"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."~Rabindranath Tagore
The Cat's Cradle
A New Story Begins
July 15, 2026 — The second half of July is beginning to kick into high gear, with the outer planets aligning in a rare and life-changing formation that I've been calling the Cat's Cradle, and that other astrologers have been calling Barbault's Basket. A very prophetic and historically accurate astrologer, André Barbault, predicted that as Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto form supportive angles to each other at the end of July 2026, this would be an extraordinarily positive moment for humanity. In some ways we could say this is a turning point. It’s the bottom of a bell curve that begins to climb its way back toward the light. It represents an entirely new direction that heralds breakthrough, transformation, and a new system of values and boundaries.
The sextile between Uranus and Neptune becomes exact on July 15, followed by the trine between Uranus and Pluto on July 18, which is one of the defining signatures of the year. Mars sextiles Saturn on July 19. Then, in quick succession, Jupiter trines Neptune and opposes Pluto on July 20, and sextiles Uranus on July 21.
These days are high-voltage. All three collective planets—Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—are activated through this period, and Jupiter touches each of them within days. The effects are likely to be quite visible in our personal lives and beyond. We're living inside a years-long story here, the gradual shift from an Earth-dominant era to an Air-dominant one, and this stretch of July makes that shift unusually clear.
It's a strong window for advancing thoroughly prepared, well-grounded projects and evolutions—the kinds of undertakings that could genuinely succeed in a significant way. The shadow side, as with any Icarus story, is hubris. Losing touch with reality or letting ego outrun substance can turn a promising ascent into a hard fall. There's also the danger of feeling overwhelmed as the planets push us with tremendous vigor to shake off our various cocoons. However, if we can remain strong and grounded and take extra good care of ourselves, powerful transformations are very likely.
This period of time holds the potential to turn our stories around, big and small, for the better. It's a once-in-humanity kind of moment that begins the next era and establishes a fresh, new, exciting, palpable energetic frequency. What do our own personal challenges and breakthoughs look like now? What lessons, wisdom, and new realities are rapidly clicking into place?
CAT’S CRADLE ASPIRATION
May we meet this convergence with strength and open hearts, trusting the ground beneath our becoming. May we recognize breakthrough when it arrives, and from there, find the courage to build something real and lasting.
by Juliana McCarthy
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
germansingergirl
stormborns
