Mercury Retrograde in Leo -- until August 18
Yellow is a Mercury color and a Leo color.
Image Source
Mercury, now retrograde in Leo, turns direct again late on August 18. It moves out of its own shadow (passes the degree at which it turned retrograde) on September 1. So ... we have a lot of time to devote to this piece of business.
Mercury, of course, deals with communication, information exchange, data handling, thinking, talking, reading, writing, broadcasting ... and sharing ideas in general conversation.
Leo is about self-expression and self-promotion, creative efforts, putting your talents confidently onstage where others can admire them -- and by extension, you. Mercury retrograde is a time of review. With Mercury retrograde in Leo these are the topics up for examination and adjustment now.
For the last two years, we've had a good long stint of Mercury retrograde in Leo. This year's Summertime gift ... is another one. Those talents and self-promotion projects you dusted off last year? You may decide to "change directions" on some, ramp up others, and add some new tricks to your repertoire. As I said, you have more than a month to work on this. The spotlight is on you. So polish your act until it really shines!.
Image Source
Mercury in Leo highlights your confidence and your sense of putting the "real you" on display. It opens up the natural gifts, interests and achievements for which you want approval, public attention ... and lots of applause. Mercury in Leo encourages you to express ideas, views and beliefs for which you want to feel important.
The things you say and do when this planet transits this sign have lots of ego invested in them -- and disagreements or criticism from those who don't see the world the way you do feels like an especially personal attack.
Quarrels on these points produce a lot of hurt pride -- on both sides. Your opponents are acting from the same self-centered territory -- and are no more prepared to give ground or compromise than you are.
Image Source
When Mercury transits Leo, the focus is on attracting attention -- making your mark on the world with what you say, think and write. There is usually a definite puffery and arrogance in the way thoughts are phrased with Mercury in Leo -- as if the speaker or writer is daring someone to contradict him with a chip-on-the-shoulder defiance that can cause trouble all by itself.
People born with Mercury in Leo can sound like they're delivering a kind of minor gospel to the chosen believers every time they hold forth on their favorite topics. Their phrasing is often polished and practiced until it shines.
They're proud of themselves and their opinions, no two ways about it. Sometimes, for sure, they deserve to be. They can be captivating, entertaining and inspiring speakers, thinkers, writers and actors. Mercury in Leo natives are natural showmen -- and they do excel at the craft.
Image Source
Sometimes, though, they're just so full of themselves -- and so amused by their own spectacle -- they talk just to hear their heads rattle. What comes forth is bombastic rather than breath-taking. They posture instead of persuading.
The best of them instinctively find the words, pace and inflections that touch the heart. The rest of them, not so much. It's easy for Mercury in Leo to get lost in the drama of its own oratory and while putting on quite a show, still miss the mark they wanted to hit.
It's the difference between an audience clapping their approval because they're with you chapter and verse... and clapping because you've finally decided to sit down and shut up.
In both cases though, Mercury in Leo may hear only the applause. It's a point we all trip over sometimes. But for Mercury in Leo, this is an especially familiar pothole.
Image Source
So, when Mercury retrogrades in Leo, it's time to figure out what you really think -- not just what's popular, not just what wins you points with the audience, and not just what sounds good in speech or on paper.
If you're presenting ideas that you say are authentically you, you need to be honest enough with everyone involved to at least be telling the truth.
With Mercury retrograde in Leo, you examine both the authenticity of your beliefs and your style of self-expression. You review the creative context that surround the ideas and documents you put out in public. You consider what's "really you" ... and what you may have borrowed from other sources -- for either approval or convenience.
And you review how much of what you say, write and publish is genuine art ... and how much is simply a way of showing off. If you want to be taken seriously, these are all good questions to consider ... and excellent answers to get right.
Image Source
Refine your style of thinking, speaking and writing so that what you put out as your brain-child ... your art ... is sincerely, authentically you.
Look carefully at how you separate fact from opinion ... and how clearly you draw the distinctions. Clarify your positions so that the real you is what's on display.
Re-evaluate your presentations ... manner and content. Are you honestly contributing to the value of the conversation -- or are you mostly grandstanding?
Polish your skills in intellectual leadership. Be current on the topics you present. Have something original to say. Lead by example.
Be a speaker, thinker and writer those who are your natural audience can trust. Be scrupulous in researching your facts. Take pride in what you put forth. Refine your style and content until you are the very best you can be.
Listen as much as you talk. Remember, conversations flow both ways. Beware the tendency we all have to become too rigid, too invested, too one-sided in your opinions.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
.gif)
Oh good, I'm travelling through four airports during Mercury retrograde. This should be fun. ;) At least my return trip isn't till after Aug 18th. lol!
Well, you're not the only comment on the post any more. You've been joined by a spammer and a bot.
I'll pray for you during your trip through four airports during Mercury Retrograde. I'd like to say it's nothing ... but you'll probably need it. (Double check EVERYTHING.)
excellent, love this and all the helpful reminders. being authentic is always important!
Nice photos
for sporting me vote &comment thanks
As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!