The Sun enters Leo I, The Spotlight as Austin Coppock named it in 36 Faces, on 22 July at 9:30 am EDT over my home in western Massachusetts. T. Susan Chang called this decan Under Pressure in her book 36 Secrets, for its associations with the Five of Wands in Tarot. That card shows a group of youths fighting one another with sticks, at least in the Rider-Waite deck designed by Pamela Colman Smith; it’s not clear if they’re engaged in an actual combat or if they’re performing in some kind of practice fight — and maybe that’s the point? If a fake combat suddenly turns real, that’s pressure; if a real fight suddenly reveals itself as a test, you’re under a lot of intense, focused attention. One way or another, you have to know who you are under this decan. The Sun will pass through this decan for ten days, eleven hours and two minutes, until 1 August 2025 at 8:32 pm EDT.
The ancient Greeks associated this decan with Hephaestus the artisan-god, whose forge was under the volcanic Mount Aetna in Sicily. Like many smithing deities, Hephaestus is lame — one story shows him coming between his mother Hera and his father Zeus, trying to mediate their astoundingly violent arguments. His father flung him from the mountaintop abode of the gods atop Mount Olympus — making Hephaestus a victim of domestic violence. Other versions say he was tossed aside by Hera herself, who was angry that he suffered from congenital defects in his legs that would prevent him from walking. His ancient epithets include references to his craft and artistry, and to his disability — almost equally he’s called the god “lamed in both sides” and the “ingenious, crafty one.” There’s something to the idea here that disability is no barrier to success in the world; some parts of the ancient Greek world, notably Sparta, had a verb, ekutizo, that meant “to expose a disabled newborn to die” — but Hephaestus points to a more ancient and honorable tradition of trying to help all babes survive and thrive to adulthood. As a god, Hephaestus is very ancient indeed — among the Linear B tablets his name is Aph-ai-i-is-ti-o, where he’s a fire-god whose linguistic tags suggest a pre-Greek origin — but whom the Greeks respected and honored. Statuettes from Mycenaean households show the lame god watching over hearths in the working spaces, too, where he presided over early bronze and iron forges: these show us that the maker of tools, the skilled technician has never not been lame.
Meanwhile, the descending Chaldean order assigns this decan to Saturn — Saturn in his aspect as the master artificer in full command of his powers over fire, whose artistry and artisanship are best exemplified by his steadiness before the sunny heat and light of the forge-flame.
In sum, this Decan is a place of quiet but deliberate action — even if you are hampered or limited in where you can go, or how you get there, you still have your hands. You still have your cunning brain, and the thoughtfulness of your action. Standing between competing gods may hurl you from your home and nearly destroy you… and yet your hands are still capable of doing great deeds, of winning you the spotlight, or achieving success. As JRR Tolkien wrote in The Fellowship of the Ring. “Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.” Let the spotlight go to others — practice the small excellences before the practice becomes real.
The dodeks, or twelfth-parts, of Leo I are expressions-in-miniature of the signs of Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio — showing the process of moving from being a loud-mouthed and vocal leader of performative activism, to a more studied and careful proponent of action from the shadowy sidelines. In Leo, the person roars loudly and draws attention to themselves. In Virgo, the person analyzes their own actions and understands how little is accomplished with yelling; they shift their attention to more studied forms of endeavor. In Libra, each action is weighed carefully through a risk-reward analysis, and a test of how exposed or risky it feels. In Scorpio, the person has become a successful participant in secret processes of leadership, rarely revealing their involvement — yet still achieving their goals.
I’ve written before about this decan, in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 (and in fact, 2019’s Leo I column was the first astrology column I ever wrote).
Dates to Watch
The Dark Moon occurs on 24 July 2025 at 3:11 pm EDT, with both the Moon and Sun at 2° Leo 8′ — in the dodek Leo of Leo, with the Moon in the Tenth Mansion The Lion’s Brow — the next two weeks are likely to be a period of connection and growth between spouses and romantic partners, but it’s also likely to be an important era for growing networks of mutual help and aid. It usually takes 2-3 days after the dark of the Moon for the first crescent to appear, by which point the Moon will be either in the 13th Mansion, The Wings — a highly favorable place for romantic and erotic engagement — or the 14th Mansion The Unarmed, which is favorable for beginning medical treatments.
On 31 July 2025 at 7:41 pm EDT, the Mercury cazimi during Mercury’s retrograde period occurs. This is usually a moment of deep clarity about Mercurial themes — or can be used as such a moment of symbolic clarity, where a piece of communication or intellectual awareness isn’t necessarily achieved but is rather understood. For example, it may not be the moment you finish writing your book, but it may be the moment you understand the plot twist that the book’s themes hinge or spiral around; it may not be the moment you achieve the communication breakthrough with your spouse, but it’s the moment you realize what it is that you want to say to them, even if you don’t know how or when to say it yet. It’s also the moment that Mercury shifts from being an evening star to being a morning star — indicating a greater focus on favorable or positive problem-solving communication, rather than negative critique.
House Delineations
The First House of self and self-presentation is Virgo, ruled by inconjunct Mercury retrograde and hosting the South Node and Mars. It’s time to excavate some of the bottom drawers of your dresser and the lesser-visited parts of your closet and wardrobe. What clothes haven’t you worn in a while? What should be repurposed, recycled, or disposed of? What no longer suits your personality or personal image? What’s so heinous that it should be burned? What can be cut up and reimagined as something else? Go with your gut instinct — this isn’t a conversation you need to share with anyone.
The Second House of money and possessions is Libra, ruled by trining Venus in Gemini. Judicious financial decisions must be made (and made continually), over the next ten days. Be desirous of luxury, but parsimonious and choosy in which luxuries you spend on. Do your best to maintain the systems of care on which your professional life depend, even as those systems are subject to strain.
The Third House of extended family and intimate friends is Scorpio, ruled by sextile Mars in Virgo. Familial secrets carry certain risks, but also rewards and opportunities. This doesn’t mean you should blackmail your cousins for their indiscretions, though — rather, use this as an opportunity to heal generational trauma. The waning Moon forms a trine from the 8th Mansion The Gap — introduce your closest friends in different circles to each other for stronger networks of mutual aid.
The Fourth House of home, household, and parents is Sagittarius, ruled by inconjunct Jupiter in Cancer. Household and family are a source of deep contentment and ease, but you have to make your home a suitable place for helping your friends meet each other — even if some of those meetings may be uncomfortable. Trining Sun and Saturn remind you that both long-term planning and household chores are necessary to maintain the value of your residence: do the work now while it’s cheap, before it becomes expensive.
The Fifth House of pleasures and pastimes is Capricorn, ruled by squaring, exiled, and retrograde Saturn in Aries. Fun takes a back seat to odious tasks these next ten days; there’s little that can be accomplished by getting your hobbyist tools and toys out of storage — work on arranging the equipment for ease of use and access, and keep it well-maintained. Recognize that sometimes your hobbies are best served by doing real (if tedious) work… and sometimes you’ll do even that work, badly. Keep your fingers away from blades.
The Sixth House of daily routines, pets, and injuries is Aquarius, ruled by sextile and exiled Saturn retrograde in Aries, and hosting Pluto retrograde. Critical knowledge is required in the next ten days or expensive contractors may be needed to solve problems with your pets, your staff, or yourself. Knowing when to call the air conditioning specialist and when to crawl into the attic yourself may be important; have your tools handy, but also a phone number. You might want to schedule a regular service appointment before the emergency.
The Seventh House of spouse, peer partners, and rivals is Pisces, ruled by trining Jupiter exalted in Cancer. Among the triplicity rulers, Moon trines, Venus squares, Mars opposes; while the North Node rides just above the horizon. Matters with spouse, significant other, business partner or rival are likely to be emotionally tidal, with professional responsibilities, personal desires, and connections with friends creating a pushme-pullyou dynamic. You may want to spend more time with your partner(s) in the next ten days, but shifts in routine may draw you apart as much as you’re shoved together.
The Eighth House of obligation, duty and legacy is Aries, ruled by inconjunct Mars in Virgo. Among the triplicity rulers, Saturn is present but retrograde, the Sun trines, and Jupiter squares; Neptune is also present and retrograde. Past remembrances of times when you had to soldier on through difficulty are likely to resonate this week; so are times when bad decisions led to the experiences that now inculcate wisdom. Even so, ongoing needs and responsibilities may require you to do the same dumb stuff that you know is a bad idea, “but the boss wants it done this way.” Register your concerns, and then do the dumb shit to keep your job. Keep backup files because you’ll be asked to undo it in a month or two.
The Ninth House of higher learning and long-distance travel is Taurus, ruled by inconjunct Venus in Gemini. Among triplicity rulers, Moon sextiles and Mars trines. Travel is easy for social reasons, but every business trip is likely to involve difficulty unless it passes over a large body of water (routing domestic flights over the Great Lakes and Chicago is preferable to passes through Charlotte or Atlanta or Dallas). Dress for a suitable mix of comfort and outward impression during personal flights — your seatmate may be worth talking to when traveling solo.
The Tenth House of career and professional reputation is Gemini, ruled by sextile Mercury retrograde, and hosting Uranus and Venus. Troubling upsets must be smoothed over by data-driven long-term planning and almost motherly attention to unsettling information. Finding diplomatic ways to say “I told you so” will be unfortunately necessary. People who do the work will be much more valuable than people who tell people to do the work — and it will be obvious which is which. AI idiocy rears its ugly head in your workplace; be prepared to demonstrate why the old tried-and-true methods will be more reliable.
The Eleventh House of friends, associates, and allies is Cancer, ruled by the present Moon and hosting exalted Jupiter in his joy — both in the first Decan. Deep emotional connection with friends and colleagues brings valuable rewards and honors. Leadership opportunities abound in local government, where your experiences and insights would be tremendously valuable. Never eat alone — have coffee with friends, tea with an acquaintance in the afternoon, drinks before dinner, sit with new people in the cafeteria.
The Twelfth House of both obstacles and opportunities is Leo, ruled by the present Sun and hosting Mercury retrograde. Celebrate and honor the people that contribute to your long-term success and well-being: shine a spotlight on the experts that have amplified and extended your ability to perform well in various spheres — at work, in your relationships, in your community engagement. Triplicity ruler Saturn trines from a retrograding exile in Aries — making to-do lists and journaling your completed tasks will prevent you from ignoring or forgetting important labors at a critical time in your regular cycle of duties.
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.
Virgo: Quality long-term planning starts with a review of what’s gone wrong recently, and why. THere’s a great many places you’ve won short-term accolades — but little repeat business. It’s good to ask yourself why, and figure out what parts of the puzzle you’re not seeing. It’s easy to turn to self-criticism and find flaws in yourself, but the reality is that you need to figure out how to draw more out of others: it may be that a new strategy of curiosity about your clients, your business partners, your spouse or significant other, is a better path to success. You may also need to execute a more creative professional strategy — and you also need a wider network of acquaintances. Ironically, a lot of marketing simply requires meeting more people outside your usual circles, and you have superpowers in this regard this week. Go meet people where they are.
Libra: Financial matters take a high level of priority, especially if you’re going on a trip somewhere or are taking classes or workshops. There’s sudden insights available if you “think with your hands” rather than with your eyes alone — use the span of your fingers to measure, clean your hands often, use your nails to peel bark from a branch or to dig in the dirt. Engage with the world, don’t just view it. You may find that there’s a powerful new creative genius that arises from such investigations, and a hybrid approach to solving your work-related problems isn’t going to be just computer-digital, but also hand-based. At the same time, recognize that there are going to be new constraints on your romantic or business partnerships — hold out a vision for a better long-term relationship, though, even if you’re currently finding hardships abound.
Scorpio: Resurrecting an old friendship is an ambitious but important project in the coming days — but figuring out which one, that’s a bit like a horror movie? Reforging the connections requires work, but also the excavation of the issues that caused the breakup in the first place. It’s not impossible, just hard — and it doesn’t feel like there’s much support to get it done. All the same, the difficulties you’re currently facing on a daily basis would be much easier to complete if you could ask for advice or help from the right persons or people; and odious tasks or difficult learning curves would be much more easily surmounted with advice from old acquaintances. Swallow some pride, and reach out.
Sagittarius: It’s a week of expanded responsibility, as household and family matters exert leverage on your life and draw you into a web of emotionally heavy lifting. Upheavals in your spouse, partner, or rival’s life require your attention and love to resolve, but bring temperamental upset and apathy to your own life. You’re likely to miss out on some of your own responsibilities; a good to-do list or task tracker will be helpful this week. Highlight your upcoming travel and learning opportunities, and find contentment in being who you are; recognize that you need to figure out some alternate transportation arrangements. Professional obligations are difficult to maintain; it’s better to under-promise and over-deliver at the moment — and even then, it’s likely that nobody will be happy. Your spouse or significant other’s professional endeavors find greater success, but you should do what you can to support their labors and maintain their norms.
Capricorn: It will be easy to have fun, as long as you’re maintaining a presence close to home. You probably have a list of great things you’d like to do to support your happiness, but — whether it’s camping or taking up a new sport or enjoying a new hobby — all those things require time and money and materials. It may be worth crafting your wish list into things you can do or make for yourself, and things you would like from other people (and which you can put together a wish list on Amazon or other websites). A friend of mine is quite skilled at making the necessary tools and equipment for his workshop; another friend is great at making storage baskets for her sewing room. You may find that there’s similar joy to be found in creating the set-up, and not simply buying it; turning raw materials into gear could be one of your new superpowers. At the same time, though, you probably need to spend more time with your spouse’s friends, learning from them and growing your skillset (and trading your own knowledge with them). Mastery is rarely achieved alone, but through training with others and seeing how their mindset affects final results.
Aquarius: Putting your skill set to work on a daily basis is proving expensive. Your team costs more money to employ, and the services they provide are likely dependent on parts and materials that cost more to acquire. It’s worth identifying how you’re pulling your weight in this new reality, and making some determinations about how you can get out of this potential trap. AT the same time, recognize that your creative gifts are likely firing on all cylinders, and if ever there were an opportunity to celebrate your imaginative powers by leading a team generously and kindly — this is it. You’re dependent on people who are officially “under you” but who are in practical terms peers and co-equal allies in the work you do — and you need to act as though these underlings are your platonic business life-mates and deep friends if you want to keep earning a paycheck. Otherwise, you can expect that trying to “cut your responsibilities down to a reasonable size” may also result in your employment agreements being under the gun.
Pisces: The more luxurious an experience you try to craft or create for your spouse or significant other or business partners — and it will feel like an emotional necessity this week to do that — the more you may find yourself constrained or limited by financial issues beyond your control. It may be worth trying to craft the semblance of an experience rather than the actual exact experience. Invite your partner(s) to use their imaginations to fill in the details (except business partners… they don’t like it when the clients have to use their imaginations, and they don’t like it when you invite them to make things more expensive than they already are). Have you considered the value of working from home? Yes, having a fancy office where you can practice your leisure-time golf swing is cool, but there’s something to be said for having office matters stay at the office and home matters stay at home. THere’s a reason why the US tax code requires home offices to have a separate entrance, and you would benefit from going out one door and in the other when considering your workplace obligations.
Aries: Big changes are coming to your daily schedule this week, that are likely to affect your personal standing. But there’s a strong risk that you’ll be blindsided by these changes, because you’re standing too tall in your own boots or loudly proclaiming your own expertise in a visionary field that has shifted significantly. Humble yourself a little: what are you missing? What long-range changes do you think are coming, and how are those likely to hurt you personally? Professionally? Which of your friends do you think sees farther ahead than you do? Can you stand to be the recipient of unpleasant or surprising news? How can you re-organize your world around what you hear? Home is likely to be a place of refuge this week, but it would be good to be hands-on and with friends — invite some folks over for a barbecue this weekend or have tea with a colleague on your own couch. Don’t be shocked by unexpected attacks on your daily schedule, or cuts to your team of subordinates — roll with the attack, and explain how those shifts are going to cost your superiors, before you accept them.
Taurus: Your thoughts and attention may be on upcoming travel, but you might want to spend some time thinking about the budget and costs associated with this adventure, and what sort of reputation this trip is bringing about (or what reputation you want to cultivate). Long-term upsets are likely to begin with small shifts in your financial behaviors over the course of this coming week; learning how to dial back expectations may save you a world of grief later on. You’re likely to spend considerable time with your extended family or siblings, and the natural inclination is to be generous and emotionally available to them. Yet you should figure out how to keep an eye on your own household and home; it’s an easy time for things to go wrong… and you’d be surprised how much your traditional entertainments can bring hardship and annoyance in the coming days. Be alert to the ways that your significant other’s familial issues may bring up costly obligations, too — and how putting up boundaries with friends is disabling to a larger future vision.
Gemini: Professional matters are going through a long-term period of tumult, but in the short term you’ll find that your traditional obligations and norms are well-served hby your creative and imaginative gifts operating in well-worn channels. It may be worth a quiet conversation or two with close friends about what your “next steps” in your career might be; you’re close to the start of a seven-year period in which you have a chance to climb the ladder in your career — and if you don’t, you’re likely to get stuck or shuffled out. Big financial goals are possible to achieve this year, but it starts with making the right friends and building the right parasocial relationships with the allies who can help you achieve your dreams. Be wary of the ways that this season of the year can cause heartache and trouble with family, and with the physical fabric of your home — mow the yard, prune back the trees, weed the garden, call the various maintenance and handymen you need — recognize that being a householder means accepting the various ways that travel gets more expensive.
Cancer: How are you called upon to take care of your friends this week? Should you be tending to the growth of their interior spiritual and emotional life, or helping them close out some difficult sensitivities to challenges that have affected them romantically or professionally? Possibly both. You can be in a great position to help your friends land cool new jobs, or become skilled and talented managers of their break-ups with partners that no longer serve them. You can also figure out ways to make money while you do this, but it will require some data and some attention to your receipts. Save your financial information, and build a more successful financial life by comparing expenses with income. Your workplace expects you to operate within narrower limits than you’re used to, because “this is the way it’s always been done,” but you may find a better way forward is hiding in these old traditions. Be in contact with your siblings and cousins, too — you may find that your way forward is hiding in their current dramas and difficult personal histories.
Leo: Your long-term future requires trumpeting about your past history — but this requires some financial hardships in the moment that are going to require justification to the accountant and other bean-counting professionals who see a mismatch between your current endeavors and your likely future reputation. It’s hard to put your trust in big-hearted allies, but don’t accept the role of spiritual mother to someone who won’t grow up, either. Be cautious of wearing out your welcome, and remember that fish, like guests, start to stink after three days. All the same, recognize that disrupting your friends’ lives is one of your more successful creative paths to new prominence and achievement, especially if you’re finding it hard to get out of the house and get on the road. It might feel like it would be easy to solve all your problems if you had a sugar-daddy providing financial backing — but remember that the public gift is often accompanied by private, if understated, obligations. Know what your limits are, and be prepared to return what comes with too-high a price.
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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.
