After all, it’s ruled by Leo — the flirtatious fire sign symbolized by an intimidating feline.

Anyone born with astrological placements in fire sign Leo is best known for being self-assured, comfortable — and, OK, occasionally infatuated — with being in the spotlight, ambitious, and optimistic. That upbeat, driven vibe is owed to the sign’s ruler, the sun, which oversees self-image and confidence in astrology. And those are all themes you can expect to come up around this month’s Leo-ruled lunar event.

The Lion’s annual new moon will be exact on Thursday, July 28 ET/10:55 a.m. PT. With other fiery aspects occurring at the same time, it’ll set the stage for stepping into your sense of self, assertively expressing your needs, and moving forward with conviction.

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The new moon in Leo brings a hefty dose of romance and playfulness.

New moons — which happen when the confident sun pairs up with the intuitive moon — always present a monthly opportunity to get clear on which new chapter you want to write over the course of the next two weeks (up until the next full moon) and next six months (when the corresponding full moon occurs). Most new moons are considered opportune times to check ourselves and consider how we’ve been faring in a particular area of life, and this particular one, falling in Leo is a chance to open up about what’s in your heart, to play, and to nurture your self-confidence and creativity.

Associated with the fifth house of romance and self-expression, Leo’s all about flirtatious, fun, rose-colored moments in life, and those are precisely what your mind could be locked on right now. (Leo is also the fixed sign of the fire sign crew, so it has the tendency to make us laser-focused.) Whether you’ve been wanting to step up your dating game, set — and hold — better boundaries with someone in your life, open up about your needs in a long-term relationship, or dive into an imaginative project that’ll require hard work but could win you a round of applause, now’s the time.

And ruled by the brilliant, blazing sunshine, Leo exudes innate leadership qualities and self-assuredness and tends to believe that, even in the gloomiest moments, there’s a silver lining. While the world feels like a challenging place to live in lately, this blast of Leo energy could help you zero in on an achievement to celebrate, aspiration to pursue, or even an area in life in which you’re pumped to take on an even more authoritative role.

The moon’s trine to Jupiter amps up the enthusiasm.

With the moon falling at 05 degrees of Leo and Jupiter, the planet of abundance, fortune, and expansion, falling at 08 degrees of Aries, anything that is coming up for you around this new moon could feel even bigger, brighter, and bolder than usual. (The sun will also be approaching its trine to Jupiter, which will be exact on the 31st, so while there may not be much chill in these last days of July, you could stumble into a lot of luck.)

Maybe you’ve been thinking of planning a vacation, and now, it’s morphing into a full-scale, international revenge travel adventure. Or you’re ready to pitch a business proposal to higher-ups and what you’re sharing has morphed from a seed of an idea to something much more ambitious.

It could also be that emotions — it is the moon we’re talking about, after all — are running higher than usual. But fully embracing them, meeting them head-on, and being open to talking them through, as Leo is apt to do, comes more naturally — and is definitely the best way forward.

We’ll also be moving toward a highly charged Mars-Uranus meet-up.

There’s an underlying volatile, innovative, or simply surprise-packed tone to this new moon that isn’t quite stemming from the fact that it’s ruled by a sign symbolized by an intimidating feline. Instead, Mars, the planet of action, energy, and anger, will be moving toward a conjunction to Uranus, the planet of sudden change, revolution, and rebellion. Thankfully, this link-up, which is exact on August 1, is happening in a sign with a very long fuse: Taurus, the fixed earth sign. But it’s still a reason to expect the unexpected — like an epiphany about how you want to kick off a whole new chapter or perhaps blow-ups that feel more fit for a full moon.

Mercury’s moving toward an opposition to Saturn, straining one-on-one communication.

At the time of the new moon, Mercury, the messenger planet, will be closing in on an opposition to Saturn, the taskmaster planet, which oversees limitations, boundaries, and restrictions. On July 31, they’ll be exactly opposite in Leo (Mercury) and Aquarius (Saturn), which could cause some head-butting within partnerships around the best path forward. You could feel like you’re speaking a different language than your S.O., dearest friend, loved one, or colleague and might do well to take a step back to take care of your own needs (a very Leo lesson!) and what you can actually control versus pushing harder and harder to get on the same page.