Enter Sun in Leo

At 6:21 EST Thursday, the Sun will make its annual transit from Cancer to Leo. We've spent the past month in a water sign, which has cooled our summer impulses and perhaps brought a reality check to our lofty goals and fantasies. Like the Cancer crab, you've probably been feeling as if you're moving sideways instead of forwards. That's all about to change, so make sure you're pointed in the right direction come Thursday.
Enter Sun in Leo, a time for celebration, self-indulgence, and letting your ego shine. The astrological weather on and around this transit will help us to discern exactly how to approach this drastic shift of energy.
On Wednesday, Saturn will transit to Libra, the sign in which it started the year 2010. Saturn entered retrograde in January, regressing to Virgo and stationing direct there. Now, Saturn is finally moving on, and it begs the question: why aren't you? Although Saturn is classically known as the rule-maker, and is therefore branded as a combatant against change, it is only through Saturn that we can understand the laws and systems that hold us in balance. Saturn's rule from Libra will be harsh but just; only through understanding its controlling nature can we attempt to make plans and make changes. The fuel behind progress is the breaking of habits, and Saturn finds a perfect context in the harmonious scales of Libra for doing just that.

Thankfully, perfectly staged to break all the rules for us is mighty Uranus, God of gods before Saturn or Jupiter, regressing through the incredibly powerful point of Zero Aries. Its opposition to Saturn is certain to shake things up, and it won't be a gentle shaking, as both of these opposing planets square Pluto, another strong planet that is notorious for bringing about very exciting and intense circumstances. Expect that some peoples' energies and emotions will run far too high over the next two days.
As if called to action by this energetic intensification, Jupter springs into retrograde movement the day after the Sun's transit to move towards an unfriendly square with the increasingly popular Pluto. These planets are about to enter a power struggle of epic proportions, and the anticipation is building. This aspect does not bode well for our finances as individuals or as a nation. Be wary of any business interactions; greed will not be uncommon this week, and if you're not aware of it, you'll quickly become the victim.
Emotion. Excitement. Intense energy. These words are all too common (however inevitably appropriate) in any astrologer's reading when a cardinal t-square of this magnitude is in play: Saturn in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn, and Uranus in Aries, all planets resting within the earliest degrees of their respective cardinal signs. However, as Saturn is just settling into its new home in Libra, Uranus and Pluto teeter uncomfortably as they prepare to regress into Pisces and Sagittarius, respectively. I've included at the bottom an image of the zodiac upon the Sun's transit; in it you can clearly draw a "T" among these three planets.
For now, all eyes are on Saturn, and as astrologer Len Wallick says of the situation, "it’s comforting to know that the planet of conformity is behaving like we have a future". While Saturn's ingress into Libra is a hopeful endeavor, we must have ourselves oriented properly or we will quickly find ourselves traveling in the wrong direction. Set your sights, figure out where you want to go, get your finances in order, and most important, get ready. July 22nd is go time.

Note: This will likely be my last update at "Practical Astrology" for awhile. I've accepted a position writing for The Examiner, an online newspaper, so I'll be publishing my writings there. Don't worry, nothing's going to change, except that I'll be getting paid!
I'll post up a link to my Examiner page once it's up and running. Thanks to all who have followed Practical Astrology, and please continue to read my work!