zodiac seasons

Your Guide to Leo Season

Illustration: Sunny Wu

After all of Cancer season’s intimacy, vulnerability, and deep feelings, you might start getting sick of sentiment. You need a break from reflecting on the mysteries of your own inner world, and everybody’s constant expressions of tender emotions have started wearing on you. Just in time, Leo season arrives to bring some sunshine and self-assurance back into your life.

From July 22 to August 23, the sun is in its natural home of Leo. (Every astrological planet, including the sun and moon, has a sign where it’s most powerful. For the sun, it’s bold, confident Leo.) As a fire sign, Leo is passionate, creative, and fun. And more than any sign in the zodiac, including the other fire signs, Leo thrives on attention and is happy to stand in the spotlight. While others might freeze up when they can feel all eyes are on them, Leo is more likely to flourish. (Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan, directors of this summer’s biggest blockbusters, are both Leo suns.)

This doesn’t mean that all Leos are drawn to fame or recognition on a grand scale. Just as often, it means that they wanted to be noticed and to feel special in everyday situations. (More than most signs, for instance, Leos tend to care about being treated extravagantly on their birthdays!) Whether or not you have Leo in your chart, you might find yourself wanting more attention or praise than usual during this season, even (or especially) if you’re typically happiest behind the scenes. This might feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar, but it’s not a bad thing to want to shout your own name from the rooftops once in a while. There’s no shame in asking for well-earned acknowledgment.

The lion’s regal, authoritative confidence also makes Leo a natural leader. Sometimes, this can make Leo come across as bossy, even dictatorial — but when nobody else in a group wants to make a decision, Leo’s the one most likely to step up. When others are feeling lonely or listless or bored, Leo’s the one who will take charge and make some fun happen.

At its best, Leo season can offer the freedom you need to express yourself fully, to be your true self, to move through the world the way you’ve always wanted to. This could look like signing up for singing lessons, changing your name, or painting a big sign and marching in the streets. It might look like wearing all the colors you’ve been told were too loud or making all the art you’ve been told was “too much.” During Leo season, you can remember that while you’re not the main character of the universe, you are the star of your own life.

For people who are more naturally contained, emotive, or intuitive, all this Leo energy can be tough! Leo season can feel like a time when everyone in the entire world, including yourself, is vying for the same few scraps of attention or admiration or respect. If you’re accustomed to putting other people’s desires ahead of your own, it can be weirdly difficult to prioritize your own creativity, your own need to be seen. From a certain angle, self-assuredness can look like selfishness.

But Leo’s brash confidence exists alongside a beautiful warmth and generosity. The whole point of taking charge isn’t just to make sure your own needs are met, but to lead everyone else to the good life along with you. Standing up for yourself and your needs is never a mercenary act. In Leo season, you can resist being bossed around without becoming hardened or isolated or cold.

With the world so dark and the future bleaker than ever, it can be hard to believe that you have much power or that you deserve the attention and love that you crave. But Leo season, and the courage and confidence it brings, can reignite your faith in yourself. It can reinvigorate your belief that you’ll do something wonderful with your life after all.

Your Guide to Leo Season