LEO NEW MOON - 23 July 2017

Exact at 10.45am BST, 5.45am EDT

This is the first of two Leo New Moons in the next month and it certainly has some fire and passion to it! New Moons are a time of new beginnings when we leave old patterns and anything that no longer serves us behind in the dark of the moon and plant seeds that will gradually blossom and grow over the month ahead. This can take the form of setting intentions for ourselves, or it can happen quite naturally because the New Moon is such a potent time and has the power to set an energetic ball in motion that takes us for a ride. Whatever we are focusing on around the time of the New Moon will have a tendency to take form and grow as the month progresses. This particular New Moon is in Leo, which is a fire sign, and if we visualise fire it starts as a little flame and very quickly spreads, given the right conditions, so that it becomes a raging fire. If we don’t tend to it carefully then it can very easily burn out of control. As such, fire signs are very enthusiastic, infectious, lively, courageous, creative, forceful and possess a tremendous zest for life. This is certainly the flavour of this particular Moon, as not only is it in Leo but it is also joined by Mars, who has just moved into Leo. There is a sense that anything is possible with this Moon and that we could have the drive and motivation to courageously step outside of our comfort zone.

Leo is a very creative sign which encourages us to take control of our own destiny and shape it out of the strength of our will and passion. With the New Moon in Leo we could imagine ourselves as a blank slate, or a piece of clay that we can mould in any way we want. Leo wants us to allow our special and unique nature to truly shine! This is certainly not the sign of the wallflower; it is the sign of creative actualisation which brings a sense that we are masters of our own destiny and can become anything we want to be. While Cancer symbolises the formation of the ego, or a sense of self, borne out of our childhood experience, Leo represents the full expression of that sense of self. Thus, self-expression is part of the Leo experience and can take many forms, such as painting, acting, performing, singing, dancing and the many other forms of creative expression that exist, including procreation. Children come under the Leo banner, as they come from the womb and are very much our creation. Leo also represents the inner child who is very playful, uninhibited, spontaneous and likes to have fun. During this Moon it could be good to nurture that child within us and focus on following our bliss; listening to our heart and doing what brings us the most joy. If we do that then we will doubtless be moving in the right direction!

Mars has just entered Leo and is sitting right next to the Sun and Moon for this lunation. Mars is the planet that acts on our desires and represents our motivation and drive. He is the action planet! He is quite at home in Leo, and encourages us to get off our proverbial behinds and do what really, truly brings us joy! There is something quite passionate and impulsive about this Moon and so we could have some quite strong urges to take control of our destiny and create the life we truly want for ourselves. This is the kind of energy that helps us do the things we have always wanted to do but never had the courage to actually make happen. It could make us much braver and willing to take a risk, so when we set our intentions for this Moon we should aim high and be willing to follow through on them, because there will be some force behind them! Leo rules the heart and with Mars in Leo we are encouraged to act from our heart and follow its desires. The heart is so much more intelligent than the mind!

Uranus is also forming a challenging aspect to the Sun, Moon and Mars during this Moon, although it is an out of sign aspect, which means it isn’t quite as strong. However, it has been very strong all week long, so it is still very relevant indeed as we will have already been feeling its effects. Uranus can make us feel like we want to bust out and do something completely different and will make us far less tolerant of any restrictions we may be feeling at the moment. This is the planet that urges us to break out of our safe, predictable routine and step outside of our comfort zone. This Moon could be the time for us to make necessary changes in our lives and to step away from any situations or states of being that we have outgrown or which have become limiting, restricting or oppressive. We could well be braver and bolder than at other times, or it could simply be that we can’t take any more and we have no choice but to make changes!

There is a sense of excitement that comes with Uranus squaring Mars, the Sun and Moon, but it could also make things feel quite volatile, unstable and insecure. We could feel strong urges to express our true self and our emotions, even if it may seem a bit out of character, or shocking. We could also be the recipient of someone else’s temper or shocking behaviour. It is quite likely that we will feel a bit rebellious or impatient and we could feel overwhelmed with the sense that we need to make changes and we need to do it now! We may feel passions, desires and even anger coming out of the blue and demanding expression. Anything that we have been holding in could come bursting out, as we have a strong urge to get everything off our chest. It is far better to get everything out into the open, rather than having it bubbling away under the surface! This is an ideal time to be completely honest about whatever has become intolerable to us, and we may have no choice in the matter anyway! Note that this energy has already been with us all week and peaks today, Thursday 27 July.

Pluto and Jupiter are also working up to a challenging square aspect that will be exact on August 4^th. Pluto is the planet of soul, power and transformation while Jupiter is the planet of growth and expansion, so we could feel urges that come from the depths of our souls urging us to transcend our own limitations so that we can really blossom and grow. This aspect could also make us feel a bit claustrophobic and acutely aware of where we feel a loss of personal freedom and are being held back from moving forward with our lives. We could feel powerful urges to spread our wings and fly and to break free of any restrictions, real or imagined. Much like the Uranus aspect, we will very likely be quite intolerant of anyone or anything that seems to be holding us down or curtailing our freedom in any way. Jupiter also represents beliefs and philosophies, so it is quite possible that we will experience a metamorphosis of our beliefs and faith during this time. We could also experience some rather extreme beliefs coming from other people, or we may be forced to stick up for what we believe in and trust the power of our convictions.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon, at 1° Leo, is “Blood rushes to a man’s head as his vital energies are mobilised under the spur of ambition.” As Rudyar says, “Leo depicts rising of energy from the heart to the head, a “mentalisation” process. However, this process is a potentially dangerous one.” This could mean that we feel things “coming to a head” and experience some kind of explosion as whatever has been suppressed come bursting out! This could be a very good thing, as what is in our hearts comes bursting through to our conscious minds, or it could also be destructive. We have all experience that explosion in the head at some point or other! Combine this with the Sabian symbol of Mars, at 2° Leo: “An epidemic of mumps” and we have a sense that the fire could indeed spread out of control, or that whatever is in our hearts during this time has the chance to take hold and multiply. There is something infectious about this symbol, and it brings an image of thoughts, feelings or ideas spreading like wild fire!  I think we just need to set those intentions and see where they take us!

Certainly this is a passionate New Moon and it seems like a really good one for setting some heart felt intentions based on what we truly want for ourselves. It might be good to contemplate what constitutes us following our bliss and what brings us our greatest joy.  Leo reminds us that we are co-creators of our reality and encourages us to be a bit playful and light-hearted in our intention setting!  It does seem like we may experience a sense of certain situations becoming stifling, stagnant or even intolerable, so that we have no choice but to make a change. Uranus could well bring some epiphanies that seem to come out of the blue, giving us some insight into what needs to change and how. Mars gives us the courage, passion and motivation to actually make things happen, rather than just dreaming about what we might like to do. It could also make us a bit impulsive and reactionary, leading us to take risks we wouldn’t normally take. This Moon doesn’t feel like it is going to be particularly comfortable, but possibly that is a good thing!  Leo wants us to truly shine and express our own special, unique gifts, and I sense that this Moon will make us all too aware of what is stopping us from doing just that! We just need to remember the greatest gift of Leo and keep listening to our heart. It will never steer us wrong.

Much love

Amy

xoxo

 Picture: Winds of Freedom by Mona Davis