Happy Birthday Leo! The sun’s in your sign until August 22 and Mercury’s in your sign all month. This is the time of year when you are able to get things done. Your annual birthday wish new moon takes place on the 17th, so wish away! Mercury’s an intellectual and word-oriented planet, so you may find that you’re focusing on mental activities this month.
One possibility is taking some sort of a class or learning something in a group context. Mercury likes stimulation and will want to keep you busy. Mercury is also a big fan of humor and keeping things light, so it’s time to look on the sunny side of any situation. After the sun leaves your sign and enters Virgo, the overall vibe changes. Virgo is a Mercury-ruled planet, so the emphasis on language and words remains, but other things kick into gear as well.
Pluto in Capricorn will be mad at Uranus in Aries again. Pluto’s in the part of your solar chart that relates to health. Uranus in Aries is also in an intellectual sector of your chart. It may be that you will have to put some effort into figuring out some sort of health issue. Talk to others and get their input if you are having difficulty understanding what’s going on with your body.
Capricorn also represents your job, so the emphasis may be less on health and more on your work toward the end of the month. There may be a lot of talk of change in your workplace or perhaps more likely resistance to change. Pluto seems very focused on you keeping your job (or maintaining your health if that’s the issue) and may be very disapproving of anything that upsets the status quo.
Throughout the potential drama, you’ll be expected to be your normal productive self. The upside is that you’re likely to be able to see things clearly and deal with them in a reasonable manner. Although it may run counter to your instincts, discretion is likely to be the better part of valor toward month’s end. Look at the big picture when in doubt. It might also be good to remember that although your sign tends to naturally rise to the top, Saturn in Libra emphasizes that you’ll likely get better results if you resolutely treat others as your equals–even if they’re not!
Now, for a bit about the year ahead. Most of you will be dodging a bullet in your new solar year. Or perhaps more accurately, you will be dodging plenty of bullets and coming out ahead of many other signs. There’s a lot of turnover in planetary influences over the next 12 months. The main ones to affect you are the movement of Jupiter into Gemini, which already happened, the movement of Saturn in Scorpio in October, and the shift in eclipse energy to Taurus and Scorpio.
The Gemini influence favors change or perhaps changeability, and in their own way, the other influences do too. Jupiter in Gemini rewards observation, attentiveness and precision. More than most placements of Jupiter, it will require balancing looking at the particulars of every situation and the big picture at the same time. It is an outward sort of influence for Leo, in contrast to the upcoming Scorpio influences which are inward and hidden.
Your sign normally likes to see and be seen, but Saturn in Scorpio will want to conceal and look for what others are concealing. Saturn in Scorpio also focuses on your home life, which will be in contrast to other, more outgoing elements of your solar chart. You may see surprising developments in your home life toward the end of 2012, in November or December.
Uranus in Aries will continue to put a potential focus on travel, perhaps sudden and unexpected long-distance travel. Travel with friends to exotic locations you wouldn’t normally consider visiting seems to be a real possibility. You may get more adventure than you bargained for if you’re not careful though, so take reasonable precautions at all times.
Group travel also looks like it could be very rewarding for you. If you don’t live in a big metropolis, then short trips to the city also look to be a good idea throughout the coming year.
Neptune in Pisces will continue to affect your solar 8th house of outside funding and joint financial endeavors. Neptune is one of those planets that can go either way in its influence. You may be awash in funds from non-traditional sources or you may find yourself having to postpone endeavors due to lack of funding. Pay close attention to your finances in either case.
Pluto, as I mentioned before, is in your solar house of health and will continue to battle with Uranus. Make sure to get your exercise and some recreation time throughout the year. But also make sure to guard against any sports or workout injuries and don’t overdo it if you haven’t been active before.
Last but not least, in about a year (around May or June), you may see some dramatic new developments in your career. Overall, it’s a year that will call for dodging and weaving your way through changing circumstances, with plenty of shifts and no one consistent theme. Variety and adaptability will be the spices of life.