Love is where you find it. It's everywhere...in you and in me, and in the very fabric of our world. Three heavenly bodies are aligned in Leo, which embodies the flame of love. Let's pay it forward, shall we?
Three of the so-called personal planets are perfectly aligned now in the exuberant sign of Leo. Venus will be traveling with the Sun throughout the remainder of August, while retrograde Mercury gets left somewhat behind. This trio (known as a stellium) continues its opposition (that’s a planetary distance of 180 degrees) with Neptune retrograde on the final degree of Aquarius. This is a call to master the balancing act between focusing strictly on what you desire (Leo stellium) versus abdicating your role altogether (Neptune retrograde) as creative director of your life.
When Neptune energy gets activated we do have to be mindful of erasing ourselves out of the equation, whether through some misplaced martyr complex, or through escapism. The Leo side of you says ‘yes!’ to playing the staring role Life; the Aquarius side of you – which Neptune is re-activating – says, “There are billions of souls on this planet – and my presence here is no more or less important than anyone else’s.” Thanks to the Sun holding hands with mental Mercury and relationship-oriented Venus, there’s strong cosmic juice to do some soul talk, inasmuch as your heart (Sun in Leo) is aligned with your mind (Mercury), and with your personal value system (Venus). If ever there was a time to align your personality with your Higher Self, then the opportunity is being handed to you on a silver platter now.
As always, living as we do in a world of polarities, there is the underside of this Leo gathering of planets – and that is to identify yourself merely as the personality that you wear. Our personalities are part of the structure of the ego – and when the personality becomes dominant, we can easily give short shrift to other people. This can show up as belittling someone else’s intelligence, mocking their preferences…the list goes on. You’ll know that you are over-identifying with your personality if you consistently believe that others are ‘less than’ you in some way.
Thankfully, the current opposition from Sun, Mercury retrograde and Venus in Leo to Neptune retrograde in Aquarius can be very useful in forgiving others (Neptune) for their perceived shortcomings, and connecting your solar flame (Leo stellium) to others through heart-centred generosity.
Michelle Suzanne
Michelle Suzanne is the author of Starstruck. You can also read her weekly love scopes at Sasstrology, where she co-hosts the Astrology Rocks podcast with Jeffrey Kishner.