Leo Season Monthly Forecast
Sun in Leo, Venus retrograde in Leo, Mars and Mercury in Virgo, Mars trine Jupiter, full moon in Aquarius, new moon in Leo, Mars opposite Neptune, foreshadowing of Mercury retrograde in Virgo
Hello and welcome back to this month’s edition of Your Monthly Forecast! This month we will be getting into all of the transits that are taking place throughout Leo season, from July 22 - August 23. Leo rising horoscopes are at the top, so Aries-Cancer risings, you will be scrolling to the bottom to see yours.
The main backdrop for the month ahead is the sun being in Leo. Coming out of the heavier emotions and sleepiness of Cancer season, as the sun shifts into Leo you may start to feel a lot more creatively inspired, and you could be looking for ways to better express yourself. This might look like showing up as the real you on social media or finding some sort of hobby or artistic outlet that you can pour your energy into. You will be building up confidence in what sets you apart. There may also be numerous social plans or dating activity that pop up, and you may have more of a desire to be around other people. I always say that Leo season is the best time to take a vacation because you’re typically feeling fun and relaxed, but if you don’t have the time or money to do so, try to find little ways to enjoy life outside of work each day.
We can’t go any further in this month’s forecast without mentioning Venus retrograde, since that will also be going on for the entirety of Leo season. Venus retrograde started on July 22 and will last until September 3. 40 days and 40 nights! I went in depth on overarching Venus retrograde themes in the newsletter I sent out to everyone yesterday, so if you missed that please go read. But basically, you will be using this time to reflect on relationship patterns, reconnect with people from your past, and overall work on better relating to others. With this retrograde happening in the sign of Leo, you might be thinking about what image of yourself you want to present to the world, and how your personal style or “brand” reflects that. You could also be revisiting past creative interests or nurturing your inner child.
An important date to watch for in the midst of this Venus retrograde will be around August 13, when Venus and the sun meet up at the same degree of Leo. This is what we refer to as the Venus- sun inferior conjunction, so we’re kicking off a brand new Venus-sun cycle that will unfold over the next 18 months. When I get into what the Venus Rx means for you personally based on its house placement, see how these themes become more prominent in your life not only for the next 40 days, but also over the next year and a half. That story has only just begun.
Mars is still in Virgo for all of Leo season too, and Mercury joins Mars in this sign on July 28. These two planets remain very close together throughout all of August, never reaching an exact conjunction though. This is because Mercury is slowing down in preparation for its retrograde, which will start at the beginning of Virgo season. Mercury will not leave Virgo until early October, so the themes associated with the Virgo ruled house for you will also be extra relevant over the next couple of months.
With both Mercury and Mars in Virgo, there may be an extra emphasis on health and wellness, and you could be taking necessary steps to take care of your body. You might be eating better or getting into the swing of a regular exercise routine. You might also want to visit the doctor for a routine checkup or research what vitamins or skincare products you should be using. Having Mars and Mercury super close together will also have you putting energy into communication based work. Late July into August will be a great time to get some writing done, launch a podcast, or prepare workshops and presentations for your job. It will be a lot easier for you to handle numerous small details at once. However, you could feel a bit anxious during this time, like your mind just won’t rest. That’s why that exercise and wellness component will be important to remember. Taking care of your body will help to ground you and feel less nervous.
Around July 31-August 2, Mars in Virgo will come into a trine with Jupiter in Taurus, linking these two earth sign ruled houses in your chart. After probably encountering frustration or setbacks during the Mars-Saturn opposition around July 21, it may suddenly feel like things are flowing a lot more smoothly, and you know where to direct your energy across these areas of your life.
There will be a full moon in Aquarius on August 1 at 9 degrees of Aquarius. Full moons are always the busiest time out of the month, so expect there to be a lot of social activity and wanting to connect with people around this time. The full moon will also be loosely square to Jupiter, which is at 13 degrees of Taurus, so your emotions might be amplified and feel overwhelming - Jupiter tends to overdo things often. On the other hand, you might feel optimistic and hopeful about what’s to come, or you could be more open minded and feel connected to your sense of spirituality.
There are no huge events happening between the full moon and the new moon. The Venus retrograde in Leo and Mars/Mercury moving through Virgo continue to be the background noise during this time. So it’s not that nothing is happening during these two weeks between the new and full moons, it’s just that no major new shifts are occurring.
The new moon in Leo is on August 16 at 23 degrees of Leo, and will be occurring quite close to Venus, which is still retrograde. So relationships (both platonic and romantic) may be a bigger priority in the days immediately surrounding this new moon. You may get clarity on a relationship problem that has been bothering you, or you could be ready to approach dating or a current relationship with a fresh perspective. New moons can also sometimes signal an ending in order to start a new chapter, so if a relationship has been having irreconcilable problems, this might be when you decide to break things off. Since the new moon serves as a reset for the next four weeks, use the several days following August 16 to get clear on what goals you want to be working towards in that Leo ruled house of your chart.
Finally, we close out Leo season on not the best note. On August 21-22, Mars will be in an exact opposition with Neptune. Mars-Neptune aspects are my least favorite transits ever, because they tend to cause confusion, low energy, lack of direction and often have you feeling down on yourself. So if you end up in comparison mode or feel super sensitive around this time, know that it will pass. Try to use those couple of days to connect with a spiritual practice or lean into an artistic hobby. You may even want to get outside of your own problems and actively help other people with theirs. Mercury retrograde will also be about to start, so as we approach the end of August, you may notice things start to slow down or get slightly delayed. We will get more into Mercury retrograde during the Virgo season forecast next month though!