Get closer to the cosmos, astro babes. July 2019’s star-kissed medicine is made for loving up on your tender places and skinny-dipping into your own deep end, disarmed and silky wet-suit soft. Swap your to-do lists for secret diaries and meet yourself at midnight, as this month’s magic asks you to consider how to stay with the feelings you would sometimes rather fight.
With Cancer energies ruling the skies, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron stationing retrograde, and eclipse season officially dawning, there is a tidal pull towards past patterns and past lives, as we greet some old ghosties at the water’s edge. But before this sends you struggling to try to defend your shoreline against emotional erosion, consider the liberation that can come from sheer allowing. Content to not push away, we can take the plunge into the next phase of our evolution, floating alongside our most vulnerable fishies instead of trying to “fix” ourselves.
It is a month for sustainable, sensual self-care rituals that truly sync body, mind and spirit. How do you treat yourself with care? How do you hold yourself in sweetness? July is made for incubating yourself like a fresh egg and letting your barest skin feel the most beautiful.
Read on for your sign’s signature skincare routine, made for sloughing off old layers and uncovering your seashell pearly inner glow.
CANCER OR CANCER RISING
Last month was made for shining, Little Mermaid, as you learned to stand up and embrace your siren song. And July’s birthday month promises to prove even more potent, as you break through the greenhouse ceiling like an unstoppable bloom, creating your own version of “success.” But before you go for broke, take a moment to consider your oysters. Which path would you take if you truly thought all roads were open? It is a month for honoring the threshold and powering up with the belief that you can competently cross into whichever land you choose.
Star-kissed Skincare: Makeovers. As you honor your ability to seize the day and about-face, it is the perfect month for playing with a radically new look. Rather than evidence of not-good-enough-ness, let this trip to the department store counter or a professional makeup artist feel like slumber party play. Which “side” of your inner world do you want to choose to sport on your sleeve right now?
LEO OR LEO RISING
June asked you to examine your creative process, grounding your notorious sparkle and glow with an earthy ability to balance endless output and inner fire. July’s medicine steadies you even more, offering opportunities for fortification that will build your bonfire even better. Start by identifying exactly what makes you feel safe. And notice where you are starting to exhaust yourself with jazz-hands routines, sinking instead into the sensation of nothing to prove. Do not be afraid to really dig in and stand your ground, Leo, sticking to your bedazzlers no matter the perceived cost. It is a month for bolstering your belief that you have an inherent right to be here, Glitter Kitten.
Star-kissed Skincare: Skin From Within. July’s invitations connect you to all of nature, Leo, a reminder that you can do less and be more, evolving as effortlessly as a tree branch and rising organically like the sun. Take your skincare cues from calm and clean forms of holism, exploring skin “food” supplements and herbal infusions that power up your glow from the inside out.
VIRGO OR VIRGO RISING
June attuned you to the subtle shifts of light, Virgo, as you learned to compassionately alter your consciousness, and get curiouser and curiouser about your relationship to change. With water energy soothing the edges of your hard-packed earth sign, July’s medicine is all about actually enjoying some inevitable erosion. You have reached the “end” of some emo pattern, dear Virgo, and you may find yourself in the throes of potential burnout. The key is to know where you have simply had “enough,” content to choose greater softness instead of overcompensated strong-arming.
Star-kissed Skincare: Professional Facials. Swap your urge to DIY with an expert facial, leaning into the liberation of assistance and care that’s served up on a silver platter. More than any other sign, you have an urge to be useful, going where youare needed and doing what you must. This month, allow beauty to trump function, letting a luxurious spa day support your ability to self-sufficiently ask for exactly what you need.
LIBRA OR LIBRA RISING
June’s magic invited you to power up with self-sufficient moves, Libra, favoring your own agenda over blindly making peace. After feeling into who was truly calling the shots and returning to your own place behind the wheel, July’s watery energy asks you to simplify rather than strategize. You are in a position to let those old patterns of over-compromised and undernourished slip out to sea, as you flex even more of your ego-driven “I” in the most delicious of ways. When you listen to instinct, rather than trying to maintain appearances, you will know exactly what needs your attention most.
Star-kissed Skincare: Gua Sha. This process of refining your approach and sending invigorated energy where it is most needed happily marries itself to this most ancient of anti-aging techniques. And for a Venus-ruled queen, it must be beautiful, complete with crystal cut contouring. Restore trust in your own glow by letting the blood flow and the badass cheekbones begin.
SCORPIO OR SCORPIO RISING
After June’s return to the power of play and possibility, you are ready to enter July fresh and clean, Scorpio. Fellow water sign, Cancer, has a thing or two to teach you about your own emotional oceans, offering a deliciously sweet release that can be both purgative and plush. What if you could let go of something without being dragged, dear Scorpion? Alongside these releases, you are also ready to unleash, and July is a month to gift your creative force to the world without having to worry about whether it is quite “right.” Trust that if it is already bubbling to the surface, it is more than ready to riptide.
Star-kissed Skincare: Charcoal Masks. Gently drawing “impurities” from clogged spaces, charcoal is a gentler alternative to your usual pore-strip pulling proclivities. Without any scorched earth over-drying, you can start to envision the process of purging as naturally inevitable rather than a phoenix-like fight to the death. Whatever gets washed away will leave you even stronger in your softness.
SAGITTARIUS OR SAGITTARIUS RISING
After standing at the crossroads in June and learning to love up on the subtleties of future intentions without having to do it all right now, July finds you sinking even deeper into the dreamscape. Cancer energy slides into the Scorpio-ruled zone of your chart, doubling down on all the feels and asking you to get intimate with whatever is tucked beneath the sheets. What is your relationship to your inner world, Sag? When is the last time you spent an evening in communion only with yourself? Get comfy with riding your wild ponies into these secret landscapes, content to embrace the inner adventure as much as the open road.
Star-kissed Skincare: Beauty Sleep. This old-fashioned face medicine is deliciously stripped-down and completely vital to the soul. There is also an unknowable quality to it, as you surrender to the urge to do and let your body’s cells repair on their own time. Get your blackout curtains in order and break out that silk sleep mask, Sag. You deserve to let your glow stem from mysterious sources.
CAPRICORN OR CAPRICORN RISING
June’s medicine was pure witchery for your soul, Cappy, as you gained confidence in your capacity to harness whatever drifted your way. July dawns both strong and subtle, as your opposite sign of Cancer rules the skies, and a potent eclipse in your sign awakens you to caretaking energies that have long gone undernourished. This unfolds specifically in the arena of relationship, and you are asked to address any imbalances between give and take in your partnerships. Pause to consider where you might actually deserve to be carried rather than having to carry it all.
Star-kissed Skincare: Crystal Rollers. These beauteous, high-end skin tools are far more decadent than any old Botox and bring you back to the loving touch of your own hand as you take care to consider your contours. July is all about letting yourself feast on the carefully baked cake for a change. Revel in the regal of the rolling pin as you serve up some serious self-care.
AQUARIUS OR AQUARIUS RISING
June marked a return to your undeniably personal needs and wants, as you learned to let a little ego trump your urge to serve the collective. With Cancer’s highly personal feeling energies ruling the skies, this self-driven agenda continues. But in July, the attention is focused on understanding the holism inherent in every moment of your day. The old adage, “The way you do one is the way you do everything” is your guiding light right now, Aquarius, and you are asked to embrace micro-shifts in your routine in support of larger change. Let yourself become an apprentice to your own life, learning new ways of being like an eager student.
Star-kissed Skincare: Liquid Exfoliators. Without requiring the effort of a sheet mask or chemical peel, leave-on liquid exfoliators lets you delight in sloughing off old layers and revealing new philosophies without feeling like you have just had your face sanded. Take comfort in the sensation of slow work over time, noticing the subtle results from daily applications.
PISCES OR PISCES RISING
June was built for falling in love with your own poetry, Pisces, as you learned to take better care of your dreams, treating forays into the unconscious as consciously-chosen expeditions rather than escapes from reality. With July’s energy rolling through your zone of vulnerable exposure and sun-kissed sparkle, it is game on for coming out with whatever you have been incubating. Take time to collect yourself. Prepare your sequined unitards. And then take a step, however tiny, out of your comfort zone. Putting even a small speck on the line right now will help you up your risk tolerance and get lucky by rolling the dice.
Star-kissed Skincare: Bronzer. You do not need to overbake yourself in the sun to get glowy, Pisces, and whether stick, powder or liquid, it is time to add a bit of pizazz to your precious face. Notice any feelings that might arise from being “too visible” and play with the edge of this self-expression. Grown-up glitter is your friend.
ARIES OR ARIES RISING
June was all about making peace with the disowned parts of yourself Aries, as you embraced what you thought you needed to purge and let more and more of your fullness live. July’s energies are ripe for a return to the wholeness of self, and you can settle into the feeling of “home,” wherever it lives for you. This could be a physical location or a more abstract feeling but whatever form it takes, embrace this sense of returning. Revive an old hobby. Uncover a long-forgotten feeling. Trust that whatever you might be searching for is already close at hand.
Star-kissed Skincare: Night Creams. Get classic with a thick emollient that wears like a luxury set of sheets for your skin. While you are welcome to try the latest lines, there is something traditionalist about this month’s medicine, and you are invited to tap ancient civilizations or your own family lineage for their skin secrets.
TAURUS OR TAURUS RISING
June was a soft rose petal of a month for your Taurus, inviting you to up your threshold of receiving and practice opening, even in the face of past hurts. And although July does not want you to close your channel, there is a feeling of greater self-containment, as you tuck into your shell and right the relationship between input and output. This may take the form of creating a boundary, telling that friend that you can’t come to the party or releasing a responsibility that feels rigidly unaligned to your soul. Whatever it is, trust that you are drawing your energy back to yourself through this process, letting the lines liberate even more of your precious light.
Star-kissed Skincare: Rubber masks. This K-beauty secret sticks to the skin without feeling cloying, embodying the papier-mâché essence of this month’s call to come back to your center. Play with the form of this mask, experimenting with the process of adhering the liquid to your face and watching it take shape. Let your fingers press gently, sealing your energies inside.
GEMINI OR GEMINI RISING
Your birthday month asked you to consider all kinds of human connection, as you reached out to reach back in, taking opportunities to let the beauty you saw in others be a mirror for your own self-love. This mirroring continues to unfold in July, with Cancer energies inviting you to look at what surrounds you as a reflection of your value. We all have patterns and partnerships that may be showing us some of the sticky places where we feel “less than” enough. Place some sweet attention on these spots, letting your willingness to identify where you deserve more begin to awaken lusher blooms in its wake.
Star-kissed Skincare: LED Light Therapy. Expose yourself to the saturated frequencies of skincare with these proprietary rays that are designed for healing. July is all about upping your capacity to just bask, confident that you deserve whatever is shining down on you and more. From amber light’s collagen-enhancing properties to blue light’s bacteria zapping, follow the rainbow to your pot of self-worth gold.
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