What better sign than Leo to have Mercury retrograde in if you just want to have some fun?  Perhaps for many of you August is the perfect time to kick back, relax, and just enjoy life.  However, if you want to start a new creative venture or project it’s probably not going to be smooth sailing.  Mercury retrograde is notorious for abrupt changes of plans and something going awry that then necessitates going back and starting over and wasting more precious time.

Please try to use the month of August for completing projects already underway, or for planning projects that you want to launch fully in September or October.  Editing work of all kinds is favored by a retrograde phase.

Why am I emphasizing Mercury in Leo when Mercury turns Retrograde on August 2nd at 1 degree of Virgo?  Take note; it will quickly move back into Leo by August 8th and stay there until September 9th when it finally re-enters Virgo.  That’s another full month of Leo qualities.  In fact, every time Mercury does this forwards, backwards, forward dance it will literally imprint the sign it is in for approximately two months.  In this case it’s the last half of the sign of Leo, from 18 degrees to 29 degrees.

Some of you may have Mercury in Leo natally.  All of you have Leo somewhere in your natal chart.  Look to that area for clues as to where to use this energy.  Do you have Leo on the 5th House?  Great!  Get those creative ideas and inspirations out there with renewed confidence..  Do you have Leo on the 10th House?  Power up and present yourself to the world with fresh creative verve.  Do you have Leo on the 12th?  What a perfect time to retreat from the world and allow inspiration to guide you creatively.

The other theme I want to emphasize is allowing your heart to be the organ of perception and intelligence that guides you.  We do know now that intelligence is no longer restricted to the brain.  Leo rules the heart.  Simple, huh?  Let your heart speak to you and speak from your heart.

Don’t you wish all those posturing politicians in Washington had been doing that as they wrangled over the United State’s debt issues?  Leo can also be terribly bombastic and bear a false sense of intellectual superiority.  Theatrical?  Oi vey!!  Sadly, for clear analysis and practical decisions to be made we need more Mercury in Virgo and it’s only there from July 29th through August 7th.  It appears to have saved the day as this morning’s news indicated. Let’s hope so, but I’m not holding my breath. With this Mercury Retrograde in the USA’s 9th house the rest of the world is already thinking Washington is nuts. The Nation’s global relations are again suffering because too many human egos, rather than human hearts, are trying to force decisions that effect not just America, but the entire world now.  The worst aspects of Mercury in Leo are being too self-centered and lacking in objectivity.  Keep in mind that Mercury entered Leo back on July 2nd, right after the Solar Eclipse in Cancer which fell in the house of taxes and debt in the US chart.  Many mundane astrologers warned of this mess, and here we are.

But let’s get back to you and me.

Perhaps Mercury retrograde through Leo will help us to re-look at our ethics and moral compass when it veers away from being heart-centered.  Let’s use this time to pause, to reflect.  Do we use our hearts when we think, when we speak?  I know I still have a lot to work on in this arena.  I realize that with Leo having a great deal to do with my 8th house I need to learn to not just listen with my heart, but to be open to the hearts of others.  Do I connect with their heart and really listen to what their heart is trying to show me?

In this strongly ‘Leo’ time let’s listen to the wisdom of our hearts and practice heart-felt communication.  What could be more joyful?