The bulk of July holds us in the protective field of Cancer — the great mother of the Zodiac.
Ruled by the moon and symbolized by the crab, Cancer is a water sign known to be sensitive, nurturing, creative, and changeable. There’s a focus on the home — being home, tending the home, and feeling at home wherever you are.
The crab might seem a strange symbol for a water sign until we dig in a bit more: Crabs, as they move from sea to land and back again, remind us of our own primordial emergence from this blue planet’s oceans.
In the oldest Egyptian astrological maps of this planet — yes the Earth’s original birth chart — the rising sign is Cancer. How beautiful that this cosmic sign of nurturing and caregiving is the Earth’s ascendent. This rare planet, filled with the waters that make life possible, is mapped through the lens of Cancer — ruling home and nurturing.
I love this cosmic reminder that the Earth is our home — and this Cancer season invites us to allow ourselves to be deeply nourished by this generous planet.
This year’s Cancer Season is almost completely filled with one of our oh so lovely Mercury Retrogrades. (And a lot more…see below for the geeky details.)
Our New Moon on July 14th arrives right in the middle of this retrograde. This means that we’re not asked to set new intentions or make grand plans so much as revisit our old ones:
How are we caring for ourselves, or allowing ourselves to be cared for?
Do our homes feel supportive, or does something need tending?
What is our relationship with the mother archetype, the earth, and nourishment?
This month, in our Rewilding the Temple Gathering, we’ll explore these themes in partnership with our ally for the month, Rose Geranium.
Have you ever smelled rose geranium? Omgggggg it’s one of my favorites: a green-floral note that soothes the nervous system, tends the heart, and helps us feel the presence of the great mother within and without. It’s featured in my favorite mother archetype perfume — Demeter, of course — as well.
As a note: I probably wear Demeter more than any other perfume in my library. She is hay and grain, fruit and honey, green earth and rich florals all at once…and the most perfect perfume for Cancer season, imho ;)
Cancer as the mother feels especially potent right now. I love what astrologer Jessica Davidson says about this:
The Mother is one of the oldest religious symbols and is often connected with the primordial ocean or the Earth itself – or Herself. The Mother is mysterious, nurturing and sustaining, but also dangerous, dark and destructive. From her comes abundance and the power to give and sustain life, but also the unavoidable fact of death. The Mother is womb and tomb, and contains the whole cycle of birth and death within her being.
Womb and tomb. Birth and death. Feels about right...
We are experiencing times of intense change and uncertainty. If you’re living through a heat wave, breathing in smoke, seeing local neighborhoods flooding…then yeah. It might be a bit tough to feel really held by the Earth.
This is why it’s so helpful to come together to explore that vastness of the Mother, the Earth, and the cycles of loss and creation in community.
And this is why I hope you’ll join me for July’s wild temple gathering.
Together we'll explore the deeper medicine of this seasonal threshold through a guided anointing ritual, botanical wisdom, and an imaginal journey to receive your own insights and guidance.
You'll leave with a simple earth-rooted practice to carry into the month ahead, along with space for reflection, conversation, and integration within a community walking a similar path.
Reminder, there are two ways to join:
If you’d like to purchase my own beautiful rose geranium oil for our anointing practice, you may do so here. (Orders placed after July 5th may not arrive in time for the live gathering.)
May this season be one of nourishment and comfort within these metamorphic times.
Juniper Stokes is a botanical perfumer, soul alchemist, intuitive astrologer, and rewilding guide through mythic landscapes of nature, spirit, and the cosmos. For over 25 years, she has been guiding people back to the heart of who they are and why they’re here.
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Find alchemical aromatics in The Botanica.
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Another Astro Update
Remember how I mentioned there’s going to be a lot of astro activity this July? Well, a few other pieces to mention for now:
- Jupiter just moved out of Cancer and into Leo. This is a wonderful, expansive placement for following our desires overall…just give it some space to settle in during the retrograde. When the Sun enters Leo, let the good times roll.
- 'Merica turns 250 this 4th of July. Has she run her course? It’s starting to feel like it…On this date, we’ll see our Mars-Uranus conjunction go exact. Once again the language of Jessica Davis resonates: This may bring surprises and unexpected detours and could be explosive, especially if you try to avoid making needed changes. But it also offers great potential for making radical changes that overturn your life in a positive way.
- At the end of the month, our lunar nodes shift from Pisces/Virgo to Aquarius/Leo. Expect an increased focus on community, and new explorations around what this actually means.
