Mars into Leo | leading from our heart

in heart by Marta Syrko

Today we have fiery Mars (action, initiative, passion, anger) moving into equally fiery Leo (enthusiasm, heart, love, ego, pride, creativity, courage) until September 5th.

Mars will be in conjunction with both the Sun and the Moon on Sunday at the time of the New Moon and Mars will be exactly conjunct the Sun next Wednesday - which ends whatever started at the time of the last Sun/Mars cycle (something started mid June 2015) and launches something NEW

involving universal Leo themes (and/or for us personally the themes of our Leo natal houses) - how/what we initiate, how we take action, how we express our passion, our anger issues or issues we are angry about, something involving our creativity or children or romance. Mars will be active during the August 7th Aquarius Full Moon, too.

If you are a Leo Sun (or other fixed sign - Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio) this transit is going to wake you up. If you are an Aries rising or a Scorpio rising (your chart is ruled by Mars) this is going to wake you up. Everyone's natal Leo house is waking up BIGLY!  

We will all feel this one.

The great thing about Mars in Leo is that it not only provides that Martian kick off at the starting line, it also provides the Leo ability to stick with it once we get it started!

Leo is the sign of the lion - the king of the jungle. One of the best ways to understand the king of the jungle is to understand the little lions we keep in our homes - those creatures called cats.

Everyone who "owns" a cat knows what a misnomer this word is when applied to the feline species. Cats can't be "owned". We know it and they know it. It is perfectly natural for them to convey an attitude of comfortable superiority.

This energy, this "presence" is what Leo is all about.

Everyone has Leo somewhere in their natal chart - a space we are meant to feel "comfortably superior". Ruled by the Sun, this is an area of life (in addition to our Sun sign) we are meant to SHINE. We are all about to get a whole lot more shiny. I think we will need those eclipse glasses no matter where we live now!

This is a great time to take action with something we are passionate about. Leo energy will not be ignored and doesn't like to wait, so if something needs to happen now - let's make it happen. The two weeks following Sunday's New Moon in Leo are PRIME make it happen days!

If we need courage, if we need confidence, if we need attention - this transit will provide the fiery push to take the action we need to take. Fresh starts don't get any fresher than this.

We have the North Node in Leo now - it is important to focus on the things that call our heart forward. Our blood is flowing faster (seriously I think someone needs to check on this) - our passions are stirred up!
 
Sometimes when we ask what our heart really wants we do not like the answer we get because we know it will force us to disconnect from something else - maybe something we used to love or maybe something that made/makes us feel safe or maybe something that is comfortable - start with those ratty old slippers, toss them!

Or because Leo's instinct is primal we (Aquarius polarity's shadow) start overthinking all the ways this new thing isn't going to work. 

We use our minds and words to start creating problem "cords" and entanglements from our new thing to all kinds of crap we don't want to happen. 

We don't need to do that right now. It is actually counter-productive.

Looking for dragons doesn't protect us from dragons - it actually creates the dragons!

We don't have to get too far ahead of ourselves - we don't have to know HOW we are going to do it. We just have to get clear on WHAT we want/need and take some kind of action. Life can use whatever action we take to get us where we need to go.

The energies on planet Earth have changed since the end of 2012 - we have lost the the energetic gatekeepers that kept things from happening too quickly - they have folded up shop and left the building! 

We don't need them, but we still think we do. 

We really can get there (wherever there is) from HERE. 

(Donald Trump is President people, I mean, who ever thought that could happen - well HE did and that's how it did happen. Instead of, or in addition to if we insist, bemoaning that fact let's celebrate what it shows us is actually possible - so, what do WE really want?)

By the end of the year we will have Saturn coming home to Capricorn the sign he rules - we will have to work harder and there could be more restrictions on us. Things will be a bit more "set in pace" so we want to be doing/living what we love NOW since we could be doing it for a while!

What is the theme of your Leo house? This is the space of our lives where we are all "lightworkers" - we are all able to channel the Sun's (Son's, if you resonate with this) energy unfiltered. It's going to be a space/theme of life we LOVE. And yes, there will be work, notice the word lightworker includes those four letters, too! We are spreading light (knowledge) through work.

Work doesn't really feel like work when we are loving it though, does it?

xo all

Venus Trine Jupiter, Mars Trine Chiron | smoothing things out, do you feel lucky?

beauty outside, myth inside by cobraromania

Yesterday's challenging energies (still in play, but to a lesser degree) give way to today's more manageable aspects.

Trines bring natural grace, support and the ease of things "falling into place".

In our natal chart, trines (120 degree aspects) are our natural gifts, sometimes so innately a part of us we don't even realize they are gifts. They work in similar ways during times of transit - smoothing things out, easing us over rough patches, quietly removing road blocks, sometimes while we are still miles away. They do their work so seamlessly we might not even feel them. We'll just look back later and see the ease with which something potentially complicated fell into place.

With Venus (in Gemini) trining Jupiter (in Libra) at 15 degrees (those with planets or points around 15 degrees of the air signs - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - will feel this most)

communications within relationships will be more harmonious. Conversations can be more relaxed. This is great energy for socializing. Be out and about. Return the call. Send the email. Situations with Venus ruled themes - love, money, women, beauty, self-esteem, our values - expand (Jupiter) under this transit. We get lucky. 

With Mars (in Cancer) trining Chiron (in Pisces) at 28 degrees (those with planets or points around 28 degrees of the water signs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - will feel this most)

we are offered a cooling balm for any wounds yesterday's Mars/Uranus square opened up. Here's the band-aid. It's a stretchy fabric one that stays put in the shower and, look, it's even got a picture of Bambi on it. Also mom has kissed our boo-boo and given us a cookie. Oatmeal!

Actions (Mars) can be healing (Chiron). Family (Cancer) connections (Pisces) can be repaired. Compassionate (Pisces) action (Mars) heals. What hurts? What needs mending? Work on that.

xo all 

Venus Square Neptune, Mars Square Uranus | proceed carefully

Out of View by FlewDesigns

Today we have two inner planets, Venus and Mars, squaring off with two outer planets, Neptune and Uranus. This gives us multiple ways things can go off the rails. With more positive transits coming as early as tomorrow, today is not the day to leap into something without looking.

Keep a cool head. Don't say/do something you will regret tomorrow.

Neptune squaring Venus is good energy to simply want too much. Expecting too much from other people or from a certain situation dulls our vision to what we already have and where we already are. The grass looks greener on the other side, but that's only because we are not the one who has to water it.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the next thing that we miss out on our connection to the thing we have now. Someone I know with this aspect in his natal chart is always having his hopes dashed. He thinks he has bad luck, but what he really has is a natural tendency to want/expect so much that he is continually disappointed.

(this doesn't mean that wanting/expecting too much is a bad thing - it can be a great thing and most people probably settle for too little - but with today's skies this is something to be aware of)

With Venus in Gemini (choices) it will be easy to make the wrong decision or pursue the wrong thing today. Snap decisions could snap back at us. Keep things realistic. Is this thing "we want or need to take action on NOW" really something we want/need to do? If something logically looks like a long shot, this is not the best energy to have a go at it. Invest your time and money carefully .....

With Mars in Cancer squaring Uranus in Aries, we, and other people, could feel a strong urge to rebel within the family, home or an environment that feels like family. Or things could get pretty passive/aggressive - for example we don't want to go to dinner with someone so we lose our keys and can't leave the house. Or maybe someone is stubbornly holding onto a position simply to annoy the other person or not finishing something as a way to have power over someone else or power over a situation where they feel out of control (ahem).

Something unexpected (Uranus) could be in conflict with what we are doing or trying to do (Mars). There are many tricky situations that can lead to conflict now.

Take care when driving. If it ain't broke don't try and fix it today.

On the other hand if we need to find real courage against something that truly is oppressing us - today's energy could stoke a fire that needs to be started. Chew on that.

Baby steps people, the Sun will come out tomorrow and we are heading into Leo season - the sign that rules HAPPINESS and FUN .... and today's Moon is in Taurus - get outdoors, eat some good food, focus on the things you already have ... xo

(there may be more info in the weekly HERE)

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of July 17th - high stakes, getting fired up, chickens coming home to roost

cutting light by alltelleringet

Last week was fairly quiet in the skies but this week should more than make up for it.

This is a busy week with the most notable transits Mars squaring Uranus on Monday and the Sun squaring Uranus on Thursday. We also have both Mars and the Sun moving into a fire sign and the week ends with a BIG New Moon in Leo!

A Sun/Mars/Uranus mix-up can be rough and challenging. Even angry and violent. We need to be prepared for some unexpected twists and turns over the next few weeks. 

The stuff happening now is reactivating the Pluto/Uranus square we were all dealing with a couple years ago (that we never really stopped dealing with) - chickens are coming home to roost (hoping mine are guinea hens and will eat these damn ticks and mosquitoes).

So, if something needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed NOW. 

If this means something to you, if something popped into your head when you read that - then deal with that. If there is something we can't outrun - we need to turn and face it. Maybe we can suddenly clock in a 4 minute mile and get away clean, but more likely that thing we have been avoiding is not as far behind us as we thought it was.

On MONDAY, fiery Mars (in Cancer) squares unpredictable Uranus (in Aries). We also have Venus (in Gemini) squaring a retrograde Neptune (in Pisces).

This is confusing energy.

Venus squaring Neptune can leave us inspired but insecure or maybe disappointed or taken advantage of. This is the first square of the Venus/Neptune cycle that started on January 13th, if that date rings a bell. Boundaries could be leaky now and our discernment could be lacking. Let's be diplomatic, but we need to take our time with this one and not rush into something blindly (like maybe rushing in to help someone or agree with someone without all the facts)

because on TUESDAY Venus trines Jupiter (the BEST aspect we could have), so whatever "crisis" is stirred up on MONDAY, the winds will change on TUESDAY, very likely for the better (give life your best shot on TUESDAY - get dressed up, be nice to other people, expect communications to go well). Tuesday is a good day for investments - our money/value of what is purchased grows.

Later in the day on MONDAY Mars is squaring Uranus. People's actions will be unpredictable. We will be restless and so will other people. Crisis points could center around freedom and taking action. Arguments and disruptions are possible now. Keep a cool head.

Taking action (Mars) for the good of the community (Uranus) is favored. New action is favored. The Moon is waning, so it's not necessarily the best time to launch something new, but it's very good energy to do something in a new way. Work outside the box. By TUESDAY Mars will be trining Chiron so it looks like the fight/argument leads to healing. Compassionate, creative action is best.

Our waning Moon will be in Taurus both days which is great energy to get your hands into the dirt, prepare fresh food and enjoy eating it, walk barefoot in the grass, slow down, sing, dance, take an afternoon nap - get out of your head and feel the weight of your physical body on our physical planet.

On WEDNESDAY, Mercury (in Leo) trines Saturn (in Sagittarius) then on FRIDAY Mercury goes on to conjunct the North Node. There is something to pay attention to here. This is the news/communication/conversation/idea (Mercury) that will last (Saturn). This is something you can take to the bank. Something stable. There is not only security here and something tangible (Saturn), it is connected to your best way forward! Like all trines we need to put out some effort. The Moon will be balsamic, so we might want to take another nap, but be out and about. Put yourself, and your words and work, out there.

On THURSDAY, the Sun squares Uranus. This is a bookend to whatever was happening on Monday. Know people will be restless and maybe looking for a confrontation. The best way to use this crisis point (use it or be used by it!) is to understand there is a cost to preserving the solid structures in our lives. Throwing babies out with the bathwater may clear the tub and we won't be cleaning any soiled diapers, but then we don't have that cute little baby to sing to when the lights go out. There are trade-offs.

Of course, if someone else is really stepping on us - this is the energy that will bring the situation to a head. Oppressive situations come up to be worked out. Where there is anger energy, there is also courage.

Also on THURSDAY Mars enters Leo (this is about us putting energy into our creative endeavors) followed by the Sun on SATURDAY (more passion, more creativity, more energy). On SUNDAY we have the New Moon in Leo (fresh start!), so the week ends with a whole lot of Leo fire!

Things are very combustible now. Take care with fire. Everyone will want to be the king of the jungle now. With so much Uranian energy - expect the unexpected (and yes, with the energy focused on Uranus and Leo, expect Trump to be back in the news - has he ever been out of the news?).

xo all - back with the dailies and to finish up and sort out that New Moon post!

New Moon in Leo | July 23rd - start something new, be careful what you wish for ... part II

star wars tcg luke skywalker by anthony foti

In astrology-speak the Moon is essentially regressive in nature. It is always pulling us back to the past, to the mother-child bond, to our basic security needs, to our core. 

The stuff the Moon rules does not really change much over the course of our lifetime. The sign our Moon is in, the house our Moon is in, the sign on the cusp of our 4th house, planets in our 4th house, the degree of our IC - the very bottom of our chart, if our chart were a clock face it would be at 6:00 - Cancer's placement in our chart - all tell the story of our very essence. What we need to feel nurtured at 2 won't be that different from what we need to feel nurtured at 82.

The Sun is different. The Sun is progressive in nature. It changes. It is active and productive and unfolds over the course of our lifetime. It gives us - our "hero story".

You have probably at some time read something about the work of Joseph Campbell (maybe most famous these days with inspiring George Lucas's Star Wars hero journey) and something he calls the "mono-myth" - which is basically the "hero story" that is told in every culture's mythology. This is our solar story. It's the story of the Sun in our natal chart.

Now in every story the hero isn't born a hero. Even if he is born a prince, he has to earn the right to be a hero.

This earning comes in the form of tests and quests.

If we think about pretty much every movie we have ever seen - there is a hero who starts out looking much like you and me (well maybe not so much like you and me if we are not a white man or boy, but you get the idea - so excited to see the promos for a Wrinkle in Time!), there is a journey, there are some dangers and conflicts so we can muck things up a bit, there is adventure, there are tears and fears, there is joy, finally there is a reward and then the hero returns home (to his family, to his home, to his God), maybe to a hero's welcome.

Sometimes the hero will shirk his duties the first time he is called into service - this often happens and it is often then that he meets some kind of mentor or guide. And of course it is even possible to refuse the call of our Sun totally, in which case it comes back around in a different form, with harder tests and more dragons. Trying to escape the destiny of our Sun during important chart movements and we will likely pay dearly on another level for our refusal to become ourselves.

Sometimes the burden is passed on to our children. And we all carry some unfinished solar business from our ancestors.

Now, our Sun (think movie hero/heroine) starts out with everything it needs to fulfill its journey. It has all the right planets in all the right places for what it needs to do (strengths, weaknesses, upcoming transits representing challenges and opportunities). It has the Moon, which although it can give voice to that part of ourselves that can feel wronged and sorry for itself when we dragged away from our comforts, but can also be depended upon, in times of crisis, because it shows us how to look after ourselves. We have many helpers in our chart that are the energies we carry within us to attract what we need - just what/who/where we need at just the right time.

Now maybe the most important thing to remember about the hero's journey is that although it looks like we are doing what we are doing for ourselves - because the journey is really about becoming who we really are - we are doing this 'becoming' for the collective. The actual thing we are doing though must be pressed into us by some inner necessity - if we do it so other people will be happy, or so other people will love us or because we don't want to rock other people's boats by properly manning our own - we wind up in a whole lot of trouble because we won't be true to ourselves, which is, in a nutshell, what our journey is all about.

Test failed. Quest mucked up. It's tricky and a paradox.

There is a reason the Sun rules the 5th house of our chart - creativity, children, fun, enjoyment, romance - the things that give life meaning! So, the sign our Sun is in, the house our Sun is in, the sign on the cusp of our 5th house, planets in our 5th house, planets talking to the Sun, Leo's placement in our chart - all tell the unfolding story of the hero/heroine within us. The role we are called upon to play.

And just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who had a life before and after her journey through Oz that likely involved milking the cows and walking Toto - we have other aspects of our life, too. Life is not all witches and wizards and yellow brick roads.

But we enact the hero's journey (our Sun story) in many different chapters of our life story - some of them so short they come to completion in a week, some maybe even a day. And as soon as we have made any step forward in consciousness and self-unfolding, another call comes in and we are off again. 

The Sun is progressive - it is never finished with us (until we draw our final breath and it is).

So what does all this have to do with next week's New Moon in Leo, well we'll talk about that in part III.  xo all enjoy the day!

New Moon in Leo | July 23rd - start something new, be careful what you wish for ... part l

dragon daughter by Makusheva

I'm writing this one a little early so heads up.

If you have anything fresh and new in any kind of preliminary "launch" mode

(particularly if related to your Leo natal house theme or the universal Leo themes of creativity, fun, games, romance, children, sport, hobbies, pleasure - that just about covers everything good anyway, right!)

you might want to get a jump on things and get it out there during the waxing (growing) cycle of this fiery New Moon. This would mean sometime between July 23rd and August 7th.

And by "launch" I am not talking about the space shuttle here or a dotcom start-up. ANYTHING you are looking to get started or do in a new way will get a boost from this energy.

This New Moon is at zero degrees Leo and will be the first of two New Moons in Leo this year - the second will be the "Great American" Solar Eclipse of August 21st at 28 degrees Leo. So one New Moon will take us into Leo - and we have the North Node (our collective way forward) in Leo! - and an even bigger one will take us out.

Events intensify as we move forward from this New Moon. 

Zero is the first degree in astrology and connects to the Magician card in the Tarot. This is excellent manifesting energy since anything is possible here so we should be setting our intentions with this in mind. Take this stuff seriously or skip it altogether this month. I'm not kidding. We need to be careful what we are wishing/intending now because we are much more likely to get it.

This New Moon will be conjunct Mars giving it even greater power.

Mars is all instinct, fiery passion and initiative. Mars is that first powerful kick off at the starting line. We don't have to know exactly where we are going with this, we just have to START. So take some action toward what you want during the waxing days of this New Moon. We'll talk about this more as we move through the week. There is also a Venus/Saturn opposition at the time of this New Moon which is not normally such a great aspect, but I think it will help narrow our choices down for us toward what is most stable and this will be a good thing in the long run.

Leo is ruled by the Sun and with the Sun ruling this New Moon - and the North Node of our collective way forward now in Leo also - this is all about following our HEART. Whatever new thing/situation/person/belief/action we choose to work with needs to be something we are excited about, it needs to stir us. It needs to not have any self-sacrifice or victim mentality connected to it. It needs to come with a certain ease. This doesn't mean there won't be work involved, but it can't be only work involved.

With the North Node in Leo now if we really don't want to do something and we do it anyway, it isn't going to work. What we want, what is calling to our heart, is the only thing that will work now. Choices get easier.

So this New Moon is about our Leo natal house and about our Sun (the Sun rules Leo and is the ruler of this New Moon). Where is 0 degrees Leo in your natal chart? Go to astro.com, free horoscopes, natal chart - find it.

This will be a fiery new beginning. xo all

Up next tomorrow - part ll our Sun signs and the road ahead