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Is it me or does this summer feel like threading a needle in a war zone? One by one the feelings pile up, and we’re over here trying to focus on them, but the news and relapse and evil people and why is my family/that friend/that person like this… All the while, maybe there’s a part of us that knows it shouldn’t be this hot/hard to live/violent right now… but it still is. Some of us are battle-worn and bone-tired. Some of us are listening to and advocating for, those that are.

Stepping into Leo season like…

The Leo lion is pretty iconic. Almost everyone knows the symbol and its regal-ness. The lion’s mane is the Leo’s mane, and this sign is associated with big style, presence, and sense of self and sovereignty. Loyalty, leadership, generosity, these are hallmarks of this sign. Leo is ruled by the Sun, the planet we look to for the sense of “self,” and is the natural sign of the fifth house, the house of identity and self-expression.

Conversely, the sign opposite Leo is Aquarius…

Aquarius’s traditional ruler is Saturn and is the natural sign of the eleventh house. When the astrological climate affects Leo, it also affects Aquarius. When the climate affects the fifth house, it also affects the eleventh. Leo shows us who we are and how we engage our selves and Aquarius shows us how we engage the collective. Leo and Aquarius are both fixed modalities. They represent the most stable bits of each of their elements, fixed fire, and fixed air, respectively. 

We talked a bit last month about how eclipses that affect a sign will affect other signs that share a modality. If you’re anything like me, having activity in multiple fixed signs, you were more likely to notice the eclipse in Aquarius on July 27th than the previous one in Cancer on the 13th. And fixed signs get a double dose of extra potent eclipses with another happening in the sign of Leo coming up in August. “Hold onto your butts…” indeed.

If you missed the last month in this astrological series, I shared an Eclipse Checklist to help you figure out if/how eclipses might affect you. As usual, Ultimate clients can expect a walk-through of this checklist for the next eclipse in your next Astroclimate. Wondering when I’m opening the next round of Ultimates? For members, in August. And then again for the public further into fall.

We keep talking about retrogrades because they’re still ongoing; planets looking reversed and direct all over the place.

A changing of the retrograde guard continues…

I want you to note something about this chart. I’m awful at charts so you gotta watch me. I’m not showing you three planets that are retrograde; I’m showing you seven. I just highlight the three that are transitioning in the next few weeks. The fastest planets have the most impact in our day to day life anyway so it isn’t as bizarre as it might seem to focus in on certain planets.

(Is it just me or does it seem like Pluto and Uranus retrograde at the same time might mean some kinda tectonic catastrophe? I’m mostly kidding these planets will probably do this again next year.)

If you’re wondering where to focus your attention throughout all this, I’m right there with you. On my end, I’m noticing more energy than usual and I’m flirting with burnout. Aquarius is home to my 6th and 7th houses so it’s fitting that I’m looking at my habits, especially self-care and socializing.

The last time we saw eclipse energy within 10 degrees of 4 degrees Aquarius was in 2009. On Jan 26th there was a solar eclipse at 6 degrees and then Aug 6th at 13 degrees there was a lunar eclipse. Where were you for these? How does that time relate to what’s happening right now? Nothing will get you a clearer sense of what this eclipse means for you than what a similar eclipse meant for you.

I have a thing for staying a little bit ahead of the game. If I’m going to be insomniac, emo af, scared, or overwhelmed, I start those before eclipses, and since I’m always trying to reflect on my inner landscape, I pay almost no mind to retrogrades in my personal life. The one thing I do have my eye on later in the month is the next grand trine.

Grand Earth Trine with Uranus, Saturn, and the Sun

Do you remember talking about grand trines in the past? If not, head over to that post and cross-reference that grand water trine with your journal or calendar. Where were you June 18th? At the time Neptune, Jupiter, and Mercury were linking up in the water signs. Anything interesting happen? Anything confusing, clarifying, or spiritual??

The interesting thing about grand trines is since they touch all the signs of one element, that means they touch all of the modalities. Unlike an eclipse which focuses on a single modality, these trines have a little something for all of us. 

This trine touches the earth signs, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, especially Virgo. (Wow Virgo wow!) This trine involves the Sun, Uranus, and Saturn. Then Mercury gets in on this trine stretching the whole thing out over the course of a few weeks.

Ok, Siobhan, but what does that mean?

Well.

We are about halfway between whatever message Mars retrograde in Aquarius had for us until it goes direct again on August 27th. Whatever pissed off or emboldened us, whatever challenges we face or stand to face regulating our energy and survival instincts, we stand to mellow out this season. Maybe you’ve been feeling depressed? Maybe a dark mood will lessen its hold on you in the coming weeks.

Chaos seems to be a theme with the eclipse on the 27th of July and continues being a theme spurred on by Uranus transits. Chaos is one of those words we don’t want to hear most of the time. Where can you welcome the universe and its chaos? Where do you make friends with the unknown? In the kitchen? In the bedroom? In your fitness? It hasn’t been a great time to start new things or make decisions for a long time, but that tide is changing. Now’s the time keep it weird, fresh, and whimsical.

Especially since we’ll be supported by that grand earth trine. Trines always can be friendly, but for this one, in particular, it feels like most of us need to make friends with the earth right now. Sun trine Uranus is the stroke of genius and daring we’ve worked toward. It’s the cosmic vision, the intuitive hit; it’s you crashing that networking event and killing it. Sun trine Saturn is the walk down the aisle on graduation, the proud gaze of a mentor, the invite to go to that thing because you’ve been working so hard.

The trine is practical movement when there hasn’t been movement for a good long while. And it’s not the only trine we’ll see. I’m already looking forward to it. I’m just hoping we can appease Uranus and Pluto, the deities of chaos and destruction without any more actual chaos and destruction, especially of the societal type. I won’t hold my breath though.

And now for a “Leo” theme song.
Be warned; there’s cussing in this video…