Happy Leo season! The middle of summer has arrived and this radiant sun-ruled energy is here to encourage us all creatively. Our unique traits and individuality can be a great source of inspiration and power, but can also cost us when our egos get bruised or our tempers run high. The healthiest lions demonstrate great loyalty, courage, and passion, and the full moon in Leo’s sister sign Aquarius on the 11th will remind us that we all deserve to be well-resourced enough—both physically and emotionally—to embody these ways of being. Venus’ movement into Leo on the same day will highlight the distinction between selfishness and preserving your energy. These lessons will apply to our personal relationships and be mirrored by the larger picture contributions we make to our communities. This is an excellent time to align our egos with our values, our will, and our innate personal power. The sun’s movement into Virgo on the 22nd (joining Virgo’s ruling planet Mercury) and the new moon in Virgo on the 27th will invite us to integrate this alignment in the interest of being honest, loving, and inspiring without getting burnt out.
ARIES
Your fellow fire sign Leo can teach you a great deal about following through in the pursuit of your desires. Your cardinal nature will be tested this month—your ruling planet Mars will square Saturn on the 7th, proverbially and perhaps literally asking you to put your money where your mouth is. Mars will transit earthy Taurus until the 20th when it enters Gemini. The days leading up to this transition may bring challenges and rewards in your material circumstance, depending on your ability to speak and act with conviction about what you want.
TAURUS
This month the sun will be transiting your 4th house. The 4th house is an angular house, marking a critical juncture in your year-long journey around the sun. It could be a great time to take a look at the stories you tell yourself about your emotional nature and its foundations. If this practice resurfaces wounds you’d rather not face, Mercury’s movement into mutable earth sign Virgo could encourage a more detached view that can help you heal without feeling too blue. Your ruling planet Venus will join the sun in Leo on the 11th, and if you have done this work the universe might lead you to the kind of stability you seek both emotionally and in your home life.
GEMINI
Leo season has the potential to be a very playful and creatively fulfilling time for you! However, when air meets fire things can either get exciting or out of control—and it isn’t always easy to tell when that line is crossed. Your ruling planet Mercury will enter Virgo on the 4th and you might find that body-based practices like yoga and meditation can keep you grounded enough to cause just the right amount of chaos. Your playful, eccentric nature can certainly take you far, but it is only sustainable if you have a values-based passion for the interests and relationships that you find most fulfilling. Mars will enter your sign on the 20th, giving you an extra dose of audacity to achieve a multitude of things.
CANCER
The astrological weather this month is relatively quiet for you, and hopefully the end of Venus’ transit through your sign until the 11th brings nothing but a romantic expansion to your worldview and inner life. The full moon in Aquarius on the 11th will occur in your 8th house, and this might trigger deep excavations of the insecurities and fears that keep you from asking for help when you need it. It’s OK to let others care for you the way you care for them. The new moon in Virgo on the 27th is a good time to release unhealthy attachment patterns and replace them with more trust and self respect.
LEO
Happy You season, Leo! Your association with the sun is an association with love itself, and this month is an excellent time to embody your biggest, boldest, and warmest self. Your natural charm and generosity of spirit are unmatched, as is your capacity for theatrics and indulgence. Both your light and shadow are important aspects of your being, and as they say—the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. Your willingness to accept both sides of your nature as you begin a new year-long cycle, and Venus’ entry into your sign on the 11th, will highlight how this practice can positively impact your relationships, your creativity, and your capacity for leadership.
VIRGO
This season the sun will transit your 12th house before moving into your sign and 1st house on the 22nd. You might feel disconnected from your day-to-day routines as you explore the depths of your spiritual being and connect with hidden talents. You might also be asked to confront ego patterns that do not serve you. For Virgos this can often look like an excess of humility that can lead to dissatisfaction. Mercury’s movement into your sign on the 4th will encourage you to be honest with yourself and with others when you feel your needs aren’t being met, and could also inspire you to prioritize communications that help you achieve your goals and showcase your natural gifts.
LIBRA
Leo and Libra have a great deal in common: Both like to prioritize friendships and romance, lead with their values, and have a good time. This season will impact your personal life in a multitude of positive ways as the sun moves through your 11th house. The 11th house is associated with friendships, individuality, and social progress, and your social life will flourish if you align those relationships with actions that help improve your community. Your ruling planet Venus will join the sun in Leo on the 11th, the same day as the full moon in fellow air sign Aquarius. Use this time to celebrate all the different forms of love in your life, and the ways that they help you love and understand yourself better.
SCORPIO
This month the sun will transit your 10th house. It’s a good time to focus on your career and public image, which might bring feelings of stress if you are a more private, secretive type of Scorpio. If you prefer to move in the shadows, you can still affirm your dedication to your passions by doing the things you have been putting off out of fear or insecurity. You are quite powerful and steady, and this fixed fire energy has the potential to ignite a sustained flame within you. The full moon in fellow fixed sign Aquarius on the 11th is a good time to embrace your feminine side so that your masculine side can pursue social and societal goals.
SAGITTARIUS
Your naturally adventurous and freedom-seeking nature might feel particularly enlivened this month as the sun transits your 9th house. This is an excellent time to broaden your horizons, embrace new experiences, and let your freak flag fly! Both Leo and Sagittarius are fire signs, and though you may be generally more mature and adaptable, Leo season can teach you about standing your ground when it comes to your beliefs, passions, and desires. Mars will enter your sister sign Gemini on the 20th, and you might feel particularly driven to pursue partnerships and pleasures that affirm your autonomy and encourage healthy communication patterns.
CAPRICORN
This month it is your turn to experience the difficult but rewarding effects that come with the sun transiting your 8th house. This transit encourages self-reflection and shadow integration, and you might find that your work hard play hard mentality is leading to burnout or dissatisfaction. Taking time to rest, slow down, and meditate can balance out these difficult energies and help you uncover the roots of wounds that have been difficult to heal. Mercury will enter fellow earth sign Virgo on the 4th, followed by the sun on the 22nd. This energy might help you to parse out what healing needs attention and what can be eliminated in the name of emotional grounding.
AQUARIUS
This month the sun will transit your 7th house in your sister sign Leo, indicating a good time to review and strengthen your partnerships with others in tandem with your love for yourself. As sister signs, you and Leo have similar concerns around ego, social responsibility, and honesty. The full moon in your sign on the 11th is concurrent with Venus’ movement into Leo, and this day and the week surrounding this day is a potent time to be honest with yourself about what you want and deserve in your relationships.
PISCES
Pisceans can often get caught up in the rapture of it all, and the theatrical, over-the-top energy of Leo season might lead you to feel a bit overstimulated or overwhelmed. The sun will be transiting your 6th house, encouraging you to take time to regulate your nervous system and take breaks from the world when you need to. Mercury’s movement into your sister sign Virgo on the 4th offers opportunities to ground through clear communication with the people closest to you or through service to others, and the new moon in Virgo on the 27th is an excellent time to release ideas of purity that cloud the multitude of possibilities available to you, if you embrace your full being.
illustration by Artemesia Trapeze