2444new moon in Leo

[evile]

Aug. 11, 2004

 

 

http://www.astrowisdom.com/thisnewmoon.htm

New Moon in Leo
Sunday, Aug 15, 2004
6:24pm PDT
23º 31'

More than any other sign, Leo rules a strong relationship with Ego.
In most spiritual circles there is a sense of suspicion and
negativity around the concept of Ego. But Ego is a whole lot more
than selfishness, narcissism and self-aggrandizement. It is the self,
knowing and creatively actualizing itself, in all its complexity and
beauty. The more we know about who we are, the more our actions
become infused with an awareness of their effect. So basically this
is the New Moon to put some energy behind the idea of knowing
yourself better, and becoming responsible for the energy (negative
and positive) you output everyday.

Leo's most evolved form is a very adult expression of ego development
that disavows self-aggrandizement and acts from a deeply
compassionate heart. The Dalai Lama comes to mind. It seems we rarely
witness this kind of selflessness in our leaders. Most of what we see
is Leo's immature, narcissistic side, which constantly demands
attention and affirmation from outside itself. With Venus (relational
skills) and Saturn (responsibility) in Cancer (love, caring and
compassion,) and Mercury (communication skills)/Mars (action)/Jupiter
(hope and expansion) in Virgo (discrimination and service to others),
this is the perfect New Moon to look deeply at how much of what you
say and do, is done to appease an inner need for attention and
recognition of specialness, or to offer a selfless, heartfelt,
compassionate, desire to heal. True self-esteem is built by
developing a calm center from which all decisions are made and all
actions are undertaken.

Our culture suffers from an intense attachment to the cult of
personality and an inability to embrace values of humility and
modesty. We also have a very unhealthy relationship with the process
of aging. There is little acceptance of the beauty and wisdom
inherent in growing older. This is an especially hard issue to tackle
on a Leo New Moon. It calls up all kinds of fear around becoming old,
ugly, frail and useless. Try reading stories about older, wiser women
and men and then imagine yourself at 70, 80 or 90. What will you look
like, what will you wear, how will you be spending your time, what
will our world look like and how will it receive or reject you?
Hopefully this exercise may inspire you to commit some of your time
and talent to the elders in your family or community.

Our world also suffers from Leo's other terrible trait-a very warped
relationship to power. Leo is the sign of personal power, another
bugaboo word! What exactly does that mean? In our world it usually
means power-over, which expresses itself in everything from caring
only about personal gain, having excessive influence over others and
exerting one's own desires upon others, to war mongering,
exploitation and land grabbing. Sound familiar? America has its natal
North Node (where the nation is evolving) in Leo in the 8th house
(issues of world power and control.) Certainly our nation's behavior
over the last three years has shown a very warped relationship to
power. This is the New Moon to redefine personal power as a means to
engender communal empowerment, coexistence and upliftment. Starhawk
refers to this kind of power as power-with. I define this very
evolved expression of Leo as true leadership. When we know ourselves,
we know our gifts, and this makes us feel a tremendous responsibility
to share our talents in an effort to make life better for everyone
around us.

On the other hand, Leo wants us all to understand that our lives are
one big canvas and we get to fill it with whatever we want. So dream
a little…all right, dream a lot. The way of Leo is big, big, big!
Think, "Big-budget Hollywood". It might be a bit harder this year
with Mercury/Mars/Jupiter all in realistic/no-risk Virgo, but try to
consider what your life would be like if you embraced the risk-taking
romantic that lives inside of you, buried deep beneath the weight of
all your worldly responsibilities. Pick one area of your life and
give it over to this part of you. You'll be amazed at what can
happen! Leo rules creative self-expression and represents the artist
in each of us.

This is the New Moon for increasing your creativity. The New Moon in
Leo is all about discovering your personal aesthetic and finding the
right modus operandi for expressing it. Those of you who are artists
can use this New Moon to start a new project or initiate a new
direction in your work, build a stronger belief in your own vision,
or bolster your ability to handle the vast amount of rejection most
artists face at one time or another. I know, some of you are sitting
there saying, "Well I'm not an artist, what does this have to do with
me?" Just look at the clothes in your closet and the things you buy
to accessorize your home. We all make aesthetic decisions every day!
Leo increases our sense of what makes us special.

This is also the New Moon for romance. With Venus (love and
relationship) and Saturn (commitment) in Cancer (emotional needs)
complementing the Sun (energy)/Moon (emotional needs) conjunction in
Leo, diving into the arms of your lover might also include a
discussion of the romantic possibilities of long-term commitment.
This is going to be one of the more serious and realistic Leo New
Moons in a long time. So don't waste the chance to dream within
limits that are realistic and long-lasting.

When it comes to love, Leo loves romance; full-blown choreographed
romance. If you are just not getting enough attention from your
partner, or you are lonely and looking for love, this is the New Moon
to create a powerful ritual to invoke and invite romance into your
life. For those of you who have a partner, make the ritual a love-
fest and pull out all the stops: candles, wine, roses, anything to
awaken the senses. For those of you who wish to invite love into your
lives, do the same while envisioning "Mr. or Ms. Right" being right
there with you. You can make love show up in your life with clear
intention and a strong desire to love and be loved.

Those of you who tend toward the Leo drama-queen spectrum of
emotional expression, you could use this Moon to do some powerful
healing work with your inner "enfant terrible". This is a very good
New Moon cycle to take a hard look at your own emotional patterning;
especially if you suffer with mood swings. It is possible to love
deeply, feel deeply, and create deeply, without wreaking havoc in
your own life and the lives of those around you.

Leo often gets hooked into the importance of keeping up appearances;
how we look, what we own, what we do, become, for many people, the
definers of self. More than anything Leo wants to be noticed and
appreciated. But the goal here is not to simulate a fashion model or
movie star. The idea is to allow your appearance to reflect the
beauty inside your heart, soul and mind. With all these planets in
Virgo, healthy is the watchword of the day. Healthy lifestyles are
extremely important, and right now obesity is one of the greatest
health problems in America. So if you need some inspiration to get in
shape and feel better, this is the right New Moon start a diet and
exercise program. Some of you may just want to experiment with a new
hairstyle or try a new look. This is good time to indulge a little,
by gifting yourself with healing treatments for your body. Live a
little and treat yourself to something special.

So enjoy this beautiful, fun and creative New Moon cycle!

©2004 Lisa Dale Miller
All rights reserved

 

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