Work With the Sky: Week of August 10 – 16

Most of the entrepreneurs I speak to have something they’ve been sitting on. A rebrand. A price increase. An idea they keep hesitating to formally pitch. There’s always a reason this isn’t the right moment yet.

This week the sky gives us a reason to start anew.

A solar eclipse lands Wednesday at 20 degrees of Leo, and it has company. Mercury moved into Leo on Sunday to join Jupiter, so at the eclipse the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and the south node are all in Leo together. Jupiter adds a huge boost to this Leo solar eclipse. On Saturday, Mercury and Jupiter meet exactly, the most optimistic thinking of the whole month, if not the whole summer. Jupiter inflates what it touches, so watch for coming across as stubbornly certain you know best. Say the big thing, then listen without needing to win the argument.

Leo’s territory is stepping out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight. Leo is leader energy, the willingness to go first and put your name on the decision. It is passion driven and persuasive, and it knows how to move people, to inspire and excite them. Leo also wants the work to be fun. It is playful and highly creative, and it loses interest fast when the work stops being enjoyable.

The catch is that this is a south node eclipse. The south node’s job is to kill an old habit that has gone on too long. For Leo, that habit is seeking validation over purely authentic expression. I’ve done this. I’ve had a piece written and stalled for days because I wanted certainty that people would give it a thumbs up, and I edited endlessly to try to guarantee it.

The brave beginning is available this week. Eclipses have a way of forcing the issue and pushing change through whether we are ready or not.

(If you read my Jupiter in Leo article, Fortune Favors the Brave, I go deeper into the force that is Leo energy.)

Tuesday, Mars moves into Cancer for six and a half weeks, until September 27. Mars in Cancer focuses our motivation towards protecting what we have painstakingly built and sticking with what we have a sentimental connection to. Your energy starts reaching for people and strategies you already know you can trust not to let you down. Intuition and gut instinct run high with Mars in Cancer, and that goes for the potential client as much as the business owner. If it doesn’t feel right to them, even when it looks great on paper, they probably won’t pull the trigger. The warm follow-up outperforms the cold pitch. The past client who loved working with you converts faster than the new lead.

Cancer also relates to family and roots, so a lot of your motivation now can come from reflecting on the loved ones you do it all for. Mars in Cancer can sidestep direct action in favor of a softer approach, one that’s more sensitive to the feelings of whoever you’re dealing with, clients or colleagues. Aim for a healthy balance and avoid passive-aggressive methods.

Loyalty is the thread running through the whole week. Leo and Cancer are both fiercely loyal to the people they love, so this is a time to notice who has stuck with you and to act like you noticed.

Two things to consider.

• Get precise about what your brave new beginning is under this solar eclipse in Leo.
• Within the following two weeks, take a highly visible step, despite any fears around a lack of immediate applause.

Two things to ask yourself.

• Where am I still choosing to be invisible?
• Who already knows my work and hasn’t heard from me in three months?

One thing to try.

Saturday, look at one idea you have been hesitating to release into the world and jot down the three best possible outcomes. Embrace optimism and hit send.

The planets are building towards something extremely helpful at the end of August, more on that soon.

Cristina

First published in Work With the Sky, my newsletter for entrepreneurs.