Leo New Moon
Weekly Horoscope: July 23 - July 29

Leo New Moon - Individuation

"Who has not sat before his own heart's curtain? It lifts:
and the scenery is falling apart."
—Rainer Maria Rilke

This week's New Moon is the first of two Leo New Moons in a row. The following Leo New Moon on August 21 (11:30 AM PDT 28° Leo) will be the much touted Full Solar Eclipse (visible in North America). Insofar as the two lunar cycles are connected by sign, we should expect that the journey that is initiated this week will be extended into the next lunar cycle as well. This week begins with a highly precipitous Leo New Moon (2:45 AM PDT 0° Leo) on the Cancer-Leo Cusp conjunct a particularly reckless and impulsive Mars. The lights may come up on us this week before we're quite ready. The resulting feeling of insecurity seems to shadow us for most of the week as we struggle to find the poise to present the show that Leo would like to perform. The restless martian energy may be tempted to resort to anger or defensiveness in order to deflect attention from our insecurity. Nonetheless, this is truly the initiation of a momentous journey of self-discovery, aimed at building a new foundation of confidence for the powerful expression of our individuality. If we are able to maintain our faith through the first leg of this journey (and avoid any embarrassing outbursts that we'll have to apologize for later), we'll set the stage for some remarkable breakthroughs in personal self-expression and learn important lessons about the proper use of our individual will-power. Added into the mix, Mercury enters the shadow phase of the next retrograde cycle (August 12 - September 5) on Monday. Once we determine to more fully express our individuality, the retrograde Mercury in Virgo will drive us to implement our vision with an idealistic search for perfection.

The tone for the week is set by Sunday morning's New Moon. It may be hard to escape the nervous insecurity and reckless impulsiveness. Many are edgy and quick to go on defense. Venus opposes Saturn on Monday, increasing feelings of insecurity and highlighting the need to be patient with ourselves. Mercury enters Virgo on Tuesday, helping to incorporate a more detached, intellectual perspective and beginning the process of unraveling the insecurity and defensiveness. The Sun-Mars conjunction culminates on Wednesday. Emerging from the confusing atmosphere may not seem easy but we finally glimpse that finding ways to help others may be better than seeking to defend ourselves from them. Thursday's Libra Moon helps to soften the tone even more. However, Friday's emotional intensity seems to demand that we resolve any lingering insecurity and establish a deeper and more lasting sense of confidence. By Saturday, it becomes nearly inescapable that we will not be able to step away from a defensive posture until and unless we find a way to balance our ego concerns with concern for others.

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