Weekly Horoscope: July 28 – August 3

Dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto have been retrograde for months now, and this week, Eris and Chiron follow suit. Both flying under Aries, these two celestial bodies represent different sides of the same emotional coin. Eris typically governs the rebellious, even contemptuous sides of ourselves, whereas Chiron represents our sensitive vulnerabilities and insecurities. 

With both of these dwarf planets going retrograde in tandem, the stars urge us to consider the ways we’ve let our past experiences color our perception of the future. How are our anxieties or fears preventing us from pursuing what we love—either by something as simple as inaction or a more actively aggressive sabotage of our relationships, goals, and desires? 

What might these two retrogrades reveal to your sign this week? 

Aries: March 19 - April 19

Get ready, Aries: Eris and Chiron are shifting retrograde under your sign this week, which means you’re the likeliest of all the Zodiac to feel their effects in your daily life. Fortunately, your cosmic alignment doesn’t look all too bad. While a nearly conjoined Eris and Chiron do form a tense square with a new Moon late in the week, they also form a trine with Venus. 

This double-edged sword placement suggests that the emotional revelations Eris and Chiron’s retrogrades will reveal by the weekend will be difficult to sit with. However, their harmonious trine with Venus indicates that no matter how bad the initial discomfort might feel, your relationships (or perhaps your wallet) will end up better for it in the end. 

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

A tricky alignment between your ruling planet, Venus, infamously chaotic Uranus, and retrograde Eris and Chiron spells trouble for your stubborn spirit. Abrupt changes in love and home can be especially challenging for someone who appreciates consistency as much as you do, and Uranus is nothing if not a harbinger of unexpected shake-ups and twists. 

Take solace in the fact that whatever surprises the stars are warning you about further down the road, things will eventually settle in your favor. This silver lining can be seen in your ruling planet’s fortuitous trine with Eris and Chiron retrograde, suggesting you might enjoy these changes to your normal routine better than you thought you would. Give it time, Taurus. 

Gemini: May 21 - June 20

You have two celestial heavy hitters, Mars and Jupiter, flying under your sign this week. By the middle of the week, the Moon’s waning energy enters the fold, directing these planets’ governances toward your emotional state. The Moon’s waning phase is a time of organizational and managerial assessment. What or who is working in your life? What or who is not? 

Luckily, you won’t be getting much pushback from the Chiron and Eris retrogrades, which form a relatively positive sextile with the Moon-Jupiter conjunction under your sign around Wednesday. This generally easygoing alignment suggests you already know the areas in which the stars are calling you to clean house. Now, all that’s left to do is get started on clearing it out. 

Cancer: June 21 - July 22

All signs point to rest for you this week, Cancer. This is the first full week out of Cancer season as the Sun has made its way out from under your constellation into Leo. Meanwhile, your ruling celestial body, the Moon, flies under your sign at its darkest phase by the week’s end—another sign that the stars are urging you to take a beat and recharge before getting back out there. 

You might be surprised how even small changes can make a big impact on your overall energy. Upheaving your entire schedule might not be possible, but there are likely one or two small tasks, chores, or obligations you can put off until next week when the Moon’s waxing phases recharge your emotional and mental spirit. In the meantime, try to take things easy. 

Leo: July 23 - August 22

The official start of Leo season doesn’t come without its fair set of challenges this year, but luckily, it’s nothing you can’t handle. First, your ruling celestial body, the Sun, starts the week forming two tense squares with Haumea, a dwarf planet governing our intuitive spirit, and a last-quarter Moon, whose reflective tendencies often bring about greater conflict and strife. 

On a more positive note, the Sun starts Leo season in a harmonious trine with Neptune retrograde. This alignment indicates a struggle to see a path forward, given new discoveries in your personal life. Allow Neptune’s imaginative spirit—and your own intrinsic light—to illuminate the path ahead of you, no matter how dimly lit it seems. You got this, Leo.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Logic doesn’t always get to supersede emotions, no matter how much you’d like it to, Virgo. The most notable cosmic alignment for your sign happens early in the week as a conjunction between a waning crescent Moon and Mars forms a tense square with your ruling planet, Mercury, under people-pleasing Gemini and your Zodiac constellation, respectively. 

The conjunction under Gemini indicates a need to let go of tasks, obligations, or even personality traits that you adopted to help better fit into a personal or professional environment. As functional as these aspects of your life might have been at one point, the waning Moon calls you to release them, and Mercury is standing by to offer communicative and intellectual support. 

Libra: September 23 - October 22

The Sun’s fiery energy bolsters your ruling planet, Venus, as it flies under Leo this week, turning up the heat regarding matters of the heart. As an overwhelmingly personable air sign, allowing the spotlight to shine on yourself can feel somewhat uncomfortable—a downside highlighted by Venus’ challenging square with unpredictable Uranus under grounded, sensible Taurus. 

A trine between Venus and Eris retrograde suggests the stars are telling you to push past this initial discomfort and allow yourself to enjoy your time in the sun while it’s here. Sure, being center stage isn’t typically what you’re used to, but that doesn’t mean you’re required to be in the background forever. Let yourself loosen up and enjoy this change of attitude for a while. 

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Your ruling planet, Pluto, starts the week in two somewhat burdensome alignments with major celestial players, the Sun and Moon. Sunday sees Pluto directly opposing the Sun at the same time that it forms a square with a last-quarter Moon, suggesting difficulty or strife within our senses of self, purpose, or emotional state. But don’t lose hope just yet, Scorpio.

Although the start of the week poses its fair set of challenges, Pluto also spends the week forming a favorable sextile with Neptune retrograde. Lean into Neptune’s creative, idealistic energy a bit while you reassess your goals and values. Even if you find that you’re still on the right path, it never hurts to double-check, just in case. 

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Last week’s conflict continues this week as your ruling planet, Jupiter, maintains its challenging square with Saturn retrograde under Gemini and Pisces, respectively. The waning gibbous Moon that was causing trouble last week is now a waning crescent and forms a potent conjunction with Jupiter by Wednesday, suggesting some emotional dissonance by midweek. 

This dissonance is likely coming from your perception that progress equates to addition (adding more, doing more, trying more) when, really, the stars are urging you to subtract. Retrograde Saturn calls you to let go of some responsibilities or time-consuming hobbies, even if you don’t really want to so that you can lighten the load enough to get to your next stage of growth. 

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Your currently retrograde ruling planet, Saturn, stays locked into a burdensome square with Jupiter throughout the week, indicating tension between your goals and your current reality. As nice as it would be to never have to compromise to the will of the universe, that’s simply not how the cosmos work. If you want them to give, you’re going to have to be willing to do the same.

More specifically, it’s high time you acknowledge the detrimental effects of your massive pile of responsibilities on your ability to achieve your goals. You might think that you’re working harder and, thus, closer to actualizing your dreams, but the stars suggest you’re doing more damage than good. When will you finally heed the cosmos’ call to lighten your burdens, Cap? 

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Despite what your ever-curious ego might tell you, there is power in stability. Just because you take pride in your ability to flitter from one idea, interest, or dream to the next doesn’t mean that every facet of your life will respond well to this improvisational approach. Sometimes, the best, most exciting things in life also require the most diligent, occasionally tedious planning. 

This struggle is highlighted by an ongoing square between your ruling planet, Uranus, and Venus in Taurus and Virgo, respectively. As much as you might enjoy going through life not knowing where your next steps will take you, matters of the heart and finances can benefit from careful foresight. It’s time to strike a balance between improv and intent, Aquarius. 

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Before you can actualize the dreams revealed by last week’s full Moon and your ruling planet Neptune’s hyper-imaginative retrograde state, you’ll have to sit down and address the nagging feelings of insecurity and doubt you’ve been having head-on. This confrontation reaches its peak toward the end of the week when a waning Moon squares with Neptune. 

While this emotional analysis can seem disheartening at first, it has more benefits than your ego would have you believe. To know the right direction to take, you must first realize why a previous path was wrong. We have to acknowledge our mistakes in full if we ever hope to learn from them, and that’s precisely what the stars are urging you to do this week.