July is one of the quieter months of this year, astrologically. Neptune, planet of transcendence and release, is hanging out at the very last degree of Pisces, right on the brink but about to retrograde away from switching signs. (It will move into Aries in March of next year.) Many of this month’s transits involve Neptune, Pisces, and this watery realm of feeling, healing, and retreat. And we’re in watery Cancer season for most of the month, which always reminds me of dipping into cool water on a hot day. As a kid in a swimming pool I would sometimes tip an inflatable raft upside down and surface under it, breathing into that plastic-scented air between above the water but hidden from the sun. This image keeps coming back to me this Cancer season as I think about how the important work of the Water signs—releasing what’s stuck, feeling what’s there to feel, and healing what’s hurting—can only really happen when we feel protected enough.

Through the chaos and stress of this difficult year, it’s important to keep reaching for those moments and pockets of protection. This month offers us some breathing room. Where can you catch your breath? What can you reach toward for support right now? And, once you find yourself somewhere safe enough, what do you need to release?

Finding these pockets of protection—even ephemeral ones—is so important right now. Maybe you have the opportunity to take some time off work and go offline for a few weeks. Maybe you’re caught up in the hustle but can create smaller moments of protected, restorative time—even if it’s just an extra long bathroom break, listening to your favorite music on your commute, taking a few minutes to text with your best friend. Our collective stress levels are so high right now it may feel difficult to prioritize or access this kind of release right now, but we need to. Our lives are bigger and richer than this moment in time. The grief that fills us, the longing for a better world, is powerful. In so many ways as we face these unprecedented times we need to think like we’re in it for the long haul, not a short sprint. Which means we need to create restorative oases, pockets in time and space where we can breath and gather ourselves back together, grieve and laugh.

May you find those spaces this month, and carry them with you into the unknown future.

And as we move toward unknown futures, I’m sorry to say this will be my last horoscope column for Autostraddle. I’ve been writing Satellite of Love since 2015 and I will always be grateful for how this column has connected me to all of you. The people I’ve met through this column are some of my favorite people in the world and I hope we will stay in each other’s worlds. But I’ve been getting clear messages that it’s time to release this format to make room for other projects, and I’m finally honoring that message. But this isn’t goodbye! I’m still seeing clients and I’m still writing about astrology on my Patreon which you can join for free! Consider it social media with no ads and better content. And you can always follow me on Instagram @corinadross for astrology and @abacuscorvus.

It’s been wonderful sharing this space with you for almost a decade. Let’s keep meeting in the spaces we create together.

Aries

May you find protection to release: The feeling that you should have it figured out by now. Fear of failure. Grief that washes over you like waves over a sand castle, changing your form.

Taurus

May you find protection to release: Cynicism about our collective capacity. Habitual patterns of isolation. Fear of belonging to something bigger.

Gemini

May you find protection to release: Comparison between yourself and anyone who seems more successful or more supported. The idea that hustling is the only way to stay afloat. Whatever blocks you from reaching toward community.

Cancer

May you find protection to release: Material success as a measurement of happiness. Unquestioned assumptions. Putting anyone else on a pedestal.

Leo

May you find protection to release: Fear of intimacy. Anxiety about the future that’s actually anxiety about your past.

Virgo

May you find protection to release: Attachment to there being only one right path for you, one perfect way forward. Fear of incapacity. The drive to keep moving so you don’t have to slow down and feel.

Libra

May you find protection to release: Defining yourself by what others think of you. Doing more than your fair share of emotional labor. Taking on someone else’s dream for the future as your own.

Scorpio

May you find protection to release: Fear of being truly known and loved. The obligation to be of service, even when you’re exhausted. Self-doubt.

Sagittarius

May you find protection to release: The dream of finding the perfect place to live someday where none of this nonsense will ever affect you. The idea that escape is your only option. Fear of change that you can’t control.

Capricorn

May you find protection to release: The idea that relationships shouldn’t have conflict. Feeling like you have to carry any of your burdens alone. Fear of not being good enough.

Aquarius

May you find protection to release: Whatever blocks you from feeling your true worth and believing it. Old stories about needing to be impressive. Fear of scarcity.

Pisces

May you find protection to release: Outdated identities. Versions of yourself that make more room for other people’s desires than your own. Patterns of self-denial and self-sacrifice.

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