July 2013 horoscope - Leo

I follow the sidereal calendar; this is the monthly solar horoscope for birthdays from 16^th August to 15^th September or Leo Ascendants and Moons

By Louise Gilbert

Leo, this is a beautiful month where a lot of the pressure of the past two to three months eases off. Especially with Saturn in your house of the mind, thinking and communication in retrograde motion for the past few months, there may have been some mental anxiety and with so much focus on your career and general life direction, working overtime has not helped your stress levels. Work, in particular the kind where you had to play a central role, present new ideas and meet sales targets, may have been quite demanding. The same goes for pitching your ideas and your services to potential clients or even undertaking a training course to further your skills. In any environment where you were required to learn something new, your thought processes where challenges and demanded a lot of mental discipline from you and some projects developed a lot more slowly than you were used to up to now. During this process, it’s important for you not to allow yourself to think negatively and expect the worst – this only makes you depressed.

Luckily, in July 2013, you will receive a lot of planetary support from the grand trine that connects your 3^rd, 11^th and 7^th houses. This impacts several areas in life. First of all, your network of friends, acquaintances and business contacts is going to expand over the next few months and starting from the new Moon on 7^th July. True to your Leo nature, you are now able to walk into a room and really work it – make sure you order an extra batch of business cards now, you’ll certainly need it in July and over the coming months. Equally, it’s your group of friends that seems to be either expanding or changing entirely – perhaps your interests are now changing to such an extent that you’ll see a little less of your old pals as you start mingling with like-minded people that are more on the same wave-length with you and your re-re-structured way of thinking. It may also be the case that your new contacts are the ones that really appreciate your well through-through ideas and your practical mind, putting you in touch with the right people that complement your skills. This means that a beautiful new business venture or partnership emerges as a result that is equally as inspiring for you as it is profitable.

And this leads on to the second point. The planet that rules your money houses, Mercury is still retrograde until 20^th July, either literally putting your finances on hold or if you are waiting for a pay rise to come into effect, then the official nod from your boss has not sealed the deal just yet. While this can be a little frustrating, there is so much planetary emphasis on your house of gains and profits at the moment that by the end of the month, you should see the $ rolling in. Saturn, the taskmaster, is now moving forward again too and is exalted in the sign of Libra, meaning that where you may have had a difficult time getting your ideas across of be heard, you are now on a roll, pulling in new business leads and customers left, right and centre.

Thirdly, this supportive trine also has a beneficial impact on your romantic relationships which have been subject to some confusion and illusion. As you go out and mingle, socialise and make new contacts, those that are single will automatically find themselves in positions and places where a new romance may be waiting. Romance in general moved to a whole other level over these past years with Pluto moving through the 5^th house of true love, children and creativity. Your love life may have taken on a fairly intensive note and there is nothing light hearted about them now – on the contrary, there may even be elements of obsession and jealousy. But ultimately, relationships you are involved in or are about to get into can be transformative and healing.

The new Moon on 7^th July in Gemini unlocks a lot of the financial and relationship potential in your chart now, the fruits of which you’ll see in about six to nine months. In addition, this is a time of new long-term contracts or projects landing on your desk, again, some of which will only be done and dusted towards the end of the year and early next year but then with a nice little bonus attached to them.

The new Moon is in the nakshatra of Ardra, ruled by Rahu. This is the nakshtra of the wild one and the risk-taker. It is a somewhat shrewd placement where we communicate with wild force to elevate ourselves. The ruler of this nakshatra is currently in your 3^rd house of communication, so if you find yourself mingling within a new group of people now, or even amongst old pals, you may now communicate in a way that ensure the eyes of the group remain firmly on yourself.

Then, for the next year, the square between Uranus and Pluto turns into a T-square as Jupiter is now also part of the picture. This, again to some extent puts the spotlight on your finances, your partner’s resources and those places where you obtain funding from anywhere other than your own income and your own efforts. This part of life may have undergone some sudden developments recently and although there will also be some challenges involved in this area in July, this is nevertheless a very productive time for you when you can actually achieve a lot here. Perhaps there is a sense that almost nothing can now stop you from reaching your goals if only you put your mind to it. A lot of the most successful people in the world have T-squares in their chart natally as this combination focuses their energies into a certain areas of life and although these aspects can be stressful, ultimately, they push you to bigger and better things.

Towards the end of the month, the full Moon on 22^nd July 2013 in Capricorn in your house of work and health introduces a slight shift in focus. After all the mingling and socialising you have been doing this month, it’s time to keep your head down again and get some work done – those new customers you will have pulled on board need some attention and those potential leads need to be followed up. However, make sure you don’t let the stress get to you, watch your health and by the end of the month, when Venus is in your sign, you’ll be – or remain – your usual radiant self.

Have a profitable month, Leo!

Monthly forecasts are very broad, so get in touch if you are interested in an individual chart reading. In readings, I use the Indian Dasha system in individual forecasts which is known for its accuracy. You can also follow me on Facebook, Google + and Twitter now, see you there!