LEO NEW MOON / TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE - 12 August 2026
This is one of the biggest Moons of the year, and there surely have been some big ones already! It kicks off eclipse season, heralding a new chapter and bringing the sense that a part of us must be left behind so that a new version can emerge. This Eclipse feels even more potent because it comes on the back of this powerful configuration of planets that have been bringing about a profound shift in consciousness over the past month or so. This Leo New Moon invites us to be more fully ourselves than we have ever been before, allowing our true, authentic, utterly unique essence to shine brightly and honouring our true purpose here on earth at this time. It really is time to shine!
Leo invites us to be unapologetically ourselves, following the path of joy and expressing what is in our hearts. It calls for us to get in touch with our playful inner child and allow it to lead the way, living from a place of joy, spontaneity and wonder. Leo can help us to get in touch with our true purpose, which is less about “doing” and more about simply being who we truly are. We all have special gifts that are unique to us, and with the Nodes now in Leo and Aquarius we are being called to embrace those gifts, not from a self-serving place of ego or a need to be recognised as special, but from a genuine desire and willingness to contribute something to the greater whole.
This Moon encourages us to recognise what lights us up, what makes our heart smile and excites us the most, and to do more of it! We are called to radiate our special light out into the world rather than hiding it under a bushel or living according to others expectations of us. An Eclipse in Leo gives us the courage to take a risk, taking a leap of faith and following our heart, even if we are not exactly sure of where it will lead. What are our heartfelt desires? What brings us the most joy? If we were to truly honour our heart, where would it lead us? What is the reality we want to create and how do we want to live? What aspect of our work feels closest to our heart and is most enjoyable, and how can we bring more of that in? These are all good questions for a Leo New Moon/Eclipse. We are planting some important seeds rights now, as this is a powerful time of collective change.
This Moon correlates with the Leo New Moon/Solar Eclipse of 12/13 August 2007, so it might be helpful to look back and contemplate what was happening in our lives at that time, and what was seeded. A lot has changed between then and now, that’s for sure! Obviously, whatever is happening now will not be exactly the same as what was going on back then, as we have evolved considerably since that time, but it may have some resonance, or some kind of recurring theme.
Neptune in Aries, the planet of spirit, unity, oneness, dreams and compassion, is playing an incredibly big part of this New Moon/Eclipse, as it is forming an aspect to the Sun, Moon and all of the planets, except for Saturn. This certainly adds a spiritual dimension to the Leo Moon, making it feel even more sacred. Neptune is in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, is helping a new identity to be born, dissolving the small self and encouraging a bigger Self to emerge, one that operates from soul and spirit, rather than ego. Neptune’s presence imbues this Leo New Moon with higher meaning, encouraging us to shine our inner light, allowing spirit to radiate out as we follow our inner calling and have the Aries courage and pioneering spirit to follow our inspiration and step into an entirely new way of being.
Venus in Libra and Mercury in Leo are both activating the powerful configuration of the outer planets that has been creating such a huge shift in consciousness over the past month or so. It has passed its peak, but Venus and Mercury can help “personalise” the energy of the outer planets. Those of us with personal planets or angles around 4/5° will have been feeling the energy of this basket pattern created by Uranus, Neptune and Pluto over the past month ago. Venus and Mercury are both sitting at 5°. It will be easier for the air and fire signs.
Mercury trine Neptune, exact early on 12 August, helps inspire creative, imaginative ideas and visions, helping us to allow Spirit to guide our thoughts and communication. It could be a good time to meditate, journal, create, and use whatever means work for us to connect with our inner guidance, such as oracles cards etc. It is important to pay attention to our dreams, and to dare to imagine the reality we want to create.
Uranus sextile Mercury, exact late on 12 August, helps us to shift our mindset and change our neural pathways, bringing the potential for profound insight, realisations and the capacity for seeing things from an entirely different perspective, which could change everything. A moment of profound clarity, a random conversation or an unexpected message can all completely change the way we see something, and once we see it we can’t unsee it. From there we can make a choice to respond differently.
Pluto in Aquarius is also playing a big part, as it is opposing Mercury, exact 11/12 August and trine Venus, exact 10 August. Pluto opposite Mercury can bring penetrating, exposing conversations that cut to the heart of the matter, calling for radical emotional honesty. Pluto forces us to confront the truth, even if it isn’t comfortable or pretty. We might say or think things that we have been afraid to admit, especially to ourselves. With the support of Uranus and Neptune, we have the potential for old patterns of thinking to fall away, as we gain profound insight into our deepest compulsions, psychological complexes and patterns that simply have no place where we are going. It is amazing how a simple moment of crystal clear insight and emotional honesty can suddenly dissolve patterns and complexes that we have been trying to understand and shift for years!
Venus is now in Libra, her own sign, so she is very comfortable there. The trine from Pluto encourages deeper intimacy, radical honesty, truthful openness and transparency within our relationships. We have an opportunity to shift unhealthy and unhelpful patterns of relating, approaching relationship from an entirely new perspective. Pluto encourages us to expose our tender underbelly, even if we feel somewhat exposed and vulnerable. The raw truth is better than hiding things under the carpet and pretending they are not there, because then they fester and create bigger problems later on. The only way forward is absolute honesty, both with ourselves and our loved ones.
Uranus is also trine Venus and Pluto, creating a beautiful Grand Air Trine. Uranus is the ruler of the Aquarius North Node, and in aspect to Venus can help us to approach our relationships differently, changing our ideas of what relationship looks like. Pluto asks for raw honesty and transparency, while Uranus helps us to be utterly true to ourselves and shift out of the old way of being in relationship, opening ourselves up to a new way that is both unfamiliar and exciting. This is new territory, and there isn’t a rule book, but Uranus can help shift our mindset and open our minds to new possibilities of being in relationship that we may not have considered before. Uranus can help liberate us from layers of conditioning and programming, bringing a sense of freedom and fresh new perspective.
Neptune is the final piece, supporting Uranus and Pluto and opposing Venus. It creates a kite pattern, with Venus being the focal point. Neptune in aspect to Venus can bring the potential for unconditional love that does not seek to possess, although it can also bring the danger of losing ourselves or sacrificing our own needs for the sake of the other. It can also make us project our fantasies onto the other, seeing the relationship through rose tinted spectacles.
Neptune is in Aries, however, which is a sign that is adept at the art of self-love. Neptune opposite Venus could gently ask us what it might feel like to honour our own needs while still loving the other. Along with Pluto and Uranus, Neptune can dissolve the way we approach relationships, for as a new identity emerges we may be called to let go of the idea that we need to sacrifice our own self or journey in order to be in relationship. Neptune and Venus can help bring in a “higher” kind of love. What this all means, exactly, is slowly revealing itself, so we could see it as a journey of exploration, keeping our hearts open to new possibilities.
The Sabian symbol for this Moon, at 21° Leo, is a very interesting one! “Intoxicated chickens dizzily flap their wings trying to fly” which Dane Rudyar describes as “The often negative and at times ludicrous first experience with spiritual teachings. In Near Eastern symbolism wine, intoxication, and vineyards always refer to ecstatic experiences and to the contact with mystical or occult schools. “Chickens” here suggest that we are dealing with human beings who are the standardised products of their culture, and more or less undifferentiated specimens of a social norm. Brought accidentally or prematurely to mystical or occult experiences, they usually react to them in a highly confused and “dizzy” manner. What reacts in them is the ego, and the ego can never “fly” (i.e. experience spiritually transcendental realities in an effectual manner). This symbol presents to us a picture of the unsatisfactory way many people today – especially young people – approach what purports to be spiritual reality. The “food” may be intoxicating, conscious-expanding, but the inner openings lack depth and constructiveness, whether or not they produce what appears to be a wonderful feeling. One may speak here of the danger of PREMATURE EXPANSION OF CONSCIOUSNESS.”
An interesting symbol indeed, especially in the light of all the Neptunian energy swirling around this Moon. It makes sense, however, as the chickens do have wings, which give them the ability to fly, but they haven’t quite figured out how to use this capacity, because it is new. So much is changing, on a very subtle level, as we are in the midst of a profound consciousness shift, so we may be a bit clumsy at first because all of this is so new. As per the Aquarius Full Moon that can before this one, the child has only just emerged from the egg. We are in a process of self-discovery, which is exciting, unfamiliar, liberating and could be a bit confusing, giddy-making and disorienting! This is where this Leo New Moon comes in, simply calling for us to have fun along the way, to have a beginner’s mind and the willingness to play and experiment, opening our hearts and following what brings us joy.
We may not quite know how to fly yet. But we do have the wings.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Picture: Follow Your Heart – Fingering Zen
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