With taskmaster Saturn and relationship-oriented Venus playing prominent roles, this full moon serves as a call to take responsibility, set boundaries, and face simmering tensions.

Every year, from approximately July 22 to August 22, Leo season stirs up cravings for drama, sets the stage for you to fulfill your most heartfelt, fiery desires, and makes it possible to pinpoint luxury-loving ways to share what’s in your heart. This steamy time of year is generally a buoyant, confidence-boosting one, in which we’ve finally gotten into the groove of summertime and are well-prepared to let loose and get after what we want and need the most. But this year, the day after the sun moves into the fixed fire sign, a full moon in Aquarius offers up a tense reality check.

On Friday, July 23 at 10:36 p.m. ET/7:36 p.m. PT, the full moon, nicknamed the “buck moon,” falls at 1 degree of the future-minded, eccentric fixed air sign Aquarius. Here’s what it means and how you can survive any discomfort that July 2021’s full moon could deliver.

As far as astrology is concerned, the moon is your emotional compass, ruling over your intuition and sense of security. Monthly, the point at which it reaches its most full, shimmery, and luminous tends to put extra emphasis on those lunar themes.

Every year, from approximately July 22 to August 22, Leo season stirs up cravings for drama, sets the stage for you to fulfill your most heartfelt, fiery desires, and makes it possible to pinpoint luxury-loving ways to share what’s in your heart. This steamy time of year is generally a buoyant, confidence-boosting one, in which we’ve finally gotten into the groove of summertime and are well-prepared to let loose and get after what we want and need the most. But this year, the day after the sun moves into the fixed fire sign, a full moon in Aquarius offers up a tense reality check.

On Friday, July 23 at 10:36 p.m. ET/7:36 p.m. PT, the full moon, nicknamed the “buck moon,” falls at 1 degree of the future-minded, eccentric fixed air sign Aquarius. Here’s what it means and how you can survive any discomfort that July 2021’s full moon could deliver.

What Full Moons Mean

As far as astrology is concerned, the moon is your emotional compass, ruling over your intuition and sense of security. Monthly, the point at which it reaches its most full, shimmery, and luminous tends to put extra emphasis on those lunar themes.

Full moons are also notorious for being wildly intense moments in time. You run an errand and can’t help but get sucked into congested traffic and road rage at every turn, your neighbors are partying on a weeknight, or a client calls you with irrational demands. That said, it’s worth investigating what’s really going on at the root of these OMG moments. Full moons amplify emotions — especially those that are often ignored so that you can carry on day to day without having to deal with anything uncomfortable. But this lunar phase tends to bring any pent-up feels to a boiling point so that you have to deal with it once and for all. That’s why full moon drama tends to be the result of people reaching that point and projecting — or preferably, communicating about — any previously brushed-aside pain, trauma, or stress.

A full moon also serves as a culmination point of a regular astrological cycle. Everyone has narratives that kick off around a new moon and then come to a natural conclusion at a full moon six months later. (Reminder: New moons are the opposite of full moons, when the celestial body isn’t illuminated by the sun from our vantage point and it appears completely dark.) This July 23 full moon in Aquarius is linked to the new moon that happened on February 11, 2021. You might remember how, in the midst of a COVID winter and a Mercury retrograde, there were glimmers of hope — and moments in which you were able to connect with your closest network, even if only on Zoom. Now, anything you started around that time could be reaching its organic conclusion.

This July 2021 full moon may also present the initial result of what you started manifesting around the last new moon on July 9, which occurred in Cancer. Two weeks ago, the cardinal water sign played host to a deeply emotional, change-bringing lunar event that set off lots of cleansing but taxing waterworks and heart-to-hearts. Now, as you navigate the very different, intellectual, even stoic terrain of this Aquarius full moon, you could be thinking more rationally about whatever came up for you earlier this month.

No matter how a lunar event interacts with your natal chart, you could notice its intensity, but if it is hitting your chart in a significant way (more on that below), you could feel particularly antsy, emotional, or sensitive. But it can help to bear in mind that no matter how you’re feeling it, full moons serve as valuable checkpoints for examining deep-rooted feelings and completing one chapter before forging ahead into another.

Air sign Aquarius, symbolized by the Water Bearer, is ruled by the game-changing, electrifying, planet of rebellion Uranus and rules the eleventh house of networking, groups, and long-term wishes. Those born under the sign of the Water Bearer — or with other personal planet placements (the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars) in the air sign — tend to be progressive, future-minded, humanitarian, social, quirky, free-spirited, and drawn to forging platonic bonds. But they can also be contrarian and, as the fixed air sign, obstinate and susceptible to black-and-white thinking. Aquarians are hard-wired to strike out on their own, railing against convention, but when they get so entrenched in their ideals, they risk losing some of that free-spiritedness they’re so well known for.

And that’s actually one of the reasons it makes perfect sense that Saturn, the planet of restrictions, boundaries, discipline, and hard work, was the original ruler of Aquarius. Today, we associate Saturn’s energy with Capricorn, but the Water Bearer has its Saturnian moments, and this full moon will bring that front and center.

One of the reasons: The moon forms a wide orb (meaning it’s not super cozy and close, but it’s still in neighboring territory) to Saturn on the day of the full moon, and the confident sun, which will have just gone into Leo the day prior, is moving toward its annual opposition to Saturn, which will be exact on August 1. We tend to feel the vibes of a transit the most as we’re moving toward it. So, on July 23, the restrictive, biking-through-mud, lonely tone of the Sun-Saturn opposition features prominently during this full moon moment.

On the day of the full moon especially, you may feel like you’ve been putting your nose to the grindstone solo without much, if any, recognition or support. With restrictive Saturn at the wheel, you could feel stuck in neutral.

At the same time, the moon forms a teeth-clenching, awkward quincunx to Venus — the planet of relationships — in Virgo, throwing a spotlight on tensions and irritants within our closest bonds. For better or worse, Venus, which oversees pleasure, is also opposing Jupiter, the planet of abundance and excess, so you might lean into overindulgent to cope with any antsy, anxious vibes that are coming up for you.

And messenger Mercury, the planet of communication, in Cancer will form a harmonizing trine to spiritual Neptune in Pisces, which can make for spacey — but potentially creative and imaginative — interactions and thinking. But even this aspect gets a bit gloomified by the fact that power struggles are more possible with Mercury heading into its annual face-off with “burn-it-all-down” Pluto

All that said, as a result of Venus’ involvement, this full moon is setting up to bring up plenty of crunchy, cringe-y, headache-inducing relationship and social issues. And because Saturn is a key player, you’ll likely be reminded of work that needs to be done to maintain any bonds worth preserving.

The Reassuring Takeaway

Monthly, no matter what sign a full moon falls in, they’re opportunities to hit the finish line, get in our feelings, and unearth the truth of matters that have been bubbling under the surface for weeks or months. Under the bright light of the moon at her peak, we can see — or at least feel — more clearly, for better or worse.

With the rational Water Bearer and taskmaster Saturn running the show this month, you can’t avoid the fact that it’s time for a reality check. Although the full moon day itself might feel like an uphill battle, relief comes quickly. By July 24, you could be feeling less stuck, and once the sun moves past its opposition to Saturn, on August 2, you’ll be empowered to hit the gas, now more prepared to navigate whatever lies ahead as a result of the hard work you put in around Aquarius’ full moon.

Confidence & Glamour, Incoming: 6 Ways To Welcome This Leo Season Every 30 days or so, the Sun visits a new zodiac sign. During this “season,” everyone feels the energy of this prevailing astrological sign, no matter what your Sun sign horoscope may be. Leo season 2021 is from July 22 to August 22. As nurturing, heartfelt Cancer season draws to a close, Leo season turns our attention away from our cozy creature comforts, putting us under the proverbial spotlight to showcase our heart’s truest passions and desires. Leo is the astrological showstopper, the sign that loves being the center of attention. During Leo season, we can be self-centered at times but also excited, enthusiastic, and loyal. After all, Leo is ruled by the Sun, which is the force of our solar system. This is the sign that literally gives us life!Expressive Leo is the second of the zodiac’s three fire signs, and it’s of the “fixed” quality. Fixed signs (the others are Taurus, Scorpio, and Aquarius) are builders who like to stake out their turf and claim it. They come to stay—and they come to slay. And when glamorous Leo ascends to the throne, this potent energy arrives with a trail of glitter and gusto! Ruled by the bold, ego-driven Sun, Leo is symbolized by the proud Lion.

During expressive Leo season 2021, we can start using our voices again. That mighty roar can attract admirers, but it can also arouse drama. Keep theatrics in the nondestructive zone and you can relish in a few diva moments. Sometimes it takes a little “play fighting” (conjure the image of two lions rolling around on the savanna) to establish that you can hold your own. You don’t have to rip anyone’s head off to earn that regal respect!Here are six ways to magnify the magnanimous Leonine energy during Leo season 2021:

1. Tell your story — and allow others to tell theirs.All the world is a stage while the Sun is in Leo, so rehearse your lines…and script them wisely! You will be applauded—or booed—loudly now when you step up to the mic. But don’t let that stop you from making an unforgettable impression. Leo season 2021 is prime for flaunting your talents. Passion will be the driving force behind just about everything you do—whether or not your performance involves a stage. Many people will dare to be more vulnerable during Leo season, but be wary of getting swept away in personal theatrics. Leo energy can cause us to upstage others at times, forgetting that each and every person is a valuable member of a team. Use Leo’s flair for powerful leadership, but make sure everyone has their place on the playbill.

2. Put your signature stamp on your work.Do you! Leo energy encourages us to add our signature stamp to all that we do. This is a time of pageantry, a cosmic coming-out of sorts. Wardrobe? Check! Experiment with your hair and makeup, or don accessories and colors you don’t normally wear. While you don’t have to go full diva or debutante, have some fun with your look. Style is a tool for self-expression, so choose the statement you want to make. This is not a season for fashion as tyranny or an elitist insider’s club.

Fiery Leo is a democratic sign that understands the concept of individuality. The only runway you need to sashay down is your own!

3. Try not to complicate things. Ugh, drama. During Leo season 2021, trying to make a simple plan can feel like negotiating an international peace treaty. Take a deep breath and remember that the current situation is not the end of the world, or the last opportunity you’ll ever have, or your moment to deliver an Oscar-worthy acceptance speech (unless, of course, you’re winning an award). Do your part and urge others to keep it simple…and don’t add to the unnecessary theatrics yourself!

4. Refuse to “act your age.”One danger of Leo season 2021 is that people take themselves too seriously. Everything becomes so charged with meaning and importance that simple interactions turn into soap operas. Too much! Make a conscious effort to keep things fun and lighten up. After all, Leo rules the zodiac’s fifth house of playfulness and childlike wonder. Host a happy hour, hop on the “adult coloring” bandwagon, experiment with DIY crafting.

Break into interpretive dance during the morning meeting to add some levity. Bring some of Leo’s life-force energy into the mix by getting creative—and physical. While Leo season’s childish demands can be exhausting, the whole idea of “acting your age” deserves to be roundly dismissed. Forget about all of society’s “rules” during this live-out-loud phase. Reinvention queen Madonna is a Leo, as is the ageless and ever-limber Jennifer Lopez. Leo energy is an endless bag of tricks—and Leo season is a time to do something edgy and fun that disrupts the boring status quo. During Leo season, let’s all hold our heads high instead of staying small!

5. Know the difference between bravery and bullying.Leo is ruled by the proud and regal Sun, the center of our solar system. During Leo season 2021, we may occasionally, um, forget that the world doesn’t revolve around us. Egos can run amok. Defending our “honor” or “principles” can start to sound a lot like bullying and bigotry. So feel free to have an opinion—and to take a stand for it. Just make sure you’re not silencing someone else’s right to have theirs.

6. If you must roar, do it lovingly.Prepare to dodge some chest-beating loudmouths during Leo season. Sadly, the most obnoxious people to surface during Leo time are often well dressed, charismatic, and in positions of power. But what the heck are they saying? Let’s not get so dazzled by the show ponies that we end up running off with their circus!

Let’s spend as much time thinking about what comes out of our mouths as we do with adorning and primping ourselves for “the stage.” Then maybe, just maybe, our roars can make a difference. Infuse your intentions with love and that mighty bellow will become a rallying cry for everyone to claim the Leo season birthright: passion, fierceness, and joy!

Chiron goes retrograde on July 15th, 2021 at 12° Aries. Chiron is retrograde until December 19th, 2021, and turns direct on December 20th, 2021 at 8° Aries.

If you have your natal Chiron in Aries, or if you have planets or angles between 8°-12° Aries, you want to especially pay attention to this transit.

Chiron is the Wounded Healer of the Zodiac. Chiron is a sensitive point in our chart – it is where we feel broken, ashamed and inadequate.

Now that Chiron is in Aries, these feelings of brokenness and inadequacy are about the very foundation of who we are (Aries is the sign of identity). Basically, with Chiron in Aries, we feel that something is wrong with us.

But Chiron is also where we have the opportunity to heal ourselves. These ‘Chiron’ feelings of woundedness, pain, and vulnerability are a symptom of a healing crisis. Something inside has cracked. Healing is about to happen.

Let’s say you have an infection on your leg and you take antibiotics treatment. After two or three days you start to feel sick. Why that? The antibiotic has killed the infection. Now your body deals with the toxins and dead pathogens.

Your body is temporarily overloaded – and that’s why you feel sick. This temporary sickness is, in fact, a sign that the treatment has succeeded, even if it doesn’t feel that way.

In the same way, you first have to bring whatever is ‘wrong’, repressed or unacceptable about yourself to the surface – so you can deal with it.

If you want to heal, there is no other way around. You have to face the pain.

What happens if you don’t deal with the pain?

If you bury these feelings inside, if you keep them away from your awareness, you start to dissociate from a part of yourself.

With time, the feelings and mental models things that are not “acceptable” only grow bigger and stronger. Much like cancer, they create a new living organism – your shadow. Soon, without even realizing, there will be two of you: the Acceptable You and the Unacceptable You.

There are two people sharing the same body, but not communicating with each other. At best, they will ignore each other. At worst, they will start to fight. There can be only one of you, right? This is what sickness – physical, emotional, spiritual – is. A split, a conflict between two ‘foreign’ entities.

Yes, you can take antibiotics and kill the ‘enemy’. But because you created that enemy in the first place, it’s only a matter of time until you create it again. That’s why many times we have remissions when the disease is chronic.

The disease comes back because THAT you are trying to kill with pills, with fasting or other treatments – is a part of YOU.

When we process pain, we, in fact, accept that pain is part of us, and ultimately, embrace that part of us we were trying to hide. That’s how we heal.

I’m not saying that pills, exercise, or healthy food are not good for you and are not going to heal you. But if you have a Chironic illness (and we all do), then trying to ‘cure’ what is ‘wrong’ with you, trying to ‘fight’ the enemy is not going to work.

The only way to heal from a Chironic illness is to accept yourself fully.

Chiron shows us what’s split inside us, and also what we need to do to bring these broken parts into a unified whole.

Just like Chiron was half-human, half-horse, half-mortal, half immortal, we too are a sum of broken parts. There are parts of us we accept and identify with, and parts of us we despise and reject.

When you feel shame, guilt, or inadequacy, ask yourself: which part of myself I am trying to hide, or to ‘fix’? That’s exactly that part of you that you must learn to love.

Chiron Retrograde – Become Your Own Medicine

When Chiron goes retrograde, this search for integration moves inwards.

When Chiron is direct we look for answers outside. We go to the doctor, to the shaman, to the spiritual guru, to the coach. We travel to faraway places. We find mentors and people who can teach us things we don’t know.

With Chiron retrograde, we look for answers inside. We become our own medicine. We become the Shaman.

When Chiron is retrograde we apply what we’ve learned while Chiron was direct, and we heal. Chiron retrograde is when we make sense of everything we’ve learned on our own terms.

Unlike Mercury for example, which is retrograde for only 3 weeks, Chiron spends almost half a year in retrograde motion (when in Pisces, Aries and Taurus). Chiron, as well as the other outer planets, take time to integrate. We need more time to process its energy.

From now until December (when Chiron goes direct again) you will dive into the healing waters of Chiron by diving inside. You will become your own medicine.

Chiron is a maverick. His knowledge goes beyond our limited Mercurial knowledge. When you’re ready, your inner Chiron will help you heal your physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual illness.

When Chiron is retrograde, you are Chiron.

Bring all of your broken parts together, including those you are ashamed of the most. Make peace with ‘the enemy’. Accept yourself fully. When you own your shame, your inadequacy, your vulnerability, your shadow, this is when you become whole, this is when you heal.

On July 9th, 2021 we have a beautiful New Moon at 18° Cancer.

Cancer is a delicate energy. Often symbolized as the mother, the home and our inner most sanctum. It has this intense energy to it which calls for us to move in time with nature and allow our emotions to shift the way the weather does, something which holds deep tension with the lives most of us live. Cancer is an energy that in most of us is unhealed.

Maybe simply said, this is a sign that calls for us to reawaken our inner feminine and honor the mother within and around us. That sounds simple but there is a lot of collective baggage around this which stems back to the start of the repression of the feminine. As such this is a New Moon calling for a new cycle to start which starts to pick at this wounding. You might call it the ‘mother wound’ or something along that line. It’s a cycle that is calling for deep cleansing to the places where you repress, deny, and even shield yourself from the immense power of the feminine. A great example of this is if you think about the value society places on work. We are brought up to believe that we should work 9-5 (if you’re lucky) 5 days a week and always be ‘on’. In truth, we have good days, bad days, unproductive days, intensively productive days etc. We are dynamic beings, not capitalize robots.

Cancer energy calls for you to reawaken that connection you have to your feelings. To heal those places you still believe that it’s not ok to cry, that you are too much, that you feel too much, that you get too angry etc. none of that is true. It’s just that we live in a society obsessed with order, and scared of chaos. The most obvious form of chaos – your emotions.

This is a New Moon to rebalance order with chaos, to start to drop your guard when speaking about how you feel (you have every right to express yourself) and to take time to notice when you’re having a good or not so good day – and not labeling that as unproductive. FYI – You are not here to be productive.

Cancer New Moons are special New Moons by default, because Cancer is ruled by the Moon. We are talking about Moon’s favorite New Moon of the year! Cancer is the sign of conception, and New Moons in Cancer are great for birthing personal projects that you’ve been nurturing and working on for some time.

The good news doesn’t stop here. The New Moon is supported by Neptune and Uranus. The New Moon is trine Neptune in Pisces, sextile Uranus in Taurus, and opposite Pluto in Capricorn.

Basically the New Moon makes aspects with all outer planets. Outer planets aspects always feel fated, it’s like there are higher forces at play, like there is a divine orchestra that guides our actions. That’s why this New Moon in Cancer will have an almost magical feel to it. Things are finally falling into place.

The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) work at a subtle level, but they nevertheless influence us every step of the way. Nothing may actually happen, but we will feel a sense of direction, of “rightness”, a feeling that God is on our side.

New Moon In Cancer – What Feels Right

Of course, this is a New Moon in Cancer, so we are in the realm of feelings. Cancer is a cardinal, water sign. Just like the river intuitively finds its way to the sea, our feelings want to guide us in the right direction.

If you are a more intellectual type of person, trusting your emotions can feel awkward; you may not even know where to start.

Well… the good news is that you don’t have to start anywhere! A New Moon in Cancer is not a “7 steps to anything. New Moons in Cancer are not about fixing something, following a plan etc… not even about meditation or any other type of spiritual practice. I mean, it can be about meditation, but the key here is that there is no process, no “best practice”, no “how to” to a New Moon in Cancer.

With the New Moon in Cancer, you only have to do what feels right. That’s it! Easy no? Well, that’s why the Moon is in domicile in Cancer, because Moon and Cancer speak the same language – the language of emotions.

The New Moon in Cancer is a time to honor your emotions, to pay attention to what you actually feel. Within Cancer’s cardinal waters, if something ‘feels’ right, then it probably is right.

And here comes the “task” of the New Moon in Cancer: this task can be incredibly easy, or incredibly difficult. Can you welcome your emotions? Can you allow the Cancerian waters to guide your actions? Can you actually act upon your feelings?

Some may say: if I really act on my feelings, then someone’s going to get hurt. But bottled hurt is not really what Cancer is about (that’s more the Fixed Water Scorpio). Cancer is Cardinal Water – Cancer is that very first emotional input, that is rooted in the truth of who we are.

The Moon In Cancer – The Womb Of Creation

In Astrology, Cancer is connected with our home and family, with our safety and comfort zone. Cancer is our roots, the womb of creation, that safe, nurturing space where life is formed. Cancer is the source, the root cause, the deeper truth. When we acknowledge, when we connect with our Cancer zone of genius, when we trust our gut feeling, we automatically do the right thing.

It’s interesting that in Cancer’s safe womb of creation, new life can emerge only if there is some chromosomal match, if it makes evolutionary sense for mother’s and father’s genes to come together. If there is a match, new life emerges. If not, nothing happens.

Similarly, when we trust our emotions, when we’re confident about how we feel, things come easily. Nothing good can ever come to life if it’s not rooted in our intuition and emotions. The New Moon in Cancer is about birthing something new into existence.

At the New Moon in Cancer, let your intuition and gut feelings guide your actions and become your inner priest. When you’ll feel a sense of alignment, you’ll know you’re on the right path.

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