Leo! - Tarr’aahh!
‘Look who comes - it is I !’

Who’s that?

‘What! Can you not see the wonder that is me!’

Ruled by the sun, Leo IS, with no need to explain or describe. The radiation of the heart enables us to be human beings in relationship with all others. And yet we find that our personality is what actually does the work of relating. The radiance of spirit has to make its way through all that we hold in our hearts, including old heart-break, heart-felt desires, and those conditions that we feel need to be fulfilled for us to ‘be ourselves’ like recognition and approval. Most of all, our spirit must shine through who we think we are both consciously and unconsciously.

It’s amazing just how much of our experience derives from ‘who we take ourselves to be’ and all the expectations that follow from that image. There’s a kind of security in having a recognisable identity, and much of what we do in the world helps to hold that identity in place. If I feel myself to be not as competent as others, I will tend to hold back from offering to play my part in group activities. Others will respond to my behaviour quite naturally by not including me in sharing out activities, and I stay incompetent through lack of experience. How I see myself largely defines how I experience my world.

And yet, Leo is the heart’s true radiation, and shines through regardless as long as we go into life open-hearted, follow where the heart’s desires lead us. A person who lives from their heart has the effect of opening the hearts of others, and everyone experiences more expansion, growth and spiritual radiance in their world.

Who are you really?

This New Moon, at the beginning of Leo, is drawing attention to the effects of Jupiter who entered Leo on 16 July. So the focus this month is on taking a fresh look at ourselves and letting our identity be an unknown quantity. What would I like to do if I was not afraid of repercussions, of looking foolish or upsetting people. We tend to call the first effort that doesn’t get a desired result a ‘failure’. What we need is to allow ourselves to do the joyful thing in such a way that our attempts reveal a path and teach us how to travel it. Following the joyful paths is a great way to discover hidden talents and new friends, and a new identity comes to light.

Pessimism versus Optimism - Intelligence mediates

Something you may have come across already is the emotional pit of reasons not to start the joyful thing, and negative reactions may continue to bubble up during the next week or so. It might be a background mood of disillusionment or defeatism in the face of frightening ‘wild’ optimism (Mars just into Scorpio, and square Jupiter in Leo 1 August). It could be experienced as a fearful sense of anxiety in the stomach (Mars rules the solar plexus). Scorpio energy can either pull back from the new, or lurch forward in an effort to break through the natural inertia of how-it’s-been-so-far, being over-determined.

However, the rest of the chart shows great understanding of needs and limitations (Mercury in Cancer trine Saturn, trine Chiron), which suggests that growth will be intelligently supported, and risks weighed sensibly. If you dare to face a surprising new direction, steady progress can follow; and making inroads into your chosen activity now is likely to bear good fruit in time.

If you feel great emotion welling up, remember that many others will be feeling it too. If you can hand over the painful situations of life to ‘the angels,’ the love that is everywhere will flow through more easily (Venus in Cancer trine Neptune).

Be now who you are now

The Full Moon on 10 August, shows potential breaks from the past, in the letting go of habitually doing the expected thing, or following the path laid down (Sun/Mercury in Leo trine Uranus and the South Node). Allow in a new sense of freedom to enjoy being the person you have really become over the years of your life, rather than what your memory tells you about yourself from childhood.

From 11 August, you may find it easier to be in the world as this real person you are now (Venus moves from Cancer to Leo). Be prepared to allow that others are recognising their newness too, and accept that we don’t know the people around us any more than we know ourselves. In truth, we are all changing all the time - no one is exactly the same as they were last time you spoke to each other. This approach is much more fun - if you take care of the necessities and let the rest unfold as it will, events happen and paths open up that you never could have imagined!

. . . last thoughts . . ..

Above all, don’t make a judgement that will prevent growth in the future, because it is yourself you will be limiting, not the other person. Be determined to get to the truth in yourself, and take care not to blame anyone, because we’ve all been less than wonderful in our time (Mars through Scorpio). All this is easy to say, not so easy to do, or even to remember. But at times of deep change, it helps to re-affirm that spirit is totally in charge.