Leo Solar Eclipse New Moon | allowing ourselves to shine, what's on fire?

fire by NadyaBird

At 5:58AM EDT on August 11th the Sun meets the Moon at 18 degrees Leo.

Even through this is a partial Solar Eclipse astronomically, the astrology around this eclipse and its placement in this summer's protracted eclipse season magnifies its energy and makes it extremely powerful.

This is a powerful new beginning for our Leo house (ruled by the Sun) - the space in our chart where we came here to shine!

Pallas is only one degree away from the Sun/New Moon. Pallas is an asteroid Goddess that rules - among other things - diplomatic solutions, strategies, tactics and patterns. So, we have the Sun meeting the Moon in the sign of the North Node (our collective way forward), a retrograde Mercury - our thinking, ideas, communication - conjunct the eclipse, Mars retrograding through the opposing sign (Aquarius), and Pallas nearly exactly conjunct. The Eclipse is forming a Yod (finger of God formed by tense aspects calked inconjuncts that cannot be easily reconciled) with Pluto (in Capricorn) and Neptune (in Pisces).  The Eclipse squares Jupiter (in Scorpio) and Jupiter is still opposing Juno.

There are also all the things we talked about HERE in the weekly playing out!

Times are complicated and challenging!

Let's unpack this - although I think after we unpack it the real power will be in the empty suitcase we are left with! And remember eclipse energy is tricky and moves forward and backward so you might have had this play out a week ago or a month ago - likely almost exactly to the day - or a week or month from now.

First the New Moon is our monthly new beginning when the Moon meets up with the Sun - any time any planet meets the Sun it starts a new cycle and the Moon, blowing through a sign every two and a half days, meets the Sun the most often (monthly). Happening in Leo, a fire sign ruled by the Sun, the Leo New Moon is always a BIG New Moon. Happening near the North Node gives us an eclipse (partial since the North Node is quite a bit past the eclipse point at 5 degrees Leo).

Eclipses are times of collective karma and cosmic resets. We get rebooted!

So we get this fiery fresh start for our Leo house - the space in our natal chart (what house does Leo rule in your natal chart? what house holds the Sun?) we are meant to stand out and shine. The stage that sits empty (for the world!) when we park our ass in the audience.

For all of us Leo rules our creativity, children, romance, fun, games, our heart's desire, generosity, pride, confidence, courage and love.

So we get this potent kick off but this isn't happening all by itself. The Sun and Moon are interacting with other energies and other energies are interacting with each other and everything is playing a part here.

First of all we have Mercury retrograde in Leo - and remember Mercury just met up with the Sun a couple days ago. Our powerful new beginning has its roots in the past - maybe via an actual person who brings us some important information this week or who reappeared from the past or through an idea/communication that came through this week, or will come through within the next couple days.

We have Pallas conjunct the Eclipse. Pallas has been in Leo since mid-July. This placement speaks of showy solutions and dramatic - there is nothing shy about Pallas in Leo - plans and strategies. We want to bowl people over. We want to knock their socks off and we want those socks to fly through the air (let's hope they've been laundered) and attract even more attention. We want applause and a pat on the back. We want to take a bow.

Now, the rub is we have these inconjuncts (rock and hard place) with Neptune and Pluto. Neptune and Pluto are sextiling (opportunity) each other. So they are working well with each other, but not so well with the Eclipse energy.

Let's look at the sextile first.

*Pluto and Neptune are working together. At its highest this energetic connection is spiritual (Neptune) transformation (Pluto). Renewal through compassion. The powerful (Pluto) becoming weak (Neptune). The weak becoming powerful. Painful experiences (Pluto) dissolve (Neptune). We can make owerful changes (Pluto) through our dreams and imagination (Neptune).

At its lower frequencies we could see things like we let our power (Pluto) slip through our fingers (Neptune). We escape (Neptune) through destruction/death (Pluto). There are bogus (Neptune) endings and changes (Pluto). We are lost at sea and lose sight of land (what really matters). We cross needed boundaries (Neptune) by merging too deeply (Pluto) with something/someone.

Let's shoot for the highest ground here. With both these energies inconjunct the Eclipse there could be power struggles and lapses into fantasy/escape.

We will know these possibilities are in play, but choose to see what the Yod - finger of God, voice of God speaking to/through us - is pointing us toward which is the Leo Eclipse!

And we can choose to use the higher manifestations of that sextile.*

We have Jupiter squaring the Eclipse energy. Jupiter squares expand. And Jupiter is trining (brakes off) Neptune for the smooth expansion of our dream or a slippery slope into delusion/self sabotage. That sounds harsh, but let's keep things real here. Jupiter is full of hot air - literally! And we have Jupiter opposing Juno (relationship, marriage, contractual commitments) - so something is still standing in our way.

This is all playing out in the world and this is all playing out in each of our lives. If we have planets or points near 18 degrees of the fixed signs (Aquarius, Taurus, Leo or Scorpio) or near the positions of any of the other power players in this celestial drama we will be more directly impacted.

And as I reread what I have written here I think I have made something simple (not easy, but simple) appear much too complicated.

At its heart this eclipse is about following our heart. About us not waiting for permission to shine.

We are many months into the Leo North Node - and if you have been reading this blog, you know I have been writing for months about following our heart - and we FINALLY get the Leo New Moon! We have had many months to figure out what the hell we are wanting. We know what it is. I can almost guarantee it is already right in front of us. Can we see/feel that yet? And it could be some thing/situation/decision that we would have laughed at a couple years ago and said NO WAY. We have let go of a dream or two in the last couple years. And now here we are. We are kind of like Dorothy on her way toward waking up at home after the tornado ...

Whatever new thing/situation/person/belief/action we choose to work with needs to be something we are excited about, it needs to stir us. It needs to not have any self-sacrifice or victim mentality connected to it. It needs to come with a certain ease. This doesn't mean there won't be work involved, but it can't be only work involved.

With the North Node in Leo now if we really don't want to do something and we do it anyway, it isn't going to work. What we want, what is calling to our heart, is the only thing that will work now.

This is the time we release our detachment (Aquarius) and we move into our heart (Leo).

We are playing a long game.

This is not the time to screw it all up with a big gnarly move, but there is a play to be made and we aren't allowed to sit this one out.

Also keep in mind other people are working through these dense energies, too, and let's give them a break if they let us down. Healing Chiron is in independent Aries - no one owes us anything.

This is the time we take the thing that has alienated and set us apart (Aquarius) and bring it front and center onto the stage (Leo). It will be the thing we are proud of. It will be the thing that makes our heart happy. It will be the thing that when we think about moving toward it - we feel a little lighter, life feels a little easier.

It won't be the big complicated thing we get a headache just thinking about actually doing.

This is the time we step away from the crowd and back into ourselves. We stop revolting against what we don't want and start creating what we do want. We put away the phone and go play with the kids. We turn off the internet and use our computer to write that book we have been wanting to write. We turn our attention away from the masses - our pseudo family who agree with us - and toward the people we love who are right in front of us - who probably do NOT always agree with us. We are connected to the people we are physically connected to for a reason!

This is not a month to miss setting our New Moon intentions. Fire signs are the most potent plus this one has the Eclipse behind it, the Yod and the square to lucky, expansive Jupiter!

INTENTION TIPS: 

Let your heart guide you, forget logic with this one, clear your head, write what your heart wants not what you think you should write, write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, burn the paper with fire - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known. 

Life has heard you. 

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

Keep in mind Mars and Mercury and Saturn and Uranus are all retrograde. We are going back over alot of stuff. Many things have been brought to a standstill and many situations are dangling. Just set your intentions. What does your heart want? What feels best? We are planting powerful seeds in the ground here with our mind (Mercury is conjunct and yes, the past will factor in because Mercury is retrograde!).

During the Full Moon at the end of August and the days leading up to it - beginning around the 22nd - we have a Grand Earth Trine so after this summer of retrospection and road blocks, we will know what to do, what practical steps to take. By September we will be launching ourselves from this new, more solid space. For now - set those intentions. Give yourself a pat on the back if those are the only hands available. Recognize how far you have come. We have all faced a challenging journey and we ARE STILL HERE.

Lots of karma is released during eclipses. This is a good thing, but it doesn't always feel good.

It can leave us standing on shifting sand or even isolated as we disconnect from people and situations via karma releases. I had a friend tell me she doesn't feel connected to her son anymore and looking at their charts this makes perfect sense because alot of baggage between them was unloaded. Their roots are no longer all tangled together. She feels sad. And lost. This is the sucky part of dissolving karma and probably why we allow ourselves to be enmeshed in this crap for lifetimes. Life is forcing our hand now. Just take things one day at a time and be gentle with ourselves and each other. I told her she is getting a fresh set of eyes to see her son. An unencumbered heart to love him. Give it time.

I am trying to take my own advice (because I often don't!) this summer, too.  

GIVE THINGS TIME. 

The first astrology class I ever took was decades ago in Princeton, N.J. I was in banking then and starting to dabble. The teacher was very good with astrology, but his people skills could be harsh. He went around the room and said one sentence about each student's chart. With my chart in his hand he said "this person is in a hurry". I thought, "that's it, that's all I get?!". I felt cheated. I wasn't in a hurry! Didn't he see that nearly exact, challenging T-Square? my Neptune ascendant? that Sun/Saturn? that Sun/Mars? that Sun/Neptune? Hurry? My mother was in a hurry. She talked fast. She walked fast. Not me! Then over the years I thought "my daughter is in a hurry or hubs is always in a hurry or that other driver is in a hurry or my boss/work/my customers push me to hurry". And even as I grew to appreciate the tiny, fragile beginnings of things and little babies and allowing the time to let things GROW and God's own right timing - I still fought the idea that I was "in a hurry",  until I totally burnt myself out from being "in a hurry". Ha! I would never characterize a chart with one sentence though, but it did have impact.

Note - with Mars retrograde this is not a time to hurry. Also note on FRIDAY we have Black Moon Lilith move into conjunction with our retrograde Mars so expect our controversial outsider (anti-patriarchy) energy to be activated via passion/anger/action likely over a situation from the past. BML will not tow the party line! Also Venus is still squaring Saturn so check the weekly about that one.

xo again

Mercury Retrograde Conjunct the Sun | we arrive at the heart of Mercury retrograde

my kind of universe by The Autumn Leaves

"the wound is the place where the light enters you" ... Rumi

Today we have Mercury, moving backward and at the midpoint of his/her retrograde journey, meeting up with the Sun at 15-16 degrees Leo.

Information comes in, the light shines on what we need to know/hear/say.

The "news/clarity" will figure into this weekend's Leo eclipse, could relate back to the last time Mercury met the Sun in early June and Mercury will meet the Sun again in a couple months when whatever is watered now will be fully grown/completed. 

It won't be easy to see what is real here though.

There are multiple challenges with slippery Neptune at the moment, so it might be hard to get a grasp on things - hard to know what to do, say, think. Language could be inspired or head us into lala land. Maybe whatever "news/clarity" comes in shakes up a dream/fantasy. Watch for self-sabotage here. We could easily drift off course. Neptunian challenges require us to reach for the highest/most compassionate ground ... and yes, we might have to swim to reach it. Find the solid ground. Then sit tight. Give things time to unwind. Meditate. Get into some water. Give Neptune his due here.

At the same time Venus (love, money, relationships, values and self-esteem) is trining (brakes off) a retrograde Mars and opposing a retrograde Chiron. And the Sun is squaring Juno (relationships/commitments/partnerships) so more tension there.

Old actions, old angers, old passions, old wounds, old inequalities - can be stirred up now. Venus in Libra is beautiful energy but its shadow is the people-pleasing and denial that comes with wanting everything to be balanced, wanting everyone to be happy. It isn't our job to make someone else happy and it isn't their job to please us. Chiron is called the wounded healer because he is wounded, not because he heals wounds. Let's not be so quick to reach for that box of bandaids.

With so many planets retrograde some 'fencing sitting' is likely now. It's not only likely, it's smart.

When planets go retrograde over a situation we either 1. already have everything we need - the solution is next to the problem, but it's hidden among the many moving parts and we can't see it, so the parts slow down. The parts stop moving. Or 2. other things have to fall into place and our actions are taking us further away from what we need. So we are forced to stop and let life catch up with us.

In the meantime pay attention to language now (situations could also involve other Mercurian themes - siblings, local neighborhood, transportation, electronics) because a light is being shined on something we are meant to SEE.

xo all

Astrology Forecast For Creatives | Week of August 6th - change is an inside job, casting out the projection, a world on fire, anxious to get going but sit with it, pride, money/love gets serious, back to the future, NEWS from the past, sudden shake-ups and abrupt opportunities, the final ECLIPSE of the season

"Life's splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come."
- Franz Kafka

I Can Hear You Call by Martin Stranka

MONDAY - Venus home to Libra, Sun square Jupiter
TUESDAY - Uranus stations retrograde
WEDNESDAY - Sun conjunct Mercury retrograde
THURSDAY - Venus square Saturn
SATURDAY - Leo Full Moon Solar Eclipse (18 degrees)
SUNDAY - Retrograde Mars backs into Capricorn

This week's chart is challenging me because I skipped last week (due to having my family in town for a visit), so let's take a peek backwards first.

We had the second (of three) squares between Mars and Uranus LAST WEEK - that could have shown up as a disruption, a break-up, breakdown, breakthrough, break for freedom, accident or a fight (and with Mars retrograde we wouldn't have really been fighting over what it looked like we were fighting over - this would have really been about something from the past, maybe  a very long ago past). With Mars retrograde in "center-stage" Leo we are all grappling with how to express ourselves so we get what we want. The square could have had us dealing with a situation involving children or romance or something that took the "fun" (yes, Leo rules fun and games) out of whatever we were doing.

This square is part of a series. We had the first square May 16th with both planets direct, the second on August 1st with Mars retrograde and Uranus direct and the final square on September 18th with Mars direct and Uranus retrograde.  

However this energy shows up - it is ultimately about breaking/disrupting (Uranus) past patterns (the retrograde energy) through our actions/anger/passion (Mars).

We also had Juno opposing Jupiter last week - tension within partnerships, who/what we have committed ourselves to. Maybe the reality of some situation/partnership/commitment was in our face or there was/is a power imbalance we needed to deal with - Juno and Jupiter were married Gods, with her playing the ever-faithful wife and him the philandering hubby. What are we willing to put up with? With Jupiter in Scorpio probably not very much!

Keep in mind we have alot of retrograde energy, AND Mercury is retrograde and that is hugely impactful - everything right now is an inside job, everything happening outside is a projection! We are always meeting ourselves through outside people and situations, but now is a time we need to sit with what we see/feel. This is where we get to see how the stuff happening to us is actually being created through us.

It's August - take a breath. And a vacation! Re-lax is a "re" word, too.

OK - let's unpack the week ahead, because it is all leading us to another ECLIPSE!

On MONDAY we have Venus, bags packed efficiently from her weeks in Virgo, moving home to Libra - a space she rules, at 7:28PM EDT. After being cramped up in tidy Virgo, she can breathe again and there is room for other people. Venus in Libra is about love and partnership, collaboration and compromise. Venus in Libra is about balance.  

The relationship adjustments and nit-picking should begin to smooth out now. As we continue to wade through this summer's muck at least we now have Venus in Libra!

This transit (until September 9th - note with her upcoming retrograde in Scorpio she will be back in Libra from October 31st to December 2nd - I will give you a heads up when she starts walking degrees she will walk again) makes Libra Suns and Risings, who are already naturally attractive - oh yes, they are!, even more so - both physically attractive and more able to attract what they want/need.

Everyone's Libra house gets more attractive, too - where was Libra when you were born?

We will be attracted to what we find 'beautiful'. We will be attracted to what we find 'just'. We will be attracted to what we find 'peaceful'. And these are the qualities people will find attractive in us and our work in the world. These are the qualities we'll want to bring to the table (and yes, flowers that would be a good thing to bring to the table now, too) to attract whatever we are wanting to attract now, particularly in the area of life housing our natal Libra.

The potential for peace increases as we (the collective) move from critic (Virgo) to diplomat (Libra).

The potential for people pleasing increases, too. Balance is the key now. Making life too much about the other person is Libra's shadow side. It's easier, or I should say, lazier, to just give in to something to have "harmony" than to work out the win-wins. We need to honor ourselves as well as the other person. It's simple, but not easy. If we think balance is easy we should stand on one leg for a while!

The downside is we have a T-Square between Venus and Saturn and Chiron from around August 3rd to August 14th that is challenging our relationships/finances/what we value, our self-esteem. This T-square will be especially potent this week. With the T-Square focusing us on Saturn (our Capricorn house) stepping into our responsibility, doing the work, living up to our commitments - in some area of life we just have to KEEP GOING. It's winter even though it is 100 degrees outside. I hope you have some green beans in the pantry.

The empty space here is our Cancer house - so here is a fix. Taking care of ourselves physically and emotionally, eating well, mothering ourselves, a focus on home and family, a watering of the roots for what we want to grow. The theme of our natal Cancer house needs our attention, too. The good news is while Venus opposes Chiron and squares Saturn - she will be trining (brakes off) Mars, so there is assistance available from our Aquarius house (and collectively from stepping back from the situation, from detaching, from being uniquely ourselves, from giving something some space).

Also at 7:28PM EDT (that's interesting!), the Sun (in Leo) moves into a square with Jupiter (in Scorpio). We could take things too far, things could look better than they actually are, we could overestimate what is possible or take on too much. This might be a good night to be out and about and socializing though!

It will be hard to keep a lid on a boiling pot now - secrets can come out into the light, too.

On TUESDAY Uranus stations retrograde at 2 degrees Taurus at 12:49PM EDT.  

There could be sudden shake-ups and unexpected opportunities now as this major player shifts gears. He will move back over whatever he has been shaking up in our life since mid-May and move back into Aries, to totally finish up the chapter that has been hanging since that time and by the time he gets back into Taurus on March 6, 2019 - that Aries story will be complete (we have Chiron here to heal the damage) and our Uranus/Taurus story, through July 7, 2025 - will be full steam ahead. If this retrograde period means Uranus is moving away from your natal planets and points, things will smooth out now. If he is moving back over them there could be more disruptions.

Keep in mind what is happening here - Uranus (the ruler of Aquarius and planet of chaos and disruption) has made his entry into our Taurus house - since mid-May - this has given us a taste of what is to come. Now he retreats back over the ground he has covered to smooth things out a bit, moves back into Aries to finish up that story (before mid-may he was in Aries for seven years) and remember Aries has changed since Uranus left and Chiron arrived! Then he will reverse course and head back into Taurus for the long haul. Uranus will be back to today's degree in May 2019 though, so keep this in mind.

By 2025 so much will have changed (not just through Uranus, but he is playing a major part) we will be living in a totally different world.

As a collective, our Taurean structures will be shaken over the next few years - our values will change, the ways we use and earn money will change, the Earth will change, the way we value beauty and what we consider beautiful, the way we value our possessions, our self-esteem, the connections between self-esteem and money/resources will be evident, our stale habits will get a kick in the ass, anything boxing us in will be broken open - the more comfortable our comfort zone, the more uncomfortable we may need to get. Whatever this is in our life we have probably had a preview since mid-May.

At 8:23PM EDT, Venus will trine Mars. This is good for men and women getting along - what we want and what we have to do to get what we want working together. We talked about this on Monday as part of that Venus T-Square.  This is a good aspect for business. Money moves. 

We also have the Sun hooking up with Pallas at 14 degrees Leo - this is about shining a spotlight on our plans and strategies. Good energy for presenting ideas (Leo loves an audience) and for recognizing - cue one of Oprah's lightbulb moments - patterns.

NOTE the Moon is void all day Tuesday until she moves home to Cancer at midnight. This is not a good day to start something new or launch anything into the world we want "something to come of".

On WEDNESDAY, the Moon is in Cancer turning our emotional focus to Cancerian themes for the next couple days - home, family, our roots, nurturing, structure, safety, country, patriotism, mom and apple pie. We might find we, and other people, are more sensitive, emotional and moody while the Moon is in Cancer.

The Sun (in Leo) hooks up with a retrograde Mercury at 10:06PM EDT. Here is the mid-way point in this season's Mercury retrograde story.

Information comes in, the light shines on what we need to know/hear/say.  

The "news" will figure into this week's Leo eclipse.

This eclipse takes us back to August 1999. What was going on in our life at that time? Is there any connection to what is happening now?

This is normally a good aspect to start something new (Mercury starts a new story with the Sun) but with Mercury retrograde this time around - it isn't such good energy for totally new beginnings right now.

This could also show up for us as a person from our past, maybe with a BIG story to tell. So pay attention.

On THURSDAY, we wake up with the Moon (in Cancer) opposing Pluto (in Capricorn). The air is ripe for power plays, jealousy, compulsive behavior and competition. Things finish. People can be ruthless. Avoid over-reacting. The Moon goes Void until tonight, so this is another day you don't want to start something new.

At 9:34PM EDT Venus squares Saturn. This is part of the T-Square I wrote about for Monday. People might be less flexible and harder to please. Relationship/money/values issues get serious. Belts tighten. We feel our age (or we feel our mother's age!). We could be feeling depressed about our creative projects or abilities. This would not be the best energy to throw a party! Maybe career/responsibilities (Capricorn) is hindering a relationship (Libra) or vice versa. However the cards fall remember this is a transit. It is transitory. We are playing the long game now.

A bit after midnight the Moon enters Leo turning our emotional focus toward Leo themes (our heart, creative projects. romance, children, fun, our natural spotlight) and getting us primed for Saturday's New Moon Solar Eclipse in Leo - when the Moon meets the Sun.

On FRIDAY the Moon has been moving through a mixed-bag of energies while we slept so we could be dealing with unexpected and disruptive situations in the A.M. (Moon square Uranus) or more pleasant opportunities (Moon sextile Venus).

We will talk about the rest of the weekend including Saturday's New Moon Solar ECLIPSE in the next post - the final eclipse of this summer's eclipse season it is in forceful LEO's "do it BIG" style - a FIERY one with a challenging Yod - so brace for drama and challenges as we move "all in" and our collective karma plays out!

Things will get clearer when Mercury stations direct next week and in the days that follow that.

 xo all

Note - the New Moon Solar Eclipse begins a long Void Moon, so it could feel like the Void Moon lasts until the next New Moon in September! Void month? Nothing started amounts to anything? Um,  I'm not sure, but did I already say "take a vacation?!".

And BTW another heads up - September will take off right out of the gate.

Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius | what are we afraid to confront, something is eclipsed out or out of our way, think before acting and then re-think, releasing detachment and distraction, a chart for how to NOT end up in a dystopian nightmare

At 4:19PM EDT, today, with the Moon at 4 degrees Aquarius (on the South Node) opposing the Sun at 4 degrees Leo (on the North Node) we have a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse.

This one is so gnarly I almost didn't want to write about it - I think that's the main reason I procrastinated the weekly until it was too late to write! 

I have heard this is the longest lunar eclipse of this century (some astrologers believe the length of the Moon impacts the length of time its energy is in play - if this is true, this one will have a long impact). I am not sure how I would verify this, but I do know it is the second eclipse (of three) during this long, hot summer.

Full Moons bring energy to a "peak"; to a culmination, maybe to an ending. Eclipses eclipse something out; we get re-set.

If you have planets or points near or on 4-5 degrees of the fixed signs - Aquarius, Taurus, Leo or Scorpio - some area of your life will be very, very different in 6 months (lunar eclipses play out over 6 months - although this one could be longer). For everyone else this eclipse is bringing something to a peak, culmination or an ending. Emotions will be running high now.

The Eclipse is involved in a T-Square with unpredictable Uranus - with Uranus being the focal point and the Moon is conjunct a retrograde Mars (action/anger/passion). Venus has barely squeaked past her opposition to Neptune (we talked about this for Monday and Tuesday), but the dynamic is still in play here. Jupiter loosely fills in the missing leg of the T-Square (Scorpio!). Mercury has just stationed retrograde, so is strong and still and out of sorts. Saturn is trining Uranus and Saturn/Uranus are the co-rulers of Aquarius and of this Eclipse. There is more, but these are the major players here. Whew!

With the Moon conjunct that retrograde Mars - our Mars retrograde, Mars/South Node story will be activated BIG time. HERE is a post about that. We are now at the HEART of the Mars retrograde season and the heart of eclipse season. This is the date we circled on our calendar weeks ago.

This is about us breaking patterns of behavior.

Let's unpack the chart.

The SUN is sitting strong and proud in his/her home sign of Leo. Leo is represented by the lion. A lion is a cat. If you live with a cat you have some idea of what this 'king of the beasts' thing is all about. It becomes the cat's house. You become the cat's human. Cats rule. The male lion doesn't just get to mate with his choice of lioness. He gets all the lionesses.

(and now I am picturing a whole lineup of that little guy from Peanuts dragging his blanket)

Leo represents royalty and generosity and fun and creativity and greed. The shadow of the Leo archetype is a kind of arrogance or self-importance, but what you will find with most Leos is that they have a presence - they impress us. Ruled by the center of our galaxy, the Sun, they rule center stage. We all have Leo somewhere in our chart.

And we all have a stage that sits empty when we don't do our Leo!

It is hard to see when a Leo is not OK and needs help because they unconsciously give us a feeling that they can handle anything. So, when Leo energy (and this can be a Leo Sun or ascendant or anyone speaking from the space we carry Leo in our natal charts, ie if you have Leo in the 7th house and are talking about your partner or if you have Leo in the 2nd house and are talking about your money) is asked, "how's it going?" and Leo energy says "not great, actually I am barely hanging in there" - the other person, instead of asking "why, what's going on?" would be more likely to laugh it off and say something like "me, too" and launch into their own story.

It's hard for other people to relate to Leo as "one of us".

Aquarius energy - which rules this Lunar Eclipse - is the opposite side of the same coin.

It's the energy of "we". It is detached (this doesn't mean unaware or involved) and emotionally non-reactive - note I mean the energy and not all Aquarians, no one is just one thing! It doesn't need to feel special because it already knows it is special - it rules the 11th house (of 12) Aquarius is advanced. It is the sign that comes after the sign that rules achievement. Aquarius knows everyone is special (and the challenge with that is in allowing the Leo specialness to shine and not create a space where everyone being equal means everyone being the same - this is some of what is happening with the rise of populism, people thinking they are trying to hold onto what makes them special when they are really grasping at the dying embers of what makes them the same).

Ruled by Uranus it is the sign of the genius, rebel and criminal. The Aquarius space in our chart is where things will work best by being 'outside the box'. It is unpredictable.

Like Leo, Aquarius doesn't do humble either. 

It's hard for other people to relate to Aquarius as "one of us", too. The Aquarius/Leo polarity isn't about fitting in, because both sides, in different ways, are meant to STAND OUT.

Now even though it's a Full Moon and it's the Moon's show - the Sun is uber strong in Leo - and sitting on the North Node of our collective destiny.

We are either following our heart (that Leo North Node), stepping onto the center stage of our own life, standing on our own two feet or we are avoiding the Mars opposition, avoiding action - doing the old duck-and-cover, hiding out in our comfort zone - which is certain to get a whole lot less comfortable with Uranus there for the next 7 years - staying on the sidelines and away from the limelight. Or maybe we are playing out the same old anger story, or same old impulsive action story that keeps us stuck in a loop - and if we are, the Full Moon at the Mars retrograde mid-point will let us SEE that.

The square to URANUS in today's chart is the wild card energy here. And remember Uranus is uber-strong, too, even though he doesn't like being in Taurus - because he rules Aquarius and the Moon now. Uranus is our fast track on the evolutionary spiral. Something unexpected. Something disruptive. Uranus in Taurus is shaking the very ground beneath our feet, shifting magnetic fields to align us with new realities. Uranus in Taurus is changing what we value. It's also triggering us through what other people have. They have it. We want it. We are triggered. 

Full Moons bring things to light. They bring endings and culminations. The square to Uranus tells us whatever happens here could happen suddenly. Uranian breaks taste like freedom, but maybe only in hindsight. In the moment it could feel like we are dropped on our ass.

SATURN is trining (brakes off) Uranus. Saturn isn't going to stop Uranus - so let's say we have been working our ass off, we could still lose our job, for example - but Saturian energy is available to stabilize something here if we have been doing our Saturn (the work, the responsibility, putting in the time) - so let's say we do lose our job, but the work (doing our Saturn) has resulted in savings in our bank account or resources from the connections we have made with other people - the Saturn stuff will sustain us through the changes. The Saturn trine could also play out as changes that are actually deliberate or calculated even though they appear to happen suddenly.

MERCURY has just stationed retrograde. She is strong and still and out of sorts. Our mind is not going to be much help to us here.

VENUS (from practical Virgo) is still opposing Neptune. The fantasy is still clashing with reality.

The Sun is not only opposing the Moon now - the Sun is also opposing MARS (our action, initiative, anger), retrograding through Aquarius this summer.

So what are we (the Sun) afraid to confront here? 

With that South Node Aquarius being eclipsed - the Earth is blocking the Moon - there is no safe place to hide out. We can't play the Aquarius card and hide out in the audience. We can't play the Aquarius card and hide out in technology. We can't play the Aquarius card and hide out in some kind of "otherness" that keeps us disconnected from ourselves and other people. Aquarius is eclipsed! 
  
And with Mars retrograde there are no bullets in our holster (this is why when we start a fight/lawsuit etc when Mars is retrograde we lose). There isn't even any gas in our gas tank! We come to this time empty of our usual armaments.

During the eclipse - our past conditioning, our past contracts and commitments (including prior life or familial DNA contracts - what we are carrying from our ancestors) - our trauma imprints - with an Aquarian signature (being banished from the group to die in the wilderness, the spaces we don't fit in) or the theme of our Aquarius house are eclipsed OUT. The ways we self-sabotage ourselves here will only be muscle memory after this eclipse. There is nothing, other than habit, supporting their continuation! And the ways they used to work for us - will not work anymore.

I heard a well-known astrologer say something like "we have to step into Aquarius now - be detached, think like an Aquarian", but Aquarius is eclipsed, so I am not so sure of that advice. We have to be acting from our heart/Sun (Leo - the North Node) now.

We are evolving into the Age of Aquarius; a time of equality when we will be our own leaders. We have decided (subconsciously) as a collective that one of the ways to make this happen is for us to experience this particular collective shit-show we are now dealing with.

Remember the Hopi elder's quote.

I know alot of people in the spiritual community talk about "ascension" as if we are going to wake up one day ascended and all will be right with the world - as if it is something we are waiting for. This sounds an awful lot like the Christian belief that Jesus is returning to save us (or save some of us) or aliens are. I have no idea if this is going to happen, but I don't see this in the astrology. The astrology shows us the work. We can see the Age of Aquarius isn't anything like the Broadway musical. There won't be any long haired proclamations of peace (that was the ending of the Age of Pisces).

From this closer vantage point - fifty years past the 1960's - it is more obvious two things the Age of Aquarius is about are technology and equality.

These are the trains that will not be stopped.

And we can see by now how great and how beautiful the world can be with our collective focus here and also how easy, and how FAST, we can really muck this whole thing up - keep in mind the Age of Aquarius is set to last around 2600 years, so we will likely create every possible manifestation of beauty and muck at some point - ha!

(The other day hubs and I watched the movie Ready Player One - I love scifi, but am growing weary of all these dystopian dramas. They scare the hell out of me. It can't be good for what we are collectively creating to have millions of us thinking/focusing on this worst case stuff. This one is particularly scary because we can see how "they" could use technology to give people "pseudo-equality" where we are actually living in shacks but we put on a virtual reality headset and can do/be anything - this scenario sounds disturbingly possible if we muck up the next few years, if Aquarius doesn't embrace that Leo polarity of following our heart and being our own king, we end up with a tyrant king, a "they" ruling us)

The South Node in Aquarius and Mars retrograde this summer are some of the ways we make sure we get something great here. We can't skip steps. Whatever is happening in our life - is our little piece of this. When we choose attention over distraction - use technology not let it use us - when we choose the people right in front of us and ourselves over the group, when we aren't afraid to shine and confront (within ourselves and within our past is most likely with all these retrogrades) what is standing in the way of us bringing what we came here to bring and our own hero's journey - that Leo house theme and the theme of our Sun - we all know our Sun sign, right?! Our Sun sign IS our hero's journey.

Because the major players are forming a T-Square, the missing table leg, which is the opposite of the Taurus focal point is important. The missing leg is Scorpio. So the change/surprise/upset will come from our Taurus house, our Capricorn house will support the change and our Scorpio house will require an investment of our energy to stabilize whatever is happening.

I don't have to write this post by sign because we can't miss this energy. It is big. It is powerful. It is designed to shake us out of our distraction and detachment. Stay in your heart. Meditate. Pray. Connect.

With that Mars opposition and the square to Uranus, accidents/violence are more likely, so stay safe. Take your time with things. Something is going to break. Expect tantrums. Avoid angry confrontations and explosive endings if possible. Avoid impulsive actions. Aquarius rules advancement and higher ground - we will reach for that. Remember, we have never been here before!

Shortly after the Full Moon, Venus will trine Pluto so there is a payoff here. We will talk about that later.

xo all