The gentleness of the Cancer New Moon last Monday, its own day, and the staring contest of malefics over this past weekend, have given way to Leo season — which commenced yesterday, July 23rd, on a Sunday as it goes.  This entrance of the Sun into Leo casts light upon our Light’s rule of Venus, who entered the Lion’s sign on June 5th and just stationed retrograde on July 22nd, the eve of the Sun emanating to join.  Much to be said about this.

As for malefic eyes locked — Mars in Virgo’s opposition to Saturn in Pisces on Thursday found the pair in a seeping stare whose valence still lingers.  These two planets in any frictional aspect conjure the classical ‘the obstacle in the path becomes the path’ over-parroted stoicism that itself has seeped into the most bro-ish of self-help culture.  But cliches are painful because they can be painfully true — it might simply be a bit more elusive to discern Mars and Saturn’s deadlocked gaze across the mutable yin signs of Virgo and Pisces.

Something in that, leading into Leo season, for me rang of ‘the dream and the details are sometimes at odds’ — like there are arenas of our lives we can end up fussing over that simply don’t have quite as much to do with the central narrative of our love, our magic, our passions, our innermost convictions, and how we wish to be seen…

… all of these last few things being enduring buzzwords of the archetype of Leo, fixed fire sign, center of summer’s held breath in the temperate northern hemisphere.  Yet these details, and their meaningful harmonization with the magic of our will, can also have -everything- to do with the central narratives of our lives.  Whoever coined the term ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’ must have known that Virgo follows Leo.  And no, this is not a Leo ego joke!  There is divinity in every sign, every placement — it’s simply that the crisis of self-expression and being perceived that is so central to Leo, can benefit from the prudence and whittling down that are oft attributes of Virgo.

This confluence of sign placements remind us not to fret over the small details and finer contours of our creation and expansion.  Instead, one might practice allowing these places of attention to serve and hone our greater arcs of expression and becoming.

As for Venus in Leo stationing retrograde on Saturday, some hours before the Sun joined in its home sign… this is a Venus sign that thrives on exchange of light.  It is not some fleeting nectar of attention or drug of validation, but a placement which swells in the bond of exchanging light with another, of recognizing each other’s dignity.

It is important that these few days of the Moon in Libra, like at present, received Venus’ rule as she stationed retrograde; Venus also rules the South Node, newly into Libra, and will rule Mars in Libra during only the last five days of Venus’ long stretch in this sign as it ends come early October.  (Mars departs Virgo for Libra on October 3rd, and Venus wraps four months in Leo on October 8th.)

Our own connection to Venus in Leo, to shining amidst matters of beauty, creation, and harmony in relation… these dynamics may feel a bit more difficult during the star of Aphrodite’s retrograde stretch July 22nd to September 3rd.  But if bonds between people are to strain or break, it will be ever so important to remember: reciprocity of light.  That dance of exchange, and of bearing witness to the other.

Swim well stargazers ~

—A.B.

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