Start with a Sandbox, Not a Stage

Leo Season + Mercury Retrograde 🐆

Hi Travelers,

I hope you're having a sexy summer—it is Leo season, after all. Personally, I’ve got a decent farmer’s tan from long days on the build site and have been way too exhausted to do much socializing. Not all summers are sexy... but I’m holding out hope for August. I’ll keep you posted.

covered in concrete but really proud I put all that rebar in behind me

I’ve been working this season at Omega, and while in many ways it aligns beautifully with my values, other parts are totally mundane and boring (so many spreadsheets). I’ve noticed my need for creative expression rising to the surface.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve worked hard for approval. Growing up in an alcoholic home without emotional validation, I found positive reinforcement through achievement. I got good grades, earned scholarships, and tried to make myself useful to be seen and loved.

That pattern followed me into adulthood—into my work, my relationships with clients and bosses, and how I showed up online. Only recently, through some painful rejections, have I started to feel a strange, unexpected sense of freedom.

The Freedom of Rejection

I didn’t realize it at first, but being rejected offered me a huge sense of relief and power. It wasn’t until I stood up for myself and then was rejected that I saw how deeply I’d internalized the need to perform for approval. Once I was rejected, my anger and disappointment turned into power and self approval. I realized I would rather be rejected than stray from my boundaries or values. It felt actually felt good to finally release the pressure of being perfect or acceptable or anything else but myself.

Lately I’ve been wondering- How many times have I shaped myself—my work, my self-expression—to fit what I thought other people wanted?

When you're taught to “earn love,” it becomes second nature to adapt. And it’s hard to even see that you're doing it.

Now I’m feeling a kind of creative restlessness—like something wants to break free. A discontent that’s calling me back to what feels true. Not just what I “should” do, or what’s expected of me, or what might get the most likes or clicks or clients.

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Leo Season Journal Reflections🌻

• What would I do if money didn’t matter?

• What would I share if there were no likes, comments, or outcomes?

• What would I create if no one ever saw it?

• What passions or curiosities have I ignored?

  

  A Leo -coded outfit 🐆 // Fashion as creative expression

Getting in the Sandbox

As an Aries, I love to initiate—I want to start the thing, move fast, make it happen. And with a Libra stellium, I want everything to be beautiful, harmonious, and charming. But when people say “express your truth” or “be authentic,” I sometimes feel... lost. Have I adapted so much that I’ve lost track of what I even want to express?

I’ve realized I’ve let my creativity become completely tied to productivity. I forgot that it can also be about play. About making a mess, trying new things, doing something just because it delights you—even if you’re not good at it. So I’m staying in the sandbox for a bit, playing around and just having fun.

I’ve started a creative project with my daughter lately, and it’s been so fun. No pressure, no deadline—just collaboration, curiosity, and play. It’s helping me reconnect to my own spark, and it’s reminding me that not everything I create needs to be shared or monetized. Some things are just for me. Some things are sacred even if they don’t produce a “reward”.

A Leo Season Invitation ❤️‍🔥

Leo season invites us into our creativity, self-expression, and play. It’s the sign that rules the heart, the performer, the artist, the child. Leo is ruled by the Sun—our inner radiance—and it wants to shine. It wants to be seen as it is.

Leo governs our creative life force—our desire to make, perform, express, and radiate. It also speaks to the inner child: the part of you that wants to dress up, dance around, be adored, and create just for fun. This is not a sign that hides or apologizes. It’s bold. It’s theatrical. It’s fiery and dramatic.

With Mercury retrograde in Leo, you might be called to revisit the way you express yourself, how you use your voice, or how you allow yourself to be witnessed. You might have deeper conversations with your children—or your inner child. Or like me, you might finally notice how much your creative choices have been shaped by fear, perfectionism, or a deep need for approval.

Mercury is the planet of communication- it’s the mode in which we express ourselves - our vehicle of choice to share our gifts. The next few weeks are the perfect time to play around with how you want to share. Does your creative energy come through the amazing playlists you create for friends? Book or movie recommendations? Poetry or song writing? Or perhaps there is something new you’ve been wanting to try?

The invitation during a retrograde is to reflect and review.

• What ways have you communicated in the past?

• Do you want to pick up an old hobby?

• Do you need to re-evaluate a habit?

• Are you ready to change and shift some patterns of thinking and communicating?

I hope this Leo season brings you some fun, sexy, creative wanderings - that nourish your inner child, teen or forgotten parts.

Keep truckin’-
Holly 💛

🌞 Sessions: This is a busy season but if you are interested in booking a tarot, reiki and astrology sessions please email me directly at holly@hollydramey.com (my website is currently existing in the liminal space 🌌)