Extravagance enters the picture with a New Moon in Leo and Mars entering Leo. Also this week, Mercury will enter Virgo for detail work to support it all, after Mercury in the sign of Leo trines Saturn. We also have Venus in Gemini opposite Saturn later in the week which may be a source of stress and strengthening to our relationships. All together, these transits can point to the way that romance and extravagance are actually practical elements in our lives. They increase our joy and vitality which gives us energy that radiates everywhere else. These transits may illustrate the ways in which there are incredibly positive and life-enhancing results when we listen to our heart and not just the rationalizations our minds can make in its stead. The mind can actually change its patterns and constructs this week in accordance with the emergence of a new vision from the heart.
(Image: sadaestheticdolphin)
Here’s our week:
July 19
Mercury in 22° Leo trine Saturn in 22° Sagittarius: 12:16 PM PDT
Mercury will also be 2 degrees away from a conjunction with the North Node in Leo, highlighting the current trine between Saturn in Sagittarius and the North Node in Leo, and perhaps bringing messages around this! Later in the week, Mercury also trines Eris and Uranus in Aries, bringing in the grand fire trine. Look for:
- The drive to materialize creativity – new things, new look, visual forms of self-expression.
- Ideas on how to plan or implement a larger vision; the presence of creative planning.
- Finding more mobility and creative freedom when certain structural pieces are attended to. Pay attention to the bones of your dreams: what will really hold it together? Practical becomes esoteric. Observe how energy directs itself toward your vision when you take real steps towards it (rather than waiting for the vision to pop out of nowhere miraculously. Take practical steps and watch the magic materialize. The transit supports you!).
- Accordingly, taking steps towards a goal keeps melancholy (a characteristic of Saturn) at bay. Melancholy might point to procrastination or something practical not getting attended to.
- This transit can highlight how some of our practical needs are of the heart – things like friendship and personal relationship can be worked on and made time for too, they don’t just happen naturally.
July 20
Mars enters Leo: 5:20 AM PDT
At the time of this transition, the Moon will be conjunct Venus in Gemini. Mars will stay in Leo until September 5, 2017.
- When Mars is in Leo, we experience the quality of Mars (such as motivation, drive, vitality) through the lens of Leo. We might find ourselves receiving more, or applying more energy toward, creativity and romance. Romance is not exclusively for dating and relationship love, but also extends itself toward how we treat our environment, ourselves, our friends. Flirtation is just play. It will be through the realm of romance; giving attention; performing; that we meet Mars.
- People can hide in romance by being a fantasy or being someone else’s fantasy – especially as this ingress is highlighted by a Moon-Venus conjunction in Gemini. It isn’t being “nice” to just receive courtship from the environment because it’s sweet or well-intentioned: does it feel authentic? Do you really feel seen? Let people really get to know you; not a facade of you. Female-conditioned folk especially – being pleasant, agreeable or sweet against how you actually feel isn’t your job. And Mars in Leo is too sassy for pretense.
- Mars is a relational planet like Venus – speaking to how we extend ourselves in love, how we take action within relationship. Leo is all about the heart and vulnerability. Consider what outlets and opportunities you have to share from your heart and let people know who you are. Don’t be afraid to give and receive love, and take a look at which you find more vulnerable (giving or receiving) and give it some extra love.
- Mars is a fire planet and Leo a fire sign. This is a fiery energy being introduced to our sky! All Leo themes: like feeling seen and appreciated, acknowledged, validated, or not – run extra hot now. Read about playing with fire here in an article I posted earlier this week titled Playing with Leo’s Fire: The Line of Creativity and Narcissism.
Sun in 28° Cancer square Uranus in 28° Aries: 5:24 PM PDT
- One temptation is to blow the lid: like let the dam up and let the water come gushing out. If you are feeling pressure, remember these transits and some we’ve had the last few weeks do invite releasing the pressure valve! We don’t want to hold it in and burst.
- Another possibility of this transit is to begin some radical process of self-containment (Cancer), to creatively design a womb space for our own creative development. Do you have something ultimately private to attend to? A journal, a project, an ambition you haven’t told anyone yet? There is a special magic to these very private spaces in that we allow something to marinate, gestate, in our own creative process with no or very limited direct outside intervention. This transit lights a lantern in these inner enclosed spaces. Recharge here and connect with divine inspiration here.
- Related to the point above, ongoing projects may shift levels of privacy at this time – become more private or less private depending on what is calling you. You might feel a tension with this shift. It’s vulnerable to share! It can feel jaded or closed off to be private. Both can be vitalizing and renewing. But, like the lunar cycles, there is a time and place for each phase.
July 22
Sun enters Leo: 8:16 AM PDT
At the time of this ingress, the Moon in 19° Cancer will be opposite Pluto in 17° Capricorn. The Sun will stay in Leo until August 22, just a day after the Solar Eclipse in Leo.
This is Leo season! Summer romance. And… with the Moon opposite Pluto intro, we may also be diving deep into examining some of our ego and personality structures, our judgements and our projections. What is nobility in ourselves, in our lives? Why are figures who burn bright the source of idealization and intense criticism? How do we internalize this? What do you think?
Beyond (and moving into) that smoldering intro… Leo season is a season of play and summer romance. Court the vibration of romance in your life this season. When in doubt, also remember your natural resources (what you have to share abundantly) and consider sharing them. Leo is a sign of generosity, and generosity attracts more and more of itself.
July 23
New Moon in 0° Leo: 2:46 AM PDT
This New Moon is conjunct Mars in 1° Leo.
- This is our last lunation before the two eclipses of August – the lunar eclipse in Aquarius on the 7th and the solar eclipse in Leo on the 21. We might think of this as a stage set. With Mars on a New Moon and still in the early degrees of the zodiac, there is a significant energy here around birthing something new; or the creative impulse to start anew. Whether it’s an obvious new start or a new perception, this is a time to listen to and honor the desires of the heart.
- Along that – sense what you really want in your heart. Not in your sense of logic, not in your rationalizations. What sparks you? What compels you? A seed of vitality (Mars conjunct) is being born here too. How were you conditioned as a child or by your culture relative to these wishes? Is there a difference between what your Soul wants and what you’re told you’re supposed to want or not want? Identifying these desires and giving them compassion and attention is a way to build a direct relationship to the Soul; to live a more soulful life. We make wishes on New Moon for what we want to manifest. In another way, we are also nurturing (Moon) our creativity (Sun). Especially in a Leo New Moon, we are nurturing the inner child, the part of us that does believe our dreams are possible. Be extravagant!
- And if you must, protect your extravagance from the judgement of others around you by realizing that not everyone will empathize, support, and validate your heart. Some truly will, and that’s a great part about relationship. But even so, everyone has limitations and judgements and the Leo qualities of self are the most sensitive to being seen and validated; and also run controversial. Jealousy on conscious and subconscious levels apply. If you want to be a friend and lover this season, recognize that there is a sensitive kitten inside the roaring ambitions of others: honor your close ones’ boldness and dreams. Instead of playing devil’s advocate to the burgeoning excitement in others whom you share your life with, validate and engage people’s dreams. Your own included!
July 24
Venus in 21° Gemini opposite Saturn in 21° Sagittarius: 7:53 AM PDT
- This aspect can really stretch our relationships – we can feel unusually judgmental of others or feel we are being judged; we can be having more open conflict or fights with others at this time. Internally we are feeling these same tensions. Often though, another person will enter our own internalized tensions and create a polarity to match the inner one. Ultimately, the opposing forces are seeking integration.
- One party in a conflict might play the role of whimsy and spontaneity (Venus in Gemini) while the other is more serious and wants to focus on the big picture (Saturn in Sagittarius). We might be playing this similar argument in our minds around spending money or energy at this time. One force in this polarity is not here to win; they are both learning from one another.
- It might slow down in our consciousness (meaning we deliberate more, and have more time to decide) how we decide to reveal information to others or not, how we disclose, how honest we are, as well as if we produce filler dialogue or filler information in the stead of more direct, blunt truths. We may find ourselves in a moral conflict of what should or should not be said, or how we want to spin a story based on the angle we tell it from. We realize these choices have consequences and that we have many choices: and that sometimes even knowing what our perspective is, or what we value, is uncertain.
- Certain situations may appear to reveal to us where our map has gone off grid… where we are experiencing something we actually do not know how to quantify or put into words. It may take some diligence to really tune into what is happening and to create language or expression around it as to add it to the map. It is easy to get frustrated instead and not take the time to reassess how we define and communicate our inner-experience and values. Don’t underestimate the value of symbolism or metaphor when you’re reaching for the concept but can’t find it.
- One conflict that can reach a climax or transition at this time is around the ways in which we dishonestly adapt: say things we don’t mean, withhold or are selective with information, etc. in our relationships. If we are to be more honest, we also are trusting that we will connect with the right people. Or, we allow ourselves and others to meet the consequences of our honesty. Also, this is not to say that our selection of information is not coming from a place of wisdom. These are hard things to think about, sometimes.
- We are always telling stories about our own values. Consider your inner-dialogue at this time and how it might be at a peak point in transition especially in matters of cynicism! Venus in Gemini opposing Saturn can bring us a flashpoint of our most cynical thoughts and values as well as a new spin and perspective on them so that we can move on lighter in our step.
Mercury in 28° Leo trine Uranus in 28° Aries: 9:32 AM PDT
- Due to the harmony of these planets, accessing a flow state in a creative endeavor (where we begin to channel creativity – come up with things that seem to come from somewhere that is not our own ego) is more likely. We are also approaching the end of Mercury’s transit through Leo, and the last degrees of any sign have a culminating feel to them. It might be surprising to see what we can come up with when we get into our creative space.
- The presence of surprising messages, perhaps very vivid or theatrical in their delivery.
- Revelations of the heart: insights that come through that increase openness to life, forgiveness, generosity of spirit.
July 25
Mercury enters Virgo: 4:41 PM PDT
This ingress coincides with Mercury conjunct Vesta and the Moon in Virgo.
- This brings our mental attention toward editing and refining. Rather than getting fixated on something being bad or imperfect, we can lovingly edit our processes and lives. If love is behind it (rather than the notion of lack or being unworthy), this process can be really magical and enjoyable. Perfectionism based on inherent lack is where things can get stickier or more exhausting, negative.
- A piece of humility can be the realization that everyone is struggling with something, as are we. A lot is a work in progress. Save your disciplined mental attention and focus for compassion and problem-solving, not for imagining that you are any more of a mess than you think you are! 🙂 Some things just don’t need to be a crisis.
- The quality of being an expert or very knowledgeable within a field of awareness, and being able to discern and be critical as a result. To be a connoisseur.
- Mercury here can bridge the mundane with the magical. You can infuse the material world, like the food you cook, with magic and ethereal intention. No chore, no basic maintenance of reality, is without the potential for magic. Utilize this for when the minutia overwhelms you! And remember that we are not totally earthbound; we also have Spirits. Part of our reality is that we combine and integrate both just by being alive in this way that we are. Ask your earth and spirit guides for support when you are struggling. It’s kinda like….
I hope you enjoy the week! It’s an arrival of extravagance, that still cares about structural details and structural support. Let me know how you’re doing and how this forecast finds you. You can write in the comments and introduce yourself. I love hearing from you!
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With love,
Sabrina Monarch
Sabrina Monarch is a soul-centered Evolutionary Astrologer who publishes weekly astrological forecasts. She has been collecting astrological experience for over a decade. She also enjoys kundalini and ashtanga yoga, hiking and creative writing.
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