July 29 - September 14, 2021
Mars in Virgo is a hot iron pressing starched white collars; a hammer driving in a hundred nails; a chef’s knife dicing the mirepoix; a weed eater tidying up a hedgerow; shears cutting through wool; a needle pulling thread. In Virgo, and under Mercury’s microscope, Mars meets the mundane and the mechanical. Bravery and humility combine, and the Masculine tests his strength by the standards of the Maiden.
Under this influence, action becomes analytical. Nervous energy is channeled into tasks and reps. Anger is transformed into workaholism. We may experience a passion for details, a spiciness in the stomach, a compulsion to fix or improve, and (at the most extreme) a drive toward martyrdom, like a drone bee who mates and then dies.
This transit is a green light to get busy. It is motivation to focus on things that require effort or skill. Whatever it is we’re working on in the Virgo-ruled parts of our charts, Mars is coming to light a fire under us to get the job done.
July 27 - August 11, 2021
Mercury in Leo is a bright and shiny penny. It is a prince, a doll, a clown, a cub or a kitten. It is also a hothead. Transit-wise, this is a fast flight, a quick glow-up, for earth’s cadet, who is traveling through Leo for only two weeks. Since stationing direct back in June, he has been following in the footsteps of the Sun, gaining in speed and audacity, and getting closer and closer to the fiery source, like winged Icarus or Phaeton with his chariot. As he scorches through the purifying flames next week, he also steers into the infamous Saturn-Uranus square, and may learn a thing or two about hubris, heedlessness and over-confidence. But under Leo’s aegis, no doubt he will make a graceful recovery, dignity intact, and will continue apace for the next two months, until retrograde time comes again.
As the messenger moves from Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon Mother, into the sign ruled by the Solar King, our minds and mouths, our conversations and opinions, our thoughts, prayers and musings—our mercurial functions, in other words—take on a more outward, direct quality. It’s as if the words written in the privacy of Cancer’s diary now find themselves published in a memoir, or splashed across the headlines. And as transiting temperatures (and tempers) rise, our hearts beat harder and faster, and things may burn to be expressed. We might experience moments of inspiration or revelation, if also bouts of navel gazing. What we say carries a sense of importance. We become curious about ourselves. What is the inner child saying? Who do you look up to, or aspire to be like? What is your inheritance? What is coursing through your blood? And how are you best served to claim your divine right to be your unique and beautiful self?
July 22 - August 22, 2021
In the northern hemisphere currently, the sky is a golden jubilee, full of fanfare, pomp and circumstance, as the Sun regains the throne for its annual time in residence. Our monarch reigns supreme in July and August, the months named for the caesars, progressing above through the sign of the Lion, and below, through the solar plexus chakra—the manipura, or “city of jewels”—and the energetic seat of sovereignty.
To be born under Leo is to heed the soul call to shine brightly in some way, and to pull others into your orbit in the process. The Sun in Leo is a creator, with power, pride and passion that must be understood and managed, and given an outlet for expression.
Leo season this year isn’t all child’s play, however. The Sun, coming off an opposition to Pluto, where he experienced ego death and revelation (“the king is dead, long live the king!”) next encounters the cold, watchful eye of Saturn, reminding him of the weight of tradition and duty that sits upon his shoulders. Meanwhile, in the far corner of Taurus, Uranus whispers seditious, rebellious, exciting thoughts (“break the mold!”, “be true to yourself!”). And to kick off —and cap off—the Sun’s transit, we have two Full Moons in Aquarius, under the rulership of those very same gods.
Themes of ego, freedom of expression, loyalty, individuality and authenticity are par for the course during this time. The Leo-Aquarius axis is, among other things, that of the ruler and the people. So while Leo has us basking in glory and celebrating the finer things, its polarity reminds us that our #bestlife and #bestself are only as good as the folks and fam in our corner, cheering us on and making it all possible.
