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The Day of Original Style: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 1
The Day of Original Style | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

Think of shaping who you are as an ongoing experimental process. As the map of the sky is constantly shifting, so you are continually becoming and renewing from moment to moment. You will only stagnate if you are determined to. That means ultimately you have the power to choose who you want to be, and to alter course as necessary to get there, which is an amazing gift. Therefore, don’t surround yourself with imaginary walls. Keep your evolution moving and your ideas along with it.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

Mercury stationed direct last night, but it will take a few days to sort itself out (and another couple of weeks before it clears where it was retrograde). This also means it’ll stay in contact with Eris in Aries and Haumea in Libra for a bit longer, so the message to ‘get real’ stays valid for a while. (Well, really, that message is always valid, but it’s being emphasized in a particular way currently.) How’s your sense of humor doing this week? Continue keeping it handy, as things could still be a little glitchy for the next several days.

Also, what has newly come to your attention as of yesterday or today? Was it something someone said to you, something you intuited or discovered about a situation, or a realization you came to about yourself? How does it change the circumstances, or your view of things — or do you find yourself trying to ignore it or rationalize it away? There may be a particular opportunity to cross a threshold now in how you express yourself, though it will take a deliberate step in that direction.

You may feel like this requires courage; yet really, it’s just a matter of actively being who you are. Shouldn’t it take more courage to be who you are not? And yet that is the choice so many of us make every day, to some degree.

Venus in Leo square Uranus in Taurus (exact tomorrow) describes an urge to spice things up, especially in relationships or with those you’re ‘friendly’ with. Just remember there’s often a fine line between playful, flirtatious provocation and picking a fight. As with beauty, this distinction may lie in the eye of the beholder — i.e., not the person instigating things — and Mercury’s condition describes the potential for continued mixed signals. Here is your mantra: try something new, play a little, keep your sense of humor, be real and if something feels ‘off’ or upsetting, for Pete’s sake gently ask for clarification.
— by Amanda Painter


COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

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Photo by Amanda Painter.

Three Leo Aspects and Mercury Direct in Cancer

By Amanda Painter

Mercury stationed direct last night in late Cancer, just after the Leo New Moon. It will take a few days for Mercury to sort itself out, though, and it’ll be another couple of weeks before it clears where it was retrograde. So your patience and sense of humor could still be handy companions for a while yet.

Frisbee players and a wee onlooker at Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Three Frisbee players and a wee onlooker at Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Partly this is because Mercury will stay in the same degree where it stationed for a few days — it takes a while to get back up to its typical apparent speed — which means it’s in extended contact with Eris in Aries and Haumea in Libra, forming a T-square.

Another factor in the overall astrological environment is a square between Venus in Leo and Uranus in Taurus, exact tomorrow, and a couple of other Leo aspects. I’ll get to those in a moment.

For now, has anything of particular interest emerged for you yesterday or today? As in, did you discover or realize something about yourself, or did someone tell you a key piece of new information, or did your intuition about a situation get confirmed or contradicted?

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The Day Of the Tangible Presence: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is July 30
The Day of the Tangible Presence | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

You are making discoveries about yourself — feelings, desires, inclinations that you might previously have set aside or not been fully aware of. Recent events or sudden changes may have precipitated these revelations, though they are no less genuine for that. Often we learn about ourselves through our reactions to external movements. It would be advisable to avoid any kind of self-judgment during this process; hold space for yourself and allow your understanding to develop without restriction.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

Just one more day after today, and then Mercury stations direct in late Cancer (overnight Wednesday into Thursday). How much patience, humor and resilience can you bring to your day, no matter what goes wrong or gets delayed or misunderstood? What do you need to say to someone — and if you’re holding back, why is that? What do you need to admit to yourself? And how are you feeling about it all?

Note that Mars is in a conjunction to the asteroid Juno in Leo, and together they are squaring the asteroid Vesta in Taurus. This could describe some kind of frustration or jealousy in a relationship (particularly sexual) — as well as the potential to work too aggressively to get intimate needs met, or to push past or downplay them to soothe a bruised ego. Any feelings of powerlessness in such a situation could likely exacerbate things, which emphasizes the importance of ’emotional intelligence’ as described by Mercury in Cancer.

That is, the more you are able to see and articulate your feelings and thoughts honestly to yourself, the easier it may be to share them with those close to you without undue force. Neptune in Pisces is also aspecting Mars, Juno and Vesta. It appears to offer the creativity needed to hold space for expressing these feelings with steadiness, empathy and maybe even some higher-vibe vision. Just be aware that this could take continual small adjustments as hopes and expectations are revealed for what they are: an ideal, but not reality. We human beings disappoint each other all the time; but in dealing squarely with ‘what is’, sometimes we open the way wider for what could be.
— by Amanda Painter


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The Day of the Winner: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is July 28
The Day of the Winner | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

If certain friendships or associations are giving you pause, one method of obtaining clarity is to consider the net effect on you as a person. This doesn’t simply mean whether or not you’re happier — though that is an important factor. It’s also: are the people in question helping or hindering your progress toward self-actualization? Do you bring out the best in one another? Do you challenge one another, or stay firmly in your comfort zone? Considering these points will probably offer useful clues.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

You know that old Cheap Trick song that goes, “I want you to want me / I need you to need me”? There’s a particular aspect pattern currently that appears to describe desires like these (Mars conjunct Juno in Leo, square Vesta in Taurus). Yet it also speaks of the ability to recognize and claim fully all that you truly possess already. In other words, you don’t need someone else’s life force to warm you when you’ve tended your own flame persistently.

That said, it can sure feel nice to bask in another’s warmth; the difference here seems to come down to that idea of ‘need’. Is it a genuine need, or is it about trying to sooth a wounded ego? Can you offer to someone else what you desire and need, with no expectation of reciprocation, as an exercise in showing yourself that you have it in you after all?

For immediate attention: Mercury is entering its ‘storm’ phase prior to stationing direct Wednesday night into Thursday. This is your reminder to be on high alert — which really means extra patience with disruptions and the apparent miscommunications or flakiness of others. Come to think of it, you may be wise to extend that same patience to yourself. It takes two to tango, as they say; but it only takes one of those dancers spacing out for a moment to trip up the whole dance for all involved.

Learning to recover gracefully is all part of the process — as is being as honest as possible with yourself (and those close to you) if you need to stop the dance, change the steps, try a different song, and so on. The more proactive you can be with such changes in your routines, the easier it should be to make discoveries that open up into new, exciting options. The most important thing you can do, if you’re feeling restless, is to be conscious about figuring out what you need to do to free and channel that energy. Trying to stuff and ignore such urges could lead to accidents — but it doesn’t have to.
— by Amanda Painter


COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

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The Day of the Symbolic Herald: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is July 26
The Day of the Symbolic Herald | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

You can accomplish big strides toward a particular goal this year if you connect with your passion and use it as fuel. As a fixed-sign native, you know how to keep the hearth burning for a long time. Working actively with your imagination and thinking laterally will very likely help you focus your attention where it’s needed. As you make progress, you may well find also that some deep emotional healing is taking place. Be sure to give this quest a priority space in your schedule.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

Have you checked your jealousy meter lately? This might be a good time to take a reading; not only are the asteroid Juno (often a symbol of jealousy) and Mars moving in a conjunction in Leo, but they’re also opposite the asteroid Psyche in Aquarius. One way to read this relates to whether you feel like you’re getting adequate attention, recognition or inclusion by a particular group — especially if it seems like a recurring issue. Yet is the problem truly a lack of inclusion? Or is a sense of never being able to heal the feelings brought up by situations like this the thing that the universe is trying to point out? (Hint: if you are noticing that sensation, chances are it can be healed.)

Retrograde Mercury is also in an interesting position: conjunct the centaur Cyllarus in Cancer, and square Eros and Haumea in Libra. There seems to be something here about reviewing, re-living or re-feeling mental and emotional energy that might seem like it was wasted on something or someone; yet, at the same time, there’s a need to tap into and share one’s life force, creative energy or erotic energy, specifically in the process of generating new ‘life’ in some form.

Do those two sides of the equation balance each other, or do you feel torn inside? Is it feasible for you to lean into one side of the equation fully enough that it brings you to a new understanding of the other side? Squares are about energy needing to be expressed; with Mercury being the planet of communication, where do you feel tension regarding speaking to someone? What is it you need to say? True, more insight may arrive when Mercury stations on the 31st, but that does not mean you cannot use this time to move toward a clearer position. If taking this kind of action feels out of the norm for you, that could work particularly in your favor now.
— by Amanda Painter


COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

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The Day of Uncertainty Resolvers: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is July 23
The Day of Uncertainty Resolvers | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

Keep your mind turned toward the wide and open horizon of your ideal visions. Some may find this freedom of thought disconcerting, and try to confine you within convenient boundaries. Yet your power lies in this capacity you possess for bold exploration, and the ability to see what’s real, without the filters of social or authoritarian pressure. Don’t let anyone, especially you, box you in. You’re beginning to understand just how far your mind can fly.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

The Sun entered the sign Leo overnight, signaling the core of the Northern Hemisphere summer. Leo is ruled by the Sun, offering an important reminder that just as solar light and power can create and warm life or damage and destroy it, so can our own light and power. What makes the difference is whether your heart or your ego is directing those forces.

Venus passes through last week’s eclipse degree via Cancer today, ringing the bells of Haumea in Libra and Eris in Aries. Given the recent contact Venus just had with Pluto (and the centaur Chariklo), you may want to keep tabs on how your emotions — particularly feelings of love, sexual desire, a need for attention or to feel ‘helpful’ — are influencing your choices. If you notice a need to be needed by someone, what’s that really about? Holding space for someone in a helpful or healing capacity ideally is not about what you will get out of the experience.

That agenda is something else, and probably signals that it’s time for a frank heart-to-heart with yourself about what you might be projecting onto a situation that you could (and probably should) be finding and recognizing within yourself. You appear to have a choice right now: birthing new ways of relating that are well-balanced, even if they seem to come from unusual places; or resorting to game-playing — however subtle and seemingly innocuous — to get the emotional response you crave. The Leo Sun’s trine to Ceres in Sagittarius reinforces the abundance of nourishment available to your heart and soul right now. All you need to do is let it shine in.
— by Amanda Painter


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The Day of Tragicomic Controversy: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is July 21
The Day of Tragicomic Controversy | Order Your 2019-20 Cancer Reading | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

It would seem you’re becoming better aligned with yourself, perhaps more closely than ever before. Your mind is opening to wider dimensions, which previously would have been beyond the confines of your knowledge. You are discovering exciting new concepts and ways of being. Keep track of your progress, and record everything, including dreams if you remember them. So long as you’re willing to dare, you can make this year an inspiring and profound adventure.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

You might feel especially talkative today, but are you saying what you mean to say? Are you being heard and understood? What’s actually coming out of your mouth, and where is your mind? It’s also possible that you’re feeling a little more thoughtful today — but mainly about yourself and how other matters relate to you.

This could make communication a little one-sided, unless you and the person you’re speaking to (or texting, or emailing) make a conscious effort to comprehend what each other is saying. Bear in mind that with the sign Cancer prominent now, “understanding” will mean not just getting the facts straight, but also perceiving the emotional tone and intention being used.

All of this relates to the conjunction between the Sun and retrograde Mercury today in Cancer (exact at 8:34 am EDT / 12:33:51 UTC). This marks the astrological midpoint of Mercury’s current retrograde. Traditionally, this is supposed to be a decent time to finalize a deal or purchase or sign documents if you absolutely cannot wait a couple more weeks to do it. You’ll still need to triple-check the details, however; and be prepared to make adjustments later on. Today also marks Venus in Cancer exactly opposite Pluto in Capricorn. You can read a little more about that here, and also in yesterday’s Written in the Planets. If relationship stuff is feeling powerfully influential, this aspect would describe that.
— by Amanda Painter


COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

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Where We Are Now

By Amanda Painter

Tuesday evening the second of this season’s two eclipses came and went with the Capricorn Full Moon. On an immediate, practical level, I noticed this event arrived in a way that highlighted or seemed to exacerbate situations with a distinctly Mercury retrograde flavor. I’ve heard from a number of people in the last several days who’ve been wondering why they’ve felt a little ‘off’, down, thwarted or disempowered, and so on.

Seaweed pointing the way; photo by Amanda Painter.

Seaweed pointing the way; photo by Amanda Painter.

Does any of that describe your experience at all?

Collectively, we’ve been through a lot this year; Mars moving through Cancer and igniting a couple different aspect patterns — and the global events illustrating that astrology — was followed immediately by Mercury stationing retrograde. Add in these eclipses, and it has been a lot to handle.

Yet any astrology, no matter what in your life it describes or coincides with, is a reminder to notice consciously and integrate what you’re learning — particularly about yourself, but also about the people around you, your relationships with them, and your overall environment. So, regarding the last two weeks and the two eclipses bookending that span of time: what did you learn?

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