07.12.26 Ask the SGs Weekly Reading: Leaving Winter Behind

Hello everyone,

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life seems to change all at once?

One conversation shifts everything. A new realization changes the way you see a relationship. A decision opens a door you hadn’t noticed before.

This week feels like that.

• On July 12, Mercury reaches Cazimi, which means he passes directly through the heart of the Sun while still retrograde in Cancer. During a Mercury retrograde, we may revisit old conversations, memories, and patterns. A Cazimi is like the Sun shining a bright light on something we’ve been trying to understand.

You may suddenly see why something happened the way it did. A misunderstanding could begin to clear. Or you may simply recognize that you’ve outgrown an old way of thinking.

Two days later, on July 14, the New Moon joins Mercury in Cancer.

New moons always mark new beginnings, but this one feels different. Rather than pushing us toward something completely new, it encourages us to begin again with what we’ve learned. Because Mercury is still retrograde, the timing reminds us that sometimes looking back is how we discover the next step.

This New Moon also forms a supportive trine to our community’s Chiron in Aries. For our community, that says healing happens because we respond differently than we would have a year ago. That’s growth, too.

While these personal shifts are taking place, something much larger is developing.

Beginning around July 18 and continuing through July 23, a rare planetary pattern will reach its strongest point. Several astrologers, including Pam Gregory, have described it as one of the most hopeful configurations we’ve seen in a very long time.

I like to think of it as a hammock woven across the sky.

The ropes are stretched tightly between Jupiter in Leo and Pluto retrograde in Aquarius. Instead of breaking under the tension, supportive connections to Neptune retrograde in Aries and Uranus in Gemini weave everything together.

The result is a structure strong enough to support enormous change.

Each of these planets tells part of the story.

• Pluto in Aquarius continues breaking apart systems that no longer serve the collective.

• Neptune in Aries is changing the way we imagine the future and reminding us that courage begins with one person willing to act.

• Uranus in Gemini opens the door to fresh ideas, new conversations, and ways of thinking that seemed impossible only a short time ago.

• Jupiter in Leo encourages people to lead from the heart and use their gifts in service to something bigger than themselves.

These are slow-moving planets, so their influence will continue to develop for months and, in some cases, for years. But this week we begin to see the pattern taking shape.

Every sign has a higher expression and a shadow. We all move between the two.

This week’s astrology invites us to choose the higher expression whenever we can.

• Leo: Lead with your heart.

Shadow: Wanting attention more than connection.

• Aquarius: Remember our shared humanity.

Shadow: Becoming so attached to ideas that we forget the people behind them.

• Aries: Take the next courageous step.

Shadow: Reacting in anger instead of responding with purpose.

• Gemini: Stay curious. Keep learning. Be willing to change your mind.

Shadow: Jumping from one distraction to the next without slowing down long enough to recognize what’s true.

As I look at this week’s sky, the message that keeps coming back to me is that something new is beginning to form. We’ve been hearing that for a while, right? Well, this is what astrology has been pointing us to for so long. It’s finally here.

But we aren’t able to see the whole picture yet because we don’t need to. That can feel frustrating when so much is uncertain. So, this is where self-trust and your own inner wisdom come in.

This week’s Mercury Cazimi gives us insight. The New Moon helps us begin again. And the Basket or Hammock reminds us that something larger than we can imagine is being woven together.

Trust that.

Sometimes the most important thing we can do is to believe that what we’ve learned will take us to the next right step. All we have to do is leave room for what wants to grow next.

This Week’s Tarot Reading: The Ten of Winter

At first glance, this card can seem heavy because it talks about endings. But I know this card well and along with this week’s astrology, I see relief.

The guidebook describes it as the resolution of difficulties, a weight lifted off your shoulders, and the end of an addiction or codependency. You’re walking away from something that has been holding you back and beginning a new chapter.

That fits beautifully with everything we’ve been seeing in the sky.

Mercury retrograde has been helping us review the past. We’ve been looking at old conversations, old patterns, and old stories we’ve told ourselves.

The New Moon invites us to begin again.

And the Basket — or Hammock — reminds us that something new is coming together.

The Ten of Winter asks a simple question.

What are you ready to leave behind?

For some, it may be an old belief about yourself.

For others, it may be a relationship that has run its course or an unhealthy habit. Or maybe you’re setting down a responsibility that was never yours to carry in the first place.

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t recognizing what needs to end.

The hardest part is believing that life will still be good after we let it go.

The fairy in this card is leaving the snowy landscape behind and flying toward a warmer place. She isn’t running away from life. She’s moving toward it.

I think that’s an important distinction.

Choosing peace isn’t giving up.

Setting a boundary isn’t selfish.

Changing your mind isn’t failure.

Sometimes growth means recognizing that you’ve become a different person than you were when you first picked up the burden.

This week’s astrology reminds us that both our personal lives and the collective are changing.

The Ten of Winter reminds us that we don’t have to carry yesterday into tomorrow.

As you move through this week, ask yourself what you’re no longer willing to carry, what you’re ready to leave behind.

Pay attention to the places where you’re no longer willing to settle for fear and resentment or old expectations.

Those are usually the first signs that something new is beginning.

May you trust what life has been teaching you.

May you have the courage to set down what no longer belongs in your hands.

And may you discover, as I did, that winter is not your destination, and that what waits on the other side is worth every step it took to get there.

A Note from Faye

Years ago, when my career was ending, my marriage was dissolving, my family was changing, and my worldview was transforming, I would take out the same tarot deck I’m using for these weekly readings. I’d shuffle the cards, ask my guides what I needed to know, and wait.

I drew the Ten of Winter often.

The Queen of Winter appeared a lot, too, and I’ve always felt they work together. The Queen of Winter was our card last week. This week it’s the Ten of Winter.

My guides, the cards, and the soul family surrounding me were all pointing toward the same message. I was leaving behind an old life and crossing into something completely new.

At the time, I couldn’t imagine how that could be true.

Leaving behind what had become so heavy was also one of the most painful seasons of my life. I had spent decades building a marriage, a career, a community, and a way of seeing the world. Watching it come to an end brought deep grief.

But every time the Ten of Winter appeared, that little fairy reminded me that winter wasn’t my destination. She was flying toward something warmer. Toward hope. Toward a life I couldn’t see yet.

She was right.

Today, I can look back and see that what felt like everything falling apart was actually life making room for something new. It wasn’t easy, and I wouldn’t wish that season on anyone. But I wouldn’t trade who I became because of it.

So, if you’re walking through your own season of major endings, I want you to know that it will be okay.

Give yourself permission to grieve what you’re leaving behind. Grief is part of saying goodbye to something that was once an important part of your life.

And when you’re ready, keep walking.

There is life beyond winter.

Faye