Astrology of Friday, July 26

In these last days of Mercury retrograde (it goes direct on August 1), there is some confusion. And it is felt a bit differently by the sexes. Both have a legitimate fear of their personal freedom being curbed, but for different reasons. For men, if they act (and they are so tempted to act rashly, given that Mars and Jupiter are both in action-oriented fire signs), it will be according to how they see the world working, They might act from principles, not the heart. The true measure o freedom is acting with the heart involved. So maybe they will act because, according to the rules they live by, they think they should. But there may be a niggling little emotional pull that maybe this action will be at the price of their personal freedom and maybe it doesn't truly express their feelings. For some men, this may play out quite literally...their dads may feel they are doing the right thing, but mom's values are not liking it. For the ladies, there isn't such a tug of war between head and heart. Their emphasis on spiritual connection is built up by their connection with their intuition and compassion. Like the men, they fear this will result in loss of relationships that don't share their values, but they blame it on the old status quo - the patriarchal power. They want to go to a place that is more compassionate, freer and one that acknowledges the power of the feminine, even if it costs them a loss in relationship to express it. If you want a metaphor, the power struggle between Ilhan Omar and Marco Rubio is a good example, but apply this to your own life.