Mars and Saturn create some real friction right out of the gate on September 1, then things ease. Venus comes home to its own sign on September 2, sweet and easy until Rahu, the shadow point tied to craving and excess, reaches it directly on September 10, adding urgency and pull. Mars enters its hardest placement on September 18, adding its own emotional heat to that Venus mix. And by September 26, the sky turns inward when Pitru Paksha opens: sixteen days set aside for clearing what your family line handed you before you had any say in it. A few days later, on September 29, Jupiter crosses back over August’s eclipse point, offering a solution to what the eclipse stirred up.

Before we get into the rest of the month, I want to start with what’s coming right at the end of it: Pitru Paksha. It’s the window of September I care about most. In my work with clients, I see inherited patterns and afflictions passed down through generations more often than people might expect, and I’m hoping that talking about it here helps more of you recognize it in your own charts, and actually use this window to heal while it’s open.

Pitru Paksha: Clearing Ancestral Karma

Pitru Paksha runs from September 26 through October 10 this year, sixteen days traditionally set aside to honor the family line that came before you. Traditionally, that means specific offerings and prayers made for one's ancestors, acts of remembrance meant to bring them peace. In India, families gather during this window to perform death rites and rituals that pay tribute to loved ones who have passed on.

I personally think honoring that lineage doesn’t have to stop at ritual. It can also happen through the quieter work of looking honestly at what got passed down to you, which is, in its own way, its own form of remembrance. I consider this the best window of the year to do identity work specifically focused on what you’ve actually inherited: patterns, habits, ways of loving or protecting yourself, that didn’t start with you but that you’re the one carrying now. It’s the period I set aside each year to look honestly at my relationship with my parents, and with their parents, and further up the line, recognizing whether there’s a pattern still running in the background that actually needs healing, and giving myself real space to look at it.

This window is genuinely supportive of that kind of work, more than almost any other stretch of the year, which is part of why I hold this time especially close.

Vedic astrology has specific technical methods for identifying that kind of inherited pattern in a chart, the difficult kind that actually needs healing. These usually involve your Sun or Moon, either one weakened or under real pressure from Saturn, Rahu, Ketu, or Mars, which often points to something carried down your family line rather than something that started with you.

The Sun represents your father’s lineage and your core sense of self.

The Moon represents your mother’s lineage and your emotional foundation.

The work here is about no longer carrying something forward unexamined, simply because it was handed to you. It starts with understanding which patterns are actually yours to heal, knowing that you are not just healing them for yourself, but for the entire family line you’re part of.

In practice: this is traditionally a period for inner work rather than for major outward pushes. Journaling about what you notice, or simply meditating on your ancestors for a few minutes, is already meaningful work here. If you want something a little more structured and traditional, "Om Pitribhyo Namah," meaning "I bow to the ancestors," is a mantra you can repeat a few times as its own small daily practice through the window.

Keeping in mind that Pitru Paksha will only open at the end of the month and through the beginning of October, let me walk you through the other relevant astrological shifts.

Mars Heads Into Its Hardest Placement

Mars is heading into one of the hardest stretches it has all year. It enters sidereal Cancer on September 18, its sign of debilitation, and stays there until November 12. In Cancer, Mars feels insecure rather than confident, more reactive than decisive, its usual boldness turning into worry or overreaction instead.

It’s not purely hard, though: Jupiter has been at its strongest in Cancer since June, so Mars spends this entire transit together with it, and having Jupiter right there tends to mean some form of support shows up alongside the difficulty, a good conversation, the right kind of guidance, help arriving close to when it’s actually needed.

In practice: notice when you’re reacting from feeling rather than clarity, and pause before you act. This lands hardest for anyone with their Ascendant, Sun, or Moon in Aries, Scorpio, or Cancer. Next month’s Cosmic Updates will be fully dedicated to this transit.

Venus Comes Home to Libra

While Mars heads into difficulty, Venus moves into easier territory. If you’ve read my latest article (here), you already know that Venus enters sidereal Libra on September 2, its own sign, after a full month in Virgo where it was at its weakest. Go back to it if you haven’t, it walks through exactly how this affects each sign.

What I want to add here are a couple more details to that transit, since it doesn’t move through September as one steady stretch, but it builds up in three distinct phases.

• From September 2 to 9, this is the best window for relationship repair, hosting, or starting something creative.

• On September 10, Rahu reaches Venus directly: desire gets bigger, more urgent, harder to satisfy, and purchases or romantic interest can start feeling more compelling than they actually are.

• From September 18, Mars influences Venus too, once it enters Cancer (as mentioned above), adding passion, real heat and desire on top of what Rahu already stirred up.

In practice: Venus in Libra is a supportive placement all the way through, with the first week being the smoothest part of the transit. From the 10th onward, just be a little more aware of the difference between real desire and the urge to chase or overspend. This lands most favorably for anyone with their Ascendant, Moon, or Sun in Libra, and Capricorn, Aquarius, Gemini, and Virgo also benefit generously.

Subscribe now

Other Dates to Mark This Month

A quick key: Favorable means the transit is generally on your side. Hold Back means a transit to move through more carefully, one that asks for a little more patience or awareness than usual. Mixed means both support and difficulty are present. Reflective means noticing is favored over doing. In practice tells you exactly what to do with it.

As always, this is general. How it actually lands depends on your own chart and the planetary periods you’re currently running. If you want to know exactly how, that's what I discuss with my clients over personal readings.

September 1 — Mars and Saturn create friction. Hold Back.

Action meets restriction, right at the top of the month. Saturn itself is barely moving this month, which colors the whole month toward patience over speed. In practice: don’t force a confrontation or rush a decision today.

August 31 to September 6 — Jupiter and Saturn support each other. Favorable.

One of the easiest, most cooperative alignments two planets can make, and Jupiter is at its single strongest right now too. In practice: sign the lease, start the course, make the plan you’ve been postponing. Extra weight if you have planets near 19 degrees of Cancer.

September 7 to September 26 — Mercury in Virgo, its own sign. Favorable, with a caution.

Mercury at its sharpest: precision, editing, organizing. Saturn's influence adds real discipline here too, but watch it tipping into self-criticism. In practice: finish what needs finishing, but watch for your inner editor turning into your inner critic.

September 10/11 — New Moon in Leo, Purva Phalguni nakshatra. Reflective.

Favors rest, pleasure, and relationship. In practice: name an intention rather than launching something, write down one thing you’d like to feel less effortful this month.

September 16/17 to October 17 — the Sun in Virgo. Favorable, with a caution.

A precise, detail-oriented stretch, sharpened further by Saturn's influence, good for focus, harder on self-judgment. In practice: if your self-talk turns harsh this month, that’s Saturn’s influence speaking, not the truth.

September 22/23 — Fall Equinox. Reflective.

Energetically sensitive days on either side. In practice: A better window for spiritual practice and time in nature than for pushing forward with something brand new.

September 26 — Full Moon in Pisces, Uttara Bhadrapada nakshatra. Reflective.

A foggy, unsettled quality, sharpened this year by Neptune transiting the same sign, though real closure energy sits underneath it too. This is also the exact day Pitru Paksha opens. In practice: let this be the day you start turning inward, toward the identity work Pitru Paksha invites, rather than a day to resolve anything on the spot.

September 26 to December 2 — Mercury enters Libra, joining Venus there. Favorable.

The tone shifts from precision to diplomacy. The easiest part of this pairing is before October 3. In practice: use these weeks for the conversation that needs warmth and diplomacy more than precision.

September 29 to October 4 — Jupiter crosses 25 degrees of Cancer, the exact degree of August’s solar eclipse. Favorable.

Genuinely well suited to resolving whatever that eclipse stirred up. In practice: if August’s eclipse landed hard for you, these days could bring forth the actual solution.

This is all for September!

May this month give you the ease you're due, and when it's time to turn inward, the openness to actually do it.

With cosmic love always,

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Chart, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with me for a full chart reading.

*Important reminder: all of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on your natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

August was a lot for most people. Things surfaced that you had been managing, conversations ran heavier than planned, and even the good parts came with a running commentary about whether you were doing them right. September is different. You stop needing a reason to enjoy something. Relationships get easier to be in. Money and beauty stop feeling like things to scrutinise and start feeling like things to have.

That shift has a cause. On September 2, Venus moves into Libra, the sign it rules, and after a month of being picked apart it finally gets to do what it’s actually built for: weigh, balance, connect.

Take it while it’s here. This is a bright stretch tucked between a heavy August and an October that will be given over entirely to looking back. Say yes to the dinner, the night out, the date or the weekend away!

Here’s how the month lands, and what’s coming after it.

How This Lands, Sign by Sign

These entries are written for your Vedic Ascendant (rising sign), the strongest identity vector for tracking how a transit moves through your life. If you also know your Vedic Moon or Sun sign, read those entries too, since each placement picks this up differently. And if Venus is prominent in your natal chart, or you’re currently running a Venus main period or sub-period (Dasha or Bhukti), everything described below will feel significantly amplified.

Each entry comes in two parts: September itself, then a preview of what the retrograde stirs up from October 3 to November 6.

Aries

Money and partnership are where you’ll feel the shift. Spending eases up, and so does a current relationship, or the whole experience of dating. Think enjoying what you spend with your partner instead of watching the number.

October 3 to November 6: Something you thought was settled in a relationship asks for another look, or a person from your past turns up again. Renegotiate rather than start anything new.

Taurus

Venus runs your chart, so its mood is your mood (lucky you, this month), and it lands in your daily work and routine. You’ll get busier in a way you enjoy. Good month at work if you have a job, and if you’re looking, this is a good window to actually find something! Far less friction than August handed you.

October 3 to November 6: A routine or a work relationship you assumed was fine needs another look. Venus rules your chart, so this retrograde deserves more of your attention than most people’s.

Gemini

Romance and creative work on one side, rest and solitude on the other. September favours making things, and takes the weight out of romance. Sleep well this month and your creative output will follow.

October 3 to November 6: An old romantic interest resurfaces, or a project you shelved comes back into view. Finishing beats starting here.

Cancer

Home and community both warm up. A good month for having people over, or for making your space actually feel like yours.

October 3 to November 6: A decision about home, or an old emotional pattern, comes back around and wants looking at before you close it.

Leo

Communication and career. This is a strong month for speaking in public, particularly at work: the presentation, the pitch, any moment you need to be heard properly. How you’re seen professionally is well supported more broadly too.

October 3 to November 6: A conversation, a sibling relationship, or something you’ve written needs a second pass before it’s really finished.

Virgo

Resources, family and what you believe. Conversations about money get easier, and so do questions about what you actually value. It’s also a good month to gather with your relatives.

October 3 to November 6: A financial decision, or a question about your values, comes back for review instead of resolving cleanly.

Libra

Venus runs your chart and it’s just come home. This is as directly supportive as Venus gets for you: how you look, how you feel in yourself, how you show up. Enjoy September without rationing it!

October 3 to November 6: The review is of you, not of anyone else. Your self-image, how you present yourself. Take the ease now, because October asks you to look closely.

Scorpio

Partnership and solitude, both eased. More warmth in a current relationship, alongside a real pull toward rest and retreat. A good month for a proper retreat, or a trip with your partner. Just watch out for excessive expenditures.

October 3 to November 6: Patterns you thought you’d resolved will resurface. Better met alone than in company.

Sagittarius

Daily work and community. Good month for anything collaborative, and for feeling held by your people instead of carrying it all yourself.

October 3 to November 6: An old friend or collaborator reappears, or a group dynamic you thought was settled needs another conversation. Salary and compensation may come back up too.

Capricorn

Creativity and career. Anything public-facing benefits from the ease, and a creative project may get a boost you didn’t see coming.

October 3 to November 6: A professional relationship or something to do with your reputation needs revisiting before it’s fully resolved.

Aquarius

Home, believes, and travel. This is the perfect month for a trip abroad and for getting closer to someone while you’re away.

October 3 to November 6: A former teacher, a philosophy you held, or a travel plan you dropped comes back for a second look.

Pisces

Communication and shared resources. Conversations flow more easily, and there’s less friction around joint finances, therapy, deeper emotional currents, the esoteric, and your sexuality.

October 3 to November 6: The undercurrents in a close relationship or around joint money get deeper and more psychological.

What Venus Governs, and Why That Matters Now

Venus gets filed under love, which sells it short. It governs pleasure itself: what you enjoy, what you find beautiful, what feels good against your skin. Marriage and partnership sit under Venus, but so do luxury, art, the senses, and money.

Which explains August. Venus spent it in Virgo, the sign that examines everything to make it better, so nothing got to just be good enough as it was. The meal that was fine, but could have used more salt. The relationship you kept fine-tuning instead of actually being in. The spending you tracked to the cent, looking for the leak… That was Venus this past month: everything had to earn its keep before it was allowed to just feel good.

In Libra, that filter drops. Enjoyment doesn’t have to pass an inspection first.

Libra holds the spotlight for the rest of the year. Venus arrives on September 2 and stays there, retrograde and all, almost continuously right through December. Which makes this the month to reconnect with the people you love, open the door to new ones, and indulge in something for no reason beyond wanting it.

For the planners among us (hi), all the dates you’ll want to be planning around:

September 2 to October 3. Venus in Libra, moving forward. The easy stretch.

October 3. Venus turns retrograde, still in Libra.

October 3 to November 6. The retrograde runs its main course, spent entirely in the sign Venus rules.

November 6. Venus dips back into Virgo, the same sign that tested it in August, still retrograde.

November 13/14th. Venus stations direct, still in Virgo.

November 22. Back into Libra, moving forward through the end of the year.

Venus retrograde (starting the month after, on October 3) is the rarest retrograde you’ll meet, once every eighteen months, which is enough of a subject that it will receive proper treatment, in its own article, once we reach October.

And this one is close to home (literally): it lands in the sign Venus rules (Libra), then makes a final pass through the sign that gave it a hard time in August. Venus rules what you enjoy and what you value. A retrograde turns a planet’s attention inward, so instead of Venus reaching for new pleasure and new connection, it reviews what you already have. That’s why the question becomes “what you’ve been settling for”. It’s Venus auditing its own territory rather than extending it.

Relationships and money come under real scrutiny in that window, in the useful sense. It’s when you notice which friendships you have outgrown, what you have been underpricing… and which version of yourself you have been performing. That work only happens by looking inward. A retrograde is a review, not a starting line. Build something new in October, and November will hand it back to you with notes (and quite a bit of them!).

Subscribe now

The September Practice: Take the Pleasure!

Venus at home rewards enjoying… and most of us are far better trained at earning. That’s the muscle this month is offering to work!

One practice, once a day, every day in September (you’re used to it by now): take one pleasure on purpose and refuse to justify it. Ten minutes with the good coffee and no phone. The long way home because the light is better. Saying yes to the dinner or the date…

And watch out for the impulse to justify. It arrives fast, and it sounds like I deserved this, I worked hard, or I’ll make the time up later. Notice it, and let the pleasure stand there with no receipt attached.

Once a day, thirty days. By October you’ll have practised enjoying thirty times, which gives you something honest to look at when the retrograde asks what you have been settling for.

Take everything September hands you. You’ll be glad you arrived in October full!

Giulia & Anaïs

PS: If you want to go deeper on how your own Venus shapes the way you love, Giulia unpacked it fully in the latest Astrology Pill, Venus, the Blueprint of How You Love.

* If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here.

* A Note on Personal Context: all of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on the complexity of your entire natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

* These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

How this works:

Giulia, a Vedic astrologer, provides the astrological analysis. Anaïs, a therapist and coach, translates it into narrative and integration tools.

Work with us:

• Giulia for personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis.

• Anaïs for coaching, therapeutic support, or help finding direction when life feels unclear. Book a discovery call here.

Different approaches. Same compass.

Cute fact, and an important one, but not what this piece is actually about. And before I even get into the technical part of chart analysis on Venus, let me give you a little background.

Every person’s chart is a precise map of their entire personality, and of the experiences that person is here to move through in this life. Just as it shows someone’s talents, skills, and the kind of career they’ll likely end up pursuing, the chart also describes, clearly, a person’s patterns in relationships. In this Astro Pill I want to focus on Venus, the planet that describes your own capacity to give and receive affection.

Every relationship we ever build, romantic or otherwise, starts by mirroring the one we already have with ourselves. How we hold our own hurt, how easily we let someone in, how much affection we actually know how to receive without flinching away from it, all of it tends to show up again in whoever we choose to love. Venus, together with other placements in your natal chart, is one of the pieces that maps this.

I picked Venus for this Astro Pill because it’s genuinely having a season right now, and because it felt like the right topic to hold both sides of what I do, the precise and technical practice of reading a chart, and the very human terrain that chart is actually describing.

If you read this month’s Calendar article, you already know Venus will be spending all of August in Virgo, its sign of debilitation, the weakest placement it can hold in the zodiac, under pressure from both Mars and Saturn along the way. That’s not a coincidence I want to skip past. On September 2, Venus moves into Libra, one of its own signs, where it will stay, almost without a break, through the end of the year. And on October 3, Venus stations retrograde, a cycle that runs until November 13/14, playing out almost entirely within Libra. Venus retrograde is the rarest retrograde cycle you’ll meet, happening only once every eighteen months, and this time it lands squarely in a sign Venus calls home.

So we are looking at close to five months, from the start of August through the very end of December, where Venus moves through a testing ground and then comes home. Virgo (where it is currently) is where relationships get put under a microscope, scrutinized, picked apart. Libra, ruled by Venus itself, is one of the signs Vedic astrology considers a natural home for love and partnership.

So the season runs: first tested, then home, and finally home while turned inward to review.

In my readings, one of the places I spend the most time with clients is their relationship patterns, and Venus is usually where that conversation starts. It’s only one piece of a much larger picture. The seventh house and whichever planet rules it matter just as much, and so does the Navamsha, the divisional chart Vedic astrology uses specifically to look at relationships and the type of partner you tend to attract. But Venus is a good entry point, because it describes something specific: what actually makes you feel loved. Given everything Venus is doing this month and over the next several, I wanted to give you a way into reading your own placement, right in the middle of the affliction that’s asking the harder questions.

What Venus actually represents in your chart

Venus is the significator of affection, pleasure, beauty, and what feels good in general, which is why it also touches money, art, and aesthetics, not just romance. Libra, the sign Venus rules and is about to spend a long stretch in, carries that same range: it’s the sign of partnership, but also of artists, designers, and anyone whose work is about creating something beautiful or well-balanced. All of that is part of Venus’s territory, and worth knowing.

For this piece, though, I want to narrow in on love specifically. Venus’s long transit through Libra is about to put a spotlight on relationships, current or potential, for the whole collective, and understanding how your own Venus behaves is the best possible preparation for that.

Venus, the way you love, sign by sign

These describe your natal placement, not the current transit, and speak to your emotional style in love more than any single event. It’s worth checking where your own Venus sits in your natal chart and seeing how much of it rings true for you. I have added some variation by gender, all kept briefly, though of course it applies loosely and isn’t a hard rule.

Aries

Assertive and quick to pursue, not shy about making the first move, drawn to the spark of new attraction more than the slow build. In a woman’s chart this can look like real comfort initiating, even asking someone out first. In a man’s chart, it often means being drawn to equally passionate, assertive partners.

Taurus (Venus’s own sign)

Loyal and deeply steady, sensual in a grounded way, and inclined to measure love partly by the material comfort and stability it brings. In a man’s chart this often points to an attractive or musically gifted spouse. In a woman’s chart, a real desire for prosperity and material comfort through the relationship.

Gemini

Curious and communicative, gets bored fast with routine, drawn to partners who are witty, talkative, or mentally engaging. Men with this placement often seek charming, intelligent partners. Women tend to look for someone they can genuinely talk to.

Cancer

Sensitive and nurturing, looks to relationship for both emotional and material security, moods can shift with the tide. Men often seek a nurturing partner. Women look for someone who can provide real emotional and material security.

Leo

Warm-hearted and passionate, a little dramatic, needs to feel admired and can be possessive when that need goes unmet. Men often look for a striking, attention-drawing partner. Women with this placement can put real weight on their own beauty, style, and being noticed.

Virgo (debilitated)

Channels emotion through the intellect more than the heart, tends to analyze rather than simply feel, and can be quietly critical of a partner while actually longing for real understanding. Men often attract intellectual or pragmatic women. Women may express their femininity in a more mental or verbal way.

Libra (Venus’s own sign)

Naturally diplomatic and partnership-oriented, genuinely good at harmonizing, drawn to refinement, though conflict-averse to a fault. Both men and women with this placement tend to be drawn to attractive, well-mannered partners, and dislike anything that disrupts the relationship’s harmony.

Scorpio

Intense and private, takes romantic involvement seriously, capable of real depth but also of jealousy if trust isn’t fully there yet. Women with this placement can lean on charm to influence a partner. Men are sometimes drawn to partners who are themselves intense or hard to pin down.

Sagittarius

Honest and freedom-loving, drawn to a partner who shares a philosophy or sense of purpose, warm and socially open. Men often seek an educated, prosperous partner. Women may look to marriage as a way of finding purpose and meaning.

Capricorn

Reserved and slow to unlock emotionally, but genuinely steady once committed, treating relationship as something built with effort rather than found by chance. Men often seek career-oriented partners. Women with this placement sometimes prioritize position or stability over romance alone.

Aquarius

Independent and a little detached, needs a partner who is also a friend, values intellectual connection and personal freedom within the bond. Men may be drawn to brilliant or unconventional women. Women with this placement can be impulsive, freedom-loving, and sometimes hold an idealized picture of a partner that real people struggle to match.

Pisces (exalted)

Romantic and idealistic, falls deeply and easily, compassionate almost to a fault, and prone to seeing a partner’s potential rather than who they actually are. Men often seek sensitive, artistic, or compassionate partners. Women with this placement are often in love with the idea of being in love, seeking the deepest, most soulful connection they can find.

Subscribe now

Venus in company: what changes when other planets get involved

Venus rarely acts alone in a chart. When two planets sit in the same sign, Vedic astrology considers them conjunct, meaning they blend together, and one starts coloring how the other expresses itself. It’s worth checking your own chart to see whether your Venus sits together with other planet(s), and reading how that combination might be showing up in your own relationships. A few of the more common Venus conjunctions, briefly:

Venus with the Sun brings warmth and charm, though if the two sit very close together, Venus is considered combust (more on that below).

Venus with Mars adds real passion and a strong physical pull, but that same intensity can override better judgment, especially early on.

Venus with Mercury makes affection easy to put into words, communication becomes central to how love is expressed and received.

Venus with Jupiter tends to bring genuine ease and support to relationships, often prosperity too.

Venus with Saturn creates emotional caution, someone slower to open up but, once they do, capable of real staying power.

Venus with Rahu adds urgency and a pull toward the unconventional, sometimes a partner from a very different background, sometimes a relationship that runs on intensity rather than ease.

Venus with Ketu brings a spiritual, idealized picture of love, often paired with a quiet, recurring disappointment when reality doesn’t match the ideal.

Venus combust

When Venus sits very close to the Sun, within a few degrees, it’s considered combust, meaning its light is essentially outshined. Classical texts read this as weakening, but in practice it often shows up less as an absence and more as an imbalance: real charm and warmth in the personality, sometimes alongside a spouse or partner who is genuinely attractive or accomplished, but a tendency to overinvest in career or self at the expense of actually enjoying the relationship in front of you.

Venus retrograde in your birth chart

If Venus is retrograde in your natal chart, classical Jyotish reads it as stronger rather than weaker, closer to Earth, more intense, not a placement to be worried about. In practice, that intensity often shows up as relationship patterns that start with real force and can fade over time, a natural pull to revisit past connections rather than fully close them, and a sense that self-worth and the ability to receive love take ongoing, conscious attention rather than coming easily.

Venus retrograde transit: what October and November will be asking of you

This is different from the natal placement above, this is a transit, meaning it affects everyone, not just people with Venus retrograde in their own chart. This year, Venus stations retrograde on October 3 and turns direct again on November 13/14, a cycle that plays out almost entirely within Libra. It's worth mentioning here because it's directly ahead of us. During a Venus retrograde transit, love and self-worth tend to become a more compulsive, psychological experience rather than a simple, generous one. Old relationship patterns resurface. Past partners can reappear. The questions that come up (am I actually valued here, is this connection or is it attachment) are exactly the kind that don't get resolved by moving fast.

If you want to dive deeper into retrograde planets, I published a dedicated piece which you can find here.

Where to go from here

Everything above describes tendencies, not guarantees, and your Venus is only one piece of a much larger picture. But it’s a real one, and knowing your placement gives you something concrete to work with, especially heading into a season where Venus is asking to be noticed.

This is only the beginning of what I want to cover on Venus this year. As we move deeper into this Libra cycle, expect more from me on this topic.

If you don’t know your Vedic Venus sign, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or if you’d rather go deeper, that’s exactly the kind of work I map in a personal reading.

With Cosmic Love,

Giulia

* These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

* If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here.

* A Note on Personal Context: all of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on the complexity of your entire natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

Subscribe now

Three things are stacking on top of each other. Eclipse season takes the center stage, with a total solar eclipse on August 12 and a partial lunar eclipse on August 27 into the 28th. Saturn is freshly stationed retrograde, a cycle that began July 27 and runs until December 11, so its energy is already turned inward, reviewing rather than building. And Venus, the planet of relationships, pleasure, and what feels good, spends the entire month in Virgo, its sign of debilitation, hit by hard aspects from both Mars and Saturn along the way.

Hold off on what can wait. Big commitments, contracts, and anything you want to last are better placed after the eclipse season closes. In the meantime, more quiet time, more rest, and more of the patience you’d extend to a friend having a hard month.

Venus in Virgo: a second pressure point this month

Alongside the eclipses, Venus adds its own layer of difficulty this month. Venus enters sidereal Virgo on August 1 and stays there through the end of the month, moving into Libra only on September 2. Virgo is Venus’s sign of debilitation, its weakest placement in the zodiac. Where Venus usually softens and indulges, in Virgo it turns critical, picking apart what it would normally just enjoy. Relationships and self-worth run more self-critical this month, less generous than usual.

Venus in Virgo also spends the month under pressure from both Mars and Saturn, building toward an exact hit on August 21, when the Venus-Saturn aspect peaks. Mars adds friction and impatience to whatever Venus touches. Saturn adds restriction and a colder read on where you stand with people. This lands hardest for anyone with their Ascendant, Sun, or Moon in Taurus or Libra, the two signs Venus rules, and for anyone currently running a Venus planetary period (dasha or bhukti).

This is not the month to make the big financial or aesthetic call. It is, however, a month that tests relationships. The ones built on convenience or unsteady ground are the ones likely to crumble under this pressure. Solid ones will be pushed and pulled at too, but they’ll hold.

August 12: the total solar eclipse

The Sun goes dark in the last degrees of sidereal Cancer, in Ashlesha nakshatra, the segment tied to the serpent, carrying both a profound ability to heal and enough sharpness to poison whatever it perceives as a threat. Anaïs and I wrote a full piece on what this eclipse is doing, sign by sign, and how best to prepare for it. It’s worth the read and you can find it here.

This one lands hardest if you have a planet sitting around 25 degrees of Cancer or Capricorn, or 5 degrees of Leo or Aquarius. Whatever surfaces around August 12 is asking to be seen, not acted on.

August 22: Sun conjunct Ketu

Ten days after the solar eclipse, the Sun meets Ketu exactly, in Leo. This is not a small footnote. It arrives in the middle of the same eclipse season, and it amplifies the same themes the August 12 eclipse already opened: things staying hidden, power and visibility under strain.

A Sun-Ketu conjunction tends to destabilize whoever or whatever it touches at the level of leadership and public standing. Given everything else already stacking up this month, this is a date where real change at the level of power and public figures is genuinely on the table, not just a passing headline. Watch this window closely as this is the typical conjunction that can trigger the loss of a leader.

August 27 into 28: the partial lunar eclipse

Sixteen days after the solar eclipse, on the Full Moon, the eclipse falls in sidereal Aquarius, in Shatabhisha nakshatra, ruled by Rahu and connected to healing, and to methods that work outside the conventional path. It hits hardest if you have a planet sitting around 5 to 10 degrees of Leo or Aquarius.

This eclipse closes the eclipse season that opened on August 12, so all three of these dates, the solar eclipse, the Sun-Ketu conjunction, and the lunar eclipse, are meant to be read as one continuous unfolding rather than separate events. Ashlesha brought a hidden pattern into view. Shatabhisha now asks what you actually do to heal it, especially if the usual approach hasn’t worked. Expect an unconventional answer to land better than an obvious one this time.

The main dates to mark this month

If you take one thing from this month: August 12, August 21, August 22, and August 27 into the 28th are the dates to move through with more care. The rest of the month carries a heavier undertone too, with Saturn’s retrograde and Venus’s affliction running the whole way through, so treat all of August as a season for more quiet time and more self-compassion, not just those dates in isolation.

As a general rule, the effect of any transit is rarely limited to the exact day. I always give it three days on either side, so treat the window around each of these dates, not just the date itself, as the sensitive stretch.

Subscribe now

Other Dates to Mark This Month

August 2 to September 18. Mars transits sidereal Gemini. Mars and Mercury are natural enemies, so this transit speeds the mind up while making it more prone to conflict. Expect quicker thinking, but watch for impulsive or combative communication, the kind you send before you’ve reread it.

August 5 to August 22. Mercury transits sidereal Cancer. This is also Mercury’s final push through the retrograde cycle it started in June, so the first half of the month is where the review work from that cycle actually lands and moves forward.

August 13. Jupiter clears its combustion window, regaining its usual strength after a month spent too close to the Sun to express it fully.

August 17 to September 17. The Sun transits sidereal Leo. Normally, this shift moves the mood of the month from private to public. This year, with eclipse season active and the Sun conjunct Ketu on the 22nd, expect that public shift to come with real friction: leadership problems and visibility issues rather than a clean rise into confidence.

August 19. Jupiter moves from Pushya nakshatra, its single strongest placement, into Ashlesha, the same nakshatra hosting the solar eclipse. Jupiter here favors the mystical and the esoteric, a shift from steady, nourishing growth toward more hidden, intense territory.

August 22 to September 7. Mercury transits sidereal Leo. Thinking and communication don’t turn warm-hearted, confident, creative and direct right away here. That shift comes once Mercury passes Ketu, after August 25.

Saturn remains in its retrograde cycle throughout the month, no new movement to report there. Last month’s piece covers the full mechanics if you want the background.

A Note on Personal Context

All of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on your natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

Wishing you attunement to cosmic energies always,
Giulia

These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here.

On August 12, we’ll have a solar eclipse. The Sun goes dark while sitting in the stretch of sky tied to the Nagas, the serpents of the underworld, and one of the most esoteric corners of the zodiac, where whatever stays hidden lives (Ashlesha), right beside the stretch long associated with the throne room, kings and power (Magha). That combination is what gives this one its weight. At the collective level, expect drama and heightened emotion across the board. This is the kind of window where leadership changes hands, where public unrest finds its voice, and where long-buried truths stop staying buried. It has a particular talent for dragging secrets into the light, especially around health, and around the people who hold power.

It works the same way in a single life. Whatever you have kept out of sight, an old wound, a motive you have not admitted, a truth you have circled around for months, this is the month it comes up.

None of which is a reason to brace. An eclipse is a pause, where old patterns surface so you can finally see them clearly. Looking is the whole job. This is not a window for action: let what surfaces be named and understood, and hold the conversations and decisions that follow until the eclipse has passed.

Here’s how it lands according to your ascendant sign, and how to move through it.

If you want the mechanics of how eclipses actually work, and the myth behind Rahu and Ketu, Giulia wrote a dedicated piece on it. You can read it here first.

Subscribe now

Your Eclipse Guide by Ascendant

These entries are written primarily for your Vedic Ascendant (rising sign), the strongest identity vector in Vedic astrology: it governs how you move through the world and where change becomes visible in your life. If you also know your Vedic Moon and Sun signs, read those entries too. Each placement catches this eclipse from a different angle. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can calculate it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or book a session with Giulia for a full reading.

One important note: if you are currently in a Rahu, Ketu, or Sun main period or sub-period (Dasha or Bhukti), you will feel this eclipse strongly even without a planet at these exact degrees.

Aries

The eclipse lands in the fourth house, the part of your chart that governs your home environment, and by extension, your emotional landscape. Something tied to home, an old story, an unspoken resentment about family or the place you live, has been coiled beneath the surface. Let it surface rather than defend against it. The discomfort is the medicine.

Taurus

This touches your everyday voice and your immediate environment. An unspoken truth in a close exchange is becoming impossible to keep hidden. Let yourself see it clearly now. The actual conversation is better held once this has passed.

Gemini

This touches your resources, your speech, family wealth, food, and what you need to sustain yourself. Something about your own value has been working against you from underneath. Naming it honestly, even just to yourself, breaks its hold.

Cancer

The eclipse falls directly on you, on your identity and your body (especially if you have the Ascendant, Moon or Sun in Ashlesha and near 25 degrees of Cancer). This is the most direct invitation of the year to shed an old skin. Ashlesha’s gift is transformation through release. Using force works against it.

Leo

This lands in the most private part of your chart, the place tied to retreat and subconscious patterns. Something you have hidden even from yourself is ready to be met, in solitude and stillness rather than distraction.

Virgo

This touches your community, your long-term goals, and the income that comes through your work. A hidden dynamic within a group or a plan may surface. Trust what your intuition already suspects about who is actually aligned with you.

Libra

This lands on your public role and your reputation. Nothing here needs addressing publicly right now, but give it space privately, so the growth underneath can actually happen.

Scorpio

This touches your beliefs, and possibly a father or mentor figure. A conviction you have held out of loyalty rather than genuine belief is ready to be questioned. You already know how to sit with what is hidden. Use that skill here.

Sagittarius

This falls in transformation, shared resources, and the deeper, more emotional side of you drawn to therapy and the occult. It is the perfect activation for doing the deep work that actually leads to change. Money or intimacy tangled with someone else’s process may come into view too.

Capricorn

This lands on partnership. No confrontation right now, but make space for the truth about a partner to come into view on its own, so nothing poisons the bond later.

Aquarius

This touches health, fittingly, since Ashlesha is also linked to medicine and healing. Better routine, more attention to your body, and an eye on who around you is not acting in your interest.

Pisces

The eclipse stirs something overdue in creativity, romance, and children. A project, a connection, or something involving a child resurfaces for a reason. Sit with it and let it come to light.

Why This Eclipse Matters

Two dates matter this month: the solar eclipse on August 12, and a lunar one two weeks later on August 27 into the 28th. This piece focuses on the solar event, the bigger of the pair.

It happens because Ketu is crossing paths with the Sun. Ketu has been destabilising leaders and long-standing seats of power ever since it entered Leo back in May 2025: resignations, illness, exile for prominent figures, unrest inside traditional institutions.

Underneath the twelve signs, Vedic astrology divides the sky into twenty-seven smaller segments called Nakshatras, each with its own character. Ketu is currently sitting in Magha, the stretch of Leo closest to Regulus, the star long associated with kings and public power. During August, and especially during the eclipse itself, Ketu sits at exactly 5 degrees of Leo, the same narrow stretch where a striking number of the world’s current leaders carry important placements in their own charts. Expect real movement at the level of leadership this month.

For example, Donald Trump’s natal ascendant sits close to where Ketu is currently transiting, and Ketu will be almost exactly on that degree at the peak of the August 12 eclipse. Ketu conjunct the ascendant traditionally corresponds to a kind of eclipsing of the persona itself, a loss of visibility or standing that isn’t always tied to any single event, and this transit lines up with a period of declining approval. Ketu is also drawing closer to his natal Mars over the coming months, an alignment traditionally read as volatile, tied to conflict, aggression, and heightened risk, with the contact tightening around September 20 and again in November. Whatever this shows up as, the pattern points to a period where tension and instability around him are likely to intensify rather than ease.

Meanwhile the Sun, the one actually being eclipsed, sits in the last degrees of Cancer, in a nakshatra called Ashlesha. That’s the segment this eclipse is activating, and Ashlesha is represented by the serpent. It is drawn to what stays hidden rather than what sits visible on the surface: the mystical, the esoteric, the thing kept out of sight. It carries a profound ability to heal, enough sharpness to poison, and a deep desire to overcome whatever threatens it. So whatever you have kept coiled away (an old wound, a hidden motive, a truth you have not said out loud), that is what is asking to surface.

One thing working in our favour: Jupiter is still transiting Cancer during this eclipse, in his own sign of exaltation. (Phew!) That won’t stop things from surfacing, but know that there is real grace and support available if you are willing to work with what comes up rather than fight it.

All eclipses shape events on a global scale. Entire countries feel the shift regardless of any one person’s chart. But if you have a planet sitting near 25 degrees Cancer or 5 degrees Leo, you will feel this one directly, and not just as a passing headline. Which planet, and which house it occupies, is what tells the real story: whether this shows up as a career reckoning, a health matter, or a relationship finally being told the truth.

If that’s you, and you want to know what this eclipse is actually doing in your chart… book a reading with Giulia!! It’s truly life changing. (A completely unbiased opinion, obviously.)

Working with this window. Hold off on starting anything you want to last. New ventures, weddings, big launches, important signatures: all of them sit better a week before or after. Treat this less as a blank page and more as a pause, where old patterns surface and get seen. Steer clear of unnecessary risk. Show up for anyone around you who is in crisis. And if you feel the intensity building in you, put it toward something creative, or something that helps someone else.

A note on timing. The solar eclipse is exact on August 12, felt most strongly by anyone with placements near 25 degrees of Cancer or Capricorn, and 5 degrees of Leo or Aquarius. Two weeks later, the lunar eclipse on August 27 into the 28th closes the season and tends to bring a fuller picture of whatever the solar eclipse opened.

The solar eclipse will be the first one visible from mainland Europe since 1999, appearing as partial across much of the continent and total in a narrow path through northern Spain, Iceland, and Greenland. As always with a solar eclipse, it’s not recommended to look at it directly.

The August Practice: NAME IT

There’s a concrete reason stillness is the traditional practice during an eclipse: for a few minutes, the light you normally run on gets blocked. Nothing has actually gone anywhere, a shadow is just passing in front of it, but for that window you’re asked to find that light from the inside instead. Which is why meditation, stillness, and quiet are favoured here over action.

So, let’s pick one quiet practice.

For the week around August 12, let’s say from the 9th through the 16th, give yourself ten minutes a day. Same time, ideally morning. Phone in another room. (Yes, actually another room.) Sit in meditation, observation, journaling, voice or breath work… whichever one you already do or want to try. And keep your food lighter than usual that week.

During this eclipse window, something will surface. Make room for it. Write it down. The wound, the motive, the truth you have circled for months.

Ten minutes a day. That’s the whole thing. The solar eclipse opens the material, the lunar eclipse on August 27 and 28 shows you its fuller shape, and what you do about it belongs after that.

Let August show you what you’ve been carrying!

Giulia & Anaïs

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

*If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here

*A Note on Personal Context: all of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on your natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

How this works:

Giulia, a Vedic astrologer, provides the astrological analysis. Anaïs, a therapist and coach, translates it into narrative and integration tools.

Work with us:

• Giulia for personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis

• Anaïs for coaching, therapeutic support, or help finding direction when life feels unclear

Different approaches. Same compass.

Subscribe now

They printed mine in fifteen minutes.

I want to walk you through exactly what happened before that appointment, because none of it was luck. It was a series of specific, deliberate choices, made possible by the same practice that is both the best therapy tool I know for self-awareness and, just as much, a tool for strategic alignment.

For the people who think this is “woo-woo”

Most people know Vedic astrology as a tool for self-awareness, for understanding who you are. That’s true, and it’s where everything starts. But this piece is about what it does next: the same system, used tactically, in my own daily life, to get something done. Proof that it can help you navigate something as concrete as a visa process, not just understand yourself better.

But before I get into the details, let me answer the question I know is coming: does this mean you can make anything happen, or prevent anything from going wrong?

No. And that is worth naming clearly before anything else, because it is the frame for everything that follows.

Relocation was already indicated in my chart within the next twelve months. That direction was already set. But indicated is not the same as effortless, and it is not the same as smooth. Astrology did not manifest a relocation out of nothing. What it did was change how I got there: fewer errors, less friction, and time and energy freed up for everything else, instead of a process that kept me waiting.

This piece is about showing you what life looks like when both the analytical and the spiritual work together.

This was not the first time I had gone through this exact process. A few years ago, before astrology was any part of my life, I relocated to Mexico through my previous company. That process, no timing, no preparation beyond the standard paperwork, took a year, and it cost me more than time. I had ended my lease in London expecting the process to close by a certain date, and when it didn’t, I found myself with nowhere to live, last minute, while everything was still stuck in limbo. Mexican bureaucracy is genuinely not fast, and I have the previous experience to prove it. This time, from the day I first called the lawyer to the day I walked out with the visa in hand, it took three months. Same country, similar process, a completely different result.

Subscribe now

Part one: how it started

I contacted the lawyer who would handle my case on Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most auspicious days in the Vedic calendar for beginning something you want to last. Starting there was the first domino, and it set a tone for everything that followed.

Part two: the appointment date

The lawyer could not submit my consulate appointment booking request until the last week of May, that’s simply when the process allowed it. By then, the earliest available slot at the consulate turned out to be July 21. What made that delay useful rather than just inconvenient is that the sky itself had shifted by late May: Mars was no longer in conjunction with Saturn, and Mercury, the planet that governs documents and communication, was no longer afflicted. The earlier affliction, present through April and into mid-May, would have made an earlier booking window a harder one to work with. That’s not really a coincidence, more a continuation. Waiting for Akshaya Tritiya to start the process in the first place meant everything downstream, including this delay, was already moving through the same domino I’d set off from day one.

Part three: the retrograde I knew was coming

The appointment ended up being booked for July 21, which put it squarely inside the Mercury retrograde cycle running through Cancer and Gemini this summer. Mercury retrograde does not create problems out of nothing, but it has a well-earned reputation for miscommunication, document errors, and technology that stops cooperating exactly when you need it most. Knowing that in advance changed how I prepared, not whether I worried.

A few things that came up, each one exactly the kind of friction the retrograde predicts:

I needed documents delivered from Mexico on a tight timeline, and they had to be correct the first time around. So I planned the entire sequence in June, well before the retrograde started, and read every document multiple times before it mattered.

Printing turned into its own small saga. Forms that were supposed to be fillable on the computer refused to behave. At one point the print shop ran out of paper halfway through and handed me half the copies I actually needed without saying a word, I only caught it because I checked every single page against my list before leaving. None of it was catastrophic, all of it was exactly the kind of low-grade chaos Mercury retrograde is known for.

Even my lawyer, who is meticulous and rarely makes mistakes, wrote my name incorrectly on one of the documents.

None of that surprised me. That was the point. Knowing the retrograde was active meant I was checking everything to the letter instead of assuming it would go through clean, and every one of those errors got caught before it became a real problem.

Part four: the fifteen minutes

The last piece had a name: muhurta, the Vedic practice of calculating the exact moment to begin something so it lines up with the most supportive configuration of the sky available. I used it to calculate the exact time to leave my apartment for the consulate, down to the minute, so that the moment I stepped out of my front door matched the sky I wanted for exactly the outcome I deeply desired.

In plain terms, Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion, was sitting right on the ascendant, in its strongest possible position, and carrying the meaning of fortune and foreign lands with it. The moment I stepped out carried exactly what I needed. I did not choose that minute at random. I built the chart for it the way you would build a timeline for a launch, working backward from the outcome I wanted to the exact moment that supported it.

I walked into that interview already carrying the best timing I could construct around it.

They printed the visa in fifteen minutes. Against a ten day average.

What I’m not claiming

I want to be direct about the limits here, because overstating this would undermine the actual method. Vedic astrology did not create a relocation that was not already written into my chart. What it gave me was preparation: knowing which windows would support the process, which would introduce friction, and where to expect mistakes before they happened. Without that preparation, this relocation might still have happened eventually, the way it did the first time, over a year, full of friction, mostly out of my control. With it, I got the result I wanted on the day I wanted it, which means I get to spend the next stretch of time actually preparing for the move, enjoying the holidays with my partner, and continuing to build my business, with a lot less weight on my end and a lot more room to focus on what actually matters. That’s the real value of the tool. Not manufacturing an outcome from nothing, but shaping how, and how well, you arrive at the one already coming.

The last week of June, right before I left for India, I also did a reiki and akashic records session with Anaïs. My departure for India itself was also timed astrologically. Both of those, alongside the timing work above, went into the same effort: preparing and upgrading my own energy ahead of the outcome I was trying to achieve. If you’re curious about that side of the work, it’s worth exploring with Anaïs directly, I honestly cannot recommend her and her incredible skills and talents enough!

Your chart is a map, not a destiny

It shows you the currents already moving through your life. What you do with them is still entirely yours. I did not sit back and wait for July 21 to go well. I built toward it, on every layer available to me, starting from the day I picked up the phone to call the lawyer.

That is what this work actually is. Preparation, and the willingness to trust it.

More stories like this are coming. This is just one of the many ways I use Vedic astrology to enhance outcomes in my own daily life, and it's exactly the kind of guidance I offer my clients too, helping them time their own decisions and align with what they're working toward.

With cosmic love,

Giulia

Subscribe now

*If what you want right now is clarity and self-awareness, where to start, what your placements actually mean, how to begin reading yourself this way, Your Vedic Chart, Explained is the free place to begin.

*And if this story is what made you curious, about using your chart more strategically, aligning your timing with what you’re actually working toward, you can find my work at www.giuliaavvanzini.com or book an intro call or a reading here.

Rahu and Ketu are not planets, at least not in the way Mars or Venus are. There is no rock there, nothing a telescope could ever land on. They do have an orbit, but it is a mathematical one, a cycle of crossing points in space rather than a physical body moving through it. And yet in Vedic astrology, understanding them is essential to understanding where the soul is trying to go in this life.

So what are they, and why does a point with no physical body matter so much for reading someone’s direction and growth? That is what this Astro Pill is for.

What Rahu and Ketu actually are

(For the astronomers among you)

The Moon’s orbit is tilted about five degrees compared to the Sun’s path across the sky. Because of that tilt, most months the Moon drifts slightly above or below where the Sun sits. Twice in every orbit, though, the Moon’s path crosses back to line up exactly with the Sun’s. Those two crossing points, sitting exactly opposite each other, are called Rahu and Ketu in Vedic astrology.

An eclipse can only happen when a New or Full Moon lands close enough to one of these two points, generally within about ten to twelve degrees. A solar eclipse happens at the New Moon, when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and blocks some or all of its light. A lunar eclipse happens at the Full Moon, when the Earth’s own shadow falls on the Moon instead.

Most years bring four eclipses in total, two solar and two lunar, arriving in pairs a couple of weeks apart. Occasionally there is a third pair, since the alignment does not need to be exact to the degree, just close enough to Rahu or Ketu for the shadow to reach.

In practical terms: Rahu and Ketu are two points in the sky, and an eclipse only happens when a New or Full Moon lines up closely enough with one of them.

Now let’s move to understand where they came from, and how they shape our soul’s karma.

Subscribe now

The myth: how Rahu snuck a seat at the table for a sip of immortality

The story behind Rahu and Ketu is one of the great scenes (and one of my personal favorites!), in Vedic mythology. Once you know it, you stop needing to memorize what each one represents. And you start remembering instead what each one means.

The gods had lost their strength, and the only cure was amrita, the nectar of immortality, hidden at the bottom of the cosmic ocean. To get it, gods and demons had to work together, using a mountain as a churning rod and the king of serpents as the rope. They churned for ages. Poison came out first, and Shiva swallowed it to save the worlds. Eventually the nectar surfaced.

Naturally, everyone wanted it, and a fight broke out between the gods and the demons over who would get to drink first. Vishnu stepped in and took the form of Mohini, a woman so captivating that both sides simply stopped to watch her. She sat the gods in one line and the demons in another, and began serving the nectar to the gods only.

One demon was not willing to be left out. He shape-shifted into the form of a god and slipped into the row, sitting quietly between the Sun and the Moon. When his turn came, he took his sip. But the Sun and the Moon recognized him and immediately alerted Mohini. Before the nectar could pass his throat, Vishnu’s discus cut off his head.

Because the nectar had already touched his mouth, he could not fully die. The head, now immortal and separated from its body, became Rahu. The body, immortal too but with no head left to direct it, became Ketu. This is also why, in the old texts, Rahu and Ketu are said to hold a grudge against the Sun and the Moon, the two who exposed him. It is the reason eclipses were traditionally seen as Rahu and Ketu swallowing the Sun or the Moon.

A head with no body, a body with no head

Once you sit with the image, the psychology writes itself.

Rahu is pure appetite. He is the part of us that wants, that reaches, that will disguise itself just to get a seat at the table. Some describe Rahu as the mind without the heart, thinking with nothing to slow it down, which is why Rahu energy so often shows up as obsessive thinking, looping plans, calculations, and cravings with no internal brake. He has no body, which means no restraint, no natural stopping point, no wisdom gathered from lived experience. He acts first and deals with consequences never. That is Rahu energy wherever it sits in a person’s chart: hunger without an internal brake.

Ketu is pure detachment: the opposite half of the same being. In Vedic astrology he is called the Moksha Karaka, the significator of liberation, because he has the body, the accumulated experience, the mastery, but no head to direct any of it. With no head, he cannot use the intellect to plan ahead, so he relies on intuition instead, and stays in whatever is happening right here, right now, with no agenda. He does not chase, because on some level he has already tasted what chasing gets you, and it cost him everything. That same placement has a shadow side too, wherever Ketu sits in your personal chart, it can show up as a quiet, chronic dissatisfaction with an area of life you have already idealized or mastered, a discontent that is really just asking you to loosen your grip rather than to keep striving.

Neither Rahu nor Ketu is complete alone. That is the whole point of the myth. If your Rahu is where your soul is reaching for something new, your Ketu, on the other side of the chart, is what your soul is already releasing.

From theory to practice: what your Rahu-Ketu axis tells me about your soul purpose

Your natal Rahu and Ketu show me two things at once, where your soul is headed in this life, and what it has already mastered enough to leave behind. Rahu is the direction. Ketu is the release.

Take Rahu in the first house, Ketu in the seventh. Rahu here is hungry to become someone, to build a self defined on its own terms rather than borrowed from anyone else. Ketu in the seventh is the counterweight, a familiarity with relationships that can show up as detachment, sometimes because that terrain was already mastered in a previous life, sometimes because this life brought disappointment there. The invitation is to let Rahu build the self directly, while letting Ketu take relationships one day at a time, staying in the here and now rather than trying to plan them out in advance.

Or take Rahu in the tenth house, Ketu in the fourth. Rahu here directs the focus on career, visibility, and standing in the world. Ketu in the fourth can bring disappointment connected to the home environment, sometimes because the home itself was unconventional in some way, or disappointment connected specifically to the mother.

Reading this axis in someone’s own chart is exactly how I uncover the details of soul purpose and karma in a personal reading, since the natal placement is where a pattern like the ones above becomes specific to one person’s life.

Transiting Rahu and Ketu: eclipses, when the sky asks for inner light

Unlike most planets, the nodes move backward through the zodiac, and very slowly, changing sign roughly every eighteen months. When a New or Full Moon lines up close enough with the transiting nodes, that produces an eclipse, on average twice a year, in pairs, a solar and a lunar eclipse a couple of weeks apart.

During an eclipse, the Sun or the Moon appears to vanish, but neither one actually goes anywhere. It is an optical illusion, the Moon or the Earth’s shadow simply passing in front of the light for a few minutes. That is exactly why eclipses are considered such potent windows for spiritual practice. For those minutes, the external light we usually rely on, whether the Sun’s clarity and vitality or the Moon’s emotional reflection, is not available to us in the usual way, and we are quietly asked to find that same light from within instead. This is why meditation, mantra, and stillness are traditionally favored during eclipse windows far more than action.

Because the nodes move so slowly, their transits also shape themes at a global level, not only a personal one. For example, Ketu’s current transit through Leo has been asking the collective to confront and release ego, and to work from behind the scenes rather than for recognition. We will go much deeper into this global layer in the eclipse update coming at the end of the month.

Subscribe now

Why “malefic” misses the point

Rahu and Ketu are classified as malefic planets in Vedic astrology, and it is easy to stop there and treat them as something to fear. But a shadow only exists because there is light nearby that something is blocking, which is why in Vedic astrology the more accurate name for them is chaya grahas, or shadow planets. Rahu is not malicious, he is undisciplined desire magnified, and left unconscious he creates obsession, since he does not know when to stop wanting. Ketu is not cruel, he is detachment magnified, and left unconscious, he idealizes whatever he touches, which is what creates the disappointment. Bring awareness to either one and the story changes completely, Rahu becomes ambition with direction instead of hunger without a floor, Ketu becomes wisdom and release instead of quiet withdrawal. Understood this way, they stop being a threat and become one of the clearest tools in the chart, showing you exactly where you overreach, and exactly where you are being asked to let go and accept, so that area of life stops causing disappointment.

Working with an eclipse: a few dos and don’ts

Do lean into whatever grounds you inward: meditation, mantra, quiet reflection, a lighter diet. This is a wonderful window to be more introspective and to practice equanimity rather than reactivity.

Don’t use this window to start anything you want to last. New ventures, weddings, big launches, are all better placed at least three days before or after an eclipse. Treat it less like a blank page and more like a pause, where old patterns are meant to surface and be seen, not where new ones are meant to begin.

If you want specific guidance on how to work with this particular eclipse in your own chart, that is exactly the kind of work I do in a personal reading.

The full picture on the upcoming August eclipse cycle will be posted July 25, in my monthly update with Anaïs. Stay tuned!

With cosmic love,

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

*If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here

Most months, this space is a list. This month, one event is big enough to lead: on July 27, Saturn stations retrograde. It is one of the most structurally important shifts of the second half of 2026, and it deserves more than a bullet point. So this issue leads with Saturn, breaks it down sign by sign, then closes with the other dates worth marking.

Saturn Turns Retrograde: July 27

Saturn stations retrograde on July 27, opening its annual reversal cycle. This year the retrograde phase runs for about four and a half months, with Saturn turning direct again on December 11. At the July station, Saturn sits near 21 degrees of sidereal Pisces, in Revati nakshatra. By the time it stations direct in December, it will have moved back to roughly 14 degrees of Pisces, in Uttara Bhadrapada nakshatra.

If you want the mechanics of retrograde motion itself, I laid that out in Astrology Pills: Retrograde Planets. The short version that matters here: retrograde does not mean weaker. It means the same Saturn themes, consequence, structure, the enforcing of limits, get redirected inward instead of outward.

Here is the part that actually explains why this matters.

A retrograde cycle means a planet crosses the same stretch of the zodiac three times: forward, backward, then forward again. The first forward pass shows you where the work is needed. For this cycle, that means the themes that surfaced from mid-April through July 26. The retrograde, July 27 to December 11, is the revisiting, the part where you actually sit with it. The second forward pass, after December 11, once Saturn clears that ground again, is where you see the outcome of whether the work was done. For Saturn, this three-pass zone falls between roughly 14 and 21 degrees of sidereal Pisces.

If you have a natal planet sitting in that degree range (14 to 21 degrees Pisces), this cycle becomes a full-scale review of whatever that planet governs in your life. For example, if it is your Venus, expect relationships or money to be the focus. If it is your Mercury, expect the review to center on communication, or a business matter. If it is your Ascendant itself, the review is broader still: it touches your whole sense of self, and can extend to your physical health as well.

This also lands harder for two specific groups: anyone with their Ascendant, Sun, or Moon in Capricorn or Aquarius, the two signs Saturn rules, and anyone currently running a Saturn planetary period (dasha or bhukti). If either applies to you, expect what follows to feel less like a suggestion and more like a summons.

One more practical note: the ten days on either side of a Saturn station (July 17 to August 6) tend to bring a noticeable spike in emotional intensity, things can feel heavier or more raw than usual during that window specifically.

None of this is punishment. Saturn rewards effort, discipline, and follow-through more directly than almost any other planet. When that work has genuinely been done, this transit can feel less like pressure and more like relief, even quiet momentum. The point of tracking a cycle like this is not to brace for impact. It is to understand the energy well enough to work with it instead of against it.

Saturn Retrograde by Sign

These entries are mainly written for your Vedic Ascendant. If you also know your Vedic Moon and Sun signs, you can check those entries too, since each placement reflects this Saturn transit from a different angle and will tend to manifest in its own way.

As a reminder, the review part of the below entries runs from July 27 to December 11. Saturn moves forward after the latter date.

Aries

Quieter reflection, meditation, retreats, and downtime support an important review of your career and your longer-term ambitions. Once Saturn moves forward in December, that realignment brings a better connection to what is happening behind the scenes, and at a deeper level within you.

Taurus

The review is centered on your career and the belief system underneath it, including formal study or a course you have been circling back to, or preparing to launch. Once Saturn moves forward in December, that revision lands as an upgrade to your income and your professional network.

Gemini

The review is centered on joint resources with romantic or business partners, money related to taxes or from clients and contracts, and your belief system or an interest in further study. Once Saturn moves forward in December, that upgraded vision will be felt directly in your career and in everything you do publicly.

Cancer

The review is centered on your partnerships and on genuine transformation work, therapy being an obvious example. Once Saturn moves forward, that depth of work tends to reshape what you actually believe, often showing up as a new course of study, a more meaningful subject, or travel chosen with real intention.

Leo

The review is centered on your daily routines and your closest partnerships, both areas closely tied to health. Once Saturn moves forward, steadier routines compound into real physical improvement, and joint finances, taxes, or income from clients and contracts come into clearer shape.

Virgo

The review is centered on creativity and romance, alongside your daily work and health habits. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome shows up directly inside your closest partnerships, bringing healthier relationships.

Libra

The review is centered on home and family, and anything creative or romantic that has gone stagnant. Once Saturn moves forward, a better emotional landscape and a rebound in playfulness directly benefit your daily routines and bring improvements to your health.

Scorpio

The review is centered on how you communicate, your hobbies, and the foundation underneath your sense of home, both internal and external. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome surfaces through creativity, romance, and better relationships with your children.

Sagittarius

The review is centered on your finances and values, and how you communicate with your environment, including siblings. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome lands in your home life, possibly improving quite literally your living situation.

Capricorn

The review is centered on your own identity and your finances, one of the more personal versions of this cycle. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome shows up in how you communicate, particularly conversations you have been avoiding.

Aquarius

The review is centered on closure and identity, who you are when nobody is watching, and what needs to quietly end. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome lands in your finances, as well as other forms of nourishment, including your food habits.

Pisces

Saturn is transiting your own sign this cycle, while also ruling the areas of income and retreat. The review is centered on your long-term goals and your relationship with solitude. Once Saturn moves forward, the outcome lands directly on your sense of self, since the planet doing the work is standing exactly where you do.

Subscribe now

Other Dates to Mark This Month

July 10 — Venus conjoins Ketu in Leo. Relationship tension surfaces, but the friction tends to trigger growth rather than conflict.

July 14 — New Moon in Gemini, Punarvasu nakshatra. Favors writing, conversation, and travel. Conjunct retrograde Mercury, so treat any new ideas as seeds, not signals to act yet.

July 16 (to August 16) — Sun transits Cancer. Softer, more inward energy. Good for home, family, and creative or spiritual practice.

July 19 to 24 — Rare outer planet alignment. Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all sit at exactly 10 degrees of their signs, a configuration with no known precedent in recorded history. Vedic astrology rarely weighs the outer planets, but this one is worth naming: it points toward large scale, constructive change.

July 23 — Mercury stations direct in Gemini. Communication and logistics start moving again within a few days. For the full picture, revisit July 2026: Mercury Retrograde in Cancer and Gemini.

July 29 — Full Moon in Capricorn, Shravana nakshatra, and Guru Purnima. Sun and Jupiter closely conjunct, Jupiter exalted: strong fortune and clarity. Favorable for starting a spiritual or healing practice.

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you are unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

*If you are unsure about what Vedic astrology is or want to go deeper into how it actually works, you can sign up for free to a short email series here

A Note on Personal Context

All of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on your natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

Wishing you attunement to cosmic energies always,

Giulia

Every chart has hundreds of data points. Planets in signs, in houses, in relationship with each other. It can feel overwhelming when you first look at it.

But there is always a place to start.

In every reading, before I look at anything else, I come back to three placements. Not because the rest matters less, but because these three are the foundation. Everything I look at afterward, your career, your relationships, your health, your timing, has to be understood in relation to who you are at this level first.

These three are your Ascendant, your Moon, and your Sun.

Subscribe

The Ascendant, or Lagna in Sanskrit, is the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the exact moment of your birth. Think of it as your cosmic business card, the first thing people sense when you walk into a room. It also does something more structural. It is the fixed starting point of your entire chart. Every other placement, every planet, every theme in your life, is read in relation to it. Change the Ascendant, and the meaning of everything else in the chart changes too, even if nothing else about the sky that day did.

When I introduce someone to their Ascendant for the first time, I do not give them a list of traits. I give them the deeper orientation that sign carries, the essential story it is telling. For example, an Aries Ascendant carries the themes of the pioneer, someone whose path is fundamentally about independence and the courage to go first. A Taurus Ascendant carries themes of embodiment, of building something lasting, of a deep relationship with the material world and its beauty. Each sign has its own essential story, and your Ascendant is the first chapter of yours.

The same logic applies to the Moon and Sun. For each of the three, I always come back to that essential orientation, because the traits only make sense once you understand the deeper story they are in service of.

The Moon, or Chandra in Sanskrit, carries a weight that surprises most people coming from Western astrology, where it usually only plays a supporting role to the Sun. Here, it is one of the two primary indicators of who you are, equally important to the Ascendant itself.

The Moon represents the conscious mind. Your emotional nature, your inner experience, your capacity for receptivity and imagination.Where the Ascendant is what people see, the Moon is what you feel. It describes what you depend on, what you attach to, what nourishes you and what depletes you in its absence. It also describes how you naturally relate to the people around you.

The Moon carries the deepest feminine archetypein the chart. It represents the maternal principle, your relationship with your own mother, and the quality of your connections with the feminine more broadly.

The Sun, or Surya in Sanskrit, is the third layer, and in terms of visibility, it is the most subtle of the three, though subtle does not mean less important. The Ascendant changes every two hours, making it the most immediate and the most personal layer. The Moon shapes the emotional body you move through life with. The Sun sits deeper still. It describes self-expression, self-confidence, and what makes you genuinely proud. The sign and house of your Sun show where and how that identity wants to manifest.

In Vedic astrology, the Sun is the soul's core identity, the irreducible quality of who you are at the level of the soul, what this lifetime is asking that identity to embody.

The Sun also carries the deepest masculine archetype in the chart, in the same way the Moon carries the feminine. It represents the paternal principle, your relationship with your father, and your relationship to authority, and the part of yourself that takes a stand in the world. Where the Moon shows you what you need to feel safe, the Sun shows you what you need to feel proud. Both are essential, and in a chart, they are always in conversation with each other.

Together, these three give you the map of a person in three dimensions.

What is most immediately visible.

What the person feels beneath the surface.

What the soul is oriented toward at its core.

Subscribe

These three placements are where every reading begins, and where your own understanding of your chart can begin too.

If you want to find your own Ascendant, Moon, and Sun, and go deeper into what each one means for you specifically, that exercise is part of the full email series, along with a guide to all 12 signs, their themes, their shadows, and their path of growth. Subscribe here to get it, along with the rest of the series

In the next email: the layer that makes Vedic astrology unlike any other astrology system. The one most people have never heard of, and that I consider one of the most precise tools in the entire discipline.

With cosmic love,

Giulia

PS: If you missed part 1, on why Vedic astrology is built on a different map than what most of us grew up with, you can either subscribe for free to the full series here; or directly read the previous article “The sky that shaped you”.

A zodiac sign that was never theirs. A description that never quite fit. Astrology filed away as something that does not really apply to them.

I built this email series to change that. Eight emails that walk you through how Vedic astrology actually works, what I look at in a reading, and what your birth chart is really saying about you. Precise, honest, and applicable from the first email.

Below is that first email of this series. A sneak peek into what the full series covers, and why this system is built on completely different foundations than anything you have likely encountered before.

If reading this makes you a little more curious about how Vedic astrology can be used as a genuine tool for self-awareness and transformation, the rest of the series is waiting for you.

You can subscribe for free here and your cosmic journey will start immediately.

Your Vedic Chart, Explained

The sky that shaped you

This is the first official email of the series, and we dive straight into your chart.

The moment you were born, the sky looked a specific way. Every planet was somewhere. And each of those positions describes something real and distinct about you. Not a vague tendency. Not a personality type you share with a twelfth of the population. A precise dimension of who you are.

In Vedic astrology, every planet governs a completely different layer of a person. The Sun is the soul’s core purpose. The Moon is the emotional nature and the quality of the mind. Mars is how you act and what drives you. Mercury is how you think and communicate. Venus is how you love, what you find beautiful, and how you experience pleasure. Jupiter is where you grow and what you believe in. Saturn is what requires time, discipline, and real effort to build. Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, are the direction your soul is moving in this lifetime, and what it is learning to release.

None of these planets works alone. They modify each other, protect each other, challenge each other. Two people can share the same Sun sign and live entirely different lives, because everything else in the chart is different. This is why a reading is always a synthesis. Why it takes time to do properly. Why no algorithm will ever replicate it.

Your chart is not a personality test. It is a complete map of your inner architecture.

Here is something worth pausing on, because it changes how everything above lands.

If you were born and raised in the Western world, like I was, chances are the only astrology you ever encountered was Western astrology. Horoscope columns, sun sign personality quizzes, the kind of broad strokes that get used to sort people into types. ‘Oh, he’s a Scorpio, stay away.’ ‘She’s an Aries, so self-centered.’ Less a tool for understanding someone, more a label to hide behind.

For this reason, I never gave much credit to any of it. If you had told me, more than a decade ago, that I would become an astrologer, I would not have believed you. I would have believed it even less while I was finishing my Master’s in Finance, or sitting at a desk in investment banking in London. The version of astrology I had encountered never struck me as something worth taking that seriously, maybe fun at a dinner party, never something I would have called one of the best therapy tools out there. What I found in Jyotish is built on completely different foundations, ones that are more precise, more detailed, and more useful than anything I had dismissed before.

Here is the foundation of that difference.

Both systems agree that the planets have a real influence on who we are and how we move through life. However, they diverge on a fundamental question:

Where does the zodiac actually begin?

Western astrology anchors the zodiac to the seasons. March 21, the day spring begins in the northern hemisphere, is, by definition, day one of Aries, every year, forever. That was decided roughly two thousand years ago, and it has not moved since.

Vedic astrology anchors the zodiac to the stars themselves. Aries is a real cluster of stars sitting in a real part of the sky, and your sign is determined by where the planets sit relative to those stars, not relative to a date on the calendar.

Two thousand years ago, the start of spring and the start of the constellation Aries were in roughly the same place. They are not anymore. The Earth slowly wobbles on its axis, the way a spinning top wobbles while it spins, and over the centuries that wobble has pulled the two apart. Today the gap is roughly 24 degrees, and it keeps growing.

In practical terms: if you looked through a telescope tonight, the planets would be exactly where Vedic astrology says they are.

Western astrology is still reading from a map drawn for a sky that has notexisted for two thousand years.

I think about this a lot, because of what I see it do to people. Most have never been told any of this, so they go through life with a sign based on that older map, and one of two things tends to happen. Either the description never quite fits, and astrology gets quietly filed away as something that does not really apply to them. Or they keep trying to live up to a description that was simply never theirs, which is its own kind of exhausting.

If you have ever felt that astrology was too vague to say anything real about you, you were probably right. Not because astrology itself is the problem, but because what you were handed was a map that stopped matching the territory a very long time ago.

Take July 12. Western astrology will tell you the Sun is in Cancer on that date, every year, by definition. Look up on that actual day, and the Sun is sitting in Gemini.

Or take May 1. Western astrology says Taurus. The sky that day shows the Sun in Aries.

Or December 10. Western astrology says Sagittarius. The Sun is actually transiting the constellation of Scorpio.

This is why, most of the time, your rising sign, your Moon, and your Sun sign too, can be different in Vedic astrology than whatever you were told growing up. And in my experience, when people see their real placements for the first time, something in them settles. Not because the new description is necessarily flattering. But because it is accurate. And being accurately described feels, quite simply, like being seen.

I will come back to this as we go, because once you start reading your chart this way, things that never quite fit before tend to click into place.

Before the next email..

If we have already worked together, pull up your chart or your notes. Look at it the way you would look at a map before a journey you are about to take again, this time knowing a little more about the terrain.

If you have not had a reading yet, there is nothing to do before the next email except keep reading. Part 2 will show you exactly where to find your own placements, and from there you can follow along the same way.

In the next email: the three placements I always start with in a reading. The structural foundation everything else is read against, and why they matter more than your Sun sign ever will.

With cosmic love,
Giulia

*If you want to receive the full series, you can sign up for free here

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

Subscribe now

Now the pace changes.

On June 29, Mercury stations retrograde, and the mood shifts from launching to listening. Here’s the good news though: this is one of the milder retrogrades you’ll meet. The cycle opens with Jupiter and Venus both in Cancer. That combination does not last the full month, but it sets a genuinely supportive tone for the retrograde's start. The disruptions are real, but the sky around them is friendly. Think of it as a speed bump on an otherwise clear road, not a detour into unknown territory.

Before we go any further: if you want the full picture of what a retrograde actually is, how it works astronomically, and what it means to carry one in your birth chart, Giulia wrote a dedicated piece on it. You can read it here.

If June was for launching, July is for listening. The window to make big moves was last month, with its wide-open sky. Now the invitation is to slow down and work with what already exists. Consider it the reflective pause between the high of June and the heavier eclipse season of August. Reflective, but not blocked.

Here’s how the month unfolds:

The Two Phases: From Feeling to Thinking

This retrograde spans two signs that could not be more different, and it moves backward through them in two distinct stages.

June 29 to July 6: Mercury retrograde in Cancer.

The cycle begins at two degrees of Cancer, a sign ruled by the Moon and tied to your subconscious, your emotional patterns, and your sense of inner security. As Mercury slows down here, your logical mind dips into emotional waters. Thoughts get coloured by memory, and you’re asked to look honestly at the emotional stories you’ve been carrying.

July 7 to July 23: Mercury retrograde in Gemini.

On July 7, Mercury moves back into its own sign, where it turns direct again at twenty-two degrees on July 23. The energy shifts from feeling to processing. Gemini is Mercury at home: curious, communicative, quick. The retrograde turns that restless intelligence back on itself and asks you to revisit conversations, ideas, and half-finished plans. Did you actually say what you meant? Did that idea ever get fully expressed? This is less a methodical review and more a rapid cross-examination of everything left unfinished.

The retrograde ends on July 23, but the story doesn’t stop there. Mercury continues forward through Gemini until August 5, then re-enters Cancer (until August 22). The forward motion is when integration begins.

Your Two-Phase Guide by Ascendant

These entries are written for your Vedic Ascendant (rising sign). If you’re unsure of yours, you can calculate it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or book a session with Giulia for a full reading.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if Mercury is prominent in your natal chart, or if you’re currently in a Mercury main period or sub-period, everything described here will feel significantly amplified.

Aries

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Your home and domestic environment come under review. Pause major changes to your living situation. Something in the emotional foundation of your private life needs attention first.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Your daily communication, writing, and exchanges with neighbours come into focus. An excellent window for editing, refining, and clarifying how you express your ideas.

Taurus

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Neighbours and short-travel logistics. Slow down on communication: double-check schedules, re-read messages before sending, and revisit conversations left unresolved.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Audit what you already have rather than acquiring more. A good moment to look at your relationship with food and physical nourishment alongside your financial habits.

Gemini

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Your finances, speech, and livelihood. Review past commitments and existing budgets.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Mercury retrogrades back into your own sign, making this deeply personal. Your identity, health, and self-presentation. A brilliant window for honest self-reflection and intentional rebranding.

Cancer

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): The retrograde stations directly in your sign. Your physical well-being, personal outlook, and how you project yourself to the world. Pay attention to what has been left unsaid: some things need to surface before they can be resolved.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Your subconscious, sleep patterns, and inner solitude. High introspection. Rest is the work here.

Leo

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Solitude, hidden drains on your energy, and what needs to be released before it compounds.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Social circles, networks, and long-term goals. Old contacts may reappear. Use this to evaluate which connections are actually aligned with where you’re going. Your income through work or partnerships may also need revisiting.

Virgo

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Goals, friendships, and collaborative projects. Something in your network needs revisiting.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Your professional life and career. Past work or conversations return for reassessment. A good time to reorganise your business strategy and refine existing projects.

Libra

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Career responsibilities and public standing. Review rather than expand.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Belief systems, higher education, and long-term plans. Revisit old studies, philosophies, or travel plans. Let your perspective update on its own terms.

Scorpio

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Your higher path, and whether your current direction still feels aligned with it.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Shared resources, deep research, and internal transformation. Potent for psychological work and untangling joint financial matters.

Sagittarius

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Shared resources and personal transformation. A reflective internal space.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): One-on-one partnerships and collaborations. Clear up past misunderstandings. Renegotiate rather than initiate.

Capricorn

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Partnerships and your major dynamics with others. Active listening and patience above all.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Daily work routines and health habits. Reorganise your schedule, complete pending tasks, and review your wellness practices.

Aquarius

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Daily habits and work environment. Physical reorganisation and clearing: review your wellness practices.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Creative life, personal projects, and romance. Old ideas resurface with new energy. A good window to revise something that had real promise but was left incomplete.

Pisces

June 29 to July 6 (Cancer): Revisiting creative expression, personal projects, and what genuinely brings you joy.

July 7 to July 23 (Gemini): Home life, family dynamics, and inner comfort. Slow down. Connect with your roots. Let your domestic space reflect your internal one.

Subscribe now

Mercury and the Inner Audit

In the Vedic tradition, Mercury is Budha, born of the Moon. Where the Moon observes and feels, Budha evaluates and discriminates. He’s the intellect that separates what’s useful from what isn’t, what’s true from what only appears to be. He governs speech, commerce, learning, and the mind’s ability to navigate the constant flow of incoming information.

A retrograde cycle inverts that function. Instead of processing the external world outward, the intellect turns on itself. The same faculty you use to organise, communicate, and decide is now pointed inward, asked to audit the assumptions underneath its own conclusions. What you think you’ve already understood, you’re now asked to look at again. Not necessarily because it was wrong, but because something got missed the first time.

This is a more demanding kind of precision. And this month, it arrives in two flavours: first the emotional review of Cancer, then the mental cross-examination of Gemini. The work is the same in both. Go back, look closely, and let yourself find what you skipped.

After July 23, Mercury moves direct again and continues through Gemini until August 5, when it re-enters Cancer (until August 22). The moment it turns direct, the work of the retrograde starts to move forward. The conversations you revisited, the ideas you reconsidered, the things you felt but could not yet name: they begin to find expression. And because Mercury passes back again through both Gemini and Cancer, the themes that first surfaced in June may return with more clarity than they had the first time. The retrograde does the excavation. The direct motion carries it forward.

The July Practice: The Inner Audit

This month rewards honest review, so the practice is simple. For each phase, read the three questions below and pick the one that feels most true for you right now. That’s the one to journal on. A few honest sentences are enough. Different questions will land in different seasons, so trust whichever one pulls at you this time.

For the Cancer phase (June 29 to July 6), sit with the emotional layer:

• What emotional story have I been repeating to myself lately, and is it actually true?

• Where am I holding onto a feeling that belongs to an older version of me?

• What have I left unsaid, and who is it really protecting?

For the Gemini phase (July 7 to July 23), turn to the mental layer:

• What conversation do I keep replaying, and what did I actually want to say in it?

• Which idea did I abandon too early, and is it worth a second look?

• Where have I confused being busy with being clear?

Trust the question that pulls at you. That’s usually the one with something in it for you.

Subscribe now

One Date to Mark: July 27

Just as Mercury prepares to turn direct, Saturn stations retrograde, and the focus shifts from intellectual review to something heavier: structural accountability, long-term consequences, the decisions already made that are now waiting for a reckoning. We’ll be covering Saturn retrograde in depth in the July calendar article, coming in the next few days. Stay tuned.

July is the window between the high of June and the complexity of August. The sky is asking for less launching and more listening. Use it as designed.

Giulia & Anaïs

These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

How this works:

Giulia, a Vedic astrologer, provides the astrological analysis. Anaïs, a therapist and coach, translates it into narrative and integration tools.

Work with us:

• Giulia — for personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis

• Anaïs — for coaching, therapeutic support, or help finding direction when life feels unclear. BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL HERE

Different approaches. Same compass.

Mercury is retrograde, do not sign anything. Saturn is retrograde, brace yourself. A planet goes retrograde and suddenly everyone is on edge.

This is exactly the kind of noise this newsletter exists to cut through. Popular astrology tends to reduce these phenomena to omens, things happening to you, forces to survive. That framing is not just incomplete, it strips away the only thing that actually makes astrology useful: understanding. Nothing in the sky is here to harm you. The only thing that can work against you is not knowing how to read it.

So let's reframe retrograde entirely. What is actually happening up there, and why it is far more interesting than the internet suggests.

The Basics: Nothing Is Actually Moving Backward

Retrograde motion is an optical illusion. No planet physically reverses in space. All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction, continuously.

What changes is our line of sight. Because planets travel at different speeds, there are moments when one appears, from Earth, to be drifting backward against the fixed stars behind it. Think of overtaking a slower car on a highway: for a moment, that car looks like it is moving in reverse. It is not. You are simply faster.

What makes this astronomically significant is the physical reality behind the illusion: when a planet is retrograde, it is at its closest point to Earth. It appears brighter. It is measurably nearer.

In Vedic astrology, that closeness is exactly why retrograde planets are considered more powerful, not weaker.

Subscribe now

More Power, BUT Directed Inward

In Vedic astrology, retrograde planets carry increased strength. But that strength has a specific quality: it turns inward.

Rather than expressing outward with ease and clarity, a retrograde planet intensifies internally. It loops. It obsesses. The native tends to over-engage with whatever that planet represents, revisiting and reworking what others might simply move through.

Retrograde planets in a natal chart are also classically linked to karmic material carried forward from past lives. Unresolved threads. Things the soul has returned to finish. This is why a chart with many retrograde planets is sometimes understood as a late-cycle incarnation: significant unfinished business, brought into this life to be completed.

That is not a burden. It is an invitation. Retrograde placements, worked with consciously, often become the most deeply developed parts of a person.

Retrograde in Transit vs. Retrograde in Your Chart

These are two different things, and they get confused often.

When a planet turns retrograde by transit, it is a temporary weather pattern affecting everyone. The themes of that planet slow down, turn inward, ask for review rather than forward momentum. Mercury retrograde brings communication snags and plans that need revision. Saturn retrograde brings delayed accountability and structural re-evaluation. These periods pass.

When a planet is retrograde in your natal chart, it was retrograde at the moment you were born. That quality stays with you. The planet’s energy is permanently more internalized, more intense, and less automatic in its expression. It tends to require more deliberate inner work to channel well.

Which Planets Go Retrograde, and How Often

Every planet except the Sun and Moon can go retrograde. The Sun and Moon are always direct.

Saturn and Jupiter retrograde every year, for around four to five months each. A large part of the population has one of these retrograde natally. It is very common.

Mars retrogrades every two years, for about two to three months.

Mercury retrogrades three to four times per year, but only for about three weeks at a time.

Venus is the rarest. It retrogrades only every eighteen months, for roughly forty days. A very low percentage of the population has it retrograde in their chart.

One separate category: Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, are always retrograde. Their perpetual backward motion is their natural state, not a periodic reversal. They move in the opposite direction to all other planets, always.

What Each Retrograde Planet Tends to Mean in Your Chart

*These are general tendencies. The full picture always depends on the totality of the person’s chart including: house and sign placement, aspects, and conjunctions.

Mercury retrograde: A deeply analytical mind that processes differently from most. Insights come through unconventional routes. Communication can feel indirect or frequently misunderstood by others.

Venus retrograde: Relationship patterns that start intensely and tend to diminish over time. A natural pull to revisit past connections. Self-worth and the ability to receive love require conscious, ongoing attention.

Mars retrograde: Strong drive that is difficult to access directly. Action can stall, then release in sudden bursts. A tendency to hold frustration inward rather than assert needs clearly.

Jupiter retrograde: Wisdom earned through questioning, not through institutions. Deep internal development, but conventional paths to growth rarely feel satisfying.

Saturn retrograde: Discipline, authority, and responsibility are central life themes that keep returning. Structure must be built from the inside out, not inherited from outside.

Subscribe now

What Retrograde Energy Supports

Retrograde periods, in transit, are genuinely useful for:

• Revisiting and revising. Going back over plans, work, and decisions with fresh eyes.

• Deep research and focused study.

• Inner work: reflection, therapy, honest self-inquiry.

• Reconnecting with people or projects you stepped away from.

What to avoid during a retrograde transit: new launches intended to be permanent, signing contracts if avoidable, and expecting final clarity. This is a season for revision, not resolution.

*The above is a general guidance and there can be exceptions.

Why This Matters Now

Mercury turns retrograde on June 29. Saturn follows at the end of July. Stay tuned to navigate these energies through our next articles.

If you want to know which planets are retrograde in your own chart, and what they specifically mean for you, that is exactly what a personal reading is for.

For June, I have also put together an exclusive session series called “Ask me anything about Vedic astrology”: a focused conversation built around your specific questions. You can book it here.

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

In our June update, we described June 2026 as the strongest month of the year: no planets retrograde, most planets in signs that suit them, and the three classical benefics gathered in a single sign for part of the month. If you have been waiting for the right moment to start something that matters, that moment is here.

These are the dates.

A Quick Refresher

In Vedic astrology, the moment you begin something, you are setting its energetic blueprint. This is why timing matters.

Certain planetary configurations concentrate specific qualities in the sky. When Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury gather in the same sign, a Saraswati Yoga forms: clarity, successful communication, and the auspicious launch of new ventures. When the Moon also receives their support (this technically happens when Jupiter, Venus and Mercury sit in the 6th, 7th, or 8th house from the Moon), an Adhi Yoga forms: leadership, social magnetism, the ability to build with the right people.

These two yogas do not always coincide. This month, they do.

Subscribe now

The Window

• Saraswati Yoga: June 22 through July 4

• Adhi Yoga: June 29 through July 5

Every day within this window is genuinely supportive. But there is a hierarchy.

Avoid June 19 through 23. The solstice falls on June 21, and the three days around it carry heightened sensitivity and subtle energetic shifts. Spiritual practice and nature are preferred over new action. If nothing is urgent around those dates, let it pass.

June 24 through the morning of June 29 is the sweet spot. The Saraswati Yoga is active, the Moon is waxing, and Mercury has not yet turned retrograde. Clean, building energy.

June 29 morning is the peak of the entire year. Jupiter reaches its maximum degree of exaltation in Cancer, conjunct both Venus and Mercury. The Adhi Yoga joins the Saraswati Yoga for the first time: you have both the intellectual clarity to plan and the relational momentum to execute. If you can align one significant beginning with a specific moment, this is it.

Mercury turns retrograde on June 29 in the afternoon or evening, depending on where you are. Retrograde periods can bring delays, miscommunications, and the need to revise. From that point through July 4, you can still move forward, but with more care than usual: slow down, reconfirm details, read everything twice before you sign. The benefic context of Jupiter and Venus keeps this particular retrograde milder, but it is still a retrograde. We will be covering Mercury retrograde cycle in depth in an upcoming article, with specific guidance on how to navigate it.

Why June Beats May

In May, Jupiter was in Gemini. Now it is in Cancer, the sign of its exaltation: its strongest position in the zodiac. The May window was real. This one is stronger.

If you acted in May, use these dates for the next significant step. If you did not, or have more launches or anything important you want to start, this is your window.

How to Use These Dates

Start something you want to last. Specifically:

1. Launching a business, project, website, or creative brand.

2. Starting a relationship or making a meaningful commitment.

3. Signing contracts or important legal documents.

4. Beginning a course of study or certification.

5. Embarking on a significant journey or relocation.

The quality of the beginning shapes the whole path. This window sets a blueprint that holds, even when the conditions around it get harder.

Other Dates to Mark in June

June 8 (to July 4) — Venus transits Cancer. Warm, nurturing, artistically sensitive energy.

June 14/15 — New Moon in Taurus. The lunar cycle resets. In Vedic astrology, the day leading up to this New Moon is Ashadha Amavasya, traditionally suited to ancestral healing rituals.

June 15 (to July 16) — Sun transits Gemini. Social, creative, busy energy. Good for learning, travel, and connection. Watch for restlessness.

June 20 (to August 2) — Mars transits Taurus. Slow, steady, grounded ambition. Favors methodical progress and material security. The shadow: stubbornness and rigidity, especially in relationships.

June 21 — Solstice. Summer in the north, winter in the south. Energetically sensitive days on either side. Spiritual practice and nature over new action.

June 22 (to July 7) — Mercury transits Cancer. Intuitive and sensitive thinking, with a risk of emotional reasoning. Keep routines consistent.

June 29 — Full Moon in Sagittarius, Purva Ashadha nakshatra. Associated with renewal and life force. Favorable for healing practices, reviewing commitments, creative work, reconciliation. Falls directly inside the auspicious window.

June 29 afternoon/evening — Mercury stations retrograde in Cancer. Use this period for reflection and reorganization. We will be sharing more on this in later articles.

A Note on Personal Context

All of the above is general. The same sky lands differently depending on your natal chart and the planetary periods you are currently running.

If you want to know exactly how this window moves your chart, I have put together a June exclusive session for that: a focused conversation built around your specific questions. You can book it here.

This is the strongest window of 2026. It is worth making the best out of it.

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

This is the story of how I made that shift, what I found on the other side of it, and how Jyotish gave me the one thing no career ever could: the clearest, most fulfilling relationship I have ever had. The one with myself.

And why my work now is to help others find the same.

Subscribe now

The one thing I have always been good at is understanding the value of timing. Not just deadlines and schedules, but something far more elemental: knowing when a current is yours to ride, and when it is already changing beneath you. Staying in alignment with your own flow rather than somebody else’s. What I did not know then is that this is exactly what Vedic astrology does, and that one day it would become my life’s work to help others find the same.

In 2022, I felt the current shift.

I was living in Mexico City, at what looked from the outside like the peak of everything. Full life, thriving career, golden years. Which is exactly why I left. When you reach the top of a mountain, staying there is a choice, and I have never been built for that choice. My comfort zone has always been the edges, the places just beyond what I already know. Once I felt I had mastered where I was, staying would have meant choosing comfort over growth. And something underneath my skin already knew that the real growth had not started yet.

So I cleared my apartment, packed what I could carry, and set sail into the unknown.

The plan was to travel overland from Italy to Bali without a single flight. I made it to India, then eventually New Zealand, three years later. What I did not plan was everything that happened in between.

I thought I was going on a trip to figure out my next chapter.

I was actually beginning the longest journey of my life, measured not in kilometres but in the peeling away of everything I had mistaken for myself.

The first leg happened in winter.

Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the kind of cold where the light disappears at four in the afternoon and does not return until nine in the morning. I felt, for the first time in years, the pull to be more alone than with people. That winter taught me the difference between solitary and lonely: when you can finally sit comfortably with your own heart and enjoy the conversations happening within, and realise that is where everything begins.

It was in Albania, on one of those afternoons where you walk indefinitely through a city with your headphones in and nowhere specific to be, that my best friend sent me a podcast. One led to another, which led to an astrologer, who led me to my first real mentor and eventually to my certifications at the American College of Vedic Astrology.

I remember sitting every day in a Tbilisi cafe, laptop open, notebook beside it, hours dissolving into charts and calculations. My brain working in a way that felt completely new and completely right. For someone who had spent years in the precision of finance, the mathematical rigour of Jyotish felt familiar. But where finance maps money, Jyotish maps something far more important: The Soul.

I never stopped studying after that.

Summer finally arrived, and with it, Central Asia.

This is why I travel by land rather than fly: you cross a border and you realise it is an imaginary line. The people on one side are not much different from the ones on the other. The reality is one and the same.

Turkmenistan: no WiFi, no Instagram, no outside world. Forced silence that turned into the most profound presence I had felt in years. A world where the mind, the heart and the eyes are finally focused on the same object. A reminder of how it felt before we all became reachable, and distracted, all the time.

Uzbekistan: blue-tiled cities that did not seem possible, silk in every colour, the kind of beauty that trains your eyes to never get used to things and replaces assumptions with reasons to be constantly amazed.

Kyrgyzstan: the horses. Days riding through mountains at three thousand metres, through hail and wind, completely free and completely connected at the same time. The horse is the only means of transportation that feels your heartbeat. That feeling of freedom and unity, with the animal, with the land, with something larger than yourself, is the same feeling I would later recognise in my deepest work with Jyotish.

Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, bordering Afghanistan, mountains so high they shade each other. It is where I met Hugo, today one of my closest friends. Some friendships can only be forged in the kind of shared difficulty that comes from crossing countries that have their own set of dangers.

Afghanistan: I will not try to summarise it. It does not compress. What I will say is that crossing it taught me that the only revolution that matters is the one within. The best thing you can do for the world is be fully, genuinely yourself. People attune to your energy. I believed that before Afghanistan. After it, I embodied it differently.

Subscribe now

India was the pivot.

I stopped moving to cross lands and started moving to acquire depth. Yoga teacher training and Panchakarma in India. Later Thailand for martial arts, Indonesia for rhythm and community. The frantic phase was over. What followed was integration.

And somewhere in all of it, Jyotish stopped being something I was studying and became something I could not live without.

The first sessions I gave were on the road. In hostels, at kitchen tables, to people I had met an hour before, and on video calls to my closest friends and family. Wherever I was, whoever was curious, the work began. What I noticed immediately was what the system did to people when it was read well. Not flattery. Not analysis. Something closer to recognition: being seen for what you actually are, why you are built the way you are, and what this specific life is asking of you. I watched it land in real time and I understood why I was doing it.

One of the greatest gifts that Jyotish gave me, beyond a profession, is compassion. When you sit in front of a chart and truly read it, you understand why people are the way they are. You see beauty in each person’s uniqueness. You see soul purpose written into every layer of a person, and you understand that what sometimes looks like difficulty on the surface is simply the soul’s way of reaching somewhere deeper. It changes everything about how you see another human being.

Last but not least: the best proof of how precise Vedic Astrology is.

My chart told me I had a talent with sharp objects, so I went looking for a martial arts school to find out what that meant. Through Astrocartography, which maps your astrological chart onto the geography of the world, I could see exactly where to go.

This is how I headed to Northern Thailand.

This is how I found a school where I started practicing double swords.

This is how I met the love of my life.

The stars did not hand me that. They pointed. I moved.

That is the most important thing to understand about this work: the chart is a map, not a destiny.

It shows you the currents already moving through your life. What you do with them is still entirely yours.

Today.

I still read my own chart regularly. To predict, to understand, to go deeper into my own psychology. To stay honest with myself about what the current is actually asking, rather than what I think it should be.

Today I do my best to be a clear channel for the wisdom of the stars. The most accurate interpreter I can be. And what I hope to bring to each person I work with is what Jyotish finally gave me: the clarity to stop swimming against my own nature, and the confidence to move with it.

We tend to miss so much when life gets fast. We are wired to look outward for answers, to measure ourselves against the world around us, to follow paths that were never ours to begin with. Jyotish turns that around. It holds a mirror inward, without judgment, and shows you the answers that were always already there.

After having travelled through five continents, I can tell you with certainty that the furthest journey is always within. It never ends, and that is the whole point. Understanding the value of your own timing, staying in alignment with your own currents, gives you the most fulfilling relationship you will ever have: the one with yourself.

And my purpose is to help you find it.

*If you want to know more about my work with Vedic astrology, you can find it at https://www.giuliaavvanzini.com

For personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis: BOOK A SESSION HERE

After the pressure of April and the gradual exhale of May, something genuinely rare is happening: a clean slate. No planets are retrograde, meaning none of the usual delays or reversals. Most are in signs that suit them, expressing their best qualities without interference. And for part of the month, the three classical benefics, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury, are conjunct, creating a window of exceptional support. Use June actively. If you have been waiting for the right moment to launch a project, sign a document, make a significant commitment, or begin something you want to last, this is it. We’ll be publishing a dedicated guide to the most auspicious specific dates within June very soon, so keep an eye out! 😏

But the real headline this month goes beyond June itself. On June 1, Jupiter moves into Cancer, and this is the kind of transit that changes things for a full year. We’re covering it in depth below, and we’ll say this now: bookmark this article. You’re going to want to come back to it.

And Now, The Bigger News: Jupiter Enters Cancer

On June 1, Jupiter moves into Cancer. It will remain in Cancer until October 31, 2026, when it will enter Leo, and will come back into Cancer on January 24, 2027, where it will remain until June 25, 2027.

This is not a monthly transit. This is a year-long shift, and it’s one of the most significant astrological events of 2026.

In Vedic astrology, Jupiter (Guru) is the significator of dharma, our highest purpose and the principle of cosmic order. It represents teachers, children, grace, and good fortune. Cancer is the sign of its exaltation, its highest possible dignity, which means Jupiter arrives this month operating at full strength. Jupiter in Cancer expresses its wisdom through kindness, compassion, and emotional intelligence rather than intellectual force. Like the crab that thrives on both land and sea, this energy supports success in both the material and spiritual worlds.

The guide below is your yearly reference: valid for the specific dates of Jupiter in Cancer. Save it, return to it, and use it as a compass for the months ahead.

Subscribe now

Your Jupiter in Cancer Guide by Ascendant

Jupiter in Cancer runs from June 1, 2026 to June 25, 2027 (except for an entry into Leo from October 31, 2026 to January 24, 2027). These entries reflect the themes you can expect to work with across that full period. Bookmark this guide and come back to it throughout the year.

These entries are written for your Vedic Ascendant (rising sign). The Ascendant is the strongest identity vector in Vedic astrology: it governs how you move through the world, how external pressure lands, and where change becomes visible in your life. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can calculate it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or book a session with Giulia for a full reading.

Aries

Home, family, and emotional security take centre stage for the year ahead. This is a premier transit for real estate and land investments: you might buy a car or boat, move to a larger home, make improvements to your current space, or find a sanctuary that genuinely nourishes your soul. A more peaceful home life supports your spiritual practice and retreats. If you’re in school, expect more support from teachers and a more nourishing educational environment than usual.

Taurus

An auspicious year for courage, the fulfilment of desires, networking, travel, and learning new skills, particularly in communication or technology. Your local networks become bridges to significant transformation. If you’ve been thinking about launching a blog, podcast, or marketing campaign, this is the year to do it. Relationships with siblings and neighbours tend to improve, and your confidence in public speaking reaches new heights.

Gemini

Financial improvement is on the horizon, through increased income, bonuses, or wise investments. Work and relationships align to bring tangible material gains. You may find yourself rethinking your relationship with money and becoming more generous in the process. A good year for your health, particularly your diet, and one that strongly supports professional self-expression through writing, publishing, public speaking, cooking, or teaching.

Cancer

This is a wonderful year for you. It marks the beginning of a new twelve-year cycle of growth and wisdom. Jupiter in your own sign brings a wave of optimism and personal renewal, making this an ideal period for reinvention and stepping forward more confidently. Opportunities for both personal and professional expansion will find you. You’re likely to take a leading position in your work, making this an excellent time for teaching, consulting, or professional client work.

Leo

An introspective and spiritual phase opens up. Your most inspired ideas come from quiet moments, meditation, or retreats. Residential moves are favoured, and travel abroad offers not just escape but increased knowledge and inner peace. Enhanced intimacy and improved sleep are also indicated. A powerful year for releasing old emotional baggage and engaging in charitable or behind-the-scenes work that refreshes your creative spirit from the inside out.

Virgo

All-around success is within reach: the fulfilment of goals, prosperity, vitality, and career advancement. Your social life receives a significant boost as you attract helpful and inspiring friendships. A favourable year for collaboration and the completion of long-term projects through group efforts. If you work with a team, expect expansion and success. Your domestic stability and your closest relationships, both romantic and professional, serve as the foundation for your greatest public gains.

Libra

Career growth and public standing receive the Midas touch. A promotion or leadership role that aligns with your personal values is possible. An ideal time to mentor others and refocus on your long-term ambitions. An authority figure may step in to support your path, and your hard work and communication skills are likely to translate into an improved public image and better health. Personal or legal battles you’re facing have a better chance of resolving in your favour.

Scorpio

A year of profound luck and an expansion of the mind. A wonderful time to take a course, benefit from a teacher, or explore a new philosophical path. Long-distance journeys will be particularly rewarding. Your children, father, guru, and siblings will thrive. With financial worry easing, you can focus on publishing your ideas or finding success in legal and educational matters. Your big-picture thinking is what brings both joy and reward throughout this period.

Sagittarius

Benefits arrive through partnerships, joint finances, and other people’s resources. Gains through investments, inheritance, or spousal support are possible. Real estate and property matters may come into focus, and this could be a good time for buying a car or boat, or for home improvements. A period of deep metamorphosis: you’ll gain deeper psychological insights and healing. If you work in research or therapy, this period is especially fruitful, leading to a more secure and grounded sense of self.

Capricorn

Relationships and one-on-one connections come into sharp focus. Whether you’re deepening an existing bond or forming a new one, you’ll attract wise and generous people into your life. If you work in a client-based profession, your clientele is likely to expand. Contracts and business negotiations tend to go in your favour, as your partners bring both vision and opportunity.

Aquarius

Health, work routines, and service become your primary focus for the year. New responsibilities arrive with opportunities for advancement attached. Your daily habits shift toward greater wellness and efficiency. If you run a business, you may see growth in the quality or quantity of your team. Small consistent actions now lead to significant financial and social growth. Legal matters are likely to resolve in your favour, and if you’re navigating debt, this is a good time to seek resolution.

Pisces

A year of immense creativity, romance, and joy. A fertile time for new projects, falling in love, or deepening connections with children. Your professional path is fuelled by authentic self-expression, and financial gains may come through creative efforts or speculative ventures. Whether it’s art, teaching, or entertainment, your playful engagement now leads to meaningful rewards. Meditation, spiritual practices, and scriptural studies are particularly nourishing throughout this period.

Jupiter in Exaltation: What That Actually Means

Jupiter in Cancer arrives in its state of exaltation, the highest astrological dignity a planet can hold. This means Jupiter is operating in full strength, expressing its nature with intensity: in Cancer, it embodies abundance, wisdom, grace, and the expansion of what matters in your heart. Previously in Gemini, where it favoured reasoned discourse and intellectual exchange, Jupiter in Cancer now expands through intuition, care, and the strengthening of internal security. The shift is palpable.

On a collective level, this transit stimulates breakthroughs in psychology, family welfare, emotional intelligence, and industries connected to water and nourishment. Culturally, the focus turns toward traditional wisdom, the preservation of foundational values, and what Giulia calls our inner home. What you cultivate internally during this transit tends to become the foundation for external success. The personal and the material are not in competition this year. They support each other.

A word on working with this energy well: Jupiter in exaltation is genuinely abundant, but abundance without intention has its own pitfalls. In its lower expression, this transit can manifest as self-indulgence, complacency, or idealistic thinking that doesn’t touch the ground. The invitation is to stay engaged with your intentions, not just inspired by them. The tide is high this year. That’s real. And a high tide carries you further when you’re actually moving.

Jupiter remains in Cancer until June 2027, but the path is not a straight line. Later this year, on October 31, Jupiter briefly moves into Leo, where it will stay until January 24, 2027, before retrograding back into Cancer to complete its cycle. This Leo interlude will carry its own distinct quality and is worth tracking carefully. We will publish a dedicated article on Jupiter’s entry into Leo and its retrograde cycle later this year, covering what this shift means at both the collective and individual level.

One technical note worth holding: if you have important placements in Pisces (Ascendant, Sun, or Moon), this year carries a particularly powerful double transit. Both Jupiter and Saturn are influencing Pisces simultaneously. Jupiter brings expansion and opportunity, Saturn provides the structure to make those visions real. For those with this configuration, June 2026 to June 2027 is a year to take seriously and move deliberately within.

As always, this is a general weather report. How these alignments land in your specific life depends on your natal chart and the planetary periods you’re currently running. Think of it as a global high tide: the water rises for everyone, but where your individual boat is docked determines the impact. For a precise read on how Jupiter in Cancer moves your chart, a personal consultation with Giulia is the natural next step.

Your June Practice: Plant Something Real

Jupiter in Cancer rewards what you build with purpose. The practice this month is concrete: choose one thing you want to grow and nourish over the next year, and take one clear, visible action toward it.

One thing. One action. Write it down so it exists outside your head.

The gesture doesn’t need to be large, but it needs to be specific. Launch a project you’ve been sitting on. Write the outline of something new. Restructure your morning around a commitment that matters. Make the call you’ve been postponing.

Jupiter is the greatest benefic and the saving grace of the sky: when in a strong position, it acts as a supportive influence in our endeavours. The quality and clarity of the seed matters more than the size of the gesture!

Our next article, publishing June 5, will cover the most auspicious dates within June so you can time your actions with precision. Think about what you want to plant before then, and use those dates to move.

The conditions are as good as they get. Go!

Giulia & Anaïs

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

How this works:

Giulia, a Vedic astrologer, provides the astrological analysis. Anaïs, a therapist and coach, translates it into narrative and integration tools.

Work with us:

• Giulia — for personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis. BOOK A SESSION HERE

• Anaïs — for coaching, therapeutic support, or help finding direction when life feels unclear. BOOK A SESSION HERE

Different approaches. Same compass.

Subscribe now

If Venus brought the harmony and the better connections, Mars is now bringing the fuel. It is important to recognize the weight of the current astrological climate: we are moving through a significant window of opportunity. Throughout May and June, most planets are shifting into exceptionally favorable positions, creating an atmosphere that is uniquely supportive of progress. While the latter half of the year will require more navigation and a different type of effort, these next two months are designed for us to capitalize on clarity and ease.

The Context: Why You Felt Stalled

To understand why this shift feels so significant, we have to look at where we’ve been. Since March, Mars has been navigating the deep, intuitive waters of Pisces. While Mars in Pisces can have its upside (offering a drive that is intuitive and altruistic), it was recently “stalled” by a heavy conjunction with Saturn.

As we discussed in our detailed April report on the Saturn-Mars-Mercury conjunction, this created a specific type of frustration: you had the desire to act, but every move felt like walking through mud. Structural delays, bureaucratic “no’s,” and a sense of being blocked by external forces were the hallmarks of April.

The Education: What is Mars, Really?

In Vedic Astrology, Mars (Mangala) is our Drive and Ambition. While the Sun is our soul’s purpose and Mercury is our intellect, Mars is the executive power that actually carries out the orders.

Mars represents:

• Willpower and Execution: The ability to initiate a task and see it through to completion.

• Logic in Action: Mars is a technical planet; it is the engineer within who solves the problem and optimizes the process.

• The Healthy Warrior: Mars represents the strength to fight for the right causes and the instinct to protect what is valuable.

When Mars is healthy, we feel courageous, decisive, and technically sharp. When Mars is weak or suppressed, we feel irritable, passive-aggressive, or physically depleted.

The Shift: Mars in Aries (May 11 – June 20)

On May 11, Mars returned home to Aries. In its own sign, Mars is at its best expressive powers. It no longer has to filter its energy through the fog of Pisces or the restrictions of Saturn.

What this means for you:

• Directness Returns: The handbrake is off. Decisions that felt complicated or delayed in April will suddenly feel clear.

• The Better Side of the Warrior: In Aries, Mars focuses on courage and leadership. We see the energy of the “pioneer”—the drive to start something new and the stamina to see it through.

• Sealing the Matter: While Venus brings the opportunity and the connection, Mars in Aries provides the “closing power.” This is the transit that helps you finally deliver results on the projects and promises made earlier in the year.

How to Capitalize on May and June

The synergy between a harmonious Venus and a powerful Mars creates a premier zone for productivity.

1. Prioritize Your Launch: This is the time for action. If you have a project or an idea you have been sitting on since the start of the year, the atmosphere is currently optimized for you to put it into motion.

2. Physical Discipline: Mars thrives on movement and challenge. Use this high-energy transit to restart a fitness routine or dive into a technical study that requires mental endurance.

3. Stay Attuned: The support doesn’t end here. In June, we will see another major shift as Jupiter enters Cancer, its sign of exaltation, bringing a layer of wisdom and grace to the drive we are building now. We will be diving deep into that transit in our next publication—stay tuned.

   Subscribe now

A Note on Personal Context

While these cosmic windows provide a general weather report for everyone, the specific influence of these alignments will land differently depending on your unique birth chart and the planetary periods you are currently running. Think of this as a global high tide: while the water rises for everyone, the impact depends on where your individual boat is docked. For a precise understanding of how these dates move your specific chart, a personal consultation is always recommended.

If you would like to know more or need more guidance on how to use this day specifically for your own chart, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading

In Vedic astrology, the moment you begin a project, start a relationship, sign a contract, or even start a journey, you are setting its energetic blueprint. You are essentially choosing the specific quality of energy that will define its future growth and how it will evolve. For this reason, you want to take advantage of specific windows where the atmosphere shifts into a state of pure support.

We are approaching the first best supportive window of 2026. During these days, the three most positive planets in the zodiac (Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury) align to create two powerful configurations concurrently: the Saraswati and Adhi Yogas.

Think of this as a cosmic green light. If you have been waiting for the right moment to move forward on something significant, these are the dates to mark in your calendar.

The May/June Windows

• Saraswati Yoga: May 29 through June 1

• Adhi Yoga: May 30 through June 6

While the individual yogas span several days, the most potent time occurs when these two combinations overlap. This specific three day window creates a unique high level support network in the sky.

You should mark May 30, May 31, and June 1 on your calendars! This is when we have the peak potency as both combinations overlap.

Subscribe now

The Alignment: Wisdom and Support

The first configuration, Saraswati Yoga, occurs when Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter all gather in the same sign. Named after the goddess of knowledge and the arts, this alignment is traditionally associated with clarity, successful communication, and the successful launch of new ventures. It provides the intellectual spark needed to see a project through to completion.

The second configuration, Adhi Yoga, happens when the Moon receives direct support from these same three planets (this technically happens when Jupiter, Venus and Mercury sit in the 6th, 7th, or 8th house from the Moon). This combination is known for creating an aura of leadership and magnetic support, making it easier to build a community and find the right people to help you achieve your goals.

Practical Applications: How to Use These Dates

These windows are ideal for any project where you want to ensure long term success and alignment. You might use these dates to:

1. Launch a new business, website, or creative brand.

2. Sign important contracts or legal documents.

3. Begin a course of study or a certification program.

4. Embark on a meaningful journey or relocation.

5. Initiate a conversation that requires both wisdom and diplomacy.

Because these dates are so potent for personal and professional growth, I will be hosting a workshop on dharma and the birth chart, focusing on how to find your true purpose through your astrological chart. This workshop will take place during the “Inner Alchemy” retreat in Tuscany (Italy) at the end of May organized by Kriya Collective. It will be an immersive experience designed to bridge ancient wisdom with modern living through yoga, meditation, and deep self inquiry. If you are interested in joining us or want to know more about the retreat details, please comment below or contact me directly.

A Note on Personal Context

While these cosmic windows provide a general weather report for everyone, the specific influence of these alignments will land differently depending on your unique birth chart and the planetary periods you are currently running. Think of this as a global high tide: while the water rises for everyone, the impact depends on where your individual boat is docked. For a precise understanding of how these dates move your specific chart, a personal consultation is always recommended.

If you would like to know more or need more guidance on how to use this day specifically for your own chart, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

April asked for steadiness under pressure, and if you’re reading this, you delivered. The atmosphere this month is genuinely different. This month we’re working with Venus, and it’s bringing something that’s been in short supply: ease, creativity, material comfort, and the kind of stability that lets you actually exhale.

This is a month to receive. To notice beauty again. To let relationships feel good. The astrological weather is offering real relief, and you’re allowed to take it fully.

Venus moves through two signs this month: grounded Taurus through May 14, bringing sensory pleasure and financial steadiness, then curious, social Gemini from May 15 through June 8, opening up connection, conversation, and expansion. Each phase has its own quality, and both add up to something we haven’t had in a while: Venusian harmony.

Here’s how to work with both.

Subscribe now

Your May Guide by Ascendant

These entries are written for your Vedic Ascendant (rising sign), not your Sun sign. The Ascendant is the strongest identity vector in Vedic astrology: it governs how you move through the world, how external pressure lands, and where change becomes visible in your life. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can calculate it using a Jyotish chart calculator online, or book a session with Giulia for a full reading.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if Venus is prominent in your natal chart, or if you’re currently in a Venus main period or sub-period, everything described here will feel significantly amplified. You’re in a particularly potent window!

Aries

Through May 14: The focus lands on your finances and your voice. You may feel a stronger pull toward stabilising your budget, and a genuine pleasure in high-quality, nourishing food. This is a good window for speaking your truth with grounded confidence, and for making sure what you spend actually reflects what you value.

May 15 to June 8: The energy shifts into your immediate world: short trips, interesting conversations, creative writing. Expect a busier, lighter schedule. A genuinely good window for sharing your latest ideas, reconnecting with siblings, and finding beauty in the texture of your ordinary days.

Taurus

Through May 14: Your charisma is at a peak right now. You may feel more at ease in your own skin, or notice that people are simply drawn to your steadiness without you having to work for it. Use this window for self-care, personal refinement, and putting your most harmonious self forward.

May 15 to June 8: Attention moves to your earning. Conversations about income, clever negotiation, and finding new ways to monetise what you’re good at are all well-supported. Speak clearly about what you’re worth.

Gemini

Through May 14: This is a quieter, more inward phase for you. You may feel drawn toward spiritual projects, meditation retreats, or creative work that happens away from public view. Use it for deep recharging and reflecting on your private desires. The restoration you do now feeds what comes next.

May 15 to June 8: Venus enters your sign, and the shift is noticeable. This is your premier window for self-expression and bringing hidden creative projects into full visibility. Your magnetism increases considerably, making it a wonderful time for new romantic interests and a more harmonious public image.

Cancer

Through May 14: Your social network and professional circles are offering something solid right now. Collaborative projects and friendships are providing a genuinely stable foundation for your longer-term goals and aspirations.

May 15 to June 8: A pull toward solitude and reflection arrives. This is a beautiful time for a digital detox or a peaceful getaway. Social connection in more secluded or sacred settings, such as meditation centers or wellness retreats, is particularly well-supported. Soulful over busy.

Leo

Through May 14: Professional recognition is the current theme. Your diplomatic handling of work is being noticed, and your reputation is receiving a steady, grounded boost from authority figures. Stay consistent and let it accumulate.

May 15 to June 8: The focus expands toward your community and your bigger vision. A strong period for meeting influential people and expanding your social circle. Your ability to charm a crowd and connect with like-minded groups is about to peak.

Virgo

Through May 14: Travel, higher learning, and philosophical expansion are all well-supported. Whether you’re literally going somewhere new or exploring new horizons through study, you’re looking at the big picture with unusual optimism. Trust that broader view.

May 15 to June 8: Venus moves into your career sector. A lighter, more abundant quality arrives in your professional life. Success and financial rewards are likely to flow from your work and anything you do in the public eye.

Libra

Through May 14: Deep transformation and shared resources are your terrain. Healing work, joint finances, and anything that asks you to go beneath the surface are genuinely enjoyable right now. Do the deep work while it feels available.

May 15 to June 8: Luck begins to flow more easily. An auspicious window for travel, publishing, or starting a new course of study. Your natural curiosity is ready to expand, and grace is available for your long-term goals.

Scorpio

Through May 14: Partnerships, romantic and professional, are centre stage. The work here is reliability, shared comfort, and genuine trust-building through consistent and loyal action. What you build steadily now carries real weight.

May 15 to June 8: The energy moves into deeper, more investigative territory. Transformative work within your partnerships, through therapy or honest psychological exploration together, is well-supported. Connections that are ready to evolve will do so now.

Sagittarius

Through May 14: The focus lands on your daily routines and health habits. A genuine opportunity to bring more beauty, organisation, and ease into your services and the rhythms that keep your life running. Small upgrades here compound.

May 15 to June 8: Partnerships become the highlight. Your partner may seem especially charming and positive, and negotiating for what you want within your closest relationships comes more naturally. A harmonious window for all one-on-one connections.

Capricorn

Through May 14: Romance, creativity, and genuine pleasure are your current themes. This is also a fertile window for investments and activities that bring real entertainment: you might find success in the stock market, or discover genuine enjoyment in competitive sports and playful self-expression.

May 15 to June 8: The energy moves into your daily rhythms. A good time to bring more harmony into your work life, or to try a new fitness routine that keeps your mind engaged and your body active.

Aquarius

Through May 14: Home and family are your primary focus. You may feel a strong desire to beautify your living space or spend more quality time with close family members in a stable, comfortable environment.

May 15 to June 8: Joy and creative expression take over. A fantastic time for creative projects, dating, and any activity that genuinely entertains you, including a sport you love. Your playfulness and intellectual wit are your greatest assets in all your social interactions this month.

Pisces

Through May 14: Communication and creativity through your hands are the current themes. A busy period involving local errands, neighbours, and siblings. You may feel drawn to expressing something through the fine arts or other creative, manual pursuits.

May 15 to June 8: The focus moves home. Aesthetic upgrades to your living space, domestic changes, or investing in your private sense of peace are all well-supported. What you create at home this month carries a genuine sense of renewal.

What’s Actually Happening

Venus (Shukra in Vedic astrology) is the primary significator of love, beauty, relationships, and the flow of personal finances. When Venus is strong, the whole atmosphere softens. This month it’s running at full strength.

Through May 14, Venus transits Taurus, its own sign. This is one of the most stable and grounded placements in the zodiac. The energy is sensory, loyal, and materially comfortable. It favours quality over speed, depth over novelty, and the kind of pleasure that actually nourishes. The beginning of this transit carried some turbulence due to a conjunction with Uranus and the star Algol around April 19, but that erratic edge has settled. What remains is the steady, nourishing heart of Venus in Taurus.

On May 15, Venus moves into Gemini, a sign ruled by its friend Mercury. The quality shifts: from grounded and sensory to curious, social, and mentally alive. Conversations become more charming. Your social world expands. A lightness arrives that April simply didn’t carry. This phase runs through June 8.

After the sustained pressure of the year’s opening months, May is a genuine invitation to receive. To allow connection, to let beauty back in, to notice what’s available when you stop bracing.

A particularly auspicious window closes out the month. From May 30 through June 1, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter align in a rare configuration of intellectual and social favour. An exceptional window for launching new ventures, beginning studies, signing important documents, or embarking on meaningful travel. We’ll be sharing a dedicated guide to those specific dates very soon!

The May Practice: Receive It

Venus rewards presence and sensory attention. So the practice this month is simple and concrete: one moment of conscious pleasure every day, for the full month of May.

Once a day, choose something small and genuinely enjoyable (a meal, a piece of music, a walk, a conversation) and give it your full attention for five minutes. No phone. Nothing running in the background. Just that thing, fully experienced.

Set a five-minute timer if it helps. Do it at the same time each day so it becomes a rhythm. The point is full presence, not duration.

Thirty days. One moment each. By the end of May, you’ll have practised receiving thirty times. For most of us, that’s thirty more than usual.

Giulia & Anaïs

How this works:

Giulia, a Vedic astrologer, provides the astrological analysis. Anaïs, a therapist and coach, translates it into narrative and integration tools.

Work with us:

• Giulia — for personalised chart readings, transit guidance, or natal chart analysis. BOOK A SESSION HERE

• Anaïs — for coaching, therapeutic support, or help finding direction when life feels unclear. You got some sh*t you wanna work through and need a therapist with a transformational approach and an open mind? BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL HERE

Different approaches. Same compass.

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading.

Subscribe now

Most people identify with a map of the sky that hasn’t matched the actual stars in over two thousand years.

If you have ever dismissed astrology as being too broad to describe the unique complexity of your life, you are likely right; most people simply don’t know there is a much more precise, technically grounded system available until they experience a Vedic astrology reading.

Whether you have felt like the pieces of your puzzle weren’t exactly clicking or you always assumed a natal chart couldn’t possibly capture your true nature, there is a technical reason for that gap in accuracy.

My name is Giulia, and after traveling through five continents and spending years immersed in deep study, I found that the most reliable mirror for the human experience isn’t found in a general horoscope, but in an ancient system called Jyotish. In my practice, I focus on helping you see your whole self without judgment. Here is why this system is the high-precision tool you didn’t know you needed.

The “Google Maps” of the Sky

Think of your astrology chart as a map for a road trip. If the map is twenty years out of date, you are going to run into roads that don’t exist and miss the turns that do.

Western astrology is based on the seasons (the Tropical zodiac), but Vedic astrology is based on where the stars actually sit in the sky right now (the Sidereal zodiac). Because the Earth has a slight wobble, the stars have shifted about 24 degrees since the Western system was locked in place.

In simple terms: if you look through a telescope today, the planets are actually in their Vedic positions. This shift is why many people who feel mostly like their Western sign find that when they look at their Vedic chart, the missing pieces finally appear. It is like switching from a blurry photo to 4K resolution.

Subscribe now

The Secret Sauce: The Nakshatras

While most people focus on the 12 signs of the zodiac, the real magic of my readings happens in the Nakshatras (Lunar Constellations). Unique to Vedic astrology, this system provides a level of precision that does not exist in Western practices.

If the 12 signs are the wide angle lens that captures the whole landscape, the Nakshatras are the macro lens. Instead of stopping at 12 broad divisions, we divide the sky into 27 specific Nakshatras. This allows us to zoom in past the general horizon to see the intricate, unique patterns that a wider view simply misses. These Lunar Mansions are far more rich and precise, providing an incredible, microscopic level of detail about your inner world.

I focus heavily on these because they offer a deeper layer of accuracy that the solar signs alone cannot reach. They explain the why behind your life in much more detail: why you might thrive in high pressure environments, or why you require deep solitude to feel creative. The Nakshatras take us beyond the surface and reveal the intricate, beautiful blueprint of your nature. This is where you truly start to see yourself in your entirety of your depths.

Your Life in Chapters

One of the most practical reasons to use Vedic astrology is that it doesn’t just tell you who you are; it tells you when things are likely to happen.

In this system, your life is divided into specific time periods. I like to think of these as the chapters of your personal book.

• One chapter might be about building a career and discipline.

• The next might be about travel, expansion, and spiritual growth.

Knowing which chapter you are currently in is a game-changer. It takes the pressure off. If you are in a chapter meant for reflection and you are trying to force a massive external launch, you will feel burnt out. When you understand your timing, you stop fighting the current and start swimming with it. This is how we use predictions as a consulting tool for better living.

Consulting the Mirror

Ultimately, Jyotish is a consulting tool for a better life.

It is a way to look into a mirror that doesn’t judge you. It doesn’t label traits as good or bad; it simply shows you your nature so you can work with it instead of against it.

Whether you are a Western astrology enthusiast looking for that missing precision, a total beginner wondering why you feel out of sync, or somebody who wants to understand the depths of their soul, this system offers a practical, technical, and deeply human map to help you find your way to yourself.

Giulia

Book Your Consultation

If you are ready to move beyond the surface and discover the high-precision map of your own life, I invite you to book a 1:1 Vedic astrology reading. Together, we will look at your unique astronomical blueprint to gain clarity on your nature, your timing, and your path forward.

Subscribe now

Akshaya Tritiya is widely considered one of the most powerful and auspicious days of the entire year. In the Vedic tradition, it is a day where the seeds we plant, whether in our careers, our finances, or our personal lives, are destined to grow and yield long-lasting results.

Why is this day so special?

The word Akshaya literally translates to “imperishable” or “indestructible.” This is the Golden Day of Eternal Success, where the energy of whatever you set into motion is said to be “turned to gold.”

The celestial mechanics behind this happen only once per year. On this day, the Sun and the Moon (the King and Queen of the planetary kingdom) are both at their maximum strength, or “exalted,” at the same time. This creates a high-vibrational window that supports stable, long-term growth.

When is it happening?

Because the Vedic calendar is based on lunar days, the exact timing of this window depends on where you are in the world.

• Globally: Most of the world will celebrate on Sunday, April 19.

• Regionally: The specific lunar day (tithi) may extend into Monday, April 20 for those in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania.

To ensure you are using the most potent hours for your specific location, you can check the exact start and end times here: Drik Panchang Akshaya Tritiya 2026.

Subscribe now

How to use this day

This is the time for the “big moves” you want to last. Because the energy of this day is about things that do not diminish, use this window for:

• Business & Finance: Launching a website, starting a new business, or making a significant investment.

• Career: Signing a new contract, quitting a job, or beginning a new job search.

• Personal: Getting engaged, married, or initiating a meaningful new relationship.

• Creative: Starting a new spiritual practice or a creative project you want to see flourish.

History & Tradition

This day carries deep roots in historical and spiritual tradition. It marks the commencement of the Treta Yuga (an ancient age of humankind) and is celebrated as the birth of Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

It is also the day when the sage Vyasa began reciting the epic Mahabharata to Lord Ganesha. In India, the high-altitude temples of the Himalayas even open their doors on this day after being closed for the winter season, symbolizing a physical opening of paths that were previously blocked.

Navigating the Cosmic Friction

It is important to look at this auspicious day within the context of the current month. As we discussed in the recent article on the Saturn, Mars, and Mercury conjunction in Pisces, there is a significant “planetary war” (Graha Yuddha) which will be at its peak between April 15 and April 25.

The beauty of Akshaya Tritiya is that its natural power is said to override many of these difficult astrological aspects. It acts as a protective shield for your new beginnings.

A Note of Caution: Because of the ongoing friction between Saturn, Mars, and Mercury, you should still exercise caution and stay grounded in the days leading up to and immediately following April 19. Think of Akshaya Tritiya as a safe harbor in a choppy sea; use the day to take action, but remain mindful of the surrounding planetary tension.

You should use the next two weeks to prepare in advance to take advantage of this day! Choose one or more things that truly matter to you and give them a start on April 19/20. When the universe offers a golden window like this, the best thing we can do is step through it.

If you would like to know more or need more guidance on how to use this day specifically for your own chart, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Giulia

*These interpretations use Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which calculates signs differently than Western astrology. If you’re unsure of your Vedic Ascendant, you can find it using a Jyotish chart calculator online or book a session with Giulia for a full chart reading

Subscribe now