mercury rx and the leo new moon ♌🌑

My books are open! You can find information about readings with me at the end of this newsletter. I hope to meet you soon! :)

With the exception of software tutorials or config tours like this letter's first issue, I imagine new moons being quite short and sweet and just a bit technological, like this. This is my fingerwagging ♍☽ lecture on how to safeguard yourself this Mercury retrograde, a.k.a. in general, if you live as I do distrusting closed-source software and web-based applications. Bear in mind I also have clinical anxiety.

• Draft everything offline. Cut out the possibility of a premature "send" or "post." I don't care Gmail and WordPress have nice native editors. Take it to your notetaking application or document editor,even if they're cloud-based. If we're trying to be anti-fire, anti-Leo it means slowing down and adding extra steps as a safety net. You should only use destination editors for proofreading at most. This is how I use Buttondown: I write drafts in Neovim with its imperfect spellcheck, then edit in Buttondown's Markdown Mode, not Fancy Mode.
• Add an absurd number of reminders to your calendar events. I have one 24 hours in advance, 2 hours in advance, 1 hour in advance, and 30 minutes in advance on my "appointments" calendar.
• Enable two-factor-authentication. I have 2FA with Authy added to my Git host, all social media, and my banking and money transfer accounts. I'd say getting locked out of an account falls under the auspices of Mercury retrograde. (Don't ask me about hacks; I haven't done research into that astrologically.)

I said this two weeks ago, but Mercury stationed retrograde at 15 degrees of Leo, meaning at almost exactly halfway through its journey in that sign, so Mercury will retrace its steps until Aug. 11 when it reaches 4 degrees Leo. This means it has to transit Leo again, so even though it'll be direct in August, we won't feel any qualitative change from fixed fire until Mercury enters Virgo on... September 19.

Virgo is one of Mercury's two domiciles, the other being Gemini. It's the more careful, detail-oriented face of Mercury concerned with numbers and physical matters. Contrast that with Leo, a diva and a half with the charisma to match, taking for granted the care that goes into following its whims. Per my favorite "cookbook" by Kevin Burk, Mercury is peregrine for half of Leo and has dignity by term for the rest of it, from 6 to 13 and 22 to 29 degrees.¹ This means very little to most people, but what you have to know is Mercury could do worse in terms of fire signs (Sagittarius).

sailorfe@hackstrolgy ~ $ astrolog -q July 24 2025 15:11

Astrolog 7.80 chart for Thu Jul 24, 2025  3:11pm (ST Zone 4W)
Body  Locat. Ret. Lati. Rul.      House  Rul. Veloc.    Whole Houses
Sun :  2Leo08   + 000' (R) [10th house] [-] +0.955  -  House cusp  1:  0Sco00
Moon:  2Leo08   + 345' (-) [10th house] [d] +13.79  -  House cusp  2:  0Sag00
Merc: 13Leo50 R - 430' (-) [10th house] [-] -0.509  -  House cusp  3:  0Cap00
Venu: 22Gem40   - 151' (-) [ 8th house] [d] +1.145  -  House cusp  4:  0Aqu00
Mars: 21Vir53   + 042' (-) [11th house] [-] +0.607  -  House cusp  5:  0Pis00
Jupi: 10Can09   - 005' (X) [ 9th house] [R] +0.218  -  House cusp  6:  0Ari00
Satu:  1Ari49 R - 220' (f) [ 6th house] [-] -0.019  -  House cusp  7:  0Tau00
Uran:  0Gem41   - 012' (-) [ 8th house] [X] +0.034  -  House cusp  8:  0Gem00
Nept:  2Ari04 R - 120' (-) [ 6th house] [d] -0.010  -  House cusp  9:  0Can00
Plut:  2Aqu36 R - 345' (X) [ 4th house] [-] -0.023  -  House cusp 10:  0Leo00
Nort: 19Pis11 R + 000' (-) [ 5th house] [d] -0.109  -  House cusp 11:  0Vir00
Fort: 20Sco48   + 000' (-) [ 1st house] [-] +321.9  -  House cusp 12:  0Lib00

The moon will be exactly new in Leo on Thursday at 3:11 p.m. EDT, trine retrograde Saturn in Aries and opposite retrograde Pluto in Aquarius.

I take the trine as a nice fare-thee-well to Saturn, who's fallen in Aries. The slow and discerning planet is uncomfortable with this sign's impatience, so this last contact with a fire moon before sinking back into Pisces is like a promise that it'll be back.

I'm pretty conservative in my use of the outer planets in general, and a lot of my caution is to do with their novelty, especially Pluto. It's associated with "destruction, death, catastrophes, and the abuse of power"²... but only since roughly the interwar period. Look to modern astrologers for how to interpret this. The light touch with which I'll take it is disruption, not dissimilar to Uranus.

A new moon is a seedling, the aces of the tarot, the beginning of a new cycle. Take your rising sign and consider how you can approach these areas from a different angle, with a bit of a hand from Saturnine discipline to curtail Leo extravagance.

• Aries: hobbies, children, art
• Taurus: home, heritage, private spaces
• Gemini: communication, routine travel
• Cancer: finances, food, security
• Leo: self, body, identity
• Virgo: isolation, introspection
• Libra: friendships, communities
• Scorpio: career, public image
• Sagittarius: learning, long-distance travel
• Capricorn: shared spaces, shared resources
• Aquarius: one-on-one relationships
• Pisces: health, illness, pets

Hi hi! I have quite an open menu of offerings that only varies based on length:

• 60-minute reading, $90 USD: This is a good fit if you're new to astrology or don't quite know what you're looking for. We'll take a tour of your natal chart starting from the ground with your ascendant and its ruler, then look up at the sky at the lights and other planets.
• 90-minute reading, $140 USD: Your foundational natal reading with something on the side, such as current or past transits, or timing techniques for your birthday or Saturn return.

If you're interested, reply here or email me directly sailorfe@proton.me.