July Love Forecast

July begins with a more careful approach to love and relationships. Mars, the planet of passion and pursuit, enters fastidious Virgo on July 1 and will stay in the practical earth sign all month. Strong feelings are tempered with a practical side and a powerful desire to avoid mistakes and ostentatious expressions of emotion. This might take some of the steam out of romance, but also makes working with someone a sexier situation. Getting excited about problem solving on the job or in our personal lives weaves the magic of attraction into useful activities, killing two birds with one stone.

Venus, the planet of amour, begins the month in watery Cancer where feelings must be protected at all costs. We tend to avoid risk taking since we are likely to be more vulnerable than usual. Combining this with the Sun in Cancer until the 22nd and Mars in prudent Virgo makes for a social atmosphere in which shyness is prevalent. Yet while macho Mars is still pretty buttoned up throughout the month, Venus gets sassy and brassy on the 12th when she enters Leo. The desire for more ardent expressions of affection will only increase when the Sun joins her in the sign of the Lion on the 22nd. The contrasting forces of restraint with Mars in Virgo and the boldness of Venus and the Sun in Leo can make for some complicated relationship issues. It can be hard to read the signals, both from within and from others, when the urge for drama (Leo) is mixed with cautious trepidation (Virgo).