The Full Moon this July promises to bring some much-needed moisture to the San Francisco Bay area. As the long term weather forecast horoscope for summer 2008 showed, this was going to be a hot season – in more ways than one. Mars was in Leo, a fire sign, right on the Midheaven in San Francisco and we have been getting unusually high numbers of wildfires in this part of California since summer began. I would expect that Mars’s double-hot influence will lead to heat waves as well.

But relief may be in sight for a while; the Full Moon of July 18^th falls on the Midheaven in San Francisco, and there should at least be cooling temperatures during the following week, and perhaps even some mist or light rain if we are lucky. Most likely, however, the promised cool-moist lunar influence will not show up until July 20^th, when the Moon transits the 10^th house cusp of the Cancer Ingress horoscope, activating that chart.

As the temperatures rise this week (mid-90F in the shade), any promised cool air is much anticipated and appreciated!

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Mars will enter Cancer on September 29, 2007, which is not a positive planetary event. In Cancer, Mars is in the sign of its fall, and therefore is particularly malefic. The ancient astrologers specifically looked for times when Mars in Cancer conjoined Saturn, as both planets were then at their most malefic, and their conjunction could only bode ill.

Mars is going to be in Cancer for a long time this year, as it turns retrograde at 12° Cancer on November 15. This means that Mars will be moving very slowly through the rest of 2007, and will have to be dealt with cautiously during this entire time (and into 2008).

Electional Astrology with Mars in Cancer

If Mars rules anything important in your natal horoscope, it may be best to avoid making major moves while it is passing through Cancer, and ideally throughout the time of its retrogradation. For example, if Mars rules your second house of money, making major financial decisions during this time is rather more risky than we would like.

If you absolutely must act, try to find dates when Mars is aspecting benefic planets, or just throw your hands up and call a professional astrologer.

The same goes for Mars-related activities, such as sporting events, warfare, surgery in general, and anything physically invasive.

Mars in Cancer in the Natal Horoscope

Generally, Mars in Cancer will not be a force for good in the natal horoscope, due to its weak placement in that sign. If Mars happens to be conjunct an eminent fixed star, such as in the horoscope of Roger Federer, then its malefic nature is much diminished (though the tendency to shed tears upon winning tennis tournaments is not). However, in general, Mars in Cancer is going to be tough to deal with.

As a different, more difficult example of Mars in Cancer, we can look at the natal horoscope of British poet laureate Robert Southey, who, after a distinguished poetic career, lost his mind and thereafter died. While there is much more to be said about his horoscope, note the Mars in Cancer on the midheaven (ruling his 3^rd house of writing, and indicating his prolific career, which led to about 55 books), sextile Mercury in Virgo. Mercury represents the rational mind, so we see his sanity afflicted by his urge for fast and furious (Cancer is a cardinal sign, and therefore moves very quickly) creative output.

—To find out the meaning of Mars in your horoscope, or to find the best time to act while Mars moves through Cancer, why not get an astrology reading?

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The Sun enters the sign of Cancer, and summer officially begins. Cancer is one of the Cardinal signs of the zodiac, because it starts the season (all Cardinal signs begin their respective seasons).

The Sun is Peregrine throughout Cancer, meaning it has no dignity or strength in that sign. If you’re planning solar activities, or the Sun rules an important house in your natal horoscope, you will want to wait until the Sun enters the sign of Leo, at the end of July. Some examples of the Sun-ruled activities and things are as follows: anything to do with royalty, food, all superiors in any setting, honors, gold, and fathers. If the Sun rules a house with different meanings in your chart, this would take precedence over the natural rulerships listed above.

During its passage through Cancer, the Sun will conjoin Mercury on June 28, which will give us a few hours of the respite from the effects of retrograde Mercury. This is because the conjunction of the Sun and Mercury will cause Mercury to temporarily enter the state of cazimi, which is considered extremely beneficial for a planet. The Sun will not make any major aspects to other classical planets, except for the Moon.

Since Cancer begins the summer, stay tuned for a weather prediction for the American West for the upcoming season.

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On May 29, Mercury will leave Gemini and enter the sign of Cancer. This is a substantial drop in strength for Mercury, which was in its own sign in Gemini, and therefore very strong and beneficial. In Cancer, Mercury has considerably less strength, though it is not entirely Peregrine (without any essential dignity) throughout the sign.

The bigger problem with Mercury passing through Cancer this time around is that Mercury will go retrograde at 11° Cancer, on June 15/16. It will go backwards until it hits 2° Cancer, and then slowly start moving forward again. The problem is that during its retrogradation period, Mercury will be passing through degrees where it has no dignity at all. It will not get substantial essential strength until the 25th of July, when it will enter its own term, and it will remain there until July 30.

So Mercury will be particularly unhelpful for about a month, and if you’re interested in doing anything particularly mercurial during Mercury’s journey through Cancer, such as writing a grant proposal, starting a book, calling someone about an important negotiation, it might be best to wait until the end of July. The good news is that by that time, the Sun will have moved into Leo, giving you another very strong planet with which to work, to support your endeavors.

Special Note: Occasionally, I get requests for specific times when a planet will be very strong, beyond what I provide during the date ranges, such as above. This is for purposes of astrologically electing the optimal moment to do something. I think it will be helpful to get a very precise time range when one planet will be very strong both in terms of position, and in terms of essential (zodiacal) strength. For Mercury, one such time will be on May 25, from 7 to 7:40 a.m. local time, at least in Northern California. Your specific location may well be different, as the Moon changes position.

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