We have just worked through the final Dark Moon of Winter, and from here, as I'm sure you've noticed, all things are in a cycle of growth again. This is really your last chance to let go, release, and move on, because if You do not drop it now, it will only grow again in the new cycle.
A Leo New Moon is Perfect for coming to terms with our own Inner Power. As a brand new cycle, the New Moon is a time of beginnings. It's a moment when that which You plant is given the spark of growth. Add this to the new seasonal growth cycle, and the fiery Leo energy, and whatever You imagine you Will Be.
This Moon is a time to use the strength and determination inside You to drive your growth. You are the creator of your own Destiny, and the willful, courageous proud energies of Leo want to help set you on course. This moon is also supporting creativity and wholeness in who You really are.
Leo is ruled by the Sun, and this month of course the Sun is also in Leo. With everything revolving around the Sun, Leo naturally loves attention. Use this month's energy to give yourSelf all the attention you need to Be where you want to Be.
Again, the New Moon is in relationship to Saturn this month, the planet of responsibility and reality. So what better time could there Be to take responsibility for yourSelf in as many ways possible : your health, your emotional state, your spiritual path... I've just finished writing my Women's Magick : Women of Power Workshops and they are all about the very Leo Magickal concept of Be-ing in a Real World state of Power by taking Responsibility for the Self, paying your Self attention instead of spending it wastefully on other things, and ultimately creating what You need and want in this life.
Even something that to others may not seem huge, can be for You, something extremely significant and worthwhile. Taking a few moments in a day to dedicate to your needs, re-assessing your language of how You relate to the Self and others, or changing an aspect of your diet could all make an incomparable difference in your overall state of Be-ing.
I have mentioned re-assessing our language and the way we spend attention and the ability to ananlyse and reasses these aspects of our Be-ing is something perhaps more available than usual. Mercury, the sign of communication is currently in Virgo, a practical, well though out kind of sign. Virgo is sometimes known to over-analyse, over perfect and generally think things out more than most. Take this as an opportunity to analyse the ways You communicate to yourSelf and others. Do the words 'I'm an idiot' slip out when you make a mistake? Or do you tell others 'I don't have enough / can't be enough for that..?' Take responsibility for your language and communications, use Leo to be bold and out there and really let the shift anchor for this time.
Mercury will retrograde in a few days, until August 26, and this will allow for more attention to be made in what has gone in the past. Often people will philosophise all the negatives of Mercury going retro : cars breaking down, technology on the fritz, arguments between friends. With Virgo around, certainly I'd be watching out for any over-perfect expectations and tendencies. But overall, if you go at a Virgo Mercury Retro with the thought in mind of getting on top of things, getting ideas sorted and clearing out wasteful communications, you will have a very successful period. (for example, I cleared out and reorganised my email inboxes this week in preparation for the Mercury retro, and now my mail is where I can find it, and will go to where I need it to be.)
This month is really focused on the Self, and will stay that way due to both the New Moon and the Sun in Leo, and Mercury will re-enter Leo in its retrograde phase in about a week from now. In my Red Tent Circles, we are going to assess our Woman of Power Selves, and take a journey to See our True Self as a Woman of Power, using the Visualisation that was created for last year's New Moon in Leo : Success is a Shining Light. We will celebrate our successes, and look forward to many more to come, as we acknowledge our Selves as creative, Power-full Beings.
Venus is also currently in Leo, and since Venus represents love and relationships, and Leo is all about paying attention to the Self, this is really a time to LOVE the SELF. When we love ourselves, we relate to people as beloved Be-ings. It is then easier for them to love their Self, and also to love us in return. Venus helps us to see what we value, so with Leo's inspiration it should be easier to value the Self above all things this month, and let that feeling and intention grow in this new Cycle as Spring comes closer.
Seasonally in Australia, it is the time of the Sabbat of Mystery (also known as Imbolg/Imbolc/the Quickening). This is summed up in the amazing sense that growth is happening but unseen. There is a silence yet a freshness to the mornings and rebirth is occurring under the surface if all things. It will do You well to take time each morning to remember, celebrate the past, and then let it go. Greet each sun with a fresh approach, and let it Be a time that celebrates the fertile essence of Mama Earth, for this same essence runs through ALL things on Planet Earth at this time.
This season is known as the Quickening, as when a Mother can feel the fluttering of the babe I her belly, even before she is showing to be pregnant. This is a time of great awareness. All senses are ramped up. We see, feel and hear things differently at this time. Because of this, it can be a great time of healing, as we acknowledge what has been, we then can fully let it go. It is the lesson of the One Who Honours the Truth, that only when we face whatever emotion that is within, can we truly be ready to let it go. The beginning of August, this time after the Quickening, brings energies to the Earth that will allow Her inhabitants to Be in emotional state more easily – don't misunderstand this to mean 'less painful', but simply that the energies are supporting the process of coming face to face with our emotions – Being present with what has been, what is now, and willing to accept what will come. So if there is a feeling, sensation or emotion that you have been fighting against (perhaps you have challenged yourself with something like 'I shouldn't feel like this about such and such', or 'I don't want to feel this anymore' then it is time to face it. Just because you want to believe that you don't want to feel it, doesn't make it go away. Take responsibility, get to know your Inner Self better, meet it, greet it, and then you will be in a Space to let it go.)
The Full Moon on the 14th August is in Aquarius, a beautiful sign of freedom, and liberation that actually helps us understand the meaning of Unity much more deeply. The process of letting go that I mention above will be well supported from that first week of August, with energies entering the Earth sphere around the Full Moon to open our hearts even more fully, and culminating with the true sense of Liberation from that which holds you back at the Full Moon. The energies always provide us with the Perfect support, and this is no exception!
So there You have an August of Grace and Perfection. I read many astrologers that suggested all sorts of drama and 'issue' for this month, but what I see over and over is that it all comes back to being really and truly honest with the Self. When You are living a Truth-full Real World existence, 'owning' your emotional/physical/spiritual drama and facing it with an open heart willing to change, then this is what your Journey will be made up of this month, and it will take you to a Space of much more fulfilling awareness and have you well on the Path to Awakening. Leo is Selfish, but Selfish doesn't have to be a negative criticism, it can be a really honest way of giving to Your Self, if You let it Be.
I know where I want to Be at the end of this month, as far away from Winter and the old stuck feelings as possible. So I'll be working out, working on and working up. See You on the other side too!
Love,
-Hollie B.
