The Sun moves into Leo today, July 22nd, at 3:21pm Pacific Time (11:21pm GMT). I’ve talked before about the transition from Cancer to Leo since the Sun is just slightly behind Mercury and Venus in the sky right now, though it won’t catch up to them until after they both go retrograde. The movement from reclusive homebody Cancer back into the social outgoing Leo can be a sudden one, but luckily we already have a good amount of Leo energy shooting down at us to ease the transition. The Sun rules Leo, it is at home in Leo, so it’s pretty happy to move into it’s own sign.

As I talked about in Sun in Cancer, the Sun is all about our self, our ego, our soul and potential. It is one of the three most looked-at aspects of our chart along with the Moon and Ascendant because it helps to form our core selves. If the Moon is our inner core emotional self and our Ascendant is the mask we show to the world the Sun is the mediator between the two, our sense of who we are. This is why “Sun sign” astrology is so popular and can often be right on. The Sun is where we live.

As the Sun transits through the signs it highlights the ruler of the sign it is in, but since the ruler of Leo is the Sun we’re even more focused on ourselves and our ego than normal. The Sun wants us to shine, and the Sun in Leo puts a spotlight on us and trying to encourage us to shine as brightly as possible.

The danger of Leo energy is getting too trapped up in the ego and self. If we remember the nurturing, sharing, and giving lessons we learned about when the Sun was in Cancer we may be able to express ourselves and our ego fully and happily without stepping on other people’s toes. This is the best work of the Sun in Leo, expressing our own self and giving ourselves away while also keeping in mind that other people have the right to express themselves just as we do.

Leo is also a Fixed sign and coming right after the Cardinal Cancer means that all the creative initiation energy of Cancer can be honed in Leo so that we may be able to manifest a new project or activity at this time. This is the time to really get things done, which may be part of why summertime is always the time of projects and activity. Like with all things in Astrology there is a potential downfall here as well, you could get too “fixed” or stuck in a pattern that isn’t as fulfilling.

Overall this is a great place for the Sun as long as we don’t get too stuck or try to outshine others. It’s not about being better than anyone else but being true to yourself and shining as wholly and positively as you can.

This is a broad look at the effects Sun in Leo can have. How you personally will be influenced by the Sun’s transit through Leo will also depend on your birth chart: the sign and placement your Sun is in as well as the house and planet(s) you have in Leo. To find out your own planet and house placements you can cast your own chart for free online. For a personal chart reading I am available for consultations.

Venus (love, art, money) enters Virgo (perfection, logic, analysis) at 4:32am Pacific Time (11:32am GMT) today and will stay there until August 6th, moving out of boisterous energetic Leo and into the contemplative and overanalytical Virgo.

Venus is one of the two benefic planets, along with Jupiter, as it is associated with pleasant things and tends to bring positive influences. However, despite sharing the same first letter Venus is not happy in Virgo, it is in Fall. A planet is in Fall in the sign directly opposite the sign where it is Exalted (Pisces in Venus’ case), it is uncomfortable and has difficulty expressing itself fully. Venus’ desires for self-expression, relationship, and pretty shiny things can clash with Virgo’s need for precision and perfection.

As I’ve mentioned before: each sign a planet encounters tempers and refines the one before it, and Venus in Virgo is no different. Where Venus in Leo was bold and outgoing, preferring to express itself first and ask questions later, Venus in Virgo is the exact opposite, preferring to analyze and interpret before daring to reveal anything too personal about itself. Virgo takes a step back from the over-exaggerated ways of Leo, analyzing our actions during the last thirty degrees so that we may work to realize our motivations before starting to balance and refine them in Libra.

 

Virgo is represented in Tarot by The Hermit card and it’s very possible that Venus in Virgo can encourage introversion, reclusion, introspection and other hermit-like behaviors. All relationships are ruled by Venus, not just romantic ones. Virgo loves to analyze and excel at perfection, at worst this can mean analyzing to the point of anxiety or harsh criticizing of everything. Virgo Venus can inadvertently encourage you to be exceptionally critical of others around you, straining existing relationships and making new ones difficult to form during this time.

On the flip side, if you do not allow Venus to get too nitpicky and overanalytical in Virgo it can be a time of great growth and change. Analysis can lead you to the opportunity to do things better and greater than you did before. This can encourage examination of our values both in and out of relationships, what you are getting out of our current relationships, and our own self-worth.

Venus also rules the material and monetary realm. Virgo helps us recover from the spendthrift ways of Leo, making you more aware of your finances. This could be an excellent time to revamp or start a budget, savings account, or anything which can harness the analytical and precision aspects of Virgo.

While Venus isn’t happy under the Virgo examination microscope and doesn’t enjoy being scrutinized so closely the work done during Venus in Virgo will help you be able to express your own Venus more fully. By keeping in mind the ease of expression that you had in Venus in Leo and making sure your analytical side is kept in check during this month you may be able to grow and learn more about yourself and your relation to others.

This is a broad look at the effects Venus in Virgo can have. How you personally will be influenced by Venus’ transit through Virgo will also depend on your birth chart: the sign and placement Venus is in as well as the house and planet(s) you have in Virgo. To find out your own planet and house placements you can cast your own chart for free online. For a personal chart reading I am also available for consultations.

First image by Delphine Gache.
Tarot cards from The Thoth Deck and Raider Waite decks, respectively.