The Sun enters Leo I on 22 July at 3:45 am EDT — and remains until 1 August 2024 at 2:53 pm EDT, a period of ten days, eleven hours, and eight minutes. Austin Coppock called this decan The Spotlight since it was so often associated with experts and thought-leaders and high quality performers. T. Susan Chang called it Under Pressure. Both of these are great titles to associate with the decan that matches the Five of Wands in Tarot — a card that shows a group of youths battling it out with sticks, whacking away at one another but without result, rather like a group of enthusiastic academics fighting over inconsequential details, or theologians contending without clarity of aim.
I’ve written before about Leo I, in the last five years: 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 •. The dodekatemoiria, or twelfth-parts, associated with Leo I are Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio — the expert who has some grand insight, is forced to add deeper analysis and additional balance to their argument, and finally finds that it’s best to keep their understanding to themselves rather than share it with others; as intense as the initial awareness may be, there are still things that must remain secret. or revealed only to the properly initiated.
The Alexandrians appear to have acknowledged Hephaestus at this time — the forge god, the master artisan at his anvil and bellows, the tinkering builder of robots and automata, and the crafter of the jewels of Aphrodite. This is how he’s usually known, of course, from mythic sources. Yet in more religious texts, he’s the teacher of nymphs — and in the more vague lands of unverified personal insight, I consider him the crafter of first-order tools, that is, tools that make tools, as opposed to the second-order tools, which are the tools that make things. But the line between first and second order tools is fuzzy: knitting needles are second order tools, of course; but is the dowel plate that makes the dowels that get sharpened into knitting needles, a second order tool or a first order tool? What about the hammer and the spike that cut the holes into the dowel plate? What about the furnace that heats the metal so it can be made into the anvil and the hammer? What about the tools that shape the hammer handle from wood? Where does the line really lie between first and second order tools?
Perhaps it lies in the mind of the artisan. As a beginning woodworker, I found that it wasn’t so easy to distinguish the line between first and second order tools, as I made my workbench, and then a tool tote, and then a chest to store my tools, and then a bodger’s bench for working with green wood for spoons and ladles. It’s easier to distinguish my sewing machine or knitting needles from the tool and die systems that produced them, but harder to quantify the work of the carpenter who made my drop spindle that produces the thread that fills the loom or loads the bobbin of my sewing machine. Is thread a tool, or a thing?
Either way, Hephaestus invites us to the craft table, to the carpenter’s workbench, to the jeweler’s desk, to the loom, to the forge. Make Making a priority in the next ten days, instead of duking it out in a series of online chat-rooms over inconsequentials. Let creation be an essential part of your labors, and do, rather than simply contend.
Saturn is the planetary ruler of Leo I who carries on that spirit of solitary dedication. In the Descending Chaldean Order, Saturn represents what the Renaissance scholar Marsilio Ficino called “one who dedicates themselves unremittingly, to the very end of study, to penetrate all the highest and most secret things.” By Triplicities, the ruler of Leo I is the Sun himself, and treating the two of them as a combination — Saturn dedicated to the mastery of any form of artisanship, and the Sun shining with all of the intermediate excellence that emerges from such a dedicated practice, speaks to the nature of Leo I: be excellent in all your doings these next ten days; no one will do it for you.
Planetary Gender
I’ve been rereading Julius Firmicus Maturnus’ Mathesis, a mid-4th century Latin text on astrology, and I’ve come to the conclusion that while Sect (day/night) is a binary condition in charts, Gender is supposed to not be a binary. Why go to so much trouble to identify whether a planet is masculine or feminine, why a sign is masculine or feminine, why a quadrant is masculine or feminine, why a house is masculine or feminine, if you’re not going to use these placements to adjust your assumptions about how a planet is placed? Mercury is already supposed to change gender depending on whether it they’re with masculine or feminine planets, quite deliberately — let’s take that assumption to its possible outcomes.
Sun: masculine planet in a masculine sign in a feminine quadrant in a feminine house in the masculine half of a night chart. OK, pretty masculine — but rather like a man who lives in a house his wife decorated, and kind enjoys living in a beautiful space, and will happily hang curtains or build planter boxes for her. It’s not like he won’t check out some gal’s booty in the grocery store parking lot, or gape at a woman’s breasts — but he knows where his bread is buttered, and he knows who he wants to sleep next to in bed tonight. This is a happily married man. Sextile to Mars and Uranus, he’s fond of blowing stuff up and loves talkin’ smack, but with an opposition to Pluto he knows what he has to do to earn his daily bread, and will duck his head and say “yes ma’am” when his gal calls him back.
Venus: Feminine planet in a masculine sign, in a feminine quadrant, in a feminine house. This is a woman who’s married to a man, but grew up with three brothers and has a son. She starts no shit, but doesn’t take any either. In opposition to the Moon in Aquarius and sextile to Jupiter, she has her own business and it’s going well, but that means she doesn’t have time for tea parties and volunteering with the Parent Teacher Association or getting her makeup right.
Mercury: a feminine-ish planet in a masculine sign, with a masculine Sun and a feminine Venus, in a feminine house in a feminine quadrant. Think tall lanky teenage gal who hasn’t really got boobs yet, and is maybe wondering what the deal was with that girl at the party the other night. Also wonders if maybe she’s a boy after all. Square to Mars and Uranus and trine to the Lot of Fortune, is trying out a bunch of different clothing and hair styles day by day, not really sure what’s going to suit her. Probably experimenting with pronouns with some friends but not with parents… for now.
Pluto: masculine planet in a masculine sign in a feminine quadrant in a feminine house. Divorced single dad of two who wrecked his sports car and broke up with his twenty-year-old girlfriend after six crazy months. Flirted with Men’s Rights activism for about a year before he decided those guys were losers. Big into talking cryptocurrency but afraid of losing his retirement money and hasn’t risked anything yet. Slowly dawning on him that he hasn’t got the slightest idea how to help his girls grow into women during his times of joint custody. Sextile to Neptune and square to the Sun, he’s trying to be a fun-loving, visionary parent but is afraid he’s all out of ideas of his own, and is trying to find his Next Big Thing.
Moon: feminine planet in a masculine sign in a feminine quadrant in a masculine house. Favorable aspects to the Nodes, opposition to Venus — She was the belle of the ball once upon a time; now she’s a grandmother who bakes cookies in between activist phone calls on behalf of Planned Parenthood and NOW. Finds her daughter’s suggestions about elder care tedious and wearying, but won’t tell anyone about the fall she suffered last week.
Saturn: masculine planet in a feminine sign in a masculine quadrant in a masculine house. Older gentleman academic, cares about his appearance and grooming, with a well-packed overnight suitcase at the airport. Going to his regular summer congress, but this time with an invitation to an assignation in his email, and a slideshow for the keynote presentation on the second day. Uneven square to Jupiter means it will be sparsely attended, but hey — moving up in the world at last (“Now that Rodney over at UPenn has finally died, my theories can at last be seen for the jewels they are!”). He’s off to get laid and get paid in his old haunts.
Neptune: masculine planet in a feminine sign in a masculine quadrant in a masculine house. Sextile to Pluto and Mars, trine to the Sun — he looks like a homeless sailor thrown off his ship in a convenient harbor, but he’s got some money, a start-up that’s going places, and a plan to throw his biggest critics off the board of his fledgling company. Man’s goin’ places.
Uranus: masculine planet in a feminine sign in a masculine quadrant and a masculine house. Ponytailed Allegedly Sensitive New Age Guy is sextile to the Sun and trine to Pluto — he might not be 6’5″ but trust fund babies like him with jobs in finance or Big Tech are rarely so clueless about being first against the wall when revolutions come. He was into Bernie Sanders last time around; now he’s thinking he should support JD Vance, but knows he’d disappoint his live-in girlfriend if she knew. He’s trying to decide if that’s a deal-breaker. It probably will be.
Mars: Masculine planet in a masculine sign in a masculine quadrant in a feminine house (ruled by Gemini, with a square to Mercury). He was on the wrestling team and lacrosse team in high school, and he was the one who gave freshman Joey the wedgie and shoved him in the locker. But he’s just gotten his first blowjob from a guy after years of dissatisfying sex with girls, and he’s in a lonely, confused mood about his “marriage first” fiancée while on his way home from Milwaukee.
Jupiter: Masculine planet in a masculine sign in a masculine quadrant in a feminine house (ruled by Mercury, sextile to Venus, squares to IC and MC). Older man, business in trouble, young upstart making a play for his job, worried about his retirement accounts, watching his dream of a place by the lake slipping away, wondering about his parents’ health and if they have enough saved for retirement. Cries in his wife’s arms regularly, and no longer finds it shameful.
I’m … not sure about a lot of these. I’d love your feedback in the comments here, or through one of my private channels like Patreon comments or a Discord channel we share. But I feel like this is onto something worth exploration, and I hope you’ll do your own experimentations with charts and see if this is an aspect worth thinking about.
Planetary Placements
The Sun is below the horizon in this chart of 3:45 am EDT, making this a night chart. However, Saturn and Jupiter, the other day sect planets, are above the horizon; while Mars and the Moon are in the upper hemisphere of Night. All three of the Upstarts are also high, and the preponderance of planets are above the horizon, with a stellium in the second house — putting public affairs front-and-center, and making financial matters and ownership questions prominent in many households.
The Ascendant is in Cancer I, with both the Moon and all the Triplicity rulers inconjunct — In the next ten days, it’ll often feel like you have to turn to your spouse or significant other for support because there Is No One Else. That’s a lie, of course, or at least an untested hypothesis. But don’t count on Just One Other for your sole means of emotional and mental support this coming week or so: you need more than that.
In the second house of finances and possessions, we have a stellium of the Sun, Venus and Mercury (about to go retrograde in a little over two weeks, and already in their shadow period). Figure out where your stuff goes; get creative about it; tell people about your new systems, and show them off. Similarly, make an accounting of your net worth; are you thriving, surviving, or already drying out? Cash flow is like water; you need some, even in the hot dry months, to keep yourself hydrated. All three Leo decans are active here, but the Sun has pride of place: expending intellectual energy on a realistic accounting is more valuable than justifying unneeded expenses.
In the third house of neighbors and community, the Imum Coeli and Lunar Apogee are together In Virgo II, The Hammer and Anvil. Both broken boundaries and deep contentment should be expected in the next two weeks.
The Lunar Nodes running between tenth and fourth house urge us to take more time at the office… because of troublesome circumstances at home and with family. Basic fairness and inequality seems to be the problem, but there are also promising developments for a more equitable arrangement of professional duties.
In the sixth house the Lot of Fortune promises a series of heavy burdens on a day-to-day basis. These can be thrown down and ignored, or seen through to their destination or deadline. It’s up to us what to do, but day-to-day actions to complete tasks are where we have the most agency right now.
The eighth house of responsibilities is home to Pluto and the Moon in Aquarius: both are in no-nonsense positions, but the wealth-hoarding lord of the underworld is openly critical of anyone currently shouldering heavy burdens, and the Moon would rather pursue an unrealizable fantasy than be sensible about her responsibilities. Expect a fair bit of “wargaming” that involves unrealistic expectations — and do your best to pin these to facts on the ground wherever possible. Pluto in particular represents a certain nostalgia for how things used to be, and keep reminding them: it was never like that.
The ninth house of travel, tourism, and higher learning currently holds two retrograde planets, Saturn and Neptune: one proffers realistic outcomes, tedious delays, and extenuating circumstances that require patience; the other insists, loudly, that if we only yell a little louder, speak a little more coldly, or sneer a little more forcefully, we’ll get exactly what we want. Be cautious about imaginative solutions and fantasies that require getting people from origin A to destination B — the plodding regularity of late trains running on 19th century rail beds will work better than a high-speed hydrofoil flying/swimming car-ferry that’s still on the drawing board.
Uranus holds the last decan of the eleventh house, promising surprising uproars and challenging circumstances in among your friends’ groups and extended alliances. Everyone wants back pay, or wants more money for this or that or the other thing. Venmo me, PayPal me, hand me cash… it’s all the same. A certain amount of books-balancing should be expected
In the twelfth house of both obstacles and dreams, Mars and Jupiter stand in the sign of duality and divided thought. Are you second-guessing yourself? Are others around you second-guessing themselves? What about your doctors? The courts? Your political party or parties? Fairness and honor is likely to win out in the long run, but silly season is likely to last until at least August 2 (the end of the decan), if not September 5 (Mars’ entry to Cancer). August 14 should be the worst of it.
Horoscopes by Rising Sign
Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.
I recommend reading your Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign for best results. I write them with rising sign in mind, but several people have told me they find that they do better with all three.
Cancer: You’ll have a chance to show off your belongings, but put some extra hours in your travel plans, and count on needing discernment about when you should lash out at poor service like a Karen, and when you should take it in stride like a Chad. The answer will be surprising: excessive costs are not necessarily the best indicator of when to offer critique, but neither is consciously poor service. Expect to get creative about how you put your belongings to good use; at least one friendship may be subject to explosive surprises this week.
Leo: it will be hard not to adopt a scarcity mindset in the coming days, but with creative effort and clever communication, you may be able to adjust to this dry period in your income. Part of the problem may be tight finances from a spouse or significant other… but between the two of you, you may be ignoring the ways that certain expenses consistently overrun expected receipts. Imbalanced finances between partners tends to lead to a crappy home life. Just sayin’. It may be tempting to blame this problem on unjust work-life balance, but certain expenditures around casual forms of entertainment still need to be reined in.
Virgo: Whose signature do you have to forge in order to be able to go see that play, attend that concert, go on your dream vacation? There’s a sense of playing hooky, and getting creative to be at the event of the season – the year? – the decade? – that matters to you most. But whoever you’re trying to do, wherever you’re trying to go, whatever you’re hoping to learn — you should expect that it’s going to be a more isolating experience than you believed it would be, and that your leadership skills will be put to the test much more than you expected. A significant other in your life is facing clear limitations and yet has vague ideas of transcending these limits (without much justification). Meanwhile, you may be in deeper trouble with day-to-day expectations on your work shifts…. have you thought about sticking closer to home?
Libra: Clean your bathrooms — or at least make sure the person whose job it is to do, does that. You may be able to break away from a path that’s taking you into some obvious obstacles; but make sure you’re pursuing your heart’s desire rather than just avoiding a tedious to-do list. Some consultation with friends is in order here — invite your allies to a creative brainstorming session about what it is that you want and need to be happy, what resources you need, and the toolset you would require to perform at a higher level. Identify the skillsets you need to be working on improving to get to that higher level, and — this might be a stretch right now — what apron-strings you need to cut to start your own professional life off right.
Scorpio: Your agenda is “fun” (why wouldn’t it be, in summer?) … but it seems that there are other plans in store for you. There’s a big expansion planned at work that requires you to cut into extracurricular activities; a significant other has a surprise circumstance that puts your own plans into a tailspin; professional reputation requires that you exercise your brainpower at work to keep the money coming in, and there’s a risk of a new expense hitting you at home for more than you should really expect to pay for (try to foist some of it on your landlord, friend… but I’m not hopeful; for many of you it’s going to land in your laps one way or another). There’s a possible trip, too, to a spouse or significant other’s relative. Now… not all these things cost money. But there’s going to be an argument about duty. Sure… maybe it’ll be called responsibility, or liability, or accountability. Maybe the onus is on you, or the burden? Maybe the blame? Common sense says you should be able to weasel out of it; emotional intelligence will argue otherwise. Think through the consequences of your decisions with more care than usual this week, but recognize that even the very wise cannot see all ends to their conclusions. Look farther than usual but forgive yourself for failings in your omen-reading skills.
Sagittarius: Doing what you need to do on a day-to-day basis is where the rewards show up, right now. Your partner, spouse, or significant other (or all three) are likely to be better at setting long-term goals and seeing the big picture, but are unlikely to take argument or disagreement well. The best you can do is show up ready to do the necessary tasks to keep the project rolling along. For now, this may mean paying the bills and balancing the checkbook (possibly in creative ways), and playing hooky from your desired outcomes in favor of current delights. AT the same time keep an eye on household and family systems: water, financial responsibilities, what your siblings and cousins and parents are up to. Your kids may need more from you than usual, but you can also expect that your daily routines will be adorably unbalanced in the near future. Roll with the shifts as best you can.
Capricorn: The week ahead will require solicitousness and grace as your attention is on the emotional roller-coaster your partner or spouse or significant other might be riding. Normally private household matters are in public view, and normally intimate duties you owe to others are going to be exposed and explained to others, particularly family members (some of whom will be shocked, others intrigued). For some, this shattering of taboos may be a dream come true; for others, it may be a rough learning experience. There are some critical financial operations that must be properly managed during this period of tumult, but try not to let the daily maintenance issues burn you up. Expect that a range of relatively plain delights will be subject to changes in regular schedules, and that new duties will arise that you couldn’t have foreseen.
Aquarius: Got some odious tasks lined up, like cleaning out the gutters or handling the trash pile on the edge of the woods? Even a weekend in the country with family might seem like a place of unpleasant surprises this week, with all your dirty laundry out in public. Your wallet probably is feeling constrained by a mix of earlier enthusiasms and difficult or costly travel expenses — there’s nowhere to go without relying on family and friends; a staycation at home looks a lot more likely for late July and early August than a fancy-pants trip elsewhere. There’s more of a hunger to work from home; less of a willingness to be a leader in an office workplace. Some personal pleasures may have to be put on a back burner to make room for other goals.
Pisces: Are you reading this while stuck in an airport or in a train station, or in between bouts with a registrar of students or while on hold with a college or university dean? There’s a lot of delay and possible relief from delay in the next ten days for you — but the hope is considerably more elusive than the reality. Do your best to restrain your temper; there’s little to be gained from tears or losing your cool. The flood-tide might be close at hand, but you still have to find the fire to see this matter through to the next big thing. Try calling up an intimate friend or two and ask if you can vent before you unload both barrels. Home is a place of both grace and difficulty; keep the fire extinguisher at hand, and maybe lock up the liquor cabinet for a while, or at least close the doors. It’ll be way too easy to buy into the “nobody loves me” isolation of a bad drunken stupor. At the same time recognize that real achievement and financial gains are to be had from showing up every day bright-eyed, positive, with a creative spark in your step and a cheery “good morning” in your throat. Let it be summer in how you approach your daily work, even if you feel like it’s late February in your heart.
Aries: There’s a lot of potential for you to be offered a new work position this week, but I expect your professional colleagues should weigh in on whether it’s a good idea, and whether the money is worth the step-up in responsibility. It’s going to cut some intimate ties with people whose opinions you care about, and put a crimp in some long-range plans — but it’s also possible that it will open new possibilities you’d never considered before, and give you access to a new circle of friends and close family that will grow your opportunities in the long run. Celebrate whatever comes your way, but be creative rather than spending the money you haven’t got yet. Don’t expect others to pay your way, either. Notice that you have responsibility and duties to your friends, not the other way around: if you want to birth a new relationship wit your allies, you’re going to have to go to them, and fix your communication channels with your team; if your boss is out to deliver a new product or service and expects you to provide it — then work on creating the right relationship of usefulness and leadership between you and the folks in your group.
Taurus: You’re feeling bouncy like a Kanga or a Tigger, and eager to spend resources that may not be yours to spend. Fortunately there are resources available, but surpluses may not be at some later date. Household and family members will require some communication and creative effort to set aright, but you’re eager to break rules in search of contentment. Just expect that trouble will crop up in your regular routines, especially those where you already think that you’re being treated unfairly — be working on your long-term escape plans, too. Some of your friends will think you’re crazy to want to be out on the road traveling, while others are going to be eager to go with your flow. Professional matters will feel toxic, but the first part of the week you have a chance to give birth to something beautiful and new.
Gemini: Some new ambitions for the long-term are likely to spring up in the next few weeks between now and September 5, but it comes with risk of injury, fever and unexpected trouble. You shouldn’t let this warning hold you back from what you want to do, though — there are world-expanding possibilities available to you in these next few weeks. Even though there’s likely to be a hiccup or two, and your spouse or significant other may find this time challenging (both monetarily and professionally), you’re likely to grow your intimate connections with friends and neighbors, and find new enthusiasm for jobs that have been stale for a while. Will it be fun? Maybe. You will need to attend carefully to the problem of managing bathrooms, and take care to follow regulations or you’re likely to catch crap for that.
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If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.
I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.
I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.
