THE COSMIC "CURTAIN" RISES - ENTER STAGE LEFT !!!

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts" ... to that end the Cosmic "curtain" rose yesterday, July 13th, at 8:47 PM EDT as Mercury began its dramatically expressive transit through the ambitious, optimistic sign of Leo ... Mercury is now ready to blaze through Leo where the mindset and communicating functions will most likely become "center stage" somewhere in your life for the next few weeks ... as Leo is a fire sign it will bestow Mercury with a lot of creativity ... this Mercury is quite the performer who wants to get your attention along with your admiration any way it can ...

Mercury was last in Leo from July 23rd, 2015 through August 7th, 2015 ... Mercury is considered to be in its "fall" in Leo ... that meaning it is in the sign opposite to the one where it is considered to be in "exaltation", which in this case is Aquarius where it expresses its energy harmoniously with its forces increased and its virtues magnified ... HOWEVER, Mercury in its "fall" in Leo can yield a difficulty in expressing its real nature ... it is said to be like staying in someone else's home and being where you do not really feel comfortable ... Nevertheless, there is a lot of positive potential from this mercurial energy !!!

Mercury in Leo thinks dramatically and always with the heart ... here one can become a visionary and  highly idealistic ... romantic attachments tend to take a major portion of ones concentration ... there is a display of dignity, a sense of innate refinement, and a desire to make good impressions on others ... there is also a desire to be the authority in ones chosen field ... there is ability to solve problems, but sometimes the details are ignored ... ambition abounds under this energy ... and since this is a very dramatic energy for communication it should not be a surprise that every now and then comes the tendency to exaggerate, be self-centered, or tell a little white lie or two !!! ... entertainment could easily be ones forte with dramatic talent being given here - okay all you wannabe actors, now it's time to show us what you got !!! ... this is often the natal placement of those in the entertainment industry ... there could be skills at sales, advertising, promotion or any means of persuading people with ones mind and tongue ... there is also a desire to have ones thinking or style of communication given a lot of attention ... speech is made with abundant energy, great pride, liveliness and a lot of charisma ... drama and humor is frequently used in communications ... learning is best achieved when one is aroused and excited by a particular topic ... sometimes the ego has a way of getting involved here which could lead to fixed thinking or limited objectivity ... presentations are usually dramatic and magnetic ... one could become interested in power, children, fame and creativity ...

Mercury transiting through the sign of Leo teaches us to instill our thinking process with ambition and creativity ... its the idea person ... one is usually proud of their intellectual talents and capabilities ... with the mind being so closely connected to the heart, there is great passion, strength and originality in the mode in which one thinks and communicates ... sometimes there is insecurity here which can lead to one coming on too strong or causing one to underestimate the power of their mind ...

Mercury usually functions best when it is cool and detached from the ego, but this can become difficult in the self-conscious sign of Leo where personal aims and intentions appear to be to all-important and other important factors become far less important ... it is wise to realize that people give up trying to help others who always think they know better ... but ultimately, being able to combine ones own creative and enterprising mind with an awareness of others ideas and attitudes that are involved in your personal drama will benefit everyone ... problems are usually approached with great imagination and energy ... learning to use the input of others will allow one to avoid being a one-person endeavor, and then the mind will become a vital spark that will ultimately ignite a larger group endeavor ... the power of Mercury in Leo can be expressed in the following ways:

POSITIVE: mentally creative, distinctive verbal style, warmly articulate, identifies with popular ideas, grasps the entire issue, intellectually confident, focused concentration, fixed intentions, enthusiastic worker, convincing speaker, outspoken and optimistic, knows ones own mind, teaching and planning ability, foresight, executive mind

NEGATIVE: mentally conceited, liking the sound of ones own voice, only interested in ones own ideas, overlooks details, mentally arrogant, inflexible mind, stubborn and one-track mind, self-centered, feels superior at work, craves appreciation, verbally over-bearing, talks "AT" others, wrapped up in pet projects and theories

Mercury now joins Venus already transiting through the sign of Leo with the Sun to follow on July 22nd ... so you can bet those ideas are most likely going to be grand and scathingly brilliant - at least in the mind of the one from which it sprang !!!

Mercury, true to its fleet footed nature, will do a hop, skip and a jump through Leo as it will complete its transit through the sign of Leo in just 17 days on July 30th ... So exactly what kind of "scene" from what kind of "play" will each one of us be "acting out" during this dramatically expressive transit of Mercury ... new ideas and projects just might have quite a theatrical air about them !!!

HEADS UP - this is the last full sign transit Mercury makes before it begins its third retrograde journey for 2016 ... Mercury will enter Virgo on July 30th and get to 29 degrees 5 minutes Virgo on August 30th at which point it will begin its next retrograde journey lasting from August 30th through September 21st/22nd completely in the sign of Virgo going from 29 degrees 5 minutes Virgo back to 14 degrees 49 minutes Virgo ... Mercury will enter its next shadow point on August 10th when it reaches 14 degrees 49 minutes Virgo the point where it will conclude its retrograde journey on September 21st/22nd ... and just so you are aware, there will be a fourth Mercury retrograde period for 2016 but it begins towards the end of December and won't conclude until January 2017 !!!

While Mercury is in Leo, it is wise to remember that we should teach others what we really want to learn our self ... we stand or we fall by what we say and how we say it ... do not ignore that "small still voice" that is an important part of the greater good ...

One final word of advice - be aware that whatever springs from your mind, and ultimately from your lips, is only as good and true as that which dwells in your heart ... So, curtain up ... light the lights ... cue applause ... now, let's get out there, take center stage, think big and then communicate with a dramatic flair which for certain people will not be a difficult task at all now will it ???