Leo Season Monthly Forecast
Sun in Leo, Sun opposite Pluto, Mercury Retrograde, Venus in Virgo, New Moon in Leo, Mars conjunct Jupiter and squaring Saturn and Venus, full moon in Aquarius
Happy first day of Leo season! We’re about to see a huge shift in energy this month, as the Sun moves from Cancer into Leo, and Mars shifts out of Taurus into Gemini at the same time. Goodbye water and earth, hello fire and air! If you have felt sleepy, unmotivated, or unsure of where to direct your energy over the past few weeks, expect to have greater creative inspiration and ideas coming to you over the next month. Like usual, we will first go over the major transits that are happening during Leo season, and then we will be getting into what everything means for each individual rising sign.
The main underlying theme for this month is that the Sun is moving through Leo from July 22 - August 22. The Sun is joining Mercury and Venus, which have both been in this sign since early July. Leo season themes in general have a lot to do with tapping into the spirit of your inner child and finding ways to have greater joy in your everyday life. This would be a great several weeks to lean into a hobby or schedule fun activities with friends. I also love taking vacations during Leo season, because there’s more of a relaxed, playful energy. In addition, you may end up finding new ways to express yourself, or you could be revamping your personal style and overall aesthetic.
It’s important to note that on the first day of Leo season, the Sun will move into an exact opposition with Pluto in Aquarius. So there may be power dynamics that come up in relationships around July 21-23, or you could be cutting something or someone out of your life that is holding you back. You may be doing powerful inner transformation, as you look at what you need to release and not fixate on so much. Learning to trust and not control may be a theme that is present around this couple day period.
A transit that defines the majority of this Leo season is Mercury retrograde. Mercury first moves into Virgo on July 25, and then will later station retrograde in this sign on August 5. The retrograde will start at 4 degrees of Virgo, before backtracking all the way to 21 degrees of Leo by August 28. So the first half of the retrograde from August 5 - 14 will be in the early degrees of Virgo, and then the second half of the retrograde from August 14 - 28 will be in the late degrees of Leo. People with planets or angles within this range will feel the effects of the retrograde the most intensely. For everyone though, expect to be slowing down at work for a large part of August. You may be met with some delays or confusion, or there might be miscommunication with someone that you need to work through. Keeping the themes of Virgo and Leo in mind, you may be reflecting on how you can be more mindful of your health, routine, and keeping a good work-life balance. You might also be returning to past creative interests, or you’re thinking about how you can have greater confidence in your skills and unique point of view.
On the night of August 4, Venus will move into Virgo until August 29. So hopefully this helps to counteract any difficulty brought up at the start of the Mercury retrograde, and it may smooth over any tension in the Virgo ruled house of your chart. With Venus in this sign, you will be finding enjoyment in your little daily rituals, and you could take a greater interest in exercise, health, nutrition, your skincare routine, etc. It may also be that you’re finding ways to bring your creativity into your work, or you’re getting along better with coworkers.
On that same day, August 4, we will have the first lunation of the month: a new moon in Leo. The new moon will be happening at 12 degrees of Leo, and I view this as being an overall positive new moon. It will be sextiling both Jupiter and Mars in Gemini, giving you a boost of optimism and energy to work towards new goals you set. This new moon will also emphasize those Leo themes of creativity, self expression, and finding joy. The only downfall is that the new moon is happening a day before Mercury retrograde begins, so any new intentions or goals that you do set may take a longer time to get fully developed, or you may want to revisit a past project or interest rather than starting from scratch with something new.
Then we have Mars still moving through Gemini for all of Leo season. If you’ll recall from last month’s newsletter, Mars moved into Gemini on the last day of Cancer season. And on August 13, Mars will conjunct Jupiter at 16 degrees of Gemini. Mars is supercharging this year long Jupiter in Gemini transit, so if you have yet to feel anything super significant with Jupiter being in this new sign and house of your chart since the end of May, expect to see visible results and greater activity there with Mars joining the party. This would be an ideal time to tend to writing, speaking, or research work, as you will want to keep your mind extra active. In addition, you may feel way more social than you were earlier this summer.
However, during that same period, Mars and Jupiter will both be squaring Saturn in Pisces. Plus, Venus in Virgo will oppose Saturn in Pisces at the same time. So there will be this big T-square of Mars & Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus across the mutable signs of Gemini, Pisces and Virgo. This transit will encompass the whole week of August 12 -19. During that time, you may have this push-pull energy of being excited about starting a new project, relationship or opportunity and wanting to get ahead, but you may be held back or restricted in some way. Or you could need to be more realistic about what work and responsibilities you’re taking on. Saturn may dampen the mood a bit, and make you put in a lot of hard effort around this time. With Venus involved, you may also realize what you want out of a relationship, or you’re seeing people for who they really are. This is a really dynamic transit, so it could also push you to take action and get something started if you’ve been putting it off.
Then we wrap up Leo season with a full moon in Aquarius on August 19, happening in the midst of all of this chaos from the paragraph above. This full moon is taking place at 27 degrees of Aquarius, and is in exact alignment with Mercury retrograde. Expect the week leading up to the 19th to be interesting to say the least. There may be a lot going on in your life, but there could be an element of being slowed down or confused, or you’re needing to go back and rework something before you go public with it. This will also be a particularly social time of the month, where you may be connecting with many different people, or you’re wanting to get more involved with a community.
Let’s now get into what this means for each rising sign…