We are now in Leo season, which helps us to follow our hearts and can bring out our more playful, romantic side, not to mention our inner lion! A New Moon in Leo is an invitation to have some fun with our intentions and to contemplate what we want to create in our lives. Leo reminds us that we are the master of our own destiny, the director of our own play and the writer of our own script. It is amazing what we can achieve through the strength of our own will. There is great potential for change and big shifts this month, so this is an ideal time to sow some playful and creative seeds and to see what pops up out of them. We are encouraged to listen to our heart and follow the path of joy.
During a New Moon, it is important to pay attention to the conversations we have with friends and loved ones, as often they give clues around what our heart is yearning for. And our hearts know so much better than our minds what we truly want and need. Leo helps us to connect to our playful inner child, as children are so open hearted and aware of what feels good and what doesn’t feel good. As adults, many of us tend to suppress or contain that part of ourselves, but a Leo New Moon encourages us to be spontaneous, open, playful and brave, and to recognise what feels the most joyful for us and to hold onto it and not let go!
The Sun is very much at home in Leo, being its own sign, so this is the time to shine our light brightly and to fully participate in life. This is not the time to be the wilting wallflower, rather we are invited to allow our inner lion out to play, and to roar if necessary! Lions do not like to be kept in cages! Leo is a dynamic, enthusiastic, warm-hearted and strong-willed sign, and so this is an ideal time for us to connect to our romantic adventurer and to be willing to take a risk on all that life has to offer. It is time to find our inner fire and be willing to take a risk or two.
Jupiter and Mars are a big part of this Moon and are moving towards a conjunction with each other in Gemini that will be exact on 14 August and will also be a big part of the next Full Moon. Jupiter brings growth, faith, expansion and the capacity to see the bigger picture, broadening our horizons, while Mars brings courage, drive, energy, motivation and the capacity to be up front and direct. In connection to this Moon, it feels like they bring warmth, enthusiasm, the spirit of adventure, growth and the faith and courage to take a risk and follow our hearts. However, it is also important to be aware that this combination can also bring conflict over ideologies, opinions and beliefs.
When Jupiter and Mars join together there is a sense that the sky's the limit, and anything is possible. It feels like the combination of superheroes! There is also the potential for going overboard, overextending ourselves and biting off more than we can chew. However, sometimes we do simply need to throw caution to the wind, step outside of our comfort zone and jump off the proverbial cliff! In the next couple of weeks, as they move closer together, we could feel a greater urge to expand our horizons, throw caution to the wind and take some leaps of faith. Those of us with personal planets or angles around 16° of a sign, especially the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, will feel the energy of this dynamic and adventurous conjunction the most acutely.
Uranus is a big player this month, bringing the potential for big shifts, changes of perspective, insight and sudden change. It will feature very prominently in the Aquarius Full Moon on 19 August but is also forming a dynamic square aspect to Venus during this Moon. On one level, this can bring a shift in the way we approach our relationships, allowing a greater amount of freedom and authenticity to arise. However, it could also bring about a little bit of a wobble if they are not on solid ground. We may also gain sudden, potentially shocking insight and clarity into our relationships, the way we relate and what we are attracting into our lives. We have a chance to liberate ourselves from old, outworn patterns of relating and find a new way of being in relationship that is more open and free.
Venus also represents money, self-worth, our values and the capacity to attract what we need, so there could be a shift, change or realisation in an economic sense as well. On a collective level, we are certainly experiencing a gradual shift in values as we move into this new paradigm. Uranus in Taurus since 2108 has slowly but surely been helping us to shift our perspective on how we approach money and survival, starting to liberate us from a “What’s mine is mine” attitude. Uranus invites us to think outside the box and let go of our collective conditioning around money, moving away from the more patriarchal values and a pyramid system that is no longer serving us. It has also brought about an upsurgence in digital currency, as well as more focus on sustainability and self-sufficiency. Uranus will remain in Taurus until 2025, so it will be interesting to see what happens between now and then.
With Uranus being such a prominent feature this month, it certainly does feel like a time of change, with the potential for unexpected shifts, both personally and collectively. We could find that the jigsaw pieces fall into place in unexpected ways. Ultimately Uranus calls for us to liberate ourselves from the chains that bind us, including patterns of behaviour, beliefs, situations, relationships, old programming, attitudes and values, creating a greater sense of freedom to simply be our true selves. Those of us with personal planets or angles around 26° of a sign, especially the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, will be feeling the exciting, liberating energy of Uranus most acutely, although it could also feel somewhat unsettling!
Something to bear in mind is that Mercury is stationary at the time of this New Moon, about to turn retrograde. Aside from the usual shenanigans that can occur in the couple of days before and after t turns, this is a time to go back over the ground we have covered since mid-July. This is a time of reflection, review, when some retrospections can help bring greater clarity. Sometimes people can pop up from our past during this time, especially those with whom we have unfinished business. Indeed, this is a good time for communications and conversations that tie up loose ends. Mercury is retrograde from 4 August until 29 August, travelling from 4° Virgo back to 21° Leo.
The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon, at 13° Leo, is an interesting one: “An old sea captain rocking himself on the porch of his cottage” which Dane Rudyar describes as “The quieted mind’s recollections of crises and joys long past. The sea captain has steered the ship of his ego-consciousness through seas and storms, maintaining the integrity of his individual selfhood while in close contact with the collective Unconscious. Now retired, he may try to distill wisdom from his many experiences and from his victories over elemental forces. The “swing” of the child-consciousness has now become a “rocking chair” from which one can contemplate the past as well as present scenes, gently moving as waves roll over the shore. Peace at last. With this symbol we find the consciousness of old age, after having witnessed the spontaneous play of children close to protective nature (Leo 11°) and the fashionable social parties of escaping adults (Leo 12°): three stages of mental development. Keyword: QUIET RECOLLECTION.”
Peace at last. This is something we can all aspire to. Hopefully this Moon can help us to move in that direction, despite any recent turbulence and the great potential for change that is held within this month. This Moon encourages us to listen to our heart, to follow the path of joy, to take a risk, to allow our open hearted, spontaneous inner child out to play and to free ourselves from any outworn conditioning around relationships and our attitude to money. The sands are shifting, with the potential for some jigsaw pieces falling into place, so we are invited to be open and flexible, allowing the flow of life to show us where we are supposed to be. A Leo New moon is an opportunity to playfully create the life we truly want.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Painting: The Joy of Life, by Francois Girard