Astrological Forecast for July 27 to August 2, 2006

by Ellen Zucker

With the New Moon in Leo this past Tuesday, the princes and princesses have come out of the woodwork. They are amusing to watch; their antics are charming and they renew our sense of fun.

All of us are princes now and we want to take center stage to sing and dance. Whether your venue is Broadway or Main Street, you are enacting the drama of your very own life and you have the starring role.

At heart, we are all creative beings and we all need to feel special. Even the lowliest stagehand appreciates a 'thank you' for a job well done.

The place where you find Leo in your chart is the place where you have stores of creative energy ... where you are unique, truly individual.

The glare of the spotlight, the audience's applause ... this is heady stuff. The trick is not to let it go to your head. Under strong Leo influence, it is easy to forget that your world is the only one that revolves around you and that others have feelings, too. The line between 'charming princess' and 'insufferable little darling' is thin indeed.

No matter. Once you have made up your mind, you are right, and little will convince you otherwise. President Bush, with Leo rising, stands by his foreign policy decisions even in the face of daunting criticism, is an excellent example.

On the other hand, a little flattery goes a long way with Leo. (Did I say Leo likes the sound of applause?)

But during this time of year, regardless of the configuration of our charts, we are all honorary Leos. (For more about Leo, click here.

We begin the week with the afterglow of Wednesday's Venus/Jupiter trine, a beautiful flowing aspect between the planet of love and the planet of optimism and luck. Moon enters Virgo in the am, reminding us that it is not enough to exude creativity. Our task is to channel our pickiness and dissatisfaction into self-discipline. In this way, we hone our craft to be truly great and worthy of the applause we crave.

In the meantime, Mercury is motionless in the sky now. It is preparing to move forward once again. By Friday, it is beginning its forward motion. It moves imperceptibly at first - in the coming days, it will pick up momentum.

You become aware that your perspective on many issues has changed since Mercury made its detour. As the planet picks up speed, logjams that you experienced in the past month will fall away. Or they will no longer matter.

The week ends as we enter the month of August and the Moon enters Scorpio. People and situations can be intransigent as planets in the incompatible fixed signs stand each other down. The issue is 'who is the boss?' Both the Moon and gaseous Sun meet gaseous Jupiter. Inflated egos are part of this mix.

The swelling is temporary. Next week, Sun crashes into constricting Saturn and lots of hot air balloons are punctured.

July 27
We still feel upbeat from the afterglow of yesterday's delightful trine between Venus and Jupiter. Perhaps all things are possible.

We become more grounded and realistic when the moon enters Virgo at 7:36 am EDT. This becomes a very productive day if we can remain focused. The Moon meets up with Mars in the early afternoon. Channel the Martian energy into your work, think before you act, and don't get bogged in details.

July 28
Like overindulged children, some people may be difficult today. Uranus and the Moon stare each other down in the middle of the day. Expect the unexpected.

Expect lots of communication today as Mercury hangs motionless in the sky.

July 29
The Moon is void for most of the day. Let disagreements go, kick back or just tend to routine matters today. Tonight is a nice night for a social evening as Moon enters Libra at 8:28 pm EDT.

July 30
Generally, it is a very nice day. The Moon makes nice contacts to the Sun and later on, Saturn. Plus Venus makes a flowing aspect, the trine, to Uranus giving us some magic and excitement.

July 31
Back to work. But now, Mercury is moving forward and it is safe to go into the water. As the days progress you will find it easier to go forward on all of those issues that seemed to get stuck during the Mercury Retrograde hiatus. The question is, do you want to?

August 1
The Moon moves into intense Scorpio. With Sun still in self-important Leo, egos can be overly sensitive to slights. Watch out for excess.

August 2
Generally it is a nice, though changeable day. The Moon makes many contacts throughout the day taking us on emotional highs and lows. But with Sun making contact with Jupiter, we want to see everything in the best light. For some, Jupiter can over inflate a sense of entitlement.