Find out what the stars have in store for you this month
Mars enters Virgo in July, pulling organizing energy into the atmosphere. No matter what sign you are, there is a chance now to get it together. Get what together? Well, that rather depends on what has been falling apart. Here comes a time of healing and renewal for the whole planet. Not just because of Mars and its forthcoming conjunction with Saturn, but because various long-term celestial cycles all point to fresh hope. If you want to end an argument and move on from a negative situation, you only have to let it go.
Cancer
(June 23-July 23)
What will July be like? Well, the month has already made its flavor felt. Coming up next? More in the same vein, but better. The trouble is, you are too generous. You give away too much of your time, sympathy and money. All that is understandable, even laudable. But there is never a good reason to give away your power. Lately, you have begun to reclaim some of the authority and respect you deserve. And soon you will rediscover a sense of being much more in control. Though new responsibility comes with this feeling, so too does strength and energy.
See what's in the stars for the other signs:
Leo
(July 24-Aug. 23)
You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't always judge a month by its first few days. July, for you, will have a deceptive start. It won't really get into its stride for a couple of weeks or so. It is then that Venus will enter Leo and a real sense of magical possibility will present itself. That's when your popularity will begin to increase and your level of prosperity will improve, too. What good is a zodiac forecast, though, if it can't help you take a look into the future? Never mind what's happening right now. Forget the fear and frustration you feel. Have faith in the picture I have just painted. It is accurate.
Virgo
(Aug. 24-Sept. 23)
Vroom, vroom. That, in any language, is the sound of an engine revving. When you hear it, what do you instinctively feel inclined to check? This is not an exam question. Your answer might be fuel levels, tires or brakes. One thing is for sure, though, when you know that you have the potential to go a long way in a short space of time, it is always advisable to check that you can stop yourself if you need to--and that you are not in danger of being stopped by some avoidable factor. Mars is in your sign all through July. Watch the obvious, and you will race to great success.
Libra
(Sept. 24-Oct. 23)
What goes up must come down. For as long as we remain on Planet Earth, that's true. The law of gravity is universal. It does not apply only to physical objects, but to emotional conditions and psychological states. It even applies to economic cycles! Elsewhere in the cosmos, it's a different story. What good is that to you? Well, that depends on whether anything in your life is "out of this world." Reach for the highest, the wisest, the most enlightened and the most inspiring idea or ideal. That's how you will break free of a situation that keeps making you feel like you are riding on a roller coaster.
Scorpio
(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
Groucho Marx once said that he would not want to be a member of any club that would have him as a member. Why is that statement still so funny and often quoted? Because we are all secretly a bit like that. We judge others and compare ourselves to them. Some people, we think, are better than us, and we think we are better than some others. This is not a tendency born of malice. It's a kind of instinct that we must work hard to keep under control. Someone now feels keen to stick close to you. Don't get on your high horse about it. You need their help, and if you accept it this month, you'll go far.
Sagittarius
(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)
It's easy to talk; it's not so easy to listen. It's easy to be right; it's not so easy to say the right thing. It's easy to be afraid; it's not so easy to overcome fear and replace it with a profound understanding. By criteria such as these, you have a difficult month in store! You are going to do a lot of listening; a lot of clever, careful talking; a lot of courageous shadow-boxing. You will get the better of a habit or an attitude that for too long has prevented you from fulfilling your true potential. Throughout July, many challenging issues will arise. But all will leave you better off.
Capricorn
(Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
The big story for you in July is the full moon in Capricorn. It is for all intents and purposes your "unbirthday." Think of a year as a clock face. Each hour is a month. Put your birthday at 12, and we're now coming up to half-past. That's deeply significant. It is effectively a last chance to fulfill an old promise or to change the direction of a key project or plan. Well, last chance for a while, anyway. Don't waste this precious month. Think again about where you really want to go and what you want to do. Then forget what's in the way; just look at what could be possible. You may yet make it happen.
Aquarius
(Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
"Time," as Steve Miller once memorably sang, "keeps on slipping into the future." Why, wasn't it only yesterday that "Fly Like an Eagle" was a new song? I guess he really did have a point. You certainly seem to be catching up with your future. Look at what's happening. How much of it was in your plan? Some of it, I know, you would not change for all the tea in China. There are other factors, though, that you would give a lot to be free from. Let's look at those for a moment. In July you can't escape it all, but you can start a process that eventually leads to a joyous liberation. Trust the universe--and yourself!
Pisces
(Feb. 20-March 20)
We define ourselves by where we come from, what we do and whom we belong to, and by our tastes, preferences, hobbies and habits. Yet a lot of this can change. None of us can be really sure who we truly are. It's that very sense of uncertainty that makes us so keen to cling to whatever seems permanent. I mention all this now, because something, or someone, is no longer what you once felt sure you knew it to be. In so far as you have drawn some sense of identity from this source, you are now feeling insecure. Ultimately, though, the current topsy-turvy drama can make you only stronger.
Aries
(March 21-April 20)
I am about to give you your forecast for July. The month will quickly seem old to you. So much will happen in the first few days of July that you will wonder how you will cope if life continues to put you under so much pressure. There's so much to take care of, think about, focus on and deal with. Complicated decisions must be made. Difficult propositions must be thoroughly understood. It's tiring and tiresome, yet it's also inevitable and essential. The good news? You have already made the hardest choice of all. Implementing it will prove surprisingly easy.
Taurus
(April 21-May 21)
Whose side are you on? What's the state of play? Are you worried or relaxed? Sometimes, even your closest companions can't tell. This is not always because they are insensitive. It is partly because you have an impressive ability to keep a straight face. Even in times of great excitement, you can be truly inscrutable. Please remember that in July. Intense anxiety about a delicate matter is causing you to be uncharacteristically transparent. You are in danger of giving away more than you need to. Be cool, be clever and you'll soon be very happy.
Gemini
(May 22-June 22)
We can all be wise after the event. Once something has happened, we can easily explain what must have caused it or how it was surely inevitable. That's regardless of how surprised we were or how foxed we still secretly feel. The world is full of "experts" who really know just a tiny bit more than the rest of us. Instinctively we understand this, yet still we treat them as if they have godlike powers of perception and prognosis. You are now allowing an overconfident individual to shape your expectations. Don't. Instead, trust the uncertainty that you secretly feel!
Learn more about Jonathan Cainer
Our horoscope columnist has his own Website and offers special star-reading services.
Jonathan Cainer is already a well-known name in Britain (where he writes a popular daily newspaper column), Australia and Japan. His astrological interpretations and predictions have been described as "spookily accurate," as well as positive and practical.
To learn more about Jonathan, visit . The Website offers several free services, including Jonathan's "thought for the day" and daily, weekly and monthly astrological forecasts for all 12 signs of the zodiac. You can also find information about the characteristics associated with your astrological sign (look under "Your Sign -- The Truth").
Jonathan will also provide extensive personal astrological reports or tarot card readings for a fee. For a personal horoscope and to learn more about how your date of birth makes you behave in certain ways, you'll need to provide the time, date and place of your birth.
Jonathan's book Cosmic Ordering ($13, Harper Collins) shows individuals how to call on the cosmos to change their lives and realize their dreams.