Mars in Gemini stokes rivalries – the reason being that twins are siblings and sibling rivalries are the earliest form of competition. Everything you learned about winning, losing, thwarting, and outwitting comes from those early years spent battling with your sibling for Mom or Dad's attention.

All of this will come rushing back while Mars, the planet of combat, is in Gemini from July 20th to September 4th. You can expect to lock horns with a competitor during this time, but instead of a knock-down, drag-out fight, you may discover that this person is a plus, not a minus. Why? Because a competitor motivates you to try harder than you would have on your own.

They'll also tell you things your friends won't because friends will only say what you want to hear while a competitor tells you the things you need to hear. It's one of life's weird contradictions how an enemy can be a friend at the same time, but that's how Mars in Gemini works. Mars will always push you to be the best that you can be according to the zodiac sign that it's in.

Are you playing games with somebody’s heart? Or is this person playing games with yours? These are questions worth asking when Venus, the planet of love and beauty, forms an opposition to suspicious Pluto on July 12th. An opposition is when two planets sit opposite one another on the cosmic seesaw. And like a seesaw, one planet dips while the other planet rises and vice-versa. Seesaws aren’t balanced, so don’t look for anything that’s fair and even-keeled. There's nothing equitable about them. The problem is that each of you thinks that it's the other person who's being manipulative, which is why there is so much withholding, testing, and maneuvering going on. In the end, this is all about relationship – whether it's romantic or financial – which means that you must either find a way to build trust or end this association because right now it is bringing out the worst in both of you.