On July 28th, at 12:55 p.m. CDT, the moon aligns with the sun in 5.5° of Leo initiating a new moon cycle. This new moon offers extraordinary potential for us to access more of our power by remembering who we truly are, divine co-creators. We are born to experience and express our divine nature. It is through embodying this awareness that we feel most alive. We are searching for heartfelt experiences. This new moon is infused with the frequencies of abundance, joy, and creativity. We are called to bear witness to our divinity as well as recognize the benevolent force that supports our path.
This new moon is inviting you to set the intentions you want to nurture and foster over the following 18 months. This new moon sets the stage for the Leo full moon on the 25th of January 2024, when you’ll be able to actualize your desires. This new moon invites us to follow our joy out into the world to reconnect with what inspires us and explore how our joy desires to express itself. When we focus our attention on what authentically brings us joy, our energy rises and expands. The more we connect to and embody inspiration, the more we inspire others to live their authentic joy. We cultivate the courage to live the life of our dreams as we grow in power, strength, and self-assurance, and as a result, we are fully present to experience our aspirations.
This new moon is fueled by fire. We have been feeling tension building around us which is magnifying what isn’t working. We feel the need to free ourselves from what keeps us blocked from our soul’s authentic expression. We know something has to give. Divine downloads and shocking news serve as a wake-up call, shining a light onto higher truth and ushering us into the next stages of our soul’s potential. Our own frustration ignites the spark of new life. We are invited to evaluate and trust our body’s felt wisdom. We know change is beckoning, and we are willing to do what we must to make it happen. This is our time to act and courageously move toward our creative potential.
Leo as an Archetype
Leo is the sign of the artist, performer, storyteller, and the ruler. It symbolizes the human desire to express and flow with the creative process. Through creative experimentation and openness we discover more of our gifts and ultimately reclaim a part of who we are. We learn to follow joy and live in the present moment.
Leo is associated with the divine child. This is the child who is waking up to their own divinity and the laws of co-creation as their birthright. We were born to be creatively experimental, playfully discovering and expressing ourselves. We recognize our heart’s song as a creative melody within the galactic symphony. Life is not happening to us; we are singing in harmony with the cosmos. There is a vibrational resonance, exchange, and rhythm to it all. As we incarnate we choose a unique self that is our blueprint for this lifetime. We are here exploring the self through that lens, while opening to the magic of the divine connection of it all. A child naturally lives in awe and wonder of the creation that lives all around it. We are the divine waking up to itself.
“The ultimate aim of human life is to realize the true nature of oneself as the divine with higher consciousness and to be one with the Supreme being.”
Shiva Negi
Leo is ruled by the Sun, a symbol of consciousness and the unique light we were destined to shine in this lifetime. This fiery archetype calls us to embody our creative power and radiate our unique spark out into the world. In order to do that we must be able to see ourselves. We must recognize what is truly special about ourselves so that we can offer our unique creative imprint as a higher service and a legacy.
The Shadow of Leo
Unhealed Leo energy can be expressed as the spoiled child, self involved and attention seeking. We seek to be seen in a way that wasn’t properly validated in childhood and operate from unconscious underlying motivations to be seen and receive approval in every moment. Life can become a performance. When not the center of attention, this energy sulks or even erupts. We need to check ourselves and get honest about why we do some of the things that we do. We may find we created a foundation where we learned to receive validation for what we do really well, even if it doesn’t feel authentic to us. We may feel we are loved for what we do, but no one really knows and loves us for who we are. We may need to be seen in a certain light by the people in the room, which inhibits us from the deeper heartfelt connection that is in front of us.
Leo energy can become preoccupied with being famous, building a legacy, or being associated with someone who is famous. The path to the top can become consuming and drain our life force if it is not connected to our heart. The shadow of Leo can also allow the expression of others’ creative brilliance to eclipse our own light and keep us too afraid to risk visibility and step into our gifts.
The shadow of Leo manifests as entitlement, arrogance, erratic behavior, and narcissism. We may turn our focus completely inward and no longer be able to consider others and empathize with their experiences. We feel we are special in a way that makes our time and presence more valuable than other human beings. We only see our perspective and the benefit to us, and we are unable to take any adult accountability for our actions. We are unable to see ourselves.
We Trust Our Inner Validation
The evolution of Leo’s archetypal journey requires that we move beyond self-consciousness and the opinions of others in order to be bold, follow our passions, and take creative risks that ignite joy. When we spend too much time worrying about the opinions, pressures, and ideas of others, we lose our connection to our own inspiration. Our hearts can feel weighted and our self-expression blocked. Leo as an archetypal journey is on a quest to develop a healthy sense of self—one that has the esteem to own its power, risk visibility to share its unique gifts, and take action on its creative endeavors. Creativity requires courage, risk-taking, curiosity, and play. Trust is needed to follow your own heart and be true to yourself. You understand that you are here to serve something larger than the personal self. You place your trust in the universe to work on your behalf and to move your life forward and help you risk the unknown. When we don’t have access to our own creative authority, we can feel like a caged lion.
This new moon is inviting us to give ourselves permission to create. We step forward courageously to express more of our uniqueness . Ask Yourself: Where am I being called to take a creative risk? How can I cultivate more childlike wonder? What is holding me back from my authentic expression? Am I present to what brings me joy? Where is my heart guiding me? Where is life guiding me to be more visible in order to serve?
In its highest expression, Leo connects to joy and passion from a place of self connection and inner validation. Through our creative expression we light the creative spark in others around us.
Cosmic Weather
The new moon in Leo is trine Jupiter in Aries. It represents our ability to find deeper meaning and see the bigger picture. Jupiter aids us in discovering our own wisdom through our lived experience and through faith that the universe is supporting our path. In this new moon chart, Jupiter encourages us to have more confidence in ourselves and take a leap of faith where synchronicity is guiding our next steps. (Especially in the area of our unique gifts and creative potential.)
Jupiter goes retrograde at 8°43′ Aries, exactly 2.5 hours after the new moon! When a planet is in its station phase, we are more fully aware of its energy. It can feel like an energetic standstill and it amplifies the archetypal themes in play. Jupiter brings hope and trust that things are getting better. It will continue the retrograde journey until November 23rd, 2022, when it will turn direct at 28°48′ Pisces; Jupiter will pass 8°43′ Aries again on February 15th, 2023.
This new moon is joined by the dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres rules our creativity, abundance, and fertility. She is connected to nurturing and life. She represents the capacity to co-create with the divine and bring into manifestation something from the material realm. Ceres supports and nurtures our intentions with this new moon. Where Ceres is transiting in our birth chart tells us where we are fertile and birthing new growth.
At the time of this new moon, Venus and Black Moon Lilith are journeying closely together, emphasizing the need to be our true, authentic selves and align with our values, particularly where we need to break through constraints to realize our own power. Black Moon Lilith rules where we discover liberation beyond ego structures and society.
“Anything can be achieved with a healthy dose of courage.”
Viola Davis
A few days after the new moon (Sunday around 3:30 p.m. CDT) Uranus aligns with the North Node in 18.5° of Taurus. This is a once in our lifetime event aligning in this sign. This triple conjunction is concentrated on elevating our collective destiny. Things on which we relied in the past may no longer seem to provide the same level of reassurance to us. We may experience shocking truths coming to light. The news can feel unexpected, but mostly we open to a higher truth and understanding of a situation where we weren’t really seeing the full picture. What isn’t working becomes clearer, and we feel the urge to trust and move toward what is new and emerging. This alignment amplifies higher truth and action steps that liberate us and move us toward destiny. Where you have 18°of Taurus in your birth chart is where there will be radical change happening for you.
The Invitation
This new moon awakens our creative power. We open as a divine channel and direct our creative vision with our intention. It is through our joy that we recognize our own power. We see possibilities and are open to seeing the bigger picture and making the changes needed to take the next steps in our evolution.
“We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.”
Abdul Kalam