Astrology Unbound with Evan Nathaniel Grim

How to Cultivate Joy and Avoid Chaos During this Leo Season

Evan Nathaniel Grim

Discover how the dynamic energies of Leo Season and Mars in Gemini can reawaken your creativity and add some variety and joy to your life even as we collectively navigate turbulent times. In this episode, I guide you through the thrilling (and challenging) aspects of Mars' transit through Gemini, including tactical advice partly based on my own experiences as a Mars Gemini! I also divulge major global predictions which you'll want to keep track of. 

Join me, Evan Nathaniel Grim, as I break down the significant celestial events of Leo Season, including some tips for handling Mercury retrograde which begins August 4. Don't miss out on this episode that points out the cosmic bright spots you can capitalize on.

Speaker 1:

Hey, there, it's Evan Nathaniel Grimm, and welcome to the latest episode of Astrology Unbound. Today, I'm going to talk about Leo season and Mars and Gemini, and I'm also going to sprinkle in a little bit about Mercury retrograde. Before I begin, though, be sure to check out my Substack newsletter for an in-depth breakdown of my predictions for the globe, my step-by of my predictions for the globe, my step-by-step manifestation guides for each full moon, intention setting, recommendations for new moons, educational content and a lot more. Now there is a free service where you can get access to the key themes and my predictions, but there is also a paid service where you can get the deep dives on what each zodiac sign can expect for the key transits that are coming up, educational content and also monthly calls where you can ask me questions and we can sort of relate to the transits that are going on on a human level. So let's get into today's topic and I know I feel like lately, I've just been delivering bad news a lot and this episode I want to just make sure I highlight. You know, despite the fact that there is a lot of well, there's just a lot of heavy energy right now, and we are accelerating into, I think, a new era, and so it's very uncomfortable right now. It's hard to keep up with all the changes, and so stability is very much lacking at this time. But that doesn't mean that there aren't some bright spots in these transits right now. So I'm going to talk about how you can take advantage of Leo season and, you know, really capitalize on the coinciding transits.

Speaker 1:

So the sun is transiting through Leo from July 22nd until August 22nd, and you know what is Leo as a sign representing here. Well, first of all, the sun is in its domicile, it's in its ruling sign of Leo whenever it passes through Leo, and so the sun has this especially expressive quality to it at that time. So think about the sun as our vitality, our life force, our being and who we want to become, and there's a sort of a spiritedness to the sun, and so when the sun is in its home sign of Leo, it just accentuates these themes of like joy, expression, creativity. Again, there's a high spiritedness, a vivaciousness, and really what we're trying to do is nurture our inner child. So Leo represents children, but it can also represent that inner child that we are trying to, you know, really cultivate through our activities, whether that is, you know something artistic, performance related, something maybe even like athletics, but like anything that you do for fun, that you've always done since day one, you really want to invest in that during Leo season, and so the sun is in a strong position and I would say, this time around, I think it's especially fun because we do have Mars also transiting Gemini. So that's the other major transit that I want to highlight, alongside the, you know, the sun's passage through Leo. So Mars is in Gemini from July 20th until September 4th, and when you combine Leo and Gemini, I think there's an interesting alchemy there. So, first of all, leo is a fire sign, mars is an sorry Leo is a fire sign, gemini is an air sign. Leo is a fire sign, gemini is an air sign, and the combination of fire and air, these are both masculine yang energies, so they are compatible. And I think that Gemini and Leo combined, which I'll kind of build up to today, but there's definitely some sort of well, there's a sense of variety there, a sense of humor, a sense of, again, creativity. And with Mars and Gemini, let's just talk about that.

Speaker 1:

Mars in Gemini Well, mars is our drive, our motivation, it can be our libido as well, but it's really like what we are driven to do, and Mars is very much entangled in our daily activities, along with Mercury. Mars and Mercury those two planets really pertain to what we're doing, the activities we're doing on a daily basis, and Mars and Gemini. Gemini, the sign that is ruled by Mercury, or it's one of Mercury's signs, and it does have this duality to it and a certain cleverness, and so when Mars passes through Gemini, it and a certain cleverness, and so when Mars passes through Gemini, we start to crave variety and we start to become more playful and we start to explore the opposite sort of positions to everything, or we start to want a different perspective, and I think that also we're going to need constant intellectual stimulation, and Mars in Gemini is highly restless as well, so people are going to want to move through life much quicker and just dabble in things for a bit. So, oh, let me learn about astrophysics for an hour, now, let me learn about astrology. Now, let me go outside for a run, and now let me call my friend and talk to them for an hour and relay all these things that I've learned to them. So that's what Mars and Gemini partly pertains to, and I'm talking as someone who has Mars Gemini in their birth chart. So that's another reason I wanted to highlight this for the episode.

Speaker 1:

Transits of Mars really are highly important because they will dictate, literally, like, where we're investing our energy. And so, as a Mars Gemini natally, I feel like you know, obviously I've lived this out in my daily life and so I want to sort of you know, really dig into all the meanings of this transit Because, again, it is highly significant, you know, especially given some of the other aspects Mars will be making during this time. So Mars and Gemini is juggling multiple thoughts and topics at once, and if that sounds overwhelming, that's because it is. You know, as a Mars Gemini, I would say that I usually have many tracks running in my mind at the same time, and a lot of the time my thoughts are way, way, way ahead of the words that are coming out of my mouth. So I'm usually like three to four sentences ahead of what I actually am saying at this time, and while you might be saying, well, that makes you know, maybe that means that I'm really strategic, it's more that it's like. It's just like that restlessness, right, that impatience of, you know, almost wishing that there was a different language I could speak or a different way I could relay information, that would be much faster. So it's kind of that feeling of if you were to watch a YouTube video at two times speed, like maybe just try to watch this podcast at two times speed to get in the energy and the rhythm of Mars Gemini and you'll notice, obviously, that there's this sort of overwhelm in your system and you're trying to process all these things. But that is sort of the speed at which I you know and I think most Mars Geminis agree with this that I wish I could communicate at Gemini.

Speaker 1:

Being ruled by Mercury, mars in Gemini starts to invest in Mercury-related things and activities. So you know, mercury rules the mind, transportation, communication, processes, commerce, and Mercury really connects and interprets and also rules the respiratory system and the nervous system. So, for example, I think it was about half of my high school graduating class had Mars in Gemini, because I was born in 1990, during the Mars retrograde in Gemini, and I noticed that a lot of my classmates the ones that I've kept in touch with, a lot of them, have gone into sales. A lot of them have been in a position where they have to talk to people every day and kind of persuade them. That's one thing that you'll notice as Mars is transiting Gemini.

Speaker 1:

Here You're going to feel like convincing or persuading people to either hold the same opinion as you. There's something about Mars Gemini that kind of enjoys the give and take of a debate but also likes to convince someone and sway them to their position. So it's not that everyone's going to become a salesperson at this time, but I do think you'll find yourself very much like vehemently vouching this time is well, of course, indulge these things, because Mars Gemini, naturally, is going to do that. You're not going to be able to resist that curiosity and take advantage of the fact that you may be a more convincing, compelling speaker at this time. So if you had to, you know, pitch your business or your services or, you know, try to sell a manuscript or something. Absolutely do that. But Mars Gemini doesn't always know.

Speaker 1:

To me, it doesn't really know when to stop sharing and when to stop talking, which is ironic because I literally make content all day, and that's actually something I've had to really train my brain. To do is to understand when the point has been sufficiently made and when to um start to pull back and when to move on to the next topic. So you're you're going to feel, you're going to feel like me for a bit, not not, not exactly, but like. The point is, um, you know, absolutely explore new topical terrain, but don't um make unnecessary enemies or don't you know um complicate a nice friendship because suddenly you refuse to stop talking about, you know, this really really divisive uh subject. So, you know, use it to your advantage, um, not to your disadvantage.

Speaker 1:

But Mars in Gemini is also going to motivate people to do Gemini types of activities. So another thing I have noticed a lot of people not everyone, obviously, but a lot of people with Mars in Gemini. They've explored at some points, like bicycling or motorcycling, or they can sometimes be impatient on the road, but in terms of activities like, if you've thought about maybe getting a bike, or you have started to explore motorcycles or and actually even if you're not into that stuff, you will definitely see more motorcycles, you will see more bicycles. So if I'm getting like really tactical here, you wanna be watching out, out for, obviously, um, yeah, for bicyclists and motorcyclists. Um, you know, my dad is a Gemini and he rides motorcycles and so it's like a very and that's reflected in my chart, I think, through a Mars Gemini.

Speaker 1:

But, um, you know, this would be a great time actually during Leo season, with Mars Gemini, to kind of, um, you know, just explore your local neighborhood or maybe, when you're traveling, explore that neighborhood through bicycling, obviously, like be safe and like, if you don't like, know how to bike. I probably wouldn't do it at this time but, um, you know it, it can definitely. Like, with Mars Gemini, you can start to feel more interconnected to your surroundings. And another activity which Gemini pertains to is writing. So I know I have a lot of friends who are actually trying to like finish a book right now, or they're starting one, or they're traveling and they brought a journal and they're like, maybe this could, you know, turn into and transform into a book. Like I would invest in creative writing at this time because Leo has that creativity and Mars in Gemini is very motivated not only to speak and communicate through a phone call or a conversation, but it's gonna put that, it's gonna commit that to paper. So that would be another thing.

Speaker 1:

And dancing, I've noticed, again a lot of Mars Geminis. I'm drawing from my own experiences as well. But a lot of Mars Geminis. I'm drawing from my own experiences as well, but a lot of Mars Geminis need to move their bodies because, like, gemini is the hands, the arms and, well, the nervous system, and so with Mars and Gemini, it can feel a little hyperactive and it can feel like suddenly we have to communicate more with our hands. I'm doing that right now. If you're watching the video version, I definitely speak with our hands. I mean, I'm doing that right now if you're watching the video version. Like, I definitely speak with my hands, and whenever I see a Mars, I can always point out a Mars Gemini in like an interview, because they're oftentimes doing that. It's like part of their language and when Mars is in Gemini, that doesn't have to be just about the way that you communicate to people. It can translate to dancing.

Speaker 1:

So, if you wanted, dancing can be a way of actually calming yourself down, because Mars does create stress. So think about wherever Mars is. That's also. Even though it's an area where you can experience stress, it can also be showing you okay. Well, these are the types of activities that Mars needs, and so if you feed that Mars placement a little bit in a healthy way, then the sort of stress will subside a little bit in a healthy way, then the sort of stress will subside. So, yeah, go out to the nightclub, the dance club or just dance at home, whatever, and yeah, I think it's ultimately a really fun transit.

Speaker 1:

So, just to summarize, some of the strategies here which we're sort of are footing back to the Mars in Gemini, plus the sun in Leo, which is creating a social cocktail of sorts. You know, explore the possibility of like, maybe biking, dancing, exploring your neighborhood, creative writing, maybe hosting a listening party or a creative event or something Like. Maybe you just got into vinyl records and you want to host people you know at your house and just listen through a record. Mars in Gemini is also, uh, supportive of improv comedy. So if you are uh funny, or even if you don't think you're funny, maybe just give it a shot. You know, um, maybe I'll just like be a little bit funnier in conversation, but if you've had aspirations to, you know, go to an open mic and just try for a few minutes. You know, just tell a funny story. Then I would say, do it now.

Speaker 1:

One last thing I would say about this is that you want to be careful while you're driving, though Mars and Gemini can be very impatient and hyperactive on the road because Mercury is transportation and Mars really again overstresses, overheats, it really pushes our energy sometimes too far and it's very much the planet. It's a planet that likes to rush into things, because Mars is not about thought or consideration or forethought, it's like literally just it wants something now and it's because Mars is drawing upon that sort of like lizard brain, that libido. So Mars, you know, it's really just trying to experience something in the present and get to something as quickly as possible in Gemini. So as you're driving, I would just be more cautious than usual. You may see on the road more accidents. Actually, yesterday, as Mars was ingressing into Gemini, yesterday being July 20th, I think I saw two accidents actually and a lot of motorcycles too. So just keep that all in mind.

Speaker 1:

And now I want to just talk about some of the more significant transits of Mars and Gemini. So eventually Mars is going to align with Aldebaran and this is something that happens whenever it is transiting through Gemini. Now Aldebaran is a fixed star and it is approximately positioned at nine degrees of Gemini in the constellation of. Technically it's in the constellation of Taurus, alpha Taurus, but you know, in a tropical zodiac we have it positioned here at nine degrees of Gemini, it has the planetary nature of Mars and Jupiter actually, and actually you know I have Mars conjunct Aldebaran in my birth chart, so again very familiar with this energy, and this will happen around August 3rd and 4th, by the way. So when Mars reaches a conjunction with Aldebaran very close to where Jupiter is as well, I think that that will accentuate the power of Mars, because Aldebaran again has the planetary nature of Mars and Jupiter and Jupiter is right there. So we're combining Mars and Jupiter, jupiter amplifies, so we're combining Mars and Jupiter, jupiter amplifies and so Mars and Jupiter can be this exponential increase in energy vitality, but also anger and frustration.

Speaker 1:

It can kind of yeah, it can really bring out, I think, in Gemini especially, an argumentativeboding meaning during a time like this, because, well, aldebaran is oftentimes associated with the Crusades and religious wars. Now, aldebaran has unique traits it is the watcher in the east, it is one of the royal stars of Persia and you know it does have what I've noticed Again, this is from my own research, but people with major placements around Aldebaran they do oftentimes have prolific channeling capabilities. They will thrive in a flow state and they can often do stream of consciousness writing. But there is again this connection to the Crusades and a lot of people with Aldebaran sort of aspects. But you know, there is again this connection to the Crusades and a lot of people with Aldebaran sort of aspects. They're on like a different type of crusade in this lifetime. It's a little bit more of an intellectual battle that they're fighting about everything that's happening in the Middle East right now.

Speaker 1:

I think Mars conjunct Aldebaran will sort of ignite a little bit more tension between all the countries and nations involved. And actually yesterday, right before I filmed this podcast and I was talking about the Aldebaran activation in late July, it looks like there's started like there's more conflict brewing between Israel and Yemen now and you know you have to wonder if Iran is getting involved at some point. And I'm not going to dwell on this topic too much in this episode, but I just wanted to mention that when Mars aligns with Aldebaran, near that Leo new moon, august 3rd and 4th, the conflict in the Middle East could definitely enter a new phase. And again, it's because aldebaran being activated has that sort of link to the crusades. So but in your personal life I think, with mars and jupiter hovering close to Aldebaran there. I mean, you may suddenly feel like you can channel with your higher self, your spirit guides, or maybe you're just going to start doing that sort of activity of stream of consciousness, writing, which I talked about during the Cancer New Moon a couple episodes ago, and yeah, so otherwise, though, mars will also square Saturn in mid-August, and that transit, I feel, is going to sort of force us to slow down a bit, and I do think that, with Mars conjunct Jupiter square Saturn, there's probably going to be some effects on oil oil, which I'm getting global again here, but I think that you know, either, uh, oil supplies are constrained, or there's some sort of transportation, some sort of route, um, in the ocean, uh, that is suddenly blocked, like I do feel like in mid-august, like around august 11th, 12, 13, 14, 15, there's especially, especially August 14th, when there's a Sag moon creating a T-square with Saturn there, I could really see how something happens here with the price of oil, and it's connected to the supply of oil, and it's connected to something that's going down in the Middle East, connected to something that's going down in the Middle East, but also in your personal life.

Speaker 1:

When Mars gets that superior square from Saturn, it can feel like suddenly it's like there's this grating feeling of not being able to get what you want right away. It is kind of a traffic jam and when Mars squares Saturn it can kind of feel like yeah, like there's some type of rule or system or authority figure or manager who's telling you no, so it's like there's a feeling there of like rejection or not getting what you want immediately. So that can be obviously a little bit aggravating. But I think in this case, with Mars conjunct Jupiter, maybe Saturn is actually helping to add some parameters and guardrails to something that could otherwise spiral out of control. Sometimes, when Mars and Jupiter align, it can again like really create this overwhelming, exaggerated desire to do something or go somewhere.

Speaker 1:

And I actually feel like travel might be a little bit restricted around mid-August and that may be what you're feeling there. So I think I'm not saying like what to do, like what you should do about it. I'm not saying you shouldn't travel, but I think in mid-August there may be some restrictions placed on travel. Now I'm not, I haven't actually, but I think in mid-August there may be some restrictions placed on travel. Now I haven't actually done the research on the birth chart of different countries to say where that would happen, but it's very likely to me that some of the events in early August are and maybe this is connected to the Middle East, but some events in early August are suddenly limiting where people can travel or they're just giving people a sense of caution about traveling.

Speaker 1:

And also, with Mars and Gemini wanting to communicate square Saturn, I could see a lot of people just arguing against someone taking a position, against someone who's like in an authoritative position in their lives. So maybe you're arguing with a parent, maybe you're arguing with a manager, maybe you want to take time off and you want to travel, but your manager is telling you that you can't Like. These are the frustrating feelings of that Mars-Saturn square and you know, remember, when Mars was in Pisces conjun, we had, um, we had that bridge collapse in baltimore and I remember, with thinking about with mars conjunct, saturn and pisces, it has that energy of like a, of a collision, and I talked about like a boat when I was channeling a month earlier. I was like, well, it feels like there's a boat that's going somewhere. It's not supposed to. I wonder again here if there's some kind of collision that's happening this time. Yeah, maybe it's in the water again, but, um, there could just be again also some kind of larger conflict that is restricting travel. So here I am. I promised you that I wouldn't give you any bad news, but I think it's it's. It's difficult to completely shy away from that this year because there are so many challenges sort of culminating at once, to be honest with you. But I think that again, if you're not like super tapped into the news and you're like I don't really follow this podcast to get the news, I follow it more to take advantage of the transit, it's like absolutely, you can use the Mars Gemini transit to do all the things I mentioned earlier to be more playful, fun, humorous, social. And, by the way, with Mars and Gemini, yeah, you could go to more social events, you could host more social events, you could get invited to more social events. So that's all possible. But I just wanted to obviously be objective here and share some of the collective implications of these transits.

Speaker 1:

And now let's start to talk about Mercury retrograde, just a preview of it. And again, this doesn't have to be bad news either, because Mercury stations and turns retrograde three to four times per calendar year. So Mercury retrogrades very, very frequently. And it's because Mercury is the innermost planet, it has a very fast orbital period of 88 days. Messenger of the gods, and Mercury ruling again the mind and transportation, daily communication, daily activities, commerce and just connecting things through the information highway, connecting things in our own minds and connecting things through conversation. Like Mercury, is involved in pretty much everything we do, and so we make a lot of decisions during. Well, we make it like. Mercury helps us make decisions all the time, every single moment. And so view Mercury retrograde as an opportunity to actually rediscover some sort of intellectual gold or treasure from the time period when Mercury is direct. Like maybe you look back and you're like, wow, that one conversation I had with my friend actually was very valuable to me, but I overlooked it because I was jumping to the next thing. So view this retrograde as a time for revisitation, reprocessing, revisiting and reviewing, processing, revisiting and reviewing.

Speaker 1:

Now, obviously there are reasons to be cautious during a Mercury retrograde because it can lead to technical glitches, issues with devices. Sometimes, when we make a massive purchase, we end up regretting it. Traveling can be more difficult at that time. No-transcript. Well, you know, entertain a bunch of new things. Yes, that can complicate Mercury retrograde, like during Mars and Gemini, which is, you know, inclusive of this Mercury retrograde time period, like during Mars and Gemini, which is inclusive of this Mercury retrograde time period. Yeah, you may be moving too fast at times through things and then tripping up and misspeaking or misinterpreting something yeah, misinterpreting someone's words but at the end of the day, again, you have to balance out and calibrate according to all of the transits that are happening simultaneously.

Speaker 1:

The Mercury pre-shadow does begin July 16th, or it did. I should say. The Mercury pre-shadow began July 16th during the Mars-Uranus conjunction, and that also does complicate the retrograde. So, as I predicted last month on the podcast, there was going to be a tech fiasco and it did happen through the CrowdStrike outage and my flight was canceled yesterday because of that. And actually it's funny because I told someone that I didn't want to travel in mid-July because of that Mars-Hogonis conjunction. I was like I just think that some really whack stuff is going to happen and there's probably going to be some kind of tech issue and I ended up having to travel yesterday anyways due to extenuating circumstances and, of course, the flight got canceled. So I was sitting there. This is exactly why following the astrology is important, but anyways. So, because that conjunction occurred during the pre-shadow. I think that during Mercury retrograde, we're going to continue discovering things about that tech meltdown. Maybe the implications are more vast than we expected and, yeah, there's going to be some cascading impacts. I think to that outage.

Speaker 1:

But also, maybe in your own life, maybe you, during Mars, uranus, you had some kind of issue with your own tech devices. Maybe you're seeking to repair them right now. And, yeah, I mean I would just say, when it comes to Mercury retrograde, like you can make decisions. So if you have to go in to like repair something repair, I mean, that makes sense with retrograde you can do that, but you just have to be very cautious about it. And when you make a decision, you have to be very discerning before you make that decision. Like I don't think that anyone in the information age can like put their life on pause during a retrograde because, again, they're very frequent, but it does deserve, you know, vigilance and discernment.

Speaker 1:

And, again, if you can hold off on like major decisions and starting things, like I would, I would obviously hold off on that. And, uh, we do have the leo new moon, of course, around august 3rd, which I think yeah, it was like we're august 4th, which is like right when mercury stations so retrograde. So I would say, um, you know, between now and august 4th, you know we're not in the retrograde yet, so just you can obviously like make decisions, but just know that, like you may or may not ree, we're not in the retrograde yet. So just you can obviously like make decisions, but just know that, like you may or may not reevaluate them during the retrograde and then when Mercury actually stations retrograde August 4th, which it will retrograde it, by the way, august 4th to 28th, that's a time when you mostly want to be focused on, you know, decisions that you've already made and refining them, or finishing or completing something. So maybe if you wanted to finish your book or you wanted to finish a project, like you could do that.

Speaker 1:

Now, again, I understand that in some way, shape or form, people will be starting and initiating things during Mercury retrograde. Again, it's not that you can't make any decisions, but I would just again postpone major, pivotal decisions that are like systemic to your life, that are just, like you know, um and and again, traveling is you can travel, but like, especially in mid August during the retrograde when Mars and Jupiter square Saturn, I would not expect those flights to be on time. I would not expect, uh to. Yeah, I don't think you would avoid any delays. So also another thing I want to mention, though, is that there is a Mercury Kazemi on August 18th, during this retrograde, and that Kazemi is at 26 degrees of Leo, and I think that's a really powerful moment, because it does illuminate and clarify some of our decisions, our thoughts and what we maybe want to do next, and at that time, venus will be in Virgo, opposing Saturn. So I think, around August 18th, a lot of people will clarify a type of professional relationship that they want to build and nurture with someone.

Speaker 1:

Other people may realize that they want to commit to a partner, or that they want to pull back from a partnership and they want to end a relationship. So I think that's the part of the Mercury retrograde, especially in Leo, because Mercury will be retrograding Leo at that time where you suddenly yeah, you suddenly realize like, whether or not that partnership is sustaining that passion and that romantic feeling of Leo, because that's another element of, like the sun, being in Leo People are going to feel not only creative, but they're going to be sometimes in a more romantic mood, and so the question around August 18th is like, do I still feel like I have that inner flame and that inner passion? Is that? Is this relationship? Cultivating that inner flame? Basically, and with Leo being creativity, I think a lot of people may forge a very promising creative professional partnership. So maybe if you're trying to get a book deal, maybe you get an agent around that time. If you're trying to get signed to a record label, maybe you form a relationship with someone who ultimately gets you that deal. So, yeah, I think there is some promise there and I didn't even mention this.

Speaker 1:

But, like, mercury will retrograde from 4 degrees of Virgo back to 21 degrees of Leo, so it's retrograding in two signs. So it's retrograding in two signs. So, track where you, if you have any major placements between 21 to 29 degrees of the fixed signs and then zero to four degrees of the mutable signs and the fixed signs are Scorpio, leo, aquarius and Taurus and the mutable signs are Virgo then you know you will be especially kind of implicated during this retrograde. But keep in mind that, like when it comes to Mercury retrograding in Virgo, you know this is its home sign. So I don't dislike that. I mean it can actually help you really dig into a process that you've established or a routine or a health practice. Maybe you'll be reevaluating some of your health decisions or something. And also, virgo, again, being so detail-oriented, you could further refine a process, get into those weeds and those details and say, oh no, no, no. This is like what we need to do in order to perfect the process.

Speaker 1:

But of course, while it's in Virgo, it will be squaring off a little bit with Mars and Gemini and that can create a disconnect and a frustration between Gemini wanting to explore so many new things and then Mercury in Virgo wanting to refine something and focus. So there's a because you know that I mean Gemini and Virgo. Although they're both ruled by Mercury, they have completely different ways of exploring, you know, and using the intellect. It's because, like, gemini is more of a just like just throwing things at the wall. You know it's like throwing things at the walls to see what sticks. And Virgo, like, wants to be taking, like you know, a fine, you know, wants to be painting with a fine brush. So it's like two very different impulses. So this could be a very frustrating time in early August, like right before and during Mercury Station, where people are getting a little bit neurotic about points and arguments and they're like vocalizing that, they're like really making it known that they're not happy with like something really granular that like doesn't actually matter, people getting caught in the weeds, basically. And yeah, I just see a lot of arguments at that time, but at the same time, you know you can avoid those by listening to this podcast.

Speaker 1:

And another transit, though, with Mercury retrograde, which I think will be significant, is August 7th. Mercury retrograde forms an alignment with Venus, so maybe you're reflecting on some relationships there. Maybe that's a time when an X would come back or return, but obviously, like, xs don't come back for everybody during a Mercury retrograde. It depends on where you have Mercury in your chart, and I'll talk about that on my Substack newsletter, by the way, if you want, like you know, if you want horoscopes for each sign. So then it will retrograde back into Leo, which is revisiting our creative hobbies, our passions and so on, and you know it could revisit again. Yeah, it could revisit a creative project. And with Mars and Gemini, it's like no, let's like, yeah, we can contort this and change this and make some adjustments to suddenly breathe life back into this creative hobby, so it doesn't have to be all bad. Like I said, like you could really, um, you know, rekindle that joy by revisiting, um, some kind of creative pursuit and, um, bring some fun back into your life, you know. So, you know, overall, I think it's a really. I think it's a really.

Speaker 1:

You know, it is a, as it has been in 2024, like there's a lot of moving parts right now. It's, you know, it's very much a time where the collective is transitioning to a new era. That is, well, there's going to be new leadership, there's going to be a new way of working. You know, like, just to rope in AI, like that's just like the elephant in the room, I think all the time is like, well, what's going to happen to our jobs and, you know, the healthcare system, like, how are we taking care of ourselves? Like what, how do we? Like, how do we find fulfillment? Even, like, you know, everyone is soul-searching this year because there's so much in the world that we can no longer, there's so many aspects of our society that we can no longer anchor ourselves to. So it's a very nebulous moment where we're all kind of like swimming in the abstract, like I recognize that and so, like, just keep that in mind.

Speaker 1:

Like every episode, there is some element of, there's some kernel of truth there, which is that we are all sort of grasping in the dark, trying to find, you know, our way out of this tunnel. We have Pluto retrograding back to 29, capricorn in the fall, so 2024 is no walk in the park. But I think, like, hopefully, you've, you know, been able to come up with some strategies and identify some type of plan through this episode to make your life a little bit more again, a little bit more fun, just add some spice to it, or get into a creative headspace. With the sun and Leo, mars and Gemini, even alongside a Mercury retrograde, I do think there's plenty of room for, you know, these very like liberating activities that are, I think, kind of just life affirming, life affirming, and, yeah, they're just playful.

Speaker 1:

So really, again, this is about cultivating the inner child, and the inner child just has that sense of freedom. You know, leo, being ruled by the sun, it's like you are at the center of your own solar system and that's okay. It doesn't have to be uh, egoic or selfish, uh, but, but you can also be a little bit selfish at this time and just say like, hey, I just want to radiate my essence outward, you know, and, uh, if it happens through a massive, a massive music performance, or if it just happens in your own bedroom, you're just, you know, playing music, writing a song, or you're just painting, uh, in your front yard, whatever you have to do there, hopefully your're uh inner, you're connecting with other people. While you do that, you're creating with others, you're sharing your creativity with others and, um, yeah, I think it's um.

Speaker 1:

In that sense, this time period can actually add some levity, can add some levity to your life. And um, also, by the way, in late July, venus regains its visibility in the sky as an evening star. So as we start to see Venus again in the sky, we may become more aware of what we want to do about our relationships. And again, it can help us rediscover our Venusian creativity. And again, it can help us rediscover our Venusian creativity, especially with Venus being in Leo, as it gains that visibility.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, so hopefully, again, you picked up some really useful strategies during this episode and, before I close this out, just a reminder to subscribe to my sub stack to get an in-depth breakdown of things like Mercury retrograde, the new and full moons, I have intention setting guides and manifestation guides over there. And also, you know, if you want the horoscopes, you can, you know, subscribe to the paid service on my sub stack the paid subscription plan and also that comes with a monthly call where you can ask me questions and we can actually discuss the transits. So thanks for tuning into Astrology Unbound. Join me every Monday for astrological insights and I wish you a joyful Leo season and I will see you on the next episode. Take care.