A July Witchy Forecast For Tender Hearts

Mercury retrograde in Cancer can feel like someone turned the volume up on your inner world, and suddenly you are tender, tired, and replaying conversations you thought you were done with. I’m Jenny C. Bell, and I’m walking through a grounded July astrology forecast that treats the retrograde as a tool: slow down, double-check the details, and give your feelings room to speak without judging them. If you’ve been wondering why you want to hermit while everyone else looks “summer social,” there’s a real rhythm to it.

We move through the month’s lunar anchors, including the New Moon in Cancer (July 14) for setting fresh intentions around home, care, and emotional nourishment, plus the Full Moon in Aquarius (July 29) for celebration, community, and hope for the future once Mercury is moving forward again. I share simple ritual ideas like spending time near water, especially at night, and I call out supportive touchstones like moonstone and labradorite. I also pull oracle cards from the Arcana Folia deck, with themes like changing your mindset, zooming in on what you’re missing, not letting fear drive, and trusting a gentle plot twist that leads to gradual success.

I also talk coven life, symbols as our monthly theme, why audiobook listeners are absolutely readers, and how to protect your mental health by being mindful with news and social media. If July feels heavy, you’re not alone, and you’re not behind. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs tenderness, and leave a review with your ideal July plot twist.

Look for the audiobook of Divergent Witchcraft coming this month, July 21st! https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9798347206407-divergent-witchcraft?srsltid=AfmBOoqUswwJ96mj5VypqfZAaJ-J8zAEbM71iobK_epZ6aGQv5ihgRTl

Transcript

Welcome And July Overview

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, and welcome to another Cozy Coven Chats. I am your host, Jenny C. Bell, and this chat is for the month of July. And so if you've been following me for a while, you know that because it's summer and I'm a mom, instead of doing weekly, I'm doing monthly until the kids go back to school. So we're gonna be talking about the whole month of July. I'm recording this at the end of June, and but prior to Mercury going into retrograde, uh, when it releases, we are in retrograde. So that's something, right? So let's let's start there. So July, uh, for the most of July, we are in Mercury retrograde in Capricorn. And I mean Capricorn in Cancer,

Mercury Retrograde In Cancer Feelings

SPEAKER_00 0:50

sorry. And that doesn't end July 23rd, Mercury retrograde ends. But but Mercury has a shadow period. Now Mercury is the beautiful cosmic energy of communication, right? Gemini is ruled by Mercury, and if you ever met my son, you would have no doubt that they rule communication. Um, and it being in Cancer, I'm already feeling it. I'm in when I'm recording this, we're already in the shadow period. So the shadow periods like a week before it goes into retrograde, and then the shadow periods again like a week after it goes out of retrograde. And sometimes I feel that the shadow periods are harder than the retrograde itself because there's like this transition into it already this week. Um, there's been some miscommunications and some setbacks. And I think like this is my feeling, is we won't we'll see, of course, the typical, you know, digital issues and you know, triple checking everything you do. I'll be traveling during this retrograde, so we'll be triple checking that our check-in times and our location, you know, all that stuff. Um, but more so I think when it goes through cancer, we are gonna be really going back into our feelings. And I can say this because I just did the like month-ahead card reading for our coven. So every month in our coven I do a reading, and it's just for our coven members. I used to do them on YouTube, but actually it's interesting. Pulling cards for a larger audience like that didn't feel as good as it does for pulling them just for our coven members. The energy in our coven is really good. It's I'm very attuned to it, and when I pull for like anybody who would watch this YouTube video, it didn't feel as good. So I did the card readings, and all three groups showed going within in different ways. But all three groups, the cards pointed to going within, facing fears, or going within, going into the underworld, having a dark night of the soul, or more like lighter than that, more surface than that. But all three of them pointed to you will be going within this month, something will happen later. All three of the readings talked about like these planting of seeds later, or seeds growing later, or completion later, but they all talked about this period of going within. So when this comes out in the beginning of July, I assume you're already there. Uh we did an all-animal reading, and so many of the animals, so many of the readings had turtle because turtle goes within, right? Or they had animals that lived in the ground. So if you are feeling like it's July, and I should be like out and social and living up summer and doing all the things everybody else is doing on social media, but you're feeling like actually not doing that, this is probably why. It's this mercury retrograde in cancer. Now, I talk about I'm a cancer rising, so whenever it's cancer season, I always feel goth. Like I have a feeling goth playlist, and cancer season has always got me like okay, Q Morrisy, because I'm always in my feels during this season. We get to Leo season, it's like a breath of fresh air, and it's like that song, like, I'm coming out, you know, like I'm coming out, and I'm ready. I'm like, okay, let's tease the hair, let's get out. But July has always been very emotional and very hermited for me. Um, until I understood astrology better, I just thought, like, what's wrong with me? Like it's summer, like I should just be out and like having fun. Um, and I will, and it's not like I'm you need to be like in your house in your bed ever every day in July, unless you want to be, that's fine. Um, but it there's definitely a sense of like tenderness, right? I mean, cancer's a crab, and if you think about hermit crabs, they go within, and then if you mess around with them, they will come out and try to pinch you. So there's a sense of I think this month, especially with Mercury being in retrograde, we will all need time to be alone with our thoughts and not judge them. Like, we need to go within our little turtle shell or a hermit crab shell and sit in the dark, in the underworld, in the hole in the ground, and be like, okay, what's coming up for me? And then don't judge it. Don't judge it because it's gonna probably be something you thought you dealt with. Because Mercury going in retrograde, it's like seemingly going backwards, it's not really, but it's opening up some wounds, and you're gonna be like, I already dealt with this, like, come on, I already thought, I thought I was over this, and then something's gonna be like, guess what? You're not, and just have patience with yourself. So please, if you have the ability in this month, please make some time for you to be alone with your thoughts, whatever that looks like for you. Could be journaling, could be laying on the closet floor in the dark, hiding from your kids in the garage and eating ice cream, whatever. It's you need some time to like be alone and process. Otherwise, I think we'll be pinching people with our crab claws because we will be like going through something. Someone might say something and trigger you, and you'll be like, uh, why'd you say that, right? So I am gonna be taking a road trip during this time with my whole family and then sharing a hotel room with my whole family. There's four of us, and so I will really be doing my best to make sure this alone time happens. I've already planned it out. Like, um, I plan on we're gonna be at the beach, so I plan on going out night, out to the ocean, and talking to her alone. Like, no, you can't come with me, go find your own section of the beach. I plan on taking like a long time in my shower and contemplating life. I plan on, you know, we get we're gonna all need it. We're all introverts, so we're all gonna need it. I'm really gonna encourage everyone else to have their own separate alone time. But I think we will all need that this month. And I think that if you do that and you treat Mercury retrograde as not something to be afraid of, but as an opportunity to like circle back this time around in cancer and like examine some of these things coming up for you, then when we get to Leo season, you'll be ready. You'll be like, Okay, let's put on the gold eyeliner and tease the hair. I'm coming out, guys. Um that's my theory. That's my theory with it. So let's like talk about the astrology a little more this month. So July 14th is a new moon in Cancer. And

New Moon Intentions And Full Moon Wins

SPEAKER_00 8:03

I love new moon in Cancer. I'm actually gonna like read to you from the Astro twins planner, because I really like them. Um, new moon in Cancer equals focus. They said spend time near water, connect to family. I'll be with my family, and I will literally be at the ocean. So, guys, I don't think you can get any better. Um, I might have an epic new moon. Oh, I haven't planned. What kind of new moon ritual am I gonna do at the ocean? So send me ideas. Um, get in touch with your emotions, talked about that. Nourish yourself with good food and close friends. Check. Uh, spruce up your space so you feel at home everywhere. Hmm, I like that. And then they say moonstone is an excellent one for new moon and cancer, yeah, because it's a moon, but also cancer is ruled by the moon, and moonstone is the mooniest of the moons, um, but also solenite is connected with the moon too. And then their question is what's one fresh intention you're ready to set under this new moon? And I think it's gonna be emotional for a lot of us. I think that intention's gonna be emotional. Okay, so still looking at Astro Twin's planner, the full moon in Aquarius happens July 29th. Mercury will be out of retrograde at that point. And the stone they picked is Labradorite. I love that. Because it looks like water is trapped in that stone, and then Aquarius is a water bearer. Um, their question is what's one thing you're celebrating under this full moon? So let's celebrate in the full moon because we'll have gone through Mercury and retrograde and cancer. Um, and then Aquarius full moon equals celebrate, your most inventive ideas, teams and communities where you feel seen and embraced, your sharing and accepting spirit, technology that keeps you connected, hopes and dreams for the future, your idealist nature, idealistic nature that refuses to give up on humanity. I love that. So I think it's gonna be a rough patch here at the beginning of July. I think we'll have be in our feels, we're gonna want to play our goth mix. Um, my goth mix is like mainly 80s. Um I guess you'd call it alternative, because what else to call it, but 80s goth music, like The Cure and Depeche Mode, and you know, that kind of thing. And then oh, Susie and the Banshees, which is more like 70s, but yeah, just you know, in the feels. So we're gonna all want to be in our fields, and then Aquarius moon is gonna be like, okay, you made it. How are we celebrating? And this is funny, this is exactly how the card readings for our covenant went. It was like different aspects of going within, and then there's something good at the end of that, like a it's a rainbow at the end. So that's the theme. I like it. Okay, I pulled cards for us from the Arcana Folia Oracle deck, which I'm kind of obsessed with, I'm being honest. It's circular, and it's from US Games, and um

Oracle Cards And A Gentler Plot Twist

SPEAKER_00 11:12

I really love it. I love it, kinda okay, so it reminds me of I really love the Tea Leaf Oracle deck from US Games, which is also circular. There's like 200 cards. However, there's like 200 cards, and it's a little overwhelming, and it's I can't shuffle them. I have to like, you know how like when you're playing um cards with like little kids and they'll go to shuffle it and they're just kind of like mishmash in a pile. That's how I have to do it. This fits in my hands, so I prefer it. So let's let's think about it. Okay, so we got first card we got was mindset, find a different perspective, and it's mushrooms. So again, I feel like that goes with us having this Mercury in retrograde as an opportunity to like go through some things we've healed, some emotions coming up, and then mushrooms they grow in the night, so they're very like underworld, right? And a lot of them are psychedelic, so there's that aspect too of like dream time. So there's something coming up, and and you know, cancer's connected with the moon. So the night is really important in July. So if you can get out at night, I plan on doing that at the ocean. You getting out at night and contemplating at night, I think is going to be really beneficial. Then we have zoom in, which is a magnifying glass, zooming in on a flower, and it says the answer is there if you look closer. So find a different perspective, and then you'll find the answer. Um, I love that. And then we have uh like a beautiful ship wheel. It's probably an actual term for that, but you know what I'm talking about, like how on a ship the wheel has a bunch of spokes, and it says change, so it gives like wheel of the year, wheel of the year. We wheel of fortune from the tarot, that's the energy it gives. And it says change. Fear is not a good advisor. Fear came up a lot in the Arcoven readings for July, and truth be told, when we rehash emotions, fear is usually connected with them. So let's remember that fear is actually not a good advisor. We have we're gonna have it come up, we're gonna have to be like nope. Um, and instead find a different perspective. And then we not only got like a wheel of fortune energy, but we also got plot twist, and this is a typewriter, and it says unexpected development, which is exciting. I like this card. When it comes up, it doesn't give tower energy, it gives more like a gentle plot twist. And then you have at the very end, success, and it's a ladder, and it says gradual success with thoughtful actions. I'm telling you, kids, this is just like the Arc Hoven readings. It was about going within, changing perspective, some kind of change, and then the month ending with some kind of success. So let's claim it. Let's claim it. Let's go through it with thought and knowing that we're gonna go through it, and then know that success comes at the end. So speaking of our coven, our theme for the month is symbols. So at the beginning or the end of last year, I was like, let's pick a theme for each month. And so June's theme was

Coven Symbols Theme And Audiobook Love

SPEAKER_00 14:20

reset, and some of us actually did some like cleaning and resetting in that way. Um our talk, our live was on journaling and had a kind of like reframe journaling with Book of Light, which is from Divergent Witchcraft, which you can get anywhere, you buy books. Um, my audiobook comes out this July, I think July 20th or 21st, but at middle to end of July, look for it. It's coming from some um Simon and Schuster Maverick. They picked a beautiful, well, I got to pick a beautiful um voice. They gave me three choices. I actually had my son, he picked the last one, and so my son's the biggest audiobook consumer in the house, and so I get like when you do a book, if you're gonna do an audiobook, they send you samples of the voice actor reading, and then they're like, okay, number them. And so he has picked my last two readers for me, and he's done a beautiful job. I'm gonna let him continue to pick. Um, but yeah, he's very thoughtful. He like has me play them a couple times, he'll go back and forth, debate, and then he'll pick. So, um, anyway, so the book, the audiobooks should come out in July, so I'm really excited about that because it being focusing on accommodations and being for every kind of witch and learner, audio is such an important part of that. And by the way, if you're an audiobook reader, you're a reader. And I will die on that hill. It's literacy. And I have actually read that what we read, we skip words. But when we are listening to audiobook, we don't skip words. And listening to an audiobook actually builds your vocabulary better than reading, and it also helps you speak more correctly grammatically because you're listening to perfect syntax. Um, reading, we skip words when we read, and so we don't get that as much. Um, my son has a humongous vocabulary, and it's from audiobooks, and he retains the information better. So please don't ever shame yourself or other people for preferring an audiobook. You are still reading. And people that don't believe that are not educated on what it means to be accommodating and not educated on different types of learning styles and are being rude for no reason. They're ignorant, they're being rude for no reason. So please, audiobook all day every day. Um, I prefer my husband prefers audiobooks for nonfiction. I prefer podcasts for that kind of thing. I'm not a big audiobook person um because I listen to so many podcasts. Shout out to Belief Being and Beyond. Perfect segue. Shout out to Belief Being and Beyond. Um, love being on that podcast with Granddaughter Crow. We're having a lot of fun over there.

Podcast Spots And July Coven Guest

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Um, please like check it out. Um, we've been doing these round tables. By the time this airs, we'll already have a round table out on divination. It'll be your second one, which is so good. Um, we're also gonna have some episodes with just her and I talking about like our practices and comparing and contrasting practices um and getting to know each other better and getting you guys getting to know each other us better, and then interviewing obviously cool authors and people, so it's fun, it's a fun time. And then I've been on the movie coven uh quite often. I love being a substitute teacher on there. Um, the people that do the movie coven are really cool people. Um, they're a husband-wife producing team, beautiful team, beautiful people, really thorough, really thoughtful, but really fun, and I love talking to them, and then love um all the other people on there. Like, it's a fun cast of characters, um, and they're all real, you know what I mean? Like, sometimes you're like, oh, you know, this is how they perceive are perceived on a podcast or on a TV show, but they're actually really kind, nice people. Um, and I love being on there. And we sometimes will tease each other. I actually got kicked off of the movie Coven, um, but that was all for fun. So don't take it too seriously. It's a very unserious show for the most part. Sometimes it's not, sometimes it'll make you cry, and then other times it's like completely ridiculous, and that's why I love it. I think it's a really fun thing to be a part of sometimes, and I'm grateful that I get invited on there. Um yeah. So I'm I'm around. I'm gonna be on some other podcasts coming up. I don't have dates right now. Um, but follow me on my socials, and I try to share each and everything I'm doing. I'm really lucky, blessed, grateful that Wiser, the two uh publicists from Wiser, shout out to Erin and Sarah, are just so cool and thorough and really helped me get out there. They really were like trying. They really have been trying to get Divergent Witchcraft out there, get me on podcasts, get me connected with people. So that's been lovely. Been really building community. And speaking of that, um, we've been having guests in our coven, and I'm super excited for our guest in July, is Samantha Corfield. Um, she wrote this amazing book, Creating Your Own Afterlife, about just that. Like, it's an empowering look at death and dying, but also she is like this amazing wealth of knowledge. Um, she doesn't like the word crown, she prefers empress, and I love that. Um, but she's been so helpful to me. I've asked her a few questions. I'm looking at her as a wise woman, as someone I can turn to for spiritual questions, and I really love her. She's going to be our guest, and she's going to be talking about like old world traditional witchcraft in New Orleans. Narleans is what I've heard people say. I've never been to New Orleans. It is like top of the list because I'm a huge Anne Rice fan. And so I just know if I go there, I'll meet Listot. I'm just kidding. Or am I? Um, but I do, I really love a lot of the literature that comes out of New Orleans. I also love that jazz comes out of New Orleans. I really can't wait to visit someday, and I know it'll happen. It's just for a long time I didn't travel for lots of reasons, but it'll happen, and I'll meet Samantha and she'll take me around, I'm sure. But she's gonna teach us um a class on that, and I'm so excited because New Orleans is its own special thing. I have read um a lot about Marie Laveau and Voodoo and her style of voodoo specifically. My son and I watched this really great show um on New Orleans. Uh let me think about what it was called. So I'm actually gonna look it up. So it was a sh a TV show for kids. Um and it was a little bit scary. So it'd be like for older kids. Let me see if I can find it. Um that's me typing. Yeah, so anyway, uh there's lots of things that come out. Okay, it's called Fright Crew, and it's Fright Crew K R E W E. If you like cartoons, please watch the show. It is such a cool Way to learn about voodoo and New Orleans culture, and I don't know, it's a fun introduction. And for the most part, as someone who's not an expert in that but has read enough, I felt it was pretty spot on. So if you're just like, I've always been curious about voodoo, I'd like to know a little bit more. You can watch that show. And if you have kids, I would say it's like for twins it up because it is kind of scary. Um, but absolutely loved that. My son has watched some really fun shows. Speaking of kids' shows, Fright Crew's great, um, Hilda. Have you watched Hilda on Netflix? Amazing, especially for like younger kids too. It's so much cool mythology. There's a I love Frida the Witch on that. I mean, it's it's so good. I love cartoons. Um, Avatar Last Airbender is probably my favorite cartoon series, but I think Hilda might be a close second. Okay, I got sidetracked. Uh so yeah, in our coven this month, we have an animal card reading. We have our beautiful Samantha Corfield coming in, sharing her wisdom at the end of the month. We have the theme of symbols, and then we are looking at some kind of emotional processing this month as a whole, like all of us collectively. So please be tender with yourself and be tender with other people because if you're feeling that way, then collectively we're all feeling that way. And I think it'd be really important this month, especially to be mindful of your media consumption. Because if you are already feeling

Water Rituals And Media Boundaries

SPEAKER_00 23:41

in your feels, you don't need to feel it through social media or through the news. You don't need you want to make sure that when you're on in those realms, if you decide to partake in social media or whatnot, that you're in a good place mentally this month, I think especially. So think about that. Um I think our moons are gonna be beautiful. And I hope that everybody can get near water. If you're available if you're able to get anywhere near some water, um ocean, lake, stream, river, whatever. Man-made lake, human-made, trying to not say those kind of patriarchal words, human-made lake. Whatever you can do, if you can get some near some water during cancer season, especially at night, it's like the ultimate cancer ritual. I think, you know, for sure. We need that. We need the water. Um, me personally, going through uh July, we are taking a family vacation as I shared, so I have to release a lot of control because my dog will be with a pet sitter, and we have one of my daughter's friends coming to take care of the cats in the garden. And so there's the little Taurus sun cancer rising that does not want to leave the house. I definitely fully identify as a hobbit. We've been watching um Rings of Power, so a Harfoot, no, because they're nomadic, but a Hobbit, yes. Um, fully like identifies that. I like to be home in my cozy hobbit hole, baking bread and eating honey and you know, all the comforts. Um, but there's also part of me that I I feel like I'm a mermaid and I really want to be near the ocean. And so the road trip to the ocean will be interesting. I'm trying to make some playlists and find some book our audiobooks for the family. Um and then, but being there, being at the ocean. And we're also gonna try to get to the Getty, which is probably my favorite museum that I've ever been to. Not the villa, just the regular Getty, a beautiful garden and all this, but my favorite art movement is Impressionism, and there's a whole Impressionism floor, and it's beautiful. The Norton Simon has a lot of that too. Um, the Getty is just so impressive, and we used to bring the kids all the time, they don't quite remember it, so we're like want to bring them, and my daughter's a visual artist, and so I feel like she'll just drink it up. I told her I was like, when we get there, just do your own thing, and then we'll tell you where to meet us. And I know my son's an audio learner, so I'm gonna try to get him the little headset so he can listen and you know, all of that, but uh taking in art during cancer season, also another way to fill in the cup because it gets us in the feel. Speaking of, I just have to share, I think um, please look into your town and surrounding area and see what they do they're doing. You know, even the smallest of towns and whatnot

Finding Local Community That Uplifts

SPEAKER_00 26:36

might have something going on, a really cool parade, um, free concert, an art show, and just go, even if it's a little out of your comfort zone. Because I think it'll fill the cup. I think right now we all need community that's positive. And when you get on social media, I mean, not like social media's ever been great, but I'm really seeing a trend of people just tearing each other down more so than normal, more than the average. Like comments are really negative, and so I think it's really important to get into community spaces in person that uplift you. Library, go to the library and like see if there's any classes there, doesn't have to cost money. Um, I just got to take my family to a mural fest, and so it was really close to the house. So we went, took just my son the first day, and people were about halfway done with their murals. There's like music playing, and we just got to see people working on their art, and then we went back the next day with the whole family, seeing things more completed. That was such a gift, like it filled a part of me to see community, to see people making beautiful art, that a lot of it was very political, to see artists making art for art's sake, to see people there enjoying the art and trying to connect with it. Oh, it filled a cup, like it filled a cup, and I think we need that, you know. Our coven's a community space, it's a third space or third place. We all need community. We're trying to build more community on belief being and beyond. That's why we do um the premieres so that people can check in on the chats. The movie coven is live with a live chat. We're trying in these spaces to build community in online. And, you know, please and like take advantage of that. Like, if you know, there's good people trying to build community online that's not it's not paid, right? These are all free things you can do. Um, our coven is paid, but that's how we keep out the grand rising beloved. I have a message from ancestors type people, right? Um the grifters, we keep the grifters out that way. But people are trying to build community and they're also trying to build community locally. So, you know, look around. I know that that's one of my dreams down the road is when my son is older, I want to do more in the community, more in person. But for now, our coven fills that cup for me. We do these month shares um in June, since I'm recording this in June, we did like a reset share, and it was like, you know, share a reset moment. Like I shared my makeup drawer that I had cleaned out, and then share a favorite summer memory. And that was interesting because I really liked hearing people's different experiences because we're all from different places in the world and different ages and you know, different socioeconomic upbringings, and so we all had very different summer memories, and it's beautiful and it's a way to connect. Um, yeah, please take care of yourself, be tender to yourself and others this month, have alone time, but also look at building community, right? Be independent, have alone time, fill your cup, and then how can you also start to make community connections, maybe more towards the end of the month after Mercury goes out of um retrograde? Because Aquarius really makes us want to do that, that Aquarius full moon really wants to make us want to build community. So, some reflection questions. Um How can you find a different perspective? What

Reflection Questions And August Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 30:15

would be the ideal plot twist? Because I really loved that card. And then from the Astro twins, I read them earlier, but what's one fresh intention you're ready to set under this new moon? And that's the new moon in Cancer on July 14th, and then for the full moon on July 29th, what's one thing you're celebrating under this full moon? And then I also want you to just reflect in general, like what feelings are being felt and how can you process them? I hope you have a beautiful July. I will catch you in August. However, you can catch me on Belief Being and Beyond every week, and sometimes on the movie coven, I try to put that on my social media so you know when I'm on there. Um, but sending you lots of tenderness, blessed be.