The Sun enters Leo | Jupiter opposes Pluto | Mercury stations Direct
Edited for Leo Season: Figures on the Beach, artist: Auguste Renoir ca. 1890
For the past month, while the Sun has passed through Cancer, your attention has been on your family and the people you care most about. On Wednesday, at 3:13 pm EDT, the Sun enters Leo, and your attention turns outward. Consider spending afternoons at the beach and with people who want to play and laugh out loud. During Leo season, we don’t need a reason beyond being alive to have fun.
Jupiter opposes Pluto on Monday at 10:44 am EDT, both planets at 4 degrees of Leo and Aquarius. This cycle between them began when they met in conjunction three times in 2020. We saw the seed planted at that time of powerful structures under pressure. The cycle began in Capricorn, the sign of ambition and governmental authorities. That cycle has been building ever since. Now, at the opposition, we see what has developed from that beginning; the results are in full view. Yikes. We certainly have a view of how this is playing out in our culture and government.
On a personal note, whatever metaphorical seed you planted (in the house that holds Capricorn in your natal chart) in 2020 is now clearly visible.
Mercury stations direct on Thursday at 6:57 pm EDT, at 16 degrees Cancer. It turned retrograde on July 1st at 26 degrees Cancer. For the past three weeks, you have revisited conversations or decisions you thought you’d already settled. Give it some time; it will spend the next couple of weeks retracing the same ten degrees before it’s fully back up to speed, so treat anything that resolves this week as a first draft rather than a final answer.
Monday, July 20: Moon in Libra | Jupiter Trine Neptune | Jupiter Opposes Pluto
The Moon moves through Libra today, and your emotional needs turn toward balance and fairness in your relationships. When the Moon is in Libra, you want agreements to be based on equality, and you want the people around you to meet you halfway. In practice, this might mean you notice imbalances in friendships or a partnership, something that has been off balance for too long. Libra isn’t looking for conflict but for the scales to be level.
This morning, Jupiter forms a trine aspect to Neptune. This places an easy flow between expansion and imagination. Jupiter wants to grow whatever it touches, while Neptune wants to dissolve the edges of what feels possible. Together, they widen your sense of what you may hope for. Pay attention to a vision or an idea that arrives without effort this morning. It may be more significant than it appears.
Jupiter opposes Pluto this morning as well, at 4 degrees of Leo and Aquarius. This cycle between them began when they met in conjunction three times in 2020. We saw the seed planted at that time of powerful structures under pressure. The cycle began in Capricorn, the sign of ambition and governmental authorities. That cycle has been building ever since. Now, at the opposition, we see what has developed from that beginning; the results are in full view. Yikes. We certainly have a view of how this is playing out in our culture and government, and it is not pretty.
On a personal note, whatever metaphorical seed you planted in the house that holds Capricorn in your natal chart, in 2020, is now clearly visible. Don’t expect this to wrap up quickly. Jupiter and Pluto both move slowly, and an opposition between them holds its shape for weeks, not hours. Today is simply the time when the tension is sharpest and easiest to see.
Go back to 2020. What were you building, or what pressure were you under, in the part of your life that holds Capricorn in your natal chart? Look at where that issue stands today. Some of what you planted has grown; some has wilted or become untenable. This is the week to tell the difference and adjust accordingly.
- What metaphorical seed did you plant, probably under pressure, in 2020 in the house that holds Capricorn?
- Looking at it now, what needs to be adjusted?
- Can you let something beautiful within you grow today, an idea or a vision?
Tuesday, July 21: First Quarter Moon | Jupiter Sextile Uranus | Moon Enters Scorpio
The First Quarter Moon arrives at 7:05 am EDT, with the Libra Moon squaring the Cancer Sun. This is the first test of the cycle that began with the Cancer New Moon on July 14th. A square asks for action. Whatever metaphorical seed you planted around emotional security or care for someone close to you now runs into friction. This likely comes from Libra’s need for fairness pushing against Cancer’s instinct to protect. The tension is not a sign that something has gone wrong. It’s simply part of the cycle that pushes you forward.
At 7:10 am EDT, Jupiter sextiles Uranus, opening a pathway that connects bold self-expression to a sudden idea or a new way of understanding. If an opportunity presents itself today, welcome that opportunity and walk through that door.
At 9:34 am EDT, the Moon leaves Libra and enters Scorpio, and your emotional needs shift from balance to depth. When the Moon is in Scorpio, surface agreement stops being enough. You want to know what’s actually true underneath the pleasant version of events, even if the truth is uncomfortable. The Scorpio Moon gives you the appetite to look past polite compromises and directly ask what the cost of those compromises is.
- What friction is pushing you to take action on something you want to build or create?
- What opportunity do you see presented today?
- What compromise have you made that may cost more than you are willing to pay?
Wednesday, July 22: Sun Enters Leo | Moon in Scorpio
The Sun enters the fixed fire sign of Leo at 3:13 pm EDT. For the past month, as the Sun passed through the cardinal water sign of Cancer, its focus was on caring for and protecting our security and those we love. Now, with the Sun in Leo, our focus turns outward and upward, toward creative passion and playful self-expression. Leo season is a time to take up space and fully own your inner light and beauty. With Jupiter in Leo as well, this is going to be a month of expansive and loud expression. Do not be silenced, own your passion. Find the house that holds Leo in your natal chart. This area of your life is ready to shine.
With the Sun’s ingress into Leo and the Moon in Scorpio, you may feel two currents at once, an outward pull toward visibility and an inward pull toward something deep and hidden. Let both be true. You can want to be seen and still need privacy to work through the powerful currents beneath.
- Where in your life is it time to fully express yourself?
- What are you proud of that you have been holding back on letting others see?
- What would you do differently if you weren’t worried about being too much for others to handle?
Thursday, July 23: Mercury Stations Direct | Moon Enters Sagittarius
At 6:57 pm EDT, Mercury stations direct at 16 degrees Cancer. Mercury turning retrograde on July 1st ushered in a time of retracing old conversations, reworking projects, and clearing up unfinished business. Today, the planet stops its apparent backward motion and begins to move forward again. This doesn’t mean everything clears up right away. Mercury will spend the next couple of weeks retracing the same ten degrees it just covered before it’s fully back up to speed, so give any renewed agreement a little time before you consider the issue settled.
The Moon spends the bulk of today in Scorpio. When the moon is in this fixed water sign, we are not interested in being polite; we want truth, and we are on a mission to uncover anything that has been hidden from our view. At 9:06 pm EDT, the Moon leaves Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, where it will stay for the next three days. More on that tomorrow.
- What conversations from the past three weeks will you need to reconsider in the coming weeks?
- What’s the true version of that conversation, the one hidden beneath the polite version?
- Is there anything you have agreed to in order keep the peace? Are you ready to reconsider?
Friday, July 24: Mercury Sextile Venus | Moon in Sagittarius
At 12:12 pm EDT, Mercury in Cancer sextiles Venus in Virgo. Mercury is only a day past its station and still finding its footing, and Venus in Virgo wants love and care to be shown through specific, useful attention. Together, they open an easy channel between what you feel and what you think. If there’s something sweet you’ve wanted to say but have put off because you weren’t sure you could say it clearly, today gives you better odds than you’ve had in weeks.
The Moon continues through Sagittarius, and its blunt honesty pairs well with the sextile between Mercury and Venus. Sagittarius trusts that honesty delivered with warmth is what is needed, and today’s will back that up.
- What’s the sweet thing you’ve been putting off saying? To whom?
- What’s one honest thing you can say today without softening it too much?
Saturday, July 25: Neptune Sextile Pluto | Moon in Sagittarius
At 1:26 am EDT, Neptune forms a sextile to Pluto. These are very slow-moving, generational planets that work quietly, underneath the noise of daily life. Neptune and Pluto move so slowly that this sextile will return in different forms over the next couple of years as both planets creep forward through their signs. Today marks an early note in a long conversation between imagination and power, between what we’re able to dream and what we’re willing to let go of to make room for it. For most people, this will register as background cultural considerations rather than as personal events.
The Moon spends its final day in Sagittarius before shifting into Capricorn tomorrow. By now, the need for honesty and open space has had time to get your attention. Notice what you’ve said this week that you can’t take back and wouldn’t want to. That’s usually the sign Sagittarius has done its job.
- What quiet shift in how you see power or possibility has been building under the surface?
- What have you finally said out loud this week that you are relieved about?
Sunday, July 26: Moon Enters Capricorn | Saturn Stations Retrograde
At 9:44 am EDT, the Moon enters Capricorn, and your emotional needs shift away from freedom and open exploration and toward integrity and ambition. When the Moon is in Capricorn, you want your efforts to count for something concrete. You need structure and solid ground.
At 3:56 pm EDT, Saturn stations retrograde at 14 degrees Aries. Saturn finally settled into Aries in February, after spending most of 2025 moving in and back out again before committing. This is Saturn’s first retrograde since that commitment. In Aries, Saturn is teaching us about the hard work it takes to develop courage and the willingness to take direct action. For the next four and a half months, we look at where we have been doing this work and see how much deeper it must go. During this time, Saturn is checking the foundation of courage that we are building.
Find the house that holds Aries in your natal chart. That’s the area of your life where Saturn has been helping you develop courage since February. During this retrograde, it will be tested to see if it can hold the weight needed.
- What have you built since February that’s sturdy enough to survive a deeper look?
- Where do you need to reinforce your own courage?
- Where is your foundation being tested right now?
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