Planets & Transits
New Moon in Leo August 12, 2026
The New Moon arrives in Leo August 12 at 8:36 PM UTC, and with it comes a singular...
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- Written by: Pam Younghans
The week of July 20 to 26, 2026 marks one of the most profound astrological periods of the decade, as six major planetary synodic cycles converge in a powerful "cradle" configuration anchored by Jupiter. Saturn and Mercury both station this week — one going retrograde, one going direct — while the Sun moves into Leo, setting the stage for dramatic power shifts and pivotal turning points. Adding to the magnitude of these days, the Moon's nodal axis shifts into Aquarius/Leo on Sunday, July 26, initiating an 18-month period calling humanity toward cooperation, authenticity, and social equality. Astrologer Pam Younghans guides us through each of these extraordinary cosmic events and what they mean for our collective and personal lives.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
This week the Sun completes its journey through Cancer and steps into Leo on Thursday, marking a pivot from introspection to expression. Meanwhile, Mercury lingers in Cancer, still processing what needs to be said, while Venus in Virgo and Mars in Gemini keep our hands and hearts active. The week builds toward brightness, but not without asking us first to examine what we've been holding close.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Sun sits deep in Cancer at 26 degrees, and the Moon has climbed into Virgo as a waxing crescent—that thin bright sliver that marks the moment after intention has been set and before momentum builds. Mercury in Cancer speaks softly about what matters, while Mars in Gemini keeps our hands busy, our minds scattered across a dozen half-finished thoughts. This is Sunday, a day with its own gravity.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Sun lingers in the emotional depths of Cancer while Mercury whispers nearby, asking you to speak what you actually feel instead of what you think you should say. Venus is in Virgo now, practical and discerning about what deserves your attention and affection. This is not a day for grand gestures or untested promises.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Moon is moving to the very edge of Leo today, nearly 30 degrees in—almost ready to slip into Virgo—and it's carrying a waxing crescent's momentum, that eager energy of the early lunar cycle when things still feel possible, still feel new. The Sun in Cancer at 24 degrees holds the season's emotional weight, asking us to tend to what matters most, while Mercury in Cancer alongside it speaks the language of feeling rather than logic. This is a day when your gut knows things your mind hasn't caught up to yet.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The New Moon in Leo comes with a peculiar kind of pressure—the kind that makes you want to *do something*, to prove yourself, to step into the light. The Sun sits at 23° Cancer, still in its home sign, still tending to what matters most. But Mercury at 18° Cancer is whispering details, logistics, the small truths you've been avoiding. Meanwhile, Jupiter blazes at 3° Leo, amplifying everything the New Moon touches. This is not a quiet day. This is a day when your inner voice gets louder, when the stakes of your own choices become impossible to ignore.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin
A rare celestial formation is quietly reshaping the foundations of everything we know — individually, collectively, and cosmically. Three transpersonal planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, have arranged themselves into what astrologers call a cradle configuration, a geometric embrace that last occurred generations ago. What unfolds within this cradle is not subtle, and we are already living inside its tremors.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The New Moon in Cancer arrives at the very edge of Leo, and Jupiter sits right there waiting—a planetary embrace that speaks of new beginnings wrapped in generosity and heart. The Sun at 22° Cancer and Moon at 0° Leo create a threshold moment, the kind where what you plant now grows with unusual vigor. Mercury moves through Cancer alongside the Sun, sharpening your inner voice just as you're about to speak something into existence. This is not a whisper. This is a declaration.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The New Moon in Cancer has arrived in a crowded house. The Sun and Mercury are already there, both in Cancer, both asking the same quiet question: what do you actually need? Not what you think you should want, not what looks good from the outside. Cancer at its best knows the difference between hunger and nourishment. Right now, with three planets in this sign, you are being invited—all of you—to sit with that knowing. There is no performance required today.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The New Moon arrives in Cancer today, and it arrives quietly, without fanfare. The Sun and Moon sit together at the very beginning of this water sign, a reset point that asks you to turn inward and listen. Mercury is right there with them, so your thinking becomes softer, more intuitive—less concerned with logic and more attuned to what you actually feel. This is a day when the rational mind steps back and makes room for something deeper. The energy is introspective, tender, almost like the world is holding its breath.
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- Written by: Pam Younghans
The week of July 13–19, 2026 brings powerful cosmic energies as three transpersonal planets — Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — form the foundation of a rare and life-altering "cradle" configuration that is already reshaping reality on every level. A Cancer New Moon on Tuesday invites deep emotional sensitivity and inner reflection, while Venus, Mercury, and the outer planets stir restlessness, relationship turning points, and a hunger for authentic freedom. Astrologer Pam Younghans guides us through these extraordinary skies and their meaning for our lives.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
This week arrives at a threshold. The Sun moves deeper into Cancer while the Moon crosses from Gemini into Leo, pulling us from the intellectual into the emotional, from questions into conviction. Monday brings...
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The waning crescent Moon in Gemini meets Mars in the same sign this morning, and both are dancing with Uranus just across the zodiacal border. This is restless energy—the kind that makes you want to move, to say something you've been holding back, to shake loose from what no longer fits. Mercury sits tight with the Sun in Cancer, both at 19-21 degrees, which means your thinking and speaking are turned inward toward what matters most to you emotionally. But the Moon and Mars in Gemini are pulling outward, wanting to broadcast, to connect, to test ideas against the world. You feel the friction between these two impulses.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
Tomorrow, Sunday July 13th, the Moon catches up with the Sun in Cancer and disappears from our sky. This is a New Moon—the monthly reset button, the blank page, the moment when both luminaries align and the light goes out before it returns. And this particular New Moon arrives in the sign of home, family, emotion, and the roots we return to when the world feels too sharp. Mercury, the messenger, sits right beside the Sun in Cancer too, which means we're not just feeling this moment; we're being asked to speak about it, to name what's stirring beneath the surface.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Moon sits at the very edge of Gemini this morning, a waning crescent that has nearly burned itself down to nothing. In this thinning light, we are close to silence—close to the space between one cycle and the next. The Sun in Cancer pulls us inward, asking what we need to feel safe, while Mercury in Cancer speaks quietly about it, turning thoughts toward home and family and the soft places we return to when the world gets too loud. This is a day of retreat, not advancement. Of listening more than talking. Of sorting through what matters before we move forward into whatever comes next.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Sun and Mercury sit together in Cancer at 17° and 22°, both asking the same question: what do you need to say, and to whom? Cancer doesn't traffic in small talk—it wants the real conversation, the one that matters. Meanwhile, the Moon is waning in Taurus, moving toward the dark, which means we're in the phase of release and letting go. The air is thick with feeling today, but not the kind that clouds your vision. This is clarity disguised as sentiment.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Moon in Taurus at the Last Quarter phase is asking you to consolidate, to gather what matters and leave the rest behind. This is the waning half of the lunar cycle—the time when things become clear by what we're willing to release. Meanwhile, the Sun sits in Cancer, tender and protective, while Mercury in Cancer speaks from the heart rather than the head. There's a depth to communication today, an undercurrent of emotional truth beneath surface conversation.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Moon sits in Aries at last quarter phase, a moment of release and clarity after the full brightness of the lunar cycle. The Sun in Cancer wants us to tend inward, to protect what matters, to ask what we actually need—but the Moon in Aries pushes back, restless and ready to strip away pretense. This tension is real. It lives in your chest as a low hum of wanting to do two opposite things at once: retreat and advance, reflect and act.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
Venus moves into Virgo on July 10, and something shifts in how you approach desire itself. For the last month, Venus has been in Leo—bold, demonstrative, wanting to be seen and celebrated in love and money. Now it enters Virgo, the sign of discernment, practical care, and unsexy devotion. This isn't a small change. Venus in Virgo asks different questions than Venus in Leo. Instead of "Do they adore me?" it asks "Are they reliable?" Instead of "Is this glamorous?" it asks "Does this actually work?" It's the difference between falling in love at first sight and noticing, over weeks, that someone remembers how you take your coffee.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
The Moon sits in the last quarter phase in Aries this morning, restless and ready to shed what no longer serves. Meanwhile, the Sun in Cancer at 14° pulls us inward toward what matters most — family, roots, the soft places where we belong. There's tension in this setup. The Moon wants to move forward, to cut ties and start fresh. The Sun whispers: stay close, tend what you have built. This is the conversation happening in your body today, whether you name it or not.
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- Written by: Clara Corwin, InnerSelf.com
On July 9, Venus is standing at the very edge of Leo, at 29 degrees—the final degree of that sign, about to cross the threshold into Virgo on July 10. This is not a subtle moment. Venus at the last breath of any sign is like someone packing the last box before moving day: everything that needs to be said, felt, chosen, or released about that territory has to happen now. In Leo, Venus has been about desire, generosity, creative expression, what we offer with our whole heart. On the 10th, it all shifts into something more measured, more discerning, more careful. But now? For now, Venus is still burning bright, still saying yes to the bold thing, the romantic thing, the thing that asks you to be seen.
