When was the last time you lost track of time? For some, it happens frequently and can make getting tasks done really hard. For others, it is a rare blessing that signals we’ve finally let go and are enjoying ourselves. Whatever your relationship is to linear time, this cosmic weather invites you to loosen your grip on “getting it right” and find a way to let a bit of the playful Leo spirit take over.
Despite all the forces currently working to challenge our existence and retract our rights, this is a season to savor the present moment, reconnect with your capacity for queer joy, and be honest with yourself about who and what in your inner circles are getting in the way of letting your unique light shine boldly without apology.
The planetary alignments this month support deep reflection, authentic self-expression, and creative risk-taking, so allow yourself to be carried away by inspiration when it strikes. Below you’ll find a guide to understanding and navigating what the stars have in store for us.
Leo Season Highlights
Leo Season begins on July 22 and ends on August 21.
Key Dates
July 23: 💥 Venus in Gemini square Mars in Virgo
emphasizing tension around balancing being carefree and responsible
July 24: 🌑 New Moon in Leo
opening a portal for reflection on attention-seeking patterns and an opportunity for setting new intentions and goals around visibility, creativity, and initiation
July 28: ✳️ Venus in Gemini sextile Chiron in Aries
take a moment to integrate and celebrate what your relationships have been teaching you about yourself
July 30: ➡️ Venus enters Cancer
shifting relationship dynamics toward a more nurturing and moody mode
July 30: ↩️ Chiron in Aries Stations Retrograde
reworking our perspective on identity wounds
July 31: 🌀 Mercury in Leo Cazimi (Conjunct the Sun)
an important moment to pay attention to signs and signals from the Universe
August 6: ➡️ Mars enters Libra
asking us to think a little longer before we act
August 8: 💥 Mars in Libra opposite Saturn in Aries
emphasizing challenge around where and how to take action on your ideas — do you actually have all the information you need to make a decision yet?
August 9: 🌕 Full Moon in Aquarius
illuminating capacity for connection, highlighting where we’ve been too detached or in denial about something
August 11: 🏁 Mercury Stations Direct
Goodbye glitches! Hello time to be honest with ourselves about what we learned no longer works for us . . .
August 17: ✳️ Mercury in Leo sextile Mars in Libra
take a moment to communicate your needs more directly
August 22: 🌑 New Moon in Virgo
opening a portal for reflection on routines and habits and an opportunity for setting new intentions and goals around health, fulfillment, and energy exchange
August 22: ➡️ Sun enters Virgo
initiating a new zodiac season!
Leo Season Breakdown
All things considered, this time period is a bit of a break from the brutal cosmic transitions we’ve been experiencing for most of this year. Leo Season is a time for play! And as we conclude Mercury Retrograde and get used to all of the outer-planets being freshly in new signs, Leo Season also calls for integration.
Integration is the process of absorbing, processing, and applying the lessons, experiences, and insights we’ve gained during periods of significant change or transition. It’s like digesting a meal — without proper integration, we can’t extract the nutrients or benefit from what we’ve consumed.
Integration is especially important after intense astrological periods (like the planetary transitions we’ve been experiencing this year) because it allows us to cement new understandings and prevents us from repeating old patterns. True change happens when insights move from intellectual understanding to lived experience. And for those of us who are constantly striving for self-improvement, integration helps us honor our growth by making space to acknowledge how far we’ve come and the wisdom we’ve gained, rather than immediately rushing to the next challenge.
There are many ways to practice integration, and the approach that works best will depend on your personal style. Some examples include journaling, meditation and mindfulness, therapeutic conversations, ritual and ceremony, and art, music, dance, or other creative outlets.
Play and pleasure are not merely allowed during integration — they’re essential! The Leo energy that dominates this season reminds us joy is a powerful catalyst for integration. When we’re in a state of play or pleasure, our nervous systems relax, we can better access flow states, and we naturally embody deeper presence. Joy and pleasure remind us who we are beneath our roles and responsibilities, connecting us to our core essence.
So during this Leo Season, despite all the horrors and uncertainty, consider how you might approach integration not as a serious, heavy task, but as a playful exploration. Could a day at the beach help you process recent changes? Might dancing in your living room reveal insights about your path forward? Integration doesn’t have to be a boring, structured process — it can be sexy! It can be simple! As Leo so beautifully demonstrates, it has to be uniquely yours.
If you’d like support with astrological integration, check out my 2025 Retrograde Guide Journal for writing prompts and other exercises (It’s half off through 8/11).
Below are horoscopes for each zodiac sign. Please read for both your Sun Sign AND your Rising Sign for a more complete picture!
Leo Season Horoscopes
♌ LEO
Welcome out of your chrysalis and into the solar spotlight, Leo! It’s your time of the year to be extra extra. Despite being characterized as infamously showy, your sign does often rely on clear invitations and a supportive audience to shine brightest. So, how are you going to celebrate? And can that celebration also serve as space to integrate the lessons of this year so far? Making space for reflection can be part of the fun, and it can go a long way in supporting the process of revealing new layers of your most authentic self. With the most recent Mercury Retrograde happening in your sign, something has shifted. New parts of yourself want to be revealed. The New Moon in Leo on July 24 offers a perfect reset button for your personal narrative — what story do you want to tell about yourself this year? When people ask you “what’s up?” and “what’s new?,” what energy do you want to bring to the conversation? This does not have to be a serious “issue” to solve or fix. It can be a game to play. Try things on. See how they feel. Repeat.
♍ VIRGO
Virgo, you are coming out of a very busy time. Leo Season invites you to slow down a bit. Your brilliant mind is constantly scanning for ways to improve what’s around you, so give yourself permission to retreat into less stimulating environments when needed. Leo Season invites you to say yes to invitations that replenish rather than deplete your energy and recognize that you can’t fix or save everything! As we close out this recent Mercury retrograde, consider what activities can help you turn your energy inward and reclaim some of the resources you so often and easily give to others. What have the last few weeks taught you? Inspired in you? What you’re working with is more information than ever before, and that can leave you feeling scattered. The New Moon in your sign on August 22 represents a potent reset moment — instead of setting goals, consider what you can release from your plate. This will free up energy to start off your own season lighter and ready to receive.
♎ LIBRA
Every season is one of rebalancing for you, Libra. It is your nature to constantly be recalibrating. In Leo Season, the scales are set to assess your social dynamics. What groups are you part of and how much energy are you giving and taking from these spaces? This retrograde season has been trying to illuminate some new clarity surrounding your friend group or any collaborative projects you are part of. Do the people you spend time with match your values? Are the groups you show up for showing up reciprocally for you? Are you having fun!? Let Leo Season be a time to integrate the honest answers to these questions. After Mars enters your sign on August 6th and then Mercury stations direct on the 11th, communication begins to clear up, allowing you to articulate your boundaries and desires with more precision and confidence.
♏ SCORPIO
People typically think of your sign as secretive, even reclusive. That certainly can be true, but Scorpios can also stand out and strike when they want to. You tend to step into the spotlight less frequently than other signs because when you do it’s for a good reason—like speaking truth to power, expressing something incredibly heartfelt, calling out a lie, or making your love known. Leo Season can be a time of increased visibility for you. What is on your mind and heart that is ready to be shared? What would you like to be seen and known for? This has likely been an activating retrograde season for you, stoking misunderstandings and activating miscommunications. As Mercury moves direct, what activities can you commit yourself to that will help you move through the muddy emotions that have been stirred up? What can help you process these feelings a little more fully before taking any abrupt actions on them? This is not to silence you but rather to make your message that much more meaningful and your actions more regenerative.
♐ SAGITTARIUS
Do you feel the buzzing, blissful energy of epiphany in your system, Sag? Leo Season tends to be an intellectually stimulating and adventure-inspiring time of the year for you. Savor this perspective. And, if you’re having trouble accessing this sense of optimism and direction, consider what activities could help you sort through the blocks between you and your zest. This Retrograde Season may be instigating some setbacks in your plans, but have you been able to see yet that these are blessings in disguise? Have you been able to re-route towards something you wouldn’t have guessed you needed? Keep the faith! And return to the practices, books, people, and places that connect you to something bigger than yourself. Leo Season has adventures in store for you that you can’t fully plan for but that you can certainly prepare yourself for.
♑ CAPRICORN
Being Saturn-ruled, you have a specific drive that not everyone is endowed with. Maybe this maps onto what we consider to be traditional “ambition” or maybe that drive takes you through unconventional plans and projects. However you use it or don’t, you have profound capacity. Leo Season asks you to reflect on this innate power and consider how your goals and commitments might be changing. This isn’t about external recognition; it’s about understanding your own hidden energy reserves and recognizing where to pivot toward what actually lights you up. Choosing to integrate this recent Mercury Retrograde will help the process! Consider setting time aside to reflect on your collaborations and everything you feel responsible to or for. Relationships are another key theme for you this season, as they’re deeply connected to the way you manage your personal resources. Where is your joy being supported and exalted? How can you make space for more?
♒ AQUARIUS
As Leo Season lights up the sky, notice how people around you act as mirrors reflecting parts of yourself, Aquarius. Pay attention to which individuals trigger strong emotions—whether it’s envy, delight, or irritation, these interactions are offering important clues about your evolving emotional landscape and personal needs during this transformative time. Whether intimate, professional, or familial, this Mercury Retrograde has likely been testing one or more of your relationships. Who has been pushing your buttons? What is that revealing about your own communication patterns? Notice when you snap. Notice when you internalize. Notice when you want to impress someone and when you could care less. Making space to integrate the deeper layers of these moments rather than breezing by them will pay off in the long term as you repeat old patterns less. Even though this kind of reflection can feel like a lot of work, consider how it could also be play. Leo Season is testing your connections, but that doesn’t have to be limiting! Lean into your experimental nature and get creative (kinky, even) with how you approach these dynamics.
♓ PISCES
Although your nature is to be unmoored, Leo Season beckons you to anchor yourself! This is a ripe time for grounding. That could look like the proverbial “go touch grass” or it might be time to tackle lingering mundane tasks like responding to messages, scheduling appointments, or going through your closet. How can you make whatever it is that you know you need to attend to but have been avoiding just a little more enticing? This Mercury Retrograde may be bringing up significant logistical hurdles or even health issues for you. Leo Season isn’t asking you to push past your window of tolerance, but rather to incorporate essential practices that strengthen your resilience and replenish your energy to address whatever obstacles come your way. What is both fun and resourcing? What pleasure helps you integrate presence with the tasks at hand rather than continuing to avoid them? Make space for that.
♈ ARIES
Leo Season matches your fiery spirit and encourages you to do what you do best—following your impulses! Let yourself have fun and explore your whims. With Saturn in your sign this Summer, you are better learning how having fun and indulging in pleasure does not have to be a distraction from your responsibilities, rather it can be a way to resource yourself to continue forging forward with the especially challenging stuff and the everyday mundane tasks. What might look like chaos from an outside perspective, can actually be a very effective system from your unique vantage point. During this Mercury Retrograde, there might be times where you’ve felt defensive of your creative process. Have there been any misunderstandings that have brought up old, internalized shame or guilt about how you express yourself? About when you make mistakes? Take note of these feelings. Make space to investigate and integrate them. Pay extra attention to these themes when Chiron stations retrograde in your sign at the end of July. The more you bring conscious awareness to these wounds the more powerfully you can give yourself and others permission to be whole—learning and teaching, messy and wise, fun and functional.
♉ TAURUS
Taurus, for you, Leo Season is all about building deeper self-trust. By nature, you have strong instincts. But you are also stubborn and sometimes that results in you staying with something longer than you know is good for you. Or fighting something that you know isn’t worth your energy. This Mercury Retrograde has been trying to direct your energy inward, to reveal patterns that keep coming up again and again despite not serving your highest growth or deepest joy. Have you taken time to reflect on these patterns? Have you gained any clarity on what you might let go of to make more space for a new vision or lighter heart? It’s okay not to know. It’s okay to know but not yet be ready to take action. Leo Season can be for resting, for reflecting, for play and pleasure. Just remember that while you can be the most grounded and consistent sign in the zodiac, you also have a remarkable capacity for change when it’s on your own terms. Set your own terms.
♊ GEMINI
You are infamous for being one of the more “chatty” signs of the zodiac, but people don’t even know half of the wild ideas and daring questions that pass through your mind all day. With Uranus freshly in your sign, you’re at the very beginning of a 7-year journey of radical and unexpected changes to not only how you think but also to how you conceive of who you are. This is a chapter of breaking further away from convention and the confines of what other people expect from you. The boldness of the Sun in Leo invites you to speak your mind, share your wild ideas, and add your unique insight to the conversation. As we’ve move through this Mercury Retrograde, what have you noticed about how you tolerate being misunderstood? What has been revealed about who can match your curiosity and play in the unknown? As you continue to change, grow, and share your ideas, remember to make space to integrate all this information! Fact-check yourself. Double check your sources. And don’t forget to come back to the body, too. To breathe. To stretch. To nourish.
♋ CANCER
As we move out of your season and into Leo Season, let this be an opportunity to integrate what you learned and what you enjoyed! This Mercury Retrograde may be testing your sense of security. Cancer, what is feeling scarce? What parts of your life have you been neglecting? Leo Season wants to offer you space to ground, to digest, and to replenish any areas of your life that have become depleted. Consider readjusting your finances if last month’s spending exceeded your budget. Perhaps your body needs rest after a busy Cancer season. Identify what requires attention and use this time to restore your foundation. That can include calling upon your community for support. So often you are the giver showing up for everyone else. Leo Season’s energy supports you in addressing your own fundamental needs!
