The Sun enters his own sign of Leo this week, setting the stage for a pair of eclipses in August that will affect Leo, Aquarius, and anyone with major planets or chart points in the fixed signs.

If you’ve known a strong Leo personality, you know that they tend to be the biggest presence in the room, and they often think the world revolves around them. And to a certain degree, it does. Like planets revolving around the Sun in our solar system, we want to bask in Leo’s warmth, charm, and confidence.

Each sign of the Zodiac rules a part of the body, and Leo rules the heart, the true center of the mind. The brain is just a tool. The French word for the heart, coeur, comes from the same Latin root as core, or center. It also is the root of courage, one of my favorite words. To encourage someone means “to give heart.”

This is the special gift of Leo, and it’s a gift we can give ourselves during this special time when the Sun shines brightly in his own sign. What is truly in your heart? Who are you at the center, stripped of all the accumulated layers of programming and baggage? Is logic a support system for you, or does it rule your actions? (And are you sure about that?)

Leo is associated with the fifth house, the area of the chart associated with romance, children, and fun. In the Northern Hemisphere, August typically is a time of summer vacations, pool parties, and barbecues with friends. This week is great for all of those activities, as astrological energies are relatively calm this week – the calm before the storm for many, so take advantage while you can.

Here’s how this week shakes out:

On Tuesday, the Sun enters Leo. Later in the day, Mercury in Cancer trines the Moon and Uranus, which conjoin in Pisces. If you make an attempt to communicate from the heart, the results could surprise you. Deeper connections can form this way.

Mercury enters Leo on Friday, bringing out the prankster in those who are predisposed and maybe even some of you who normally are more reserved. Have fun!

Also on Friday, Mars trines retrograde Jupiter. With both planets in practical earth signs, this is good energy to put into strengthening your material and financial base.

As I said, pretty easy week! Not so next week, with a New Moon solar eclipse on Friday, August 1, at 9 degrees Leo. This one will be right on the Ascendant in Washington, D.C., so it’s possible that we may hear some disturbing news from the White House – well, more so than usual. Two weeks after that, on August 16, there will be a Full Moon lunar eclipse at 24 degrees Aquarius, conjunct Neptune.

As we get closer to the eclipses, I’ll have more, and Neith will provide some insight in her popular lunation reports. Stay tuned!

Love and blessings,

Pat

Image: August, from the illuminated manuscript, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc du Berry, by the Limbourg Brothers, c. 1412-1416. Musée Condé, Chantilly