As a legendary Leo once sang, “What’s wrong with being confident?” Absolutely nothing — especially at this time of the year. Leo season is the time to step into the sun and let your inner lion(ess) shine. Read on for the pop culture that will help make your August bright!
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ARIES (March 21 to April 19)
It’s never a bad time for you to set foot in a new world, and this month you’ll find it on Carnival Row (Amazon, Aug. 30). The magical new series takes place in a war-torn Victorian fantasy world where humans live alongside fae, fauns, and other magical creatures in a broken, intolerant community. Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne star as a human detective and his forbidden faerie love in the mysterious new series, so get ready to take flight into a mystical land as vast as your own sense of adventure.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20)
It can’t have been terribly difficult for Cate Blanchett, a Taurus, to get into character as the title role in Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (Aug. 16), Richard Linklater’s adaptation of Maria Semple’s 2012 bestseller. After all, Bernadette — a brilliant architect — has impeccable taste. She is… a little bit stubborn (but she’s right, so why should she compromise?). And she definitely does not prefer to leave the house. At all, if possible. Like, ever. You should do your very best to drag yourself out to the movies, though, to get to the bottom of the very Taurean mystery of where on earth your fictional sister might have gone.
GEMINI (May 20 to June 20)
The very mind of a Gemini is a Trick Mirror (Aug. 6), so New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino’s new collection of essays — that is, Reflections on Self-Delusion — ought to be a natural fit for you. Every sign of the zodiac is, of course, delusional in its own adorable way, but you, darling Gemini, are just the likeliest to take real pleasure in reflecting on it. You have the unique ability to fully take in Tolentino’s insightful commentary on the toxicity of modern culture while still taking immense pleasure in engaging with that culture yourself — and that really is a good trick.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22)
The astrological community (a.k.a. all of humanity) was rocked to its core less than two months ago when iconic Gemini-Cancer cusp Lana Del Rey — who had previously been photographed wearing an actual Gemini nameplate necklace — casually dropped the bomb that “I’m actually a cancer I was born at 4:47 PM.” You may have already intuited that the moody songstress was one of your own, but don’t crow too loudly over your mourning Gemini friends. Celebrate discreetly, elegantly, by listening to Del Rey’s latest, Norman F—ing Rockwell (Aug. 30), and raise a glass to the crab-queen.
LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22)
There’s a certain rightness to this time of year — it means that the sun, your planetary ruler, has entered its own natural home. But while it may feel too vivid and bright for some dour earth signs, it’s pure pleasure for you Leos to be Blinded by the Light (Aug. 16). Don’t walk, run (you were born to do it!) to see Gurinder Chadha’s joyous Sundance crowd-pleaser, which follows a British-Pakistani teen who escapes the gloom of his everyday life by writing poetry and listening obsessively to that legendary Libra Bruce Springsteen. And happy birthday, glorious lion!
VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22)
The late summer — like the early spring, or midwinter, or your birthday, or President’s Day Weekend, or any Saturday afternoon — is the perfect time for a little self-improvement. Look no further than Brittany Runs a Marathon (Aug. 23), a Sundance comedy in which a hard-partying millennial (played by your fellow earth sign Jillian Bell, a Taurus) gets a wake-up call from her doctor and endeavors to change her life. Just don’t be too insistent about bringing your friends with you to see it, Virgo. They’ll get the message the first time.
LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22)
You’re a firm believer in Going Dutch (Aug. 20), dearest scales (so clear! So fair!), so it should come as no surprise that James Gregor’s elegant debut novel will fit you like a satin opera-length glove. A witty and perceptive examination of contemporary social mores, you’ll tear through this tale of a thoroughly modern love triangle and feel deep Libran affection for all three of its participants.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)
As the saying goes, if you can’t stand the Scorpios, stay out of The Kitchen (Aug. 9). That’s how the saying goes, right? Regardless, the eighth sign of the zodiac can turn up the heat this month with Andrea Berloff’s crime thriller about three ‘70s housewives (Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss) who take up their spouses’ work after all three of their mobster husbands are unfortunately incarcerated. Nothing else this month will match the thrill of watching this mild trio learn to embrace — and unleash — a power they didn’t even know they had.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)
It’s not exactly easy to keep your attention, Sagittarii. Network sitcoms have laugh-tracked in vain. Pop stars have reinvented themselves chasing your interest. Awards-bait historical dramas never had a prayer. But sketch comedy… that moves just at your speed. Enter A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO, Aug. 2) — a title which, it is worth noting, also suits you for its very straightforwardness. You’ll spend the rest of this waning summer with Robin Thede and Issa Rae, who will provide the fresh perspective — and the laughs — you always crave.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19)
You have more than a passing interest in immortality, Capricorn, so you’ll be drawn like a moth to a flame with On Becoming a God in Central Florida (Showtime, Aug. 25). You’ve also got a particular fondness for cold hard cash, so you will be fully invested (pun intended) in the journey of a Floridian water-park employee (Kirsten Dunst) who, after being ruined by a cultish pyramid scheme, plots her way to the top of the organization herself. But the icing on the cake? This is no Wall Street tale of backstabbing businessmen, and the dark comedy that comes with such a weird little corner of American greed is pure Capricornian humor.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)
It’s hard to pin down a Sagittarius, and astro-archer Taylor Swift is no exception. In a dramatic departure from her vengeful Reputation, the pop star’s Lover (Aug. 23) has been marked by a psychedelic color scheme as well as an effort to lyrically champion a cause (however successful you think that might have been) — all of which spells out your name, water bearer. If you still aren’t convinced, just look to the single that introduced Swift’s new era — a celebration of individuality that’s all but dedicated to the most singular sign in the zodiac. We promise that we’ll never find another like you, Aquarius.
PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20)
You thrive in the water, sweet fishes, but this month, try heading Inland (Aug. 13). Téa Obreht’s remarkable new novel throws it back a couple centuries (nothing at all in Pisces years) to the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s, where a frontierswoman and a haunted outlaw on the run cross paths in the most curious way. It’s got the magic and mystery that is the very air you breathe, and as the last sign in the zodiac, you can appreciate a remarkable ending. Don’t skip ahead on this one, Pisces!
