How to deal with the difficult month of July, August, and September

The astrology is heavier now  and we are going to have to stay disciplined with exercise, yoga and diet or we will suffer more. It seems more difficult with Saturn retrograde until Sept. 18th as Saturn’s energy is stronger and finally Saturn and Ketu separate enough by 3 degrees or more as we move into the 2nd week of October and so things will lighten up.

 Find ways to combat depression by doing more exercise, meditation, positive self-talk, yoga. The tree pose in yoga  will help bring in more solar energy into the crown chakra and even a simple touching the toes exercise will stimulate the solar plexus which may be a bit imploded by this transit so it digestion may be sluggish and stomach fire or weak agni.

Avoid staying alone and get out with people which stimulates the Libra energy and that will help any isolation and depression.  Seek help from a professional if it gets severe.   Have to get out and exercise and move.   Avoid heavy foods like cheeses that clog the live and weigh down system and drink more raw juices and eat more salads to increase prana in the system.

Here are some reminders.  So much suffering can be short-circuited if we are disciplined:

So how do we deal with difficult transits and what can we do when karma comes back and either we or those around us are suffering?

1) This is a time to be disciplined about our meditation practice,  yoga and other spiritual practices as these lighten the burden and give us more strength to deal with everything. The tendency is to skip that which is good for us when we are challenged but that’s like taking off a winter coat when its below zero.   Hanuman Chalisa (on You Tube) can give your courage and energy to increase the Mars energy and overcome Saturn. 

2) Donate time and money to help those in need. This is one way to address karma and by getting out of our own stuff, we feel better and move through our own karma.  On Saturdays donate to the poor and homeless and to orphanages and to the blind.

3) Be disciplined with diet and exercise. The tendency is to use food to cover up difficult emotions or skip exercise because we feel tired or lazy. So much illness (6th house) can be overcome if we are disciplined doing what is good for us. Avoid addictive behaviors and non-life-supporting actions especially now. The tendency is to what to escape but usually this leads to more difficult problems quickly.

4) Spend time with spiritual knowledge, attend spiritual gatherings and hang around with positive people at this time. Avoid violent TV and film and ranting TV moderators.

5) Do transformational healing work to move through these energies and uncover why these patterns are up and how you can heal them.

6) Know this will all pass and that the planets are puppeteers pulling their strings and if we understand what is happening, we do not have to buy into it and beat ourselves up.  It seems more difficult with Saturn retrograde until Sept. 18th as Saturn’s energy is stronger and finally Saturn and Ketu separate enough by 3 degrees or more as we move into the 2nd week of October and so things will lighten up.

Astrological Transits:

Saturn is weak in transit until early October at least  being very close to Ketu and one of the by-products is depression.  Whenever the moon goes through Saturn or Ketu-owned nakshatras which 6/27 times a month, it will be triggered and other planets going through Saturn or Ketu nakshatras will trigger in now.  The Sun is in Pusyha owed by Saturn and will be there until August 2nd and Venus goes into a Saturn owned nakshatra, Pushya, July 26-August 5th and Mercury goes back into that constellation, August 9-18th and even Mars goes into Ketu’s nakshatra on August 9-30th so you can see that many days, the planets are connected to Saturn or Ketu through the nakshatras and it can stir up a lot of depression and why bother energy. Moreover, Mars in Cancer does not have a lot of energy to fight and be disciplined and do things that are good to combat the energy and then we fall into bad habits.    Dismiss suicidal tendencies and talk out your problems with professionals and avoid being isolated.

Venus goes into the constellation of Pushya on July 26-August 3 where it gets connected to a strong Saturn that is afflicted in Sagittarius still by Ketu.  While the two are friends, Saturn and Venus combinations can create love with restrictions, emotional dryness, detachment or love of older people and strong business abilities. Still Venus can get frustrated with love and passion because it has too many responsibilities. The lesson with this transit is to be less selfish and less indulgent in the senses. The constellation of Pushya is one of the more auspicious ones for deep spirituality and wisdom to come out. Pushya is connected to the deity Brihaspati who has the wisdom to advise the gods and is a rival to the devata, Shukracharya, the advisor to the material world.

There is a planetary war going on here exact at 8:27 pm on Wednesday July 24th with Venus winning the war on Wednesday and then losing on Thursday July 25th.  The two planets are friends but Virgos and Geminis might have difficulties with women or spouses on Wednesday but the energy generally good for creative writing and song-writing and poetry.  Mercury will finally go direct on July 31st at 11:58 pm EDT  but will be at the end of Gemini and the beginning of Cancer in sandhi position where it has weak energy in early and late degrees.   This occurs for many days between July 27-August 5th and may create communication problems or computer issues and may lead to fatigue for Gemini and Virgo rising.

For Leo Rising/Ascendant,  July and early August are difficult times so good to go on a meditation retreat and do the inner work as the outer ambitions may be frustrating.

• Sun moves in the zodiac sign of Cancer on Monday, July 16th, the natural house of home and supporting the “family.” Sun in Cancer is more positive in transit this year with a trine from Jupiter into August 7th exact but having a strong influence the first two weeks of August bringing more optimism and confidence. Debilitated Mars is also in Cancer but the two fire planets get along well. Still, it is a 12th house transit for Leos suggesting a need for retreat, meditation and foreign journey.

• The end of the transit, August 14 – 16th is in the Cancer gandanta (Cancer 27-30) in the constellation of Ashlesha,  is a place where the toxins of the past are accumulating in a big knot that is difficult to untie. Deep unconscious patterns and difficult problems arise that seem daunting and filled with regrets.
• Remember you have the power of free will in the present moment to move through into new light and do not have to live in the shadows and mistakes of the past. Let them go. They seem tangled and difficult to deal with, but you are strong enough to get through them.

Jupiter moves into exact trine with the Sun into August 8th and that means the Sundays of August 4 and 11th will be more optimistic and comforting and enthusiastic and supportive and expansive and spiritual leadership.  I think that that the movement of the Sun toward Jupiter will uplift a difficult summer and then Jupiter goes direct on August 11th and the week before and after will be more expansive and uplifting.  Mars gets out of Cancer into Leo on August 8th and that will also give a bit of energy.

Mercury Retrograde from July 7th to August 1st:

In general, Mercury's retrograde period is good for making improvements. It's not the best time to begin new things, but it is good for fixing or improving things from the past. It's like an airplane in a holding pattern. It's not time to make a landing yet, so just relax, clean up your seat area, give your empty cup to the flight attendant, and stow your things in your carry-on bag. Be patient, you'll be landing soon, and you'll be ready to start your new adventure.