July 2024 Horoscope: Trips Will Be Dramatic, For Better or Worse

Lin Chen

Meet your astrologer

Steph Koyfman is a writer and astrologer best known for her work as Lady Cazimi. She writes the monthly horoscope for Condé Nast Traveler's Women Who Travel.

Your July 2024 horoscope is many things, but it is not “tepid.” The vibe early in the month is a bit like a lively party or living room salon where people are dishing out spirited conversation and piping hot gossip—and at some point in the month, as things get heated, the scandalousness of it all can’t help but boil over a little. Whether or not life takes on the dimensions of a soap opera (or a Real Housewives episode), suffice to say that we might not have a chance to get bored.

In general, the first half of July is a little less messier than the second half, but there’s opportunity throughout the month for both joyful connection and unnecessary drama, for #hotgirlshit and putting out fires. The first week of July features Mercury in Leo applying to a sextile with Jupiter, and Venus will be wrapping up its time in Cancer, serving the kind of special intimacy you create when you’re fully engaged in a conversation, but in a corner at a busy party. After Venus enters Leo on July 11, the social climate gets a little more extroverted, and we’ll be wearing our Saturday night best for our copious travel selfies. However, Mars conjoins Uranus on July 15, which creates a bottleneck of explosive potential, irascible tempers, or instability toward the middle of July. Plus, every time a planet enters Leo (Mercury on the 2nd, Venus on the 11th, the Sun on the 22nd), it immediately runs into an opposition with Pluto the next day. Bombshells may be dropped, and reactions taken to extremes—there may potentially be some power plays and hasty chess moves in the works, too.

Interpersonal drama aside, the second half of the month also looks slightly more prone to travel mishaps and breakdowns of the logistical and mechanical variety. Though Mercury doesn’t officially go retrograde until August 5, the messenger planet enters its retrograde shadow on July 16 and squares Uranus on July 21. Read that rental car agreement extra carefully, and maybe avoid off-roading in a rural, unfamiliar place with no gas station around for miles.

Astrologer's note: Below we refer to your signs as “rising” signs, also known as your ascendant sign. Horoscopes are more accurate when read this way—using your birth time and location, you can quickly find your rising sign online (it takes less than 30 seconds).

Aries Rising

You’re determined to be out there living your best life right now, and for the most part, you’ll be successful. Don’t be surprised if your natural inclinations toward joy and radical self-expression rub others the wrong way, though, or contribute to a climate of social tension or disapproval in your universe. The artist often thrives and suffers in the dialectic they share with their audience, and you might be searching for an edge in your own growth that provokes a response in whoever is witnessing you in this moment. Maybe you’re touching something electric in your creativity, maybe you’re simply outgrowing the people you’ve surrounded yourself with until now. Don’t be shy about naming toxic patterns you’re noticing in the collective, or disentangling yourself from groupthink.

If there’s a stressor that sucks up your attention this month, though, it’s likely to be money-related. This peaks mid-month, as your ruling planet, Mars, conjoins Uranus in your second house of finances on July 15. An unexpected bill could derail you temporarily, or maybe a different kind of storm messes with your crops. As you survey the damage, you might gain some hindsight around how to fortify yourself better against these kinds of shocks and disturbances. If you happen to be on the road around this time, pay attention to the fine print around foreign transaction fees and exchange rates, and try to avoid tourist traps. The potential for getting ripped off is somewhat higher during the first three weeks of July.

The stress on your wallet eases after July 20, when Mars enters Gemini. For the next six weeks, you’ll be in busy mode as you attempt to do your best Inspector Gadget impression, contorting yourself into various versions of a multitalented Swiss Army knife in order to get it all done. You may have bitten off more than you can chew early in the summer, and now the deadline chickens are coming home to roost. It would make sense if you’re navigating an especially chaotic stretch of your professional life, given that we get an unusual second Full Moon in Capricorn on July 21 in your 10th house of career. Even if it’s a good problem to have, you’ll probably need to lean harder on your favorite stress management techniques as we get into August.

Taurus Rising

If someone or something put you in a defensive crouch last month, expect to be channeling the spirit of defiance through mid-July. In fact, this drama may be building toward a crescendo around July 15, when Mars conjoins Uranus in Taurus. Maybe you’ll find yourself popping off around this date; maybe you’ll be prone to doing something uncharacteristically rash, impulsive, or clumsy.

That said, it’s more likely that this rebellious mood will inspire you to stick it to the man or speak truth to power more-so than stick it to your bad back muscles. All month, various planets will be moving into Leo and opposing Pluto across the places in your chart where your relationships to roots and authority figures are found. There might be literal parental dynamics at play here, or maybe echoes of one of those formative relationships to be found in the way you’re choosing to show up at the moment. With your ruling planet, Venus, sidling into Leo on July 11 and facing off with Pluto on July 12, right there in the lead up to the Mars-Uranus event, it seems like mid July is high stakes for you. Will this give you a definitive push to move away from dynamics that cross a line for you, or otherwise hijack your energy and goodwill? Or will your hand be forced, perhaps by an unscrupulous landlord? With Mars continuing its trek through your second house of finances after July 20, it’s entirely possible that you’ll be under some monetary stress through the end of the summer, or will be spending more. Hopefully it’s for reasons you’re okay with.

On July 21, we also get a rare second Full Moon in Capricorn (the first happened in late June). Since this happens to fall in the part of your chart concerned with travel and education, it’s possible that it’s game time for you right now concerning some of your long-distance plans, or maybe you’re completing a program or making some pivotal decisions about your future studies. There might be silver linings hidden in the chaos, or even a sense of relief. This will likely feel quieter than the more obvious commotion going on in your life right now, but try to feel into it regardless.

Gemini Rising

If you’ve been busier than usual pouring more of your ideas into the world, you might be approaching the first major snag in the process soon, or maybe just some ideological challenges to your approach. What seems like a minor contention at the very beginning of July may turn into a somewhat bigger dispute than you anticipated, one that could drag through the rest of summer. Around July 2 and 3, your emails, texts, and tweets could unwittingly (or wittingly?) provoke a swirl of controversy or debate, or maybe lead to the kinds of conversations that rouse some sleeping dogs in your close friendships and family group chats.

After Mars enters Gemini on July 20, you may feel called to step into the metaphorical or verbal boxing ring for the next six weeks. Assuming you won’t have to dust off the debate club skills you haven’t used since high school, this could also simply present as a bottleneck of stress and tension in your year, or the end result of having bitten off a little more than you can chew. The pressure will continue to mount in August, making for a somewhat less-than-relaxing end to your summer. But in the meantime, July might still afford you some fun game nights or friend visits, or maybe a nice day or weekend trip out of town.

Speaking of that last bit, there is a higher-than-usual chance for car trouble this month, or transit mishaps. Around July 2 and 3, Mercury’s opposition to Pluto could indicate a stressful commute, and around July 21, Mercury squares Uranus, catalyzing sudden disruptions on the road. If you’re traveling around these dates, make sure you have service where you’re going, or at least Google how to ask for directions in the local language in advance. Do your best to be prepared, and other than that, try to just have a sense of humor through it all.

Cancer Rising

Even if you find the devil in the details this month, July will gift you with a sense of progress when you zoom out and take everything in from an eagle-eye view. Early in the month, Cancer Season will still be going strong, coaxing you into various personal initiations and filling your tank with more life and vitality than you’ve had in a minute. What new things will you start while your energy and creativity is running high?

The first week of July could prove especially pivotal for moving past a personal threshold, advancing the plot in some big life plans you’ve been cooking up, or otherwise hitting the reset button in a subtle way. The Cancer Sun squares the lunar nodes on July 2, and the New Moon in Cancer follows closely thereafter on July 5. Some of this year’s biggest stories related to your career and living situation could reach another milestone or turning point this week. If you haven’t already, name the things you’d like to call in around this new moon, quietly, to yourself.

If there’s a day this month to lose yourself in the daydream of a distant place—whether you’re physically there or imagining that you are—the Venus-Neptune trine around July 11 might be a sweet spot for you. But that likely won’t be enough to cancel out some of the more mundane nuisances that come up throughout July. You might be distracted by various financial skirmishes and entanglements with people (or institutions) who are not playing fair, or are otherwise attempting to implicate you in debts you don’t really owe them. A transaction may not feel like a mere transaction, especially if there’s greed or power games involved. Stand firm, and keep plenty of receipts (literal or metaphorical) if it makes sense.

Leo Rising

July is usually the time in the year where you come roaring back to life, and that last part might ring especially true now. This year’s Leo Season will feel a bit different with Pluto in opposition—perhaps a bit like your initial training montage for dueling with your shadowy opponent. Even if you’re not facing your actual nemesis, you might notice the subtle ways that other people reflect your shadow, or serve as a character foil for your self-discovery. More than anything, how are these prompts and provocations pushing you past the discomfort of stepping more fully into your authenticity?

There’s a real chance that interpersonal drama might dominate your month, but assuming the house you and your friends rented for your annual lake trip doesn’t devolve into a Real World-style reality show set, you might notice some of this action affecting your professional or public-facing life instead. The Mars-Uranus conjunction on July 15 is giving just a little bit of “flip your desk” energy, and that occurs shortly after Venus enters Leo and opposes Pluto on July 12. Other people might test you mid-month, cross a boundary, or otherwise approach you in a way that feels extracting. It might be necessary to fire a client or cancel a partnership or contract, or maybe make a divisive public statement that could test some of your existing connections.

Assuming none of this nonsense derails your month too much, the opportunity to love yourself and feel yourself that much harder is definitely there, too. Even if you’re met with some challenging energy, you’ll find yourself coming back to life more and more as the month goes on, especially after the Sun enters Leo on July 22. Life can rub you the wrong way and yet still somehow be affirming. Remember who you are!

Virgo Rising

There’s a price to that which goes unacknowledged, and usually it’s your own peace that suffers first. July may largely feel like the prequel to August, which is when a Mercury Retrograde in Virgo and Leo encourages you to take a second good look through your memory files and personal narratives, maybe by revisiting something in therapy or trying to have “that conversation” again. But in the lead up to this soul retrieval, you’ll be dropping plenty of breadcrumbs for yourself along the trail—you just have to remember to come back for them later.

For now, try to notice where the quiet parts are, and maybe say them out loud if it’ll feel cathartic (or prevent that old pattern from maintaining a hold on you). Especially during the first half of July, you may even be able to bring some of this internal process more visibly into your work somehow, or post something vulnerable online that gets a conversation going or gives others permission to open up. Naming a demon has a way of stripping it of its power, and that may become an overriding theme this month.

Work might feel stressful too, and the pressure to perform and be all things to all people intensifies after Mars enters Gemini on July 20. If you do manage to catch a break, mid-month could be a potentially bumpy time for travel as Mars and Mercury get jostled by Uranus on July 15 and 21. No need to stress about it in advance—just pack all the necessary backup equipment and give yourself ample time to get to where you’re going. Even if the worst that happens is your boss emails you on vacation to put out a fire while you’re trying to make a bad WiFi connection work, it’s never a bad idea to travel with extra batteries and portable chargers anyway.

Libra Rising

While your social calendar will probably be livelier this month, there may be an elephant in the room that tags along. It could be that the things that used to bring you pleasure have a corrupted quality to them now, and you’re wondering whether you can still relate to the rest of your friends in the same way. For example: maybe you’re starting to admit to yourself that drinking isn’t fun anymore. No one else in your circle seems ready for that conversation, though, and you’re not super confident your bond will remain as strong if you go sober. It’s very normal to outgrow certain pastimes, but it might still feel confronting to realize that what once used to feel fun now feels like empty hedonism, and to then have to question whether you have enough in common with your community outside of those shared interests.

Needless to say, any friend reunion trips, conferences, or conventions you attend in July could feel slightly fraught. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy yourself—just that it won’t necessarily be all fun and games. Mid-month looks especially tense with your ruling planet, Venus, opposing Pluto on July 12, and then Mars conjoining Uranus on July 15. If you’re pooling together funds for a group vacation or some other communal endeavor, try to make sure everyone’s on the same page when it comes to your budget, because there’s some potential here for standoffs and confrontations.

Mars then enters Gemini on July 20, bringing you into the part of the summer where you’ll wrestle with the limits of your knowledge, and maybe with the very real borders of the countries you’re trying to visit or immigrate to. Since late May, you’ve been on a quest to learn more, see more of the world, and define your thesis. You’re about to run up against your first major roadblock or pocket of turbulence. Whether you white-knuckle it or aim for a soft landing to regroup, how you choose to maneuver through it will be one of the major plot lines for you these next six weeks.

Scorpio Rising

Is the head that wears the crown feeling heavy these days? There’s a spotlight this month on your accomplishments and responsibilities, and not all of it will be unwelcome. However, it seems like there are tricky power dynamics at play as well, and perhaps a sense of competition from challengers who want a taste of the throne. Even as you’re celebrating recent wins and milestones, you’ll probably need to resist the temptation to rest on your laurels. There might be people in the crowd who want what you have, who might seek to undermine you in some way or challenge your position. No, this isn’t exactly Game of Thrones we’re talking about here, but you may be feeling all the extremes this July: pride in how far you’ve come, and also the pressure to keep going.

If there is a point in the month where some of this tension could boil over, be on the lookout for hot tempers, jealousies, and confrontations mid-month, particularly between July 11 and 15. Rumbles in one of your significant relationships, or sudden disruptions in a key business or client partnership, could take up a lot of space in your life, even if only for that week. This could then lead to disputes over the joint bank account, or a mad scramble to get the investment, funding source, or debt squared away after Mars enters Gemini on July 20.

Now that we got the stressful part out of the way, it’s worth also mentioning that you’ll still be riding the coattails of some of your best travel astrology this year in early July, so hopefully you’ll get a chance to go somewhere cool, or at least soak up inspiration from cross-cultural connections (and the art and food of faraway places).

Sagittarius Rising

Oh, the places you’ll go this July—if not physically, then in your mind at the absolute least. Leo season is a pretty consistent time of the year for you to be traveling, exploring, and broadening your horizons, but this time, you might notice that there’s a bit of an edge to your forays into the unknown—almost like you’re finally visiting the graveyard you were warned not to go to your entire life. This could be somewhat literal if you’re visiting somewhere with a moderate to high risk travel advisory warning, or passing through places with dark, heavy histories (like the Tuol Sleng Museum in Cambodia). Maybe you’ll be on a somewhat more symbolic journey to investigate a topic that might be a little taboo, or disturbing. Your studies will probably take you out of your comfort zone this month if you let them.

Ultimately, this may serve as an invitation into a more complete knowledge of the world, not the kind that is conveniently curated for tourists (or for your Instagram highlight reel). Look out for an initial conversation to spark this line of inquiry around July 2 or 3, or maybe something you read or write. The first week of July could be an especially stimulating time for conversations, debates, and philosophical exchanges at the pub—the conventional wisdom is that you’re not supposed to bring up politics or religion when you’re traveling, but you might have a more interesting time if you do.

While exploring “dangerous” ideas could be good for your mind this month, you should probably leave the extreme sports and adrenaline thrills for another time, or at least wait until the end of July. Mars is rough-housing its way through your sixth house, which could set you up for an increased risk of illness, accidents, and strained neck muscles (especially when it conjoins Uranus on July 15). If not that, then this could merely show up as a stressful time at work (think: someone on your team suddenly rage-quitting, and the resulting fallout). Make plenty of time for your wandering this month, but leave room for some potential troubleshooting too.

Capricorn Rising

This is a month that kind of sneaks up on you: a turning point in your year that seems subtle at first, but ends up being fairly consequential. July begins with the Cancer Sun squaring the lunar nodes on July 2, which marks a sort of stepping stone between eclipses. For the last year or so, things have really been accelerating and moving for you, especially when it comes to your slow exit from various responsibilities and career ambitions. You may have also moved, or had to prioritize your family or domestic life more. A new development moves this plot line forward in July, perhaps as a result of a contract, a relationship, or something happening in your partner’s life.

A guide to planning an international trip around the 2026, 2027, and 2028 total solar eclipses.

The month then ends with a rare second full moon in Capricorn on July 21 (the first was in late June). It seems fair to expect that life will be serving you some peak moments and bringing situations to a head, almost as though to keep the spotlight on you long enough for you to stick the landing. Remember: your ruling planet, Saturn, just stationed retrograde at the end of June. It makes sense if you’re moving into a new gear at the moment, changing your mind about something you thought you wanted, or reaching a pivot point in your journey.

Aside from the milestones and not insignificant life choices you might be making this month, you’ll probably also be somewhat preoccupied with some of your more immediate and material needs: chasing invoices, arguing with your bank or lender, attempting to extricate yourself from financial entanglements that leave you at a disadvantage. Even if some of these things seem like mundane annoyances, don’t be surprised if you feel triggered. It may fall in the realm of “business as usual,” but these experiences of disempowerment can still bring up old wounds.

Aquarius Rising

You’re headed into what looks like a potentially stormy month. People might test you, ultimatums might be set, and generally speaking, all may not be at peace in your kingdom (maybe not until the end of July, when some of the bombast starts to settle down). However, if you choose to see this as something more than an unpleasant time, you may also start to recognize some silver linings peeking out, mostly in the form of small lessons in self-empowerment. ‘Learning to take up space’ and ‘taking back control of your life’ all sound nice until it’s actually time to embrace the learning curve. If this is new territory for you, give yourself the grace to be a little messy, as long as you don’t flinch away from the work of deep honesty.

July isn’t all hot heads and tantrums, though, and you might even have some new work opportunities coming in this month, or opportunities to turn over a new leaf financially. Remember, Saturn just stationed retrograde in your second house of income at the end of June; in early July, there’s some activating movement through your sixth house of work: the Cancer Sun squares the lunar nodes on July 2, and the Cancer New Moon follows on July 5. Something may shift in your work set-up, or in your schedule, to allow in new energy.

If there’s a point in the month where things may feel especially tense, it’ll probably be between July 11 and 15. July kicks off with some probing discussions and escalates towards a more fraught confrontation mid-month, one that may end with one or both of you drawing a line in the sand. There may be volatility on the domestic front between you and your romantic partner, or potentially some agitation in a key partnership or with a nemesis. Some shakeups and disruptions might occur right at home, too, or within your family. How can you react, without being reactive? That may prove to be the best medicine this month.

Pisces Rising

July begins with you in a somewhat fertile, receptive state—more willing to bend with the flow of time, less willing to punish yourself with the stick of your own arbitrary deadlines. As you pull back a little from applying so much pressure on yourself, you might notice more opportunities for play emerging, or new creative impulses begging to be brought to life. One of those ideas may also double as a way to bring in more income. The eclipses this past year have been advancing the plot for you financially and changing the way you make money; when the Cancer Sun squares the lunar nodes on July 2, that wheel of that particular story turns again.

In fact, your work life might consume a lot of your attention as the month picks up, even if you feel like you’re just starting to have fun again. Power dynamics between your teammates, or between you and those you employ, might feel like a bit of a minefield. You might feel insecure about your ability to read subtext correctly, or whether all of this is just in your head. Some stressful health or pet-related news could also throw you for a loop, or prompt you to start looking for more answers (or a second opinion). Regardless of how it’s landing for you, a big part of your emotional work this month will involve self-regulation around your fears, paranoias, and obsessive tendencies. There’s a very good chance that your subjective anxiety around the situation is worse than what is happening objectively.

There could also be some mundane nuisances this month that disrupt your commute, blow up your calendar, or lead to car trouble. If you’re on the road in mid-July (and especially around July 15), make sure you read your rental car agreement carefully, and try not to wing it too much on public transportation systems you’re not familiar with. There’s only so much you can do to prepare for the unexpected, though, so this is where the receptivity and flow you accessed earlier in the month could really be your ally.

Enjoyed your July 2024 horoscope? Look back on June 2024 to see how things lined up.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler