You Don’t Need Their Applause Anymore

9 - 15 AUGUST, 2026

Hi beautiful souls,

“Do I actually want this, or do I just want people to think I’m doing well?”

This is such an honest question.

So much of what we do is shaped by the need to be seen in a certain way. We want to be thought of as successful, capable, kind, attractive, evolved, strong or endlessly bloody resilient.

Even our healing can become another performance. We want to show everyone how much we have grown, how well we are coping and how consciously we are navigating life.

But underneath all of that effort, there is often a much quieter question:

Who am I when nobody is watching?

This week brings one of the most powerful astrological events of 2026: a total solar eclipse in Leo. Leo is connected to the heart, creativity, confidence, visibility and the part of us that wants to shine. But this eclipse sits closer to the South Node, which means it is not simply asking us to become bigger, louder or more impressive. It is asking us to release the performance. The version of us who needs applause to believe we are doing well. The one who measures her/his worth through recognition, attention, productivity or how needed she/he is by everyone around. This doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with wanting to be seen. We all need acknowledgement. We all want to know that our presence matters. But there is an enormous difference between allowing ourselves to be seen and needing other people’s response to tell us who we are.

I think this eclipse is asking us to find that difference.

This Week’s Cosmic Weather

Mercury moves into Leo as the week begins, giving our words more warmth, courage and creative power. Shortly afterwards, Venus opposes Neptune while Mercury faces Pluto, which may temporarily blur emotions and bring hidden truths or power dynamics into conversations. Try not to believe every fear or fantasy that moves through you early in the week. Listen, notice and allow more information to arrive.

Mars also enters Cancer, making us more emotionally sensitive and protective. We may react more strongly around home, family or anything that touches an old wound. This is a week to notice whether we are responding to what is happening now or defending ourselves against something that happened long ago.

Then the main event arrives with the total Leo solar eclipse on August 12 internationally, peaking in the early hours of August 13 in Brisbane. It is the first eclipse in Leo within a new Leo–Aquarius chapter that will continue unfolding into 2028.

Then, as the week closes, Mercury meets Jupiter in Leo. After the intensity and inwardness of the eclipse, something begins to open. A new idea, conversation, piece of confidence or wider understanding may emerge. We may not have the whole answer yet, but we could begin to hear the first clear sentence of the next chapter.

The Difference Between Expression and Performance

Leo energy is often described as bold, confident and happy to stand in the spotlight. But at its heart, Leo is creative life force. It is the child who sings before anyone has told them whether they have a good voice. It is the joy of making, moving, loving and expressing simply because something inside us wants to come alive.

Performance begins when that natural expression becomes shaped by the response we receive.

We start editing ourselves.

We say what will be approved of.

We choose what looks good.

We hide the messy or ordinary parts.

We become attached to appearing strong, spiritual, successful or completely fine.

After a while, we can become so practised at presenting ourselves that we lose touch with what we genuinely feel.

This eclipse may expose where you have been living for the audience rather than for yourself.

Perhaps you have been chasing a goal you no longer care about because abandoning it might look like failure. Perhaps you have become the strong one and do not know how to admit you need help. Perhaps you are sharing a polished version of your life while feeling disconnected from it behind the scenes. Or perhaps you have avoided being seen altogether because the possibility of criticism feels too vulnerable.

Hiding and performing can look very different, but they often come from the same fear: if people see the real me, will I still be loved?

This week may bring us closer to the answer.

The people and places that are truly right for us do not need a perfect performance. They need our presence.

When the Light Temporarily Disappears

There is something beautifully symbolic about a solar eclipse. For a brief moment, the light disappears.

We cannot see clearly. The familiar source of warmth and direction is hidden, and we are reminded that darkness is sometimes part of the cycle.

You may feel slightly strange, emotional or tired around this eclipse. Something that normally feels important may suddenly lose its charge. You may question a role, ambition or identity that has defined you for years. There could be a feeling of not quite knowing who you are or what comes next.

Try not to panic if clarity temporarily disappears. Eclipses are not usually the best time to force decisions, push manifestations or demand certainty from yourself. They reveal things in their own timing, often through events and feelings we could not have planned.

Let this week show you what has become exhausting to maintain.

What are you tired of proving?

What are you pretending not to care about?

Where have you confused being admired with being fulfilled?

Where are you still waiting for somebody to recognise something you need to recognise within yourself?

These are not questions to answer perfectly. They are simply places to become curious.

The Original You

Before you learned how to gain approval, there was an original version of you.

Not a perfect or untouched version, but one who knew what they liked. One who moved towards what fascinated them. One who did not need everything to be productive, impressive or understood by everybody else.

This eclipse feels like a return to that person. Not because we are going backwards, but because we are reclaiming the parts of ourselves that became buried beneath expectation.

What did you love before you became worried about being good at it?

What makes you lose track of time?

What do you want to create, explore or experience even if nobody applauds?

There is something incredibly freeing about allowing parts of your life to exist without turning them into content, achievement or proof of growth.

Some joy can simply belong to you. Some dreams do not need to be announced before they have roots. Some changes need privacy while they are becoming real. The darkness of the eclipse can be fertile. It gives the seed somewhere quiet to begin.

How This Week May Feel

This week may feel intense, revealing and slightly disorientating. Emotions could rise quickly, particularly around recognition, rejection, family, creativity or feeling misunderstood.

You may feel unusually sensitive to how others respond to you or suddenly notice where you have been relying on external validation.

Conversations may carry more weight than expected. Something unspoken could come to the surface, but try not to rush into defensiveness. Listen for the truth beneath the words.

Energy levels may fluctuate too. One moment you may feel creative and excited; the next you may want to retreat from the noise. Give yourself permission to do both.

By the weekend, Mercury and Jupiter bring a more hopeful, expansive feeling. A conversation may make sense of something. An idea could grow. You may feel ready to speak, write, teach, share or believe in yourself again, but from a more honest place.

How to Work With This Energy

Keep the middle of the week spacious where possible. Rest more, drink plenty of water and do not fill every quiet moment with noise or other people’s opinions.

Notice when you are tempted to prove, perform or explain yourself. Ask whether anything actually needs to be said or whether you are looking for reassurance.

Be mindful of emotionally charged conversations. Say what is true, but allow the first wave of feeling to settle before sending the message or making the declaration.

Do something creative without needing it to be useful. Dance, write, paint, cook, sing, rearrange a room or wear something that makes you feel more like yourself.

Spend less time asking, “How will this look?” and more time asking, “How does this feel to me?”

If an identity or ambition feels uncertain, do not force it back into place. Give yourself time to discover whether it still belongs.

And if you receive recognition this week, enjoy it. Let it land. Just remember that applause is lovely, but it was never meant to become your oxygen.

✨ Affirmation of the Week ✨

"I release the need to perform, prove or perfect who I am. I trust the truth of my own heart. I am worthy, creative and whole, whether anyone is watching or not."

Before You Go…

My friends, I honestly think this eclipse is about putting down the character we have become tired of playing. We do not need to stop being ambitious, visible or proud of ourselves. Leo energy wants us to shine. But there is a world of difference between shining because we are alive and shining because we are desperate to be chosen.

One is freedom.

The other is exhausting.

You may not fully understand what this eclipse is changing straight away. These energies unfold over months, sometimes years. For now, simply notice what no longer feels natural. Notice where you are trying too hard to hold an image together. Notice what gives you energy when there is nothing to gain from it.

You are allowed to change your mind.

You are allowed to outgrow an old dream.

You are allowed to be a beginner.

You are allowed to create something nobody understands yet.

You are allowed to step back from the stage and remember who you are without the lights.

And when you return and you will, perhaps you will not need to be louder.

Perhaps you will simply be more real.

That is the gift of this week. Not a brighter performance. A truer light.

ANNOUNCEMENT 📍 New Office Address

Appointments will now take place at my new office.

210 Arthur St, Teneriffe QLD 4005, Australia

Please park in the driveway, walk through the white gates at the end of the driveway, take a seat on the left, and I'll come and collect you.

Love you,

Sarah ✨

If you would like to receive some more guidance about this week's energy, watch my Weekly Cosmic Forecast below.

CARD OF THE WEEK

Here's a little guidance for the week ahead from The Transformation Deck;