Eros was the god of erotic love. The position of the asteroid Eros in our charts points to our passion and erotic turn-ons. Mars shows us the style in which we go after what we want, including the ways in which we express our sexuality. Venus shows us some of the important “trappings” and foreplay that help us get in the mood for sex. While the positions of these planets and cosmic bodies in our natal charts remain static, their positions are always changing in the cosmos, activating houses and hotspots in our natal charts. The horoscopes presented here are necessarily general, as we are focusing on only the Sun sign or Ascendant, and how these sexual cosmic bodies are currently affecting the natal chart.

Please note: These horoscopes are more accurate for the Ascendant sign, so if you know it, read them for the sign of your Ascendant first, and the sign of your Sun second.

Leo in 2010

While love can bring surprises and changes to your life this year, dear Leo, it’s expected to be pleasurable overall!

Many of your relationships are expected to deepen in 2010. Jupiter is the ruler of your romance and pleasure sector, and will be spending much of his time in your intimacy sector this year. This influence is bound to open your eyes to the beauty of intimate connection–not that they were closed before, but new levels or depths of intimacy are uncovered in 2010. Jupiter can work magic on your intimate and sexual relationships. Sexual opportunities are likely to abound, or your focus on one partner becomes more expansive, warm, and intimate. Jupiter brings abundance to the life, and sometimes it brings a little too much of a good thing, so it’s possible that some of you could have more opportunities than you can reasonably manage! Because Jupiter is challenged this year, and often, you might encounter problems that involve your increased appetite for intimate pleasures, perhaps because they are interfering with more practical concerns. Demands of your job and for some of you, learning, can be weighty this year, and you might not always find it easy to focus on them. Complications and rewards are likely in your intimate life.

The year starts out sluggish for many of you. This is because Mars, the planet of energy, anger, activity, and sexuality, is moving “backwards” (retrograde) in your own sign until March 10th. During this cycle, you could find that you are less confident about expressing yourself in adventurous ways. Your outlook on life in terms of the “big picture” could be more cautious, and you might find that you temporarily have less faith, hope, confidence, and optimism. You might find that you are second-guessing yourself, and this is a natural process as you reassess how you have been going about meeting life and reacting/acting. It’s a good time for refining these things. You could be a little tired and more accident-prone, so be sure to rest up. It’s time to rethink, revise, and reorganize your plans. How you assert yourself and how you go about going after what you want out of life are two things that are up for review now. You are also examining the way your pride has helped or impaired your life, and coming up with new ways to manage it. The end result, ideally, is a much-improved you. Slowly but surely, from March 10th forward, and especially from May 17-June 7, you regain your confidence, finding that you believe in yourself for solider reasons than you did before.

While Mars is retrograde, a partner or potential partners could find you preoccupied, withdrawn, or disinterested. Do take the time you need for introspection, but try to avoid alienating others in the process.

For many years, Uranus has been moving through your intimacy sector, acting to shake up your intimate life with the urge to experiment and detaching yourself a little in order to do so. Uranus will be moving out of this sector–temporarily in 2010 (from May 27-August 13), and then permanently in 2011. This signals a time to relax and unwind a little. You are not overcome by a need to “find yourself” on intimate levels, and ideally you have learned what it is that you truly want. Jupiter in your intimate sector all year will certainly help you to get in touch with what truly brings you pleasure. Uranus’ departure from this sector might be good news for a partner if he/she has found you a little too aloof or lacking in deep, intimate passion in recent years. Free from the detaching influence of Uranus, you will more easily make deeper intimate connections.

Interestingly, the rulers of both your partnership and romance sectors align with one another this year, and both are changing signs, from Pisces to Aries. This signals either a shift in the types of people who attract you most, the types of people you attract, or in the attitudes/personality of existing lovers or partners…from compassionate, spiritual, or artistic types, to fiery, independent, and assertive types. For some of you, it can mean that a casual relationship is becoming a committed one, although it may not be a permanent thing. For many of you, it suggests enjoying a lot of fun, spice, and entertainment in your love life.

Keep in mind that very little in 2010 is permanent–overall, it’s a year of sudden changes, but it looks to be more of a transitional year. While many will be tempted to take risks, and certainly much can be learned from doing so, the rewards will not always be of the permanent kind. It’s not that people shouldn’t take risks this year, but if they do, they should keep in mind that rewards may be temporary, or they might change their minds at a later date.

Venus is retrograde this year from October 8-November 18, which affects all of us in general, mainly in the areas of love and finances. These matters are not straightforward during this period, and it is a time for reviewing our attitudes rather than forging ahead boldly into new love relationships or financial projects. Because this Venus retrograde cycle is not explicitly connected to romantic areas of your chart this time around, it’s likely to affect you a little less than it will affect many others.

There are four Mercury retrograde periods this year. These occur for the most part in Earth signs, and are connected to more practical sectors of your chart so that they are bound to bring periods of review or slowdown to financial and professional matters in your life. None of these periods explicitly affect your romance sectors, with the exception of December 18-30.

Eclipses this year are also unattached to romantic/partnering sectors in your chart. They are likely to bring changes to your work, routines, and health programs.

Eros, the god of erotic love, is in your sign from May 29-July 2, and harmonizes with your sign from your romance sector from October 28-December 14. Your powers of attraction run very high during these cycles, but more in terms of you going after what you want than waiting for things to come to you. Sexual activity may be more frequent than usual. An impassioned attitude in general is with you.

Key Periods in 2010:

From December 20, 2009 to March 10, 2010, Mars is retrograde in your sign, signaling a period of introspection, caution, and personal reflection. You need time and space to figure out what it is you want from your life.

From January 18-February 4, a partnership is especially warm, loving, and pleasurable. It’s a strong time for attracting or enhancing a serious relationship.

From February 5-March 7, you attract others like bee to honey with a mysterious, sensual aura that surrounds you. This is a period of the year that is most conducive to erotic pleasure and magnetism. However, because Mars is retrograde in your sign, you may not be making any solid decisions during this period.

May 17-June 7 is a strong period for confidently going after what, or who, you want. You possess more energy and verve now.

May 29-July 2 is a period in which your powers of attraction run very high, but more in terms of you going after what you want than waiting for things to come to you. Sexual activity may be more frequent than usual. An impassioned attitude in general is with you.

Venus is in your sign from June 14-July 10. This is a time when the world seems to be speaking, or at least appreciating, your “love language”. It’s a period ripe with opportunity for attracting others, for turning on the charm, and for receiving positive feedback from partners or love interests. Love seems to come to you without the need for your pursuing it.

Overlapping dates of May 29-June 7 and June 14-July 2 point to some of the best periods for love. June 14-15 are the best days of this period!

October 8-November 18 is the Venus retrograde period. Don’t make any major decisions about love (and finances) during this cycle.

Romance picks up pace with Mars moving through your romance sector, from October 8-December 7, but is probably better from November 18-December 7 when Venus is no longer retrograde.

**Try our Love & Romance Forecast report for the upcoming year.

Monthly Horoscopes