Get ready for the Summer of Love: the celestial luxury bath of Mars – the planet of action and desire – and Venus – the planet that represents connectedness and values and relating – both in the sign of heart, romance, fun, and play – Leo. With Mars and Venus conjoined in Leo this July and the sun going into Leo on July 23rd opportunities for epic renewal and rejoicing are just ahead. The big question is: how will you spend your love capital? Where will you put your love into action? How will you focus your desires into the values you care about most? How will you upgrade your vibration to one of joy and appreciation?Let's look more deeply at this temporary coalescence of Mars with Venus, which will resonate both inside and outside of us. This is a prime opportunity to center our deepest desires in our core values. In the wake of a time marked by fearful separation for so many, we can shower our beloveds more fully and innocently with the love we feel for them. We can gather to reflect upon our trials and tribulations, and to celebrate how we have prevailed – even if we just barely made it and are feeling worn out or worn down. We can create intentional gatherings focused on the best of each of us and what we love most about each other. At its apex of self-expression, Leo joyously gifts us with just the right tools and toys for levels of fun we haven't experienced in a long while.What are the challenges or shadow sides of Venus and Mars coming together in the child-like, playful, exuberant sign of Leo? First: we can dip our toes into the pool of Narcissus – constantly gazing at our own needs and holding our own desires supreme over all else. Second: we can become so subjective about what we want, desire, and care about that we can forget that other people want to play and could easily get hurt if they are left out. Third: we might be tempted to go on a binge or a decadent spree that could leave us in complete, utter tatters and ruin for a period of time. Sometimes, too much play leads to decay. And fourth: we can regress into our child-like selves – the part of us that can forget that we have other people to attend to. As we inhabit that part, we can get quite reactive about feeling left out, rejected, or hurt.Looking through the lens of each astrology sign, we can learn how to best upgrade the summer of love into the summer to remember forever by leaning skillfully into the opportunities with which Leo presents us:Aries: Dig into your extraordinary well of brightness and can-do energy! Inspire others to bravely reach for the stars of play and contribution.Taurus: Make plans to spend conscious and deliberate time savoring connection with your closest and dearest during this Summer of Love.Gemini: This is your time to express your love to friends, family, colleagues, and lovers. Write the beautiful love letters you've always wanted to write, create postcards or collages, or simply send out an effusive text. Make sure during this Summer of Love that people know why you love them, how you love them, and how you think of them.Cancer: Make sure that if there's a good meal happening in your home, you've invited the people that matter to you most. Bring people into your fold so that they can feel the great breadth of your soulful, nurturing embrace.Leo: Wow, the sky's the limit for you in this season! Just remember that the entire purpose of the evolved Leo is to have everyone else feel that they are loved more than ever in your presence.Virgo: Stop the busy work in favor of having a dream come true. Spend the next few days writing out lists of the ways you're going to enjoy yourself and others during the summer of love.Libra: Don't forget to ask the questions that pierce right down into the heart of what you and others care about. Create at least one epic event that reflects your core values of beauty and harmony.Scorpio: All this play might look a little too frivolous and lighthearted to you – unless you bring to it true emotional transparency and depth. You can have the best party ever and still ask the shadow questions. You can really let people know what is under that exquisite emotional hood of yours.Sagittarius: It's time to plan some adventures. Just make sure your plans are as exciting to everyone else as they are to you, so that when you're on your trip, the people around you are just as lit up as you are.Capricorn: This is the time for you to put work and ambition aside and to become a serious event planner for at least one or two occasions in the Summer of Love. Let people know that the reason you do all that you do is so that they can feel more appreciated in your presence.Aquarius: You are the most elegant host! Plan at least one or two group gatherings that are intentional and meaningful, and that hit the core of what you care about most in a flamboyant, eccentric, and outrageous way.Pisces: Whether it's a film festival, a dance party, or just playing music with people, make sure during this Summer of Love that you put on your calendar at least one or two occasions that are all about celebrating the muse.Regardless of your sun sign, look through the list above and borrow and take from each sign something that inspires you to consciously and deliberately make the Summer of Love something that matters.On that note, let's consider that the planets Saturn and Aquarius will be opposite Mars and Venus during some of this time. This dynamic presents us with an added responsibility; each of us is asked to be socially aware and responsible even as we're partying hard and celebrating one other. We must not forget who is still hurting, who is still wounded, and who is still left out of the conversation or lacking resources. Saturn and Aquarius remind us of our social responsibility to all the people inside and outside of our party circles.Plan to do something philanthropically or community minded: something into which you can put your complete honor and integrity – so that when you're in the thick of your frivolities and recreation, you know that you're also making a difference in the world in some way that will help someone else to feel better and lifted up. To bring the best out of the Summer of Love, each of us must follow E.B. White's dictate to dance between savoring our life and saving the world.Don't neglect the part of you that needs to really let loose, break free, and have a gorgeous engorged time of fabulous enjoyment, but also don't back down from being an ally around social causes that matter most to you. Know that you can do both. As humans, we are built to have enormous capacity for play and joy even as we reach out with effective empathy. Let's raise the bar on both–and let the festivities begin!
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