New Moon & Solar Eclipse in Leo Horoscopes

Eclipses activating the south node can feel like a karmic review — and if we’re not paying attention, a reckoning.

First, soften your grip on how you thought this whole life gig was supposed to go. What you expected you’d be ‘known for’ by now. The projects unfinished, dreams half-baked and gooey in the center. The ceiling you’re bumping into as you keep showing up as a version you’ve outgrown.

Allow me to posit ego death, not as abdication of selfhood, but acceptance of the fact that the fires you’ve assigned importance to may no longer keep you warm.

Can you douse the false flame rather than self-immolate? You are not the tinder, you are the timekeeper. Your job right now is not to keep the fire burning, it is to answer honestly — what flame stays lit within you when you’re not furiously fanning and fawning over the outcome?

For years now, I’ve woven and walked dual paths as both an astrologer and singer-songwriter. In an effort to prove to myself that I cannot be boxed in, I’ve been asking one dream to capitulate to the other while calling it symbiosis. They’ve both lived and worked through me in reciprocal ways, and yet I’ve somewhat lost the ability to introduce myself in any given room. Entrepreneur? Musician? Astrologer? Writer — of songs, horoscopes, a novel in progress? My brain backflips through the social calculus to determine which version of me makes the most sense in any given context, when I now realize I should be asking, what version of me feels most alive in this moment?

The answer doesn’t need to feel obvious right now to me, or to you. Eclipse season is a recalibration. A sacred pause. A mirror. I adore sitting with each and every one of my clients. There’s no other feeling in the world like gently holding another as they see the full scope of their own potential, or having an entire song pour out of you in a single sitting, or being told you created something that someone couldn’t find the words for but now feels deeply seen by. All of this, eternally dancing and in flux, solid one moment, reabsorbed the next. Maybe our only job right now is to create space for the reintegration of self. Whetted appetite, unapologetic fullness; all of me and you at the table, equally served.

These horoscopes explore what are you invited to release, and what to make way for as we are initiated into a new eclipse cycle. (Read for your rising sign — or for confirmation in a Placidus chart, double check the house of 20° Leo.)

Eclipse etiquette cautions against setting intentions like we’d normally do around a new moon. The energy is being stripped back. If the paint is peeling, you don’t rush to apply a new coat, you sand the old layer down so the next one can really stick. You don’t throw new produce in the bowl with the moldy tomatoes or mix the dirty laundry with the clean pile. Let the energy reveal what needs to be cleared now.

Leo rising | Leo in the 1st: You do not have to force your moment. A star knows where to stand on stage, it’s true; but they also trust that the crew knows where to point the lights, to aim the camera. You don’t go looking for them. With all of the hubbub about Jupiter in the media lately, you might feel as though you don’t want a single moment of opportunity to go to waste. I am here to remind you that you cannot miss your timing, but you also must not force it. Instead, can you make room for a journey or risk you’ve been delaying because you feel you must be certain and available of and for bigger things? Trust that all roads will lead there.

Virgo rising | Leo in the 12th: Believe it or not, not even you could think a dream to death. But what I invite you to release under this new eclipse cycle is the state of helplessness or passivity with which you’ve been putting off or delaying what it is you truly want to be doing, and who you really want to be known as. While eclipses are time to reassess and shed, I believe you’re making room for an empowered, future version of yourself whose decision-making process is simply, “I know in my heart that this is right for me.” No deferring of personal power, jealousy, or comparison. Nor will it be hasty and unplanned — you’re still you, after all.

Libra rising | Leo in the 11th: If I said it’s time to put down the perfectly curated image of your life, would you feel defensive or relieved? Each flower in this bouquet has been tediously picked and arranged, but the water in the vase is rotting. Acknowledge where lack of reciprocity has been polluting the well of your own life. Where could you be asking for more, or offering up more of yourself? Can you make room for a life in which you prioritize the rooms where you are seen, celebrated, and valued for the creativity and kindness that you bring?

Scorpio rising | Leo in the 10th: What if I said your period of rest, healing, and regrouping can be over now? You know your true north, your calling is clear, so why do you believe yourself to still be in a period of recalibration? Eclipses are not a time to force anything forward, but I’m talking about big picture… Even looking at the rest of this year, can you be honest about what you’ve been stalling on? Admitting this creates space to embrace the unknown, and if that feels particularly resonate in your career path, I would leave room for the universe to surprise you.

Sagittarius rising | Leo in the 9th: There’s the high of a milestone you’ve been riding for a while now, like someone on a three-day bender who doesn’t know the party is over. You absolutely earned those flowers, but now I’d like you to turn your attention to where ground must be broken next. Not right now, not under the eclipse. But consider where you’ve been resting on your laurels or playing safe to avoid the tedious reentry into a new chapter. If any part of you still feel feels unfulfilled, consider how the path you are resisting and all of the effort it entails is what will fill that gap.

Capricorn rising | Leo in the 8th: You might be feeling a bit like our homeboy Sisyphus right now. You’re exhausted. Not even you can make something work that is intent on falling apart. If you feel like an engine that has run out of steam, let the train stop. Nothing needs to be forced under an eclipse. The world will continue to move around you, the clock will continue to tick. But can you give yourself this moment of grace and quiet? In that space, can we make room for fiercer boundaries and energetic expectations moving forward? What does it look like to invite joyful participation in your life — yours and others?

Aquarius rising | Leo in the 7th: You’ve done as much work as you can on your own, but the truth is, no one heals fully in isolation. You risk stagnancy, especially in relationships, if you continue to keep people at arm’s length or minimize your own needs to maintain the status quo. Can you create space to imagine deeper participation in your own life and relationships from a place of sovereignty? Can you trust your intuition with or without receipts, and go to bat for what you know you want and deserve? No power is truly taken, it is given. Allow this eclipse to assess where that has been happening in your life and decide where you want to show up more moving forward.

Pisces rising | Leo in the 6th: The cake was baked, layered, iced, decorated, and then it crumbled apart before you could place the candles. You feel robbed of the cherry on top, of the time it took to bake it all. I don’t blame you. That’s an incredibly normal reaction to seeing the fruits of your labor turned on their head in some way. You take a great deal of pride in the life you’ve built, and still, I am asking you to surrender the conviction you felt for the life you had, in favor of the depth and love that is coming. Can you sit in this liminal space for now, trusting that the universe did not want you to simply get full, but to find a delectable life where every bite is cherished?

Aries rising | Leo in the 5th: It’s time to release the idea that you never finish what you start. Imagine every project, whim, and idea you’ve collected over the years, sitting in front of you. Instead of viewing them as separate entities, imagine your energetic investment in them is being held by a single chalice, with not a drop wasted or spilled. Can you make way for the idea that you have all of the resources already? The training, the connections, the funding, the courage?

Taurus rising | Leo in the 4th: Are you ready to release the idea that you need to go at everything alone, or that clarity can only be found in isolation? While it’s good to let things breathe and regroup when necessary, can you make way for excitement and levity again? What would it take to let life feel playful and inspiring once more? What would you need to admit and shed to move in that direction? Your conviction to take up space on the home front will ripple out into the rest of your life, as well. It’s the testing ground for what you believe you deserve.

Gemini rising | Leo in the 3rd: Can you release the idea that you must cosign your brilliance through collaboration in order to bring your ideas to life? I invite you to clear out some space for your own solitude and intuitive power as we kick off this new eclipse cycle. Community and connectivity are always going to be an integral part of your lifestyle and well-being, but consider where too much energy has been outsourced, deferred, or displaced. Consider the strength of the tide that always brings you back to your own genius. Where is it pulling you now?

Cancer rising | Leo in the 2nd: No one really talks about how the most joyous people you meet have often done the most work around grief and loss. You are cresting that hill now, to make way for abundance on your own terms. Can you release any emotional stagnancy that has been polluting the wellspring? Grief is alchemical, but it’s meant to be a current. Emotions can often get stuck in your body, bringing them to a standstill. Under this eclipse, what can you send on its way, downstream? It’s time to make room for the abundance you didn’t think was possible because you were carrying that old pain or fear for so long.

To the moon and back,
Ocean Pleasant

Written with love and without AI, forever and always