innovation and restlessness in anticipation of something new.

Lunar nodes enter Aries and Libra

This week’s new moon marks a sacred transition. Closing an 18-month cycle and starting a new one, the lunar nodes change their position on July 17, 2023. The North and South Nodes representing purpose, soul growth, destiny and collective evolution will leave Taurus and Scorpio where they have been since January 2022 and enter Aries and Libra where they will remain until January 2025.

Representing a collective direction of evolution and purpose, the changing lunar nodes invite us to explore new themes of consciousness, healing, and growth potential. When the North Node passes through Aries, each of us enters a new phase of independence, courage, desire, and self-reliance, shedding themes of unhealthy passivity, compliance, fears, and beliefs that we are incomplete and incapable.

Retrograde Venus

In ancient astrology, it was believed that when a planet goes retrograde, it descends into the underworld or unconscious so that we can reunite with lost pieces of ourselves. Starting July 22, 2023, Venus descends into its retrograde path in Leo.

Venus is the aspect of ourselves that deals with love, intimacy, partnership, connection, beauty and desire. Venus represents pleasure, art and romance. It is the value we give ourselves and others. And in the retrograde state, these are themes that come to light in our lives, demanding revisiting, witnessing, rethinking, visiting and healing, renewal.

During these six weeks of Venus retrograde, we are invited to take a journey into the depths of our hearts, ruled by Leo, to see all the spaces within us that have felt loved and unloved, nurtured and neglected. We are asked to leave space for a nonjudgmental exploration of our needs and whether they are being met, whether through partnership, intimacy, how we value ourselves, or how we are valued by another.

This is a time to think about our relationship with money and earnings, the value of our skills and creativity, how we value art and beauty, and the ways in which we feel safe enough, or not, to express what we who we are .

The Sun enters Leo

On the same day that Venus begins its retrograde, the Sun moves into the same sign, ushering in Leo season. When the Sun passes through a constellation, it brings to life in each of us the essence of any sign that affects it. He asks us to become, in our own way, a corresponding sign. Leaving the deep inner waters of Cancer to join Venus in fiery Leo, the Sun forces our expression and motivation to move from the inside out.

Just as the New Moon is in her home sign of Cancer this week, the Sun enters her home sign. Ruled by the Sun and similar to the Sun, Leo is here to shine, to express, to bring warmth, love and vitality. This is the zodiac sign that represents your unique personal identity, burning from within. It only requires that we journey towards becoming fully and completely ourselves, becoming our passions, expressing ourselves boldly, and loving fully.

Your invitation

There seem to be two distinct chapters ahead of this beautiful week. As the new moon begins its cycle and the lunar nodes move into their new area, it is time to accept the support offered so that you can engage more with your body. So you can feel the nodal shift happening within you. So you can curiously explore the inner Aries that lives inside you. So you can know how it wants to appear in this new chapter.

Aries is independence, fire, inspiration, action, inner desire and directed purpose, courage and fierce determination. What is your relationship to these topics? How do they feel in your body? What emotions do they evoke? And how can you support the growth of these energies in your emotional body by soothing, nurturing and supporting yourself as you begin this part of your journey?

When Venus in retrograde joins the Sun under the common sign of Leo, an element of self-awareness comes to the surface. If the Sun shines in the same sign as the planet of love returning behind it, the Leo season can be quieter than usual, more inward. However, it will also serve as a messenger for the subterranean journey of Venus and all that is ready to reach our consciousness.

This season Leo and retrograde Venus whisper insights about past experiences with relationships, money and self-expression and how they can continue to create current dynamics in your life. What wounds or experiences from the past are affecting your present? What patterns and narratives around love, intimacy, dignity, or beauty are you willing to bring love, heal, and rewrite?

There is a lot to think about this week and beyond. An invitation is a presence and a space to reveal what all this is for you.

Learn more about how astrology affects your life, including astrological events, moon cycles, your Sun and Moon and rising signs, how journaling can help you connect with current influences, and more with Jordan Marie at Girl and her Moon .

About our contributor

Jordan Marie is the founder of Girl and Her Moon, a platform and community that explores the soul through the lens of astrology, tarot, and energy healing. She is an author, intuitive astrologer, energy and soul guide, and host of Girl and Her Moon, The Podcast. She inspires herself every day to be a mirror for you to see all that you really are, you in all your infinite capacity, in full expansion, in infinite possibility and love.