New Moon @ 14 degrees Cancer 23'
July 5, 2024
3:37 PM PDT
6:37 PM EDT

July's New Moon in tropical Cancer squares the nodal axis and aligns with the fixed star Sirius, a bright, color-changing binary star system that had immense significance in antiquity. In the northern hemisphere, the Sun's passage and further distancing from Sirius in the summer months (when it reaches the last degrees of Cancer) results in Sirius's heliacal rising (when it rises before the Sun in the predawn sky). 

In ancient Egypt, Sirius' heliacal rising correlated with the Nile River's annual flooding and marked the start of the Egyptian calendar. Sirius was also known as the "dog star" due to its presence in the constellation Canis Major and featured, via Greek cultural syncretism, as one of Orion's hunting companions (a remnant of the Egyptian's association of Sirius with Anubis, a dog-headed deity). The "Dog Days" of summer are also associated with Sirius' heliacal rising in the northern hemisphere, which corresponds with the hottest summer months (July-August). 

In the Thema Mundi, the symbolic "birth chart of the world," a chart used as a rationale for the Hellenistic astrological system, Cancer corresponds to the first house and Ascendent, perhaps connected to the enduring significance of Sirius and the Egyptian reverence for this star and the summer celebrations related to it. Sirius is actually least visible right now while obfuscated by the Sun's presence beside it. Yet, as a notable object that was related to new beginnings, fertility, and prestige, it adds some significance to this New Moon as a powerful seeding and starting point.

Especially as the last New Moon before Mercury's next retrograde cycle (August 4 through the 28th), this is the most auspicious, mobilizing, and forward-directing New Moon of summer, the only one free of the complexities and detours that often accompany Mercury's retrograde cycle. Additionally, with the Moon powerful in its home sign Cancer, this amplifies both the New Moon's potential and the Cancerian archetype. 

Cancer is classically a cardinal water sign connected with domestic and familial significance. A sign of healing, nourishment, and bonding, this New Moon favors and blesses inward, intimate, and creative endeavors and can bring us closer to people and experiences that further secure our place in the world. This is a good time to connect more deeply with family, friends, or one's chosen tribe, or may synchronisitically relate to a new beginning or transition in these areas. 

Lastly, the New Moon's square to the nodes and trine to Saturn suggests also a time to gain perspective on all that we've accomplished and experienced this year. This is a time to reflect on and feel our way through current projects, goals, and ambitions and realistically consider what we can or cannot take on and pursue here. Ultimately, go with your instincts, intuition, and what feels right as you move ahead.