Today, 22 July 2019, the Sun enters the First Decan of Leo at 10:50 pm local time (eastern daylight, at the latitude of Boston). The First Decan of Leo, which Austin Coppock described as “the Spotlight” in his seminal book, 36 Faces, is sometimes associated with the Five of Wands in the Smith-Rider-Waite Tarot — the young men striving with one another and trying to crack one another on the heads with their staves. The image is sometimes called ‘Strife’ but many identify the image as one of play and practice — more in alignment with Shakespeare’s stage direction, alarums and excursions, indicative of fast movements of people around on the stage, and performative rather than actual violence. That is to say, we’re entering a season in which trouble and drama is likely to be acted out in a very public way, in the spotlight, but it may not mean anywhere near as much as people attribute to it.

It’s important to note that this is NOT a Mundane or Judicial astrology column. I did the chart for Washington DC at the Aries Ingress in 2019 back in March, and it indicated difficulties, opportunities, and challenges which would persist for six months. This is really my first foray into a more personal horoscope column, based on whole-sign rising sign.

The key indicators for today’s column, which covers about the next ten days, are manifold. Let’s begin with the Sun in Leo’s Decan I. We can expect that Strife will be spotlighted and highlighted in people’s lives, although in a performative way rather than as an actual experience for the most part. We can expect that anyone with a little Leo in their chart is likely to experience this strife play out in some fashion. More on that anon.

Mars is also in Leo, in Decan II, named “Victory” and associated with the Tarot’s Six of Wands. The initial heat and hostility of Mars’ time in Leo now manifests as open success. The heat will continue, but it may feel less oppressive, more like the summers of old and less like “the planet is melting or maybe burning.”

The Waning Moon is in Aries. A lot of projects are likely to be supercharged. If you’re fighting with your boss, now would be a good time for some efforts at reconciliation or propitiation.

Jupiter, though retrograde, is in Sagittarius. We’re seeing a Grand Fire Trine start to come together, though the Moon will cycle out of Aries long before the exact conjunction occurs. Still, by sign, there’s some refreshing heat added to your alchemical projects for the next few days.

Mercury (retrograde) and Venus are in Cancer. You’re going to have to get creative with your communications in the next ten days, or nobody will read them or even see them. Be prepared to speak from a more feminine and more emotional standpoint than usual; be a better listener than usual; stand quietly and wait for the message to unfold before responding. You can’t afford to just wait for your turn to speak — listen, and then respond to what was actually said.

These are the indicators. By rising sign, here’s the forecast for the next ten days until the Sun enters Leo II on August 2.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Leo Rising: If the big cat is your rising sign, prepare to have your own internal conflicts exposed, and the tussle between your inner desires and outward presentation to be on display, in the next ten days. You may want the ice cream, but your diet or exercise plan is in the way.It’s a fabulous suit, but it’s the wrong color or cut for you. Resolve these conflicts in favor of what actually is, instead of what you want it to be: don’t buy the clothes for the body you want, but for the body you have. Jupiter in Sagittarius will want your work-projects to expand all over the place — try to keep the end goal in mind, though, and shoot for the target deadline instead of letting your business sprawl. The Moon in your 10th house of Aries means that you’ll want to take difficult matters over your boss’s head to their superior, but a more conciliatory position may be warranted: don’t butt too many heads, and remember it’s sheep-shearing season, not mating season: divest yourself of extra layers of responsibility to cool down and avoid conflict. At the same time, recognize that your ‘star is rising’ at work, and be a little choosy about what you take on. Your romantic life is likely to be limited, constrained and potentially toxic right now, though. Set some good boundaries, and process as best you can.

Virgo Rising: You’re likely experiencing some significant tensions between the expectations of your friends and larger community, who expect you to be creative and communicative right now, and the Sun spotlighting a need for solitude and personal reflection; that’s the place where the strife of the present moment is manifesting. Your significant other is making waves and there’s likely some tsunamis in your relationship right now— but there’s also old business that you need to resolve, and old creative projects in need of your attention. The relationship waves are going to continue to rock the boat for a while; do your best to resolve them, but focus the spotlight on your own internal changes before you step onto the stage for your turn in the Sun.

Libra Rising: You may be surprisingly down on yourself right now. Your partner is out there, getting what they want, taking heads and taking names; they’re on the rise. Meanwhile, you’re experiencing a heavy lead of old work that needs re-working, and you’re having to rebalance your schedule in creative ways. More is being expected of you than usual, and your home life is suffering from the additional demands on your energy and skill at work, and your skill at assembling new ways of seeing the same old drag. You’ll find some relief, if you expand your forays into your neighborhood, and reach out to both kith and immediate kin; there’s a pleasant jollity in trying a new restaurant or bar with people you like. An upset in someone else’s life may bring some kind of financial gain; or you may experience some difficulties as others call what’s yours, “mine”.

Scorpio Rising: Your career and public life may get burned in the next ten days, or possibly a little cut-up, with so much light and heat shining on your very public stage. Keep your frustrations in check, and channel any energy and drive into distinct projects with a clear beginning, middle and end. At the same time, be aware that steam heat is often invisible — if you’re getting a lot of publicity and attention, that may not be a good thing. You may have started a financial-security project a while back, and then left it on the back-burner, too. Now would be a good time to revisit it, and finish what you began. Your own neighborhood is starting to feel a little tight, a little too poisonous; and there may be eruptions of nastiness in your siblings and cousins. Stay clear and try not to join the strife too much… accept the limitations of your neighborhood, though. It’s not a good time to move house, though it may be a good time to dissolve the boundaries around your hobbies and personal pleasures — you enjoy a lot more things than you think you do. Your romantic partner may be looking to upend the traditional bounds of your relationship, as well; go slowly in this arena. A bedroom cleanup is much needed at this time.

Sagittarius rising: Money troubles‚ and making do with less, are on the horizon; so are toxic messages about not having enough. Save for a rainy day, be content with what you have, but recognize that the existing economic and financial climate is messy and somewhat venomous. Don’t be taken in by too many of the wrong messages about wealth. Home is likely shaken by recent events, and if your parents are still living they may be in some turmoil or confusion. The shape of your work life probably seems out-of-bounds at the moment, or at least without boundaries. You’re likely getting very mixed messages from clients, family members, and others who owe you money — love and desire to help are very public, and inability to help or to pay on time is the reality. You may be getting more right now, but it’s not managed well. You’re feeling conflicted about travel and learning, too — you need to know more, and get out more … and you don’t really want to be away or too deep in the books at the moment. Sit with that conflict in the next ten days.

Capricorn rising: If you ever felt like there was going to be a time to embrace your Goth side… this is probably it. The cyber-goth look, like you’re dressed for chemical warfare, or at least biotoxins, is the most extreme version of this, but it will suit you now like never before. Your romantic partner may be weirded out by this phase, and tell you so… but if you enlist their assistance, their creative juices will assist in surprising ways. There’s a nebulous relationship to your wider community in this new look, which can bend just as easily toward a DIY punk sensibility toward back-yard gardening or orcharding here: certainly you may find yourself thinking about substantial renovations and revisions at home, which keep rising in your mind. The performative strife is going to rise in the wrangle between what’s yours, what’s theirs, and what’s ours: It’s ok to sit in that struggle and seek a rough agreement in public, and then sort the details privately. Accept that it may not resolve immediately.

Aquarius rising: That performative strife is likely to manifest as a desire in your romantic or business partner to perform in a very public way… and you don’t want them to. Before or after the fact, their performance is likely going to indicate some conflict and challenge. Try not to impose too many limitations, and recognize that your own goals are nominally aligned more with solitude and reflection at the moment, but that your solitude doesn’t require everyone else to be lonely. At work, you’re deep in an old project that suddenly needs updating, and you’re having to be creative in ways that are emotionally difficult or confusing. Try to recognize the payoff in this work, and search for the financial windfall that comes out of it. Some old friends return to your life.

Pisces rising: You’re likely a little unclear on what your boundaries are these days, or the ways in which you should act in the world. People keep telling you to return to your center, so there’s a reflection on your past history… and you keep finding that you have no obvious center. There’s so much you want to go and do right now, and uitfeels like you have dwindling resources to claim it: the next ten days may see a surprise financial windfall, but “next paycheck’ is more likely. Resuscitating an old dream, or assembling some of your female friends for a night out, or attending a concert of music that used to move you, may bring unexpected pleasure. Think minimalist: it doesn’t have to be extravagant to be special. Where conflict arises, it’s likely to be in matters of personal health or in daily work — keeping to the shade, and trying not to burn the midnight oil, is likely to be beneficial. Don’t steel yourself for trouble; remain flexible and try not to get hot under the collar.

Aries rising: A reconciliation with ‘the big boss’ is warranted, especially since you’re likely feeling a strong pull toward home right now, where your big dreams are coming to fruition; and work likely feels like a toxic prison right now. All this deep and heartfelt communication is happening at home; and in public or at work it’s hard to get anything done due to new regulations or new procedures, and someone is unburying all the ‘bad stuff’ from the last regime. Your partner is trying to remain balanced, but likely there are several arguments that you’re just itching to have, right now— stuff that’s harmed you in the past, and now the wounds are burning, impelling you to action. It’s hard to hold healthy boundaries right now, so take the time to research your position thoroughly and expand your knowledge, while remaining open and generous and forgiving.

Taurus rising: Who you are and how you present to the world is going through some slow but serious changes. Keep moving with those changes, and you’ll see results — keep at the fitness regimen if you started one, and don’t be discouraged. Changing your wardrobe? Great. Fussing with your identity, or even with the food in your pantry? Great. Accept that a high-quality change is going to take a while, and keep experimenting; don’t expect that you’re going to be ‘fixed’ in any sense of the word in the next ten days. Justkeep working on the long-term trend. The current strife is likely to hit you at home, where the spotlight shines on a hotspot in how you live, or in how your parents see you; gather your siblings and unpack some of that old baggage and those old memories as needed, no more than necessary. Some travel plans get canceled, or education plans seem out of reach right now.

Gemini rising: Some old bills and expenses may gut-punch you in the next ten days. Try to be dispassionate and creative about solving any financial difficulties; don’t expect a windfall, but if one comes, use it on your own creative and loving goals rather than just a mechanism to get out of debt. Your neighborhood may feel like a war zone right now, with a lot of hotheads stirring up trouble. Your romantic partner(s) return to old haunts and reminisces, but hope to be reined in from such expansive dreams. Inheritances, and the problems of managing the resources of others, becomes both burdensome and venomous — no one believes you’re doing it as well as you should. Work seems at a high-tide moment, overflowing the seawalls and boundaries; you may have a revolutionary insight into your own character… assuming you can find a day to yourself in an otherwise-busy week.

Cancer rising: You’re likely unusually talkative and creative these days, as you unpack old habits and plans and deal with their emotional outfalls. Trouble and anxiety manifest around money issues, as the Sun highlights weaknesses in your income stream just as Mars burns some of your resources and cuts into your expenses. Work is highlighted with an easy project that has forgiving deadlines; but romance and partner take center stage with a double-dare of difficulty and duty with a side helping of snipe and gripe. This too shall pass, but communicate through nostalgia and love that your self is still in touch with their core mysteries and strangeness: retell your shared mythology in the way that you want the relationship to continue. A close study of how to placate your boss is warranted, as well as the way to avoid the twin fires of burn-out and fireable offenses. A revolutionary approach to restructuring your workplace may occur to you — it may be worth sharing.