Monthly Astro Forecast: New Moon in Leo

July 23rd brings a New Moon at 0° Leo, the prelude to the August eclipse season. The Sun and Moon are in the eleventh house, the realm of peers and community, and conjunct feisty Mars. Mars adds a boost of energy to this new beginning, but may also add aggression and conflict if we're not careful. Whilst Mars in Leo asks us to assert our creative needs and put our energy into expressing our unique identity, the new moon in the eleventh house (in the chart set for London, UK) asks how we are contributing to the collective. This is an especially good new moon for setting intentions around activism, and using our individual talents to contribute to collective change. It's a good time to pick our cause, the injustice that makes us most angry (let's face it, there are plenty to choose from), and commit to taking action, to using the energy of our anger towards positive change.

Leo is passionate and fiery, full of creative plans and a unique vision. Luckily Mercury will keep us grounded over the next few weeks, moving into his home sign of Virgo on July 26. Mercury in Virgo takes a careful approach, going over Leo's grandiose ideas with the proverbial fine tooth comb to see if they will actually work. It may be down to earth with a bump for enthusiastic Leo, especially when Mercury goes retrograde on August 13 (staying that way, apparently moving backwards through the heavens, until 5 September). Then the impulse to focus on every little detail may become overwhelming. Revising is good, but Virgo's urge towards perfection might make it difficult for us to actually finish anything during this time. We revise and rethink and re-do, and are never quite able to let go and release our creations into the world. But the Sun and Mars are still powering through Leo, and they give us the added push to act rather than keep planning.

Venus is active during this lunation, making some challenging aspects to the outer planets as she moves from changeable Gemini into emotional Cancer. Venus opposite Saturn on July 24 might bring an urge to commit to a relationship more deeply, or we might find ourselves weighed down by duty when we just want to have fun with friends. A square to Chiron on 30 July might awaken old patterns in how we relate to others, bringing the chance for healing if we bring our deeper awareness into play. The following day Venus moves into watery Cancer, an affectionate and sensitive placement. We may be more affected than usual by the moods of our loved ones, and the urge to find our tribe, the friends or family we feel closest to, will be high on our priority list. Venus remains in Cancer for four weeks, a good time to catch up with old friends and spend time with those who share our values. August 15th might bring a confrontation with our shadow, especially if we are feeling insecure, as Venus opposes transformational Pluto. This is a period for focusing on self care and learning to be kind to ourselves, even the parts of ourselves we may not like so much. Luckily, a couple of days later Venus makes a square to Jupiter in Libra. Libra is one of two signs ruled by Venus, so a Venus double whammy means that our connections to others will be highlighted, and also the ideals that we live by. Its a fortunate combination, so a good day for business deals and celebrations.

The full moon this lunation brings a lunar eclipse at 15° Aquarius on August 7th, with a solar eclipse coming at the next new moon. Lunar eclipses show an energy reaching its peak, and if you have strong Aquarius or Leo energy in your chart, its worth looking back to see what was coming into being at the last eclipse season in February this year. For me its the renovations on our house, which started soon after the last eclipse season and are due to finish in the next week or two. Having restricted space (Aquarius) to live and work in has given me some, well, "interesting" insights into my ability to express myself and feel comfortable and "at home" (I have natal Moon in Leo). A lunar eclipse tends to highlight our relationships, our connection to the "other", and the Aquarius moon of this eclipse gives us a chance to analyse these connections objectively, to see where we are projecting parts of ourselves away. The eclipse chart highlights some outer planet connections which are exact around this time, especially expansive Jupiter square intense Pluto. With the eclipse chart set for London, UK (where I am writing from), Pluto in Capricorn is conjunct the Ascendant, so that we see this eclipse energy through a lens of an intense drive for power, an urge to protect the establishment at all costs - or to transform it radically. Jupiter square Pluto brings the ability to work hard and be successful, but at what cost? Relationships can suffer if we focus all our energy on personal ambition, especially if we are driven by deep but hidden insecurities. Uranus also makes a challenging, although less powerful, aspect to  Neptune, bringing a clash between truth and illusion. Personally or collectively, we may be forced to confront our illusions at this eclipse, to question the stories we live by and the level of truth they hold. On August 3rd, a few days before the eclipse, Uranus goes retrograde in fiery Aries. However conventional we seem on the surface, inwardly we are working out how to be true to ourselves and what needs to change. 15° Aquarius is astrological Lammas, a week after the more conventional date of August 1st. The lunar eclipse and the festival of first harvest give us a chance to review our year so far, to look at what needs to be released to make space for the seed point of the New Moon and solar eclipse on August 21st.