Before the karmic reckoning of eclipse season, a moment of radical softness. Here's how to drink it in.

"Pleasure is not one of the spoils of capitalism. It is what our bodies, our human systems, are structured for; it is the aliveness and awakening, the gratitude and humility, the joy and celebration of being miraculous." — Adrienne Maree Brown

It’s been a long summer, hasn’t it? Leo season has been turning up the gain, a constant solar flare of performance: a demand to be seen, to be brilliant, to be on. It’s the season of the main character, and while the spotlight can feel like a warm bath, it can also feel like an interrogation lamp. We’re tired. We’re burnt out from the relentless pressure to create a personal brand out of our own beating hearts.

And just a couple of days ago, the Full Moon in Aquarius crackled across the sky - a flash of lightning that illuminated the field between me and we. It was a moment of reckoning, as sudden & sharp as the awareness of the tension between our own creative fire (Leo) and our duties to the collective, to the weird and wonderful ecosystems of our communities (Aquarius).

Where do we belong? Where are we giving too much? Where are our friendships feeling more like transactions? That lunation likely left a psychic hum in its wake. A question hanging in the charged air.

And now, this. A pause. A deliberate, cosmic breath.

The astrology of Monday, August 11th, and Tuesday, August 12th, is a strategically placed oasis in the middle of the shimmering heat-haze of 2025. It’s a rare pleasure stop, a pocket of such profound sweetness that it feels like an act of rebellion.

In a world built by systems that profit from our exhaustion, our anxiety, our disconnection, choosing pleasure is not a luxury. It is not a frivolous escape. It is a political act. It is reclaiming our birthright to feel good in our own skin, on our own terms, outside the relentless churn of the machine.

This is your permission slip from the universe to unplug, to feel, to receive. To fill your cup so deeply it overflows, because trust me, you’re going to need it.

🍯🐕⭐

Venus & Jupiter Making Honey on the Dog Star's Tongue

Let’s get into the guts of this magic. On August 12th, the two luckiest, most generous planets in the sky, Venus (the lesser benefic) and Jupiter (the greater benefic), are meeting in a lush, loving embrace at 14 degrees of Cancer. This is the astrological equivalent of finding a hidden spring in the desert. Cancer is the sign of the Mother, of home, of roots, of belonging, of what makes us feel safe on a cellular level. This conjunction is a tidal wave of emotional healing, a chance to find home in our own bodies, to nourish the parts of ourselves we’ve been told are too needy, too soft, too much.

But this blessing isn’t just sweet…it’s feral. This cosmic love-in is happening directly on top of the fixed star Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, known colloquially as the Dog Star. Sirius is a star of mythic power, promising fame, spiritual illumination, success. But it’s also the star of the “Dog Days of Summer,” associated with scorching, unbearable heat, fever, and even a touch of madness.

So this gift from the gods isn’t a gentle pat on the head. It’s a flash of divine lightning. It’s a truth so brilliant it burns. The pleasure on offer here is untamed, a geyser of creative and spiritual energy that demands you pay attention.

This intensity forces us to confront the shadow of the Cancerian archetype. For every fantasy of the perfect, nurturing mother, there is the reality of the primal wound. The smothering mother, the absent mother, the feeling that it was never safe to need anything at all.

This transit isn’t about waiting for someone else to finally give you the care you’ve always craved. It’s a call to the radical, political act of mothering yourself with a ferocity that dissolves old bonds of codependency.

It’s about building your own home inside your own bones, especially when the larger systems of the state and capital have proven they are not designed to care for you.

Take a moment and let your mind drift back to the summers of 2001 to 2003. That was the last time we had this potent, back-to-back Venus-Jupiter dance in Cancer. What was stirring in your life then around themes of home, family, security, and your emotional foundations? What seeds were planted?

A similar story is circling back now, not for a repeat, but for a deeper level of healing and integration.

⚖️🐦🌅

Mercury Wakes Up & Sings the Song of Self

As if that weren’t enough, on the very same day, Mercury, the planet of thought and communication, stations direct in the heart of Leo. After weeks of retrograde confusion, of reviewing and reassessing our very identity, the cosmic signal clears. Far from just emails finally getting answered, it’s a full on narrative reclamation. The Mercury retrograde in Leo asked us to go inside and ask: Who am I, really? What is the story I’m telling about myself, and is it true? And also my favorite: How the fuck did I allow for others to tell me who I am and believed them?

Now, as Mercury moves forward, we get the green light to speak that new truth from the heart. It’s the courage to stand up and say, “I am this. I want this,” with the full-throated roar of a lion who knows its own power.

Meanwhile, the planet of action Mars continues its journey through Libra. In the old books, they say Mars is in its “detriment” here - that its fiery, warrior energy is weakened in the sign of diplomacy and balance. Let’s reframe that colonial, patriarchal nonsense. Mars in Libra isn’t weak, rather it’s strategic.

I’m talking the energy of the community organizer, the union rep, the artist collective building a better world together - and the Universe, the Great Game Designer, The Nameless Light - insert your own belief system here - KNOWS that this is exactly the energy our little dumpsterfire stop-over in the humanity’s history REQUIRES!

Its power lies not in brute force - but in the slow, patient & often exhausting work of building coalitions, practicing mutual aid, and fighting for justice within our relationships. The shadow side here is a tendency toward passive aggression, of prioritizing a fake, superficial peace over the messy, complicated work of true fairness.

This transit asks us to wield our anger with grace and precision, to fight not for our own ego, but for the equilibrium of the whole.

⏳🧘‍♂️⚡

The Urgent Stillness Before the Karmic Reckoning

This pocket of cosmic grace is precious because it is finite. It’s a supply mission, not a permanent vacation. In September, a hugely significant eclipse season begins on the Virgo-Pisces axis, with a Lunar Eclipse on the 7th and a Solar Eclipse on the 21st.

Eclipses are wild cards, karmic accelerators, moments when the fabric of reality feels thin. The Virgo-Pisces axis is the sacred polarity between the tangible and the intangible, between our daily routines, our health, our work (Virgo) and our dreams, our spirituality, our connection to the great cosmic ocean (Pisces).

This coming eclipse season will demand both practical, real-world adjustments and a profound spiritual surrender.

So, this Venus-Jupiter conjunction is the universe telling you to fill your well. To feast. To connect with your chosen family, your ancestors, your own deep heart. To ground yourself in what truly nourishes you.

You are being given the fuel you will need for the great journey ahead. Don’t waste it.

The Heart is a Roaring Fire: A Guided Meditation for Your Leo Season Glow-Up

Right now, the cosmos has flung open the golden gates of Leo Season, inviting us to step into the spotlight, crown straight, heart blazing. The air hums with that fierce solar magic calling us to own our presence, revel in our creative fire & remember just how magnificent we are when we stop apologizing for it.

And yet, we know the shadow side of this heat: confidence can slip into ego, generosity can twist into neediness.

So if you’ve been feeling like you could strut into your own coronation one moment, then retreat to the nearest darkened corner the next… I’ve made something for you.

This is for us who walk the line between bold and tender, who dare to let their hearts be seen without losing their wild edge. The ones who crave their magic raw, radiant & dripping with unapologetic self-expression.

Your throne is waiting, your inner sun is ready to rise - step into it HERE.

✨ A Whispered Word for Your Rising Sign ✨

🔥♈️💪

Aries Rising

Hey you, with the fire in your heart. I see you. The Aquarius Full Moon just sent a jolt through your 11th House of community, didn’t it? A sudden flash of insight about where you fit, who your people are & what future you’re fighting for.

It probably felt electric, maybe a little unsettling.

And now, as Mercury wakes up in your 5th House of creativity and pure, unadulterated joy, you’re feeling the urge to roar, to create something that is unapologetically you. All while Mars in your 7th House is making you hyper-aware of every imbalance in your one-on-one partnerships, pushing you to fight for fairness.

But the real medicine, the deep soul-balm, is arriving in the most private part of your chart: your 4th House of Home, Roots, and Ancestors. This Venus-Jupiter blessing is a chance to heal your very foundation.

It’s about finding a sense of safety that doesn’t depend on anyone else. It’s the feeling of coming home to yourself.

Think back to 2001-2003. What was happening with your family, your living situation, your sense of belonging? A chance to build a new, more nourishing nest is here.

Put on some Grouper, light a candle for your grandmothers, and let yourself be held.

🌿♉️💪

Taurus Rising

Hey there, steady one. That Aquarius Full Moon just put your 10th House of…