New Moon in Leo | Tuesday, August 18, 2020 - words light the match, brave actions, following our heart, birthing something new, old obligations and rules, a karmic turning point

On August 18, 2020, at 10:42PM EDT, the Leo Moon will meet the Leo Sun at 26 degrees bringing us this year's New Moon in Leo.

After two months of back-to-back emotional New Moons in watery Cancer, we finally get a fiery new beginning! This New Moon rushes in, plants the seed and pushes things forward.

Are we ready?!

This New Moon is happening in our Leo natal house. Our natal Leo house is where we are meant to "shine" - this is where we create, take risks and are "recognized". This "recognition" doesn't mean everyone is going to love what we are doing (although they might!).

But it does mean the stuff we are doing will stand out.

Let's unpack the chart.

The Moon is conjunct the Sun at 26 degrees Leo (so they both got almost all the way to the very end of the sign, before meeting, this matters and we'll talk about it). They are conjunct Mercury. They are sextiling (opportunity) the North Node (our future) and trining the South Node. They are trining (brakes off) an igniting and exact Mars/Eris conjunction. They are exactly inconjunct (rock and a hard place) sober Saturn and exactly sextiling Asteroid Haumea (she is new to me, but we'll take a look). At the same time, because this is an event chart and everything will matter to a greater or lesser degree, Venus is exactly sextiling Uranus.

When the New Moon happens near the very end of a sign, I see it as a push from life to get moving with something. We weren't trusted to take too much time with this because maybe we would never get it going, so this comes in at the very last moment with a kind of urgency. GO.

They are applying to a sextile to the North Node and trine to the South. The sextile is fire/air - talk, communicate, write, start a conversation, reach out. Information comes in. We share what we know. An opportunistic contact is made. The trine (South Node Sag) is a smooth release. Something needs to go and we are ready for it to go. This could be a 'belief' that has outlived its usefulness - maybe something your grandmother believed and maybe her grandmother before her. Something related to the theme of your Sag house maybe. Whatever this is it needs to go and we are ready for it to go. Or maybe I should say as ready as we will ever be. More time, more information, more planning will not make us any more ready. Trust the timing/the cycle.

THIS IS ABOUT KARMIC CHANGE.

We can not be in one state of consciousness without suffering the consequences of not being in another state of consciousness. We can't WAKE UP and then hit snooze and return to that dream we were having no matter no much we want to go back there. We are AWAKE now.

The Moon/Sun are trining a fiery Mars/Eris conjunction. The Sun trined Mars last weekend and the Moon got there today. A trine releases the brakes. This can be a good thing - we are trying to get somewhere and an obstacle is smoothly removed from our path and we can keep going or not such a good thing if that obstacle was the only thing standing between us and the side of a cliff. Avoid anger/violence. Initiate positive action. Passion. Again it's a GO.

The Moon/Sun are inconjunct Saturn. Here's the fly in the ointment, but we know about this fly because Saturn is retrograde, so we're already dealing with this fly. Here is the limit, the rule, the whatever this is - standing in our way. Adjustments must be made for this roadblock is major construction and going to be here for a while. This one is a STOP.

And because Mars (action) is squaring Saturn (actually sandwiched in a square between Saturn and Pluto) and these two are part of a 'Clash of the Titans' style battle until December - this is going to be an ongoing thorn in our side. Fly in our ointment. Roadblock on our journey.

THESE TIMES ARE NOT THROUGH WITH US.

Sorry to report this, but you already know this, don't you?

The fiery energy of Leo (the GO, the ego) has to contend with the conservative energy of Capricorn (STOP, the reality police). We have to adjust to this before and as we move ahead. Cappy is about responsibilities, commitments, limits, rules, authority. We have to pay attention to this, and we will, because we won't be able to not pay attention (and like I said, this isn't something brand new, we already know about this, are dealing with this), but it's not like the oppositions we have had for the last two New Moons with the Moon/Sun conjunctions in Cancer. Inconjuncts provide amazing opportunities for growth, but both sides need to be taken into consideration and perfection/total satisfaction with either energy is not going to happen. We have to accept a certain incompleteness here. And we can because we have no choice.

Venus is sextile Uranus (in Taurus, so answering to Venus, who is in Cancer so answering to this Moon in Leo answering to the Leo Sun). When it comes to relationships, our resources, money and values, that home/family situation - we can smoothly move in a new, opportunistic and forward leaning direction and won't have to push. We are attracted to change.

The Moon/Sun are conjunct Mercury who is about to take his exit for Virgo, so again, we have to be quick about this! There won't be much time to think because more thinking won't help us. With Mercury coming off yesterday's Superior Conjunction to the Sun - he is kind of the spark here.

YES, WORDS AGAIN. Facts. Ideas. Information.

So what do you know, think, hear, say, read, write? What has just dawned on you? What are you talking about? Do you know? Yes, we are back to this again! And you do know. Maybe some information or deadline gets us moving!

The Moon/Sun are sextiling asteroid Haumea in Libra. She is a Hawaiian fertility Goddess and rules childbirth and renewal. She is associated with creativity and 'bringing forth' something new. In Libra, she pulls in our relationships, balance, fairness and other people into the mix.

Now we can't just take these transits and sit on our ass with them. We can't hear "this will happen to you" (which I never say, but sometimes people have a way of hearing) and have this allow us to be anything we want to be in the meantime and then "this will happen to us" - it doesn't work this way.

This New Moon is in fiery Leo so will involve our natal Leo house theme or a collective Leo theme - creative projects, children, romance, recreation, pleasure, our heart, our heart's desire, the space we are meant to shine, our center stage. 

Here is where we get a fresh start via a spark that is lit through Mercury's meeting with the Sun - information, ideas, conversations, choices that align with our heart/our natural spotlight.

This will be activated through our passionate and courageous action (Mars/Eris). Maybe what we value (Venus/Uranus) is changing or leans into the future somehow. Change is good.

There are old obligations, rules and limits we will have to take into consideration and adjust to. These are not going away during this New Moon period.

This fresh start/new beginning is KARMIC (the Nodal sextile and trine) - a smooth move forward as something else is released. Holding onto what needs to go (maybe an old belief) just jams up the works here.

This beginning - a new chapter within a chapter - is part of the final third act of 2020 - our Clash of the Titans grand finale!

Keep in mind the South Node (what we are releasing) is in Sagittarius - this isn't about what we believe or sitting in hope of something else or something more. This is about the steps we take and the conversations we have and the contacts and decisions we make - small is big, but we have to be brave, yes, there is some risk here - this is LEO! - that can move us into a new direction more in line with our best future. Leo is the sign of our ego and a reactivation of what we want to do/what we came here to do needs to happen now.

This New Moon is a GO. So what are we going to do with it?

If you need help figuring out what area of life this is activating for you just give me an email or leave a comment with your birth date, time and birthplace.

This is a fiery new beginning activating quickly and over the next two weeks within your Leo house theme. Your Aries house is supportive and will tell you what to do/the move to make. Your Cappy house brings what you will need to adjust to (for many people, because this is where Saturn/Pluto met and 'time ran out' this will be about the ramifications of the virus) via old rules, obligations, limits. Your Gemini/Sag houses are guiding your way through this ....

INTENTION TIPS:

Clear a space. Wash your hands. Speak intentionally (and less) in the time leading up to and following this ritual to give your thoughts/words more juice. Don't share them. This is all about you. Let your heart (aided by your head) guide you, write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, sit with this as long as it feels appropriate, then burn the paper - release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.

Life has heard you. 


Know these things are already yours.



xo all


big picture post coming in a couple days and then we get back to that Wuhan/Pandora series

Weekly Astrology Forecast | Week of August 17 - August 23, 2020 - a Leo New Moon BRIGHT BEGINNING at the very end of Leo season but somehow just in time, the details matter, information, shifts happen, get going

This week is all about Mercury and the Sun - they meet, they change signs and in between we get a bold New Moon in Leo - answering to .. you guessed it, THE SUN, and conjunct ... you guessed it, MERCURY.

Our thinking and our creativity. Our ideas and our passions. Our children and their education. Our lungs/our breath and our heart. Let's take a peek ahead!

MONDAY - Sun conjuncts Mercury, Mars conjuncts Eris
TUESDAY - New Moon in Leo
WEDNESDAY - Mercury into Virgo
SATURDAY - Sun into Virgo

MONDAY - The Sun catches up with Mercury at 25 degrees Leo (Superior Conjunction). The Moon is balsamic (dark in the end of her cycle) and will square a retrograde Uranus (surprise!).

CLARITY. Information comes through. Insights are felt. 

The Sun/Mercury are at the third leg of their cycle here - a time when the MEANING of whatever was seeded at their Inferior Conjunction (June 30, 2020 when Mercury was retrograde) becomes KNOWN. It's the Full Moon of the Mercury/Sun cycle. Our mind is fused with our ego/our fire/the way we are intended to shine. Then Mercury (our mind) rushes ahead of us again (until his/her next retrograde cycle)!

People with planets or points at/near 25 degrees Leo will feel this energy strongest.

People with planets/points in harmony with 25 degrees Leo (our Aries, Sag, Gemini, Libra planets and points near 25 degrees) will experience knowledge/understanding and productivity as our unique powers (the way we are here to shine) are unleashed. People with planets/points in tension with 25 degrees Leo (our Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius planets and points near 25 degrees) might experience blockages, stress/tension again with the SAME goal (albeit doing things the hard way which is sometimes, and certainly this time, the only way) of releasing our unique powers of potential! This energy plays out over the next several weeks.

The Mars/Eris conjunction reaches exactness in passionate and fiery Aries - everyone gets a seat at the table or the table gets flipped - note the Democratic National Convention starts today.

The Moon on MONDAY and TUESDAY will be in Leo - so we are focused on and nourished through children, romance, our creative projects, fun and recreation.

TUESDAY - here's our annual New Moon in Leo - expect a BIG post! A bright beginning. Get those Leo affirmations ready. After two months of emotional Cancer New Moons, I think we are all probably #ready, #notready for this one!

WEDNESDAY - After swimming, what feels like forevah, in the emotional waters of Cancer and then getting burnt out fast in fiery Leo, Mercury finally comes home to Virgo! This is especially good news for Virgos and Geminis (Sun and Risings), but EVERYONE'S natal Virgo house will benefit.

With Mercury in Virgo, our thinking, writing and communication will be more practical and commonsense. We will be all about the details. Nothing gets by Mercury in Virgo.  But lots of things get dismissed. If it's not real/not factually stated/if it doesn't work - it's outta here.

This is an excellent transit - only until September 5th, so let's not waste this - for organization, cleaning, paperwork, taking care of our health, the ins and outs of our work and daily routine, our pets.

We will see all the little problems, but still need to avoid nitpicking. Leo to Virgo is 'creating to critiquing' and that is natural/cyclical, but with everything all of us are dealing with this year we need to be gentle with each other.

The biting criticism (that will look to us like practical advice) that is right on the tip of our tongue might need to be swallowed sometimes. Gulp.

It may be hard to see the forest for the trees - but with the South Node in Sag for another year - it is THE TREES that matter now anyway. The details. One thing at a time. Lists are good. Practical ideas, solutions and fixes can pop right into our head.

Pay attention to your language - we want to be precise now.

We want to honor Mercury (trust me on this, he can cause us oodles of damage and danger when we don't).

Think about what you are thinking about.

Watch what you are watching.

What you are reading, talking about, hearing - will matter now. Virgo rules our digestion - what we put in will be what we get out and impact how well we can function.

Notice how you verbally get in your own way - use unnecessary negative words (like saying something "isn't bad" when you mean it is good), double speak, babble, gas-lighting, lies. Avoid that "sorry" thing some people say moving through life. We aren't really sorry anyway right - so why are we saying it.

Words are powerful. They are some of the most powerful tools we have to move through life on planet Earth - let's not hold ourselves back by tossing around stuff we don't mean/don't want to have/don't want to be.

On WEDNESDAY the Moon will move into Virgo and make a gazillion nice aspects over the next couple days - we are nurtured through all the Virgo themes we just talked about.

SATURDAY - the Sun exits his home sign of Leo (sniffle!) and joins Mercury in practical and earthy "let's get on a routine" Virgo. The time of the harvest (and I have the garden and kitchen counters filled with the tomatoes to prove it), in Virgo season we move into mutable energy.

Shifts happen.

The weather changes. Kids go back to school (prayers this is handled in the best possible ways for their physical AND mental health this year).

We adjust our schedules and daily routines. Health issues catch our attention.

The transition from Leo (ruled by the Sun) to Virgo can be hard or welcomed depending on how ready we are to come in out of the Sun! With the Sun in Virgo we focus on the details. We clean things up. We get organized. Small steps lead to big changes. Small is BIG now.

The astrology wheel is the hero's journey of self discovery. When the sun moves into Virgo, it is the hero's (our) first encounter with service.

We are learning when to help and when helping isn't really helping.

Virgo is the modest healer with the critical eye that takes care of the details. Meaningful work and competence are key now.

Virgo knows we are not here to do the work we love - we are here to love the work we do. There is a difference. This is the difference that changes the world. This is the difference that changes us.

Every sign has something to learn from the sign that follows it.

Leo learns from Virgo (and we all have Leo and Virgo in our charts somewhere - its placement will affect how this activates in your own journey) - to do the work. Virgo teaches Leo to let go of the need for the spotlight and recognition and to just focus on the work.

The king gets humbled ... and we might now, too!

The Sun in Virgo needs to do good work. In order to do this, we need to figure out what isn't working. We need to be able to see the flaws and problems. Let's just not get all caught up in them!

On SATURDAY, the Moon is in Libra focusing us on our relationships and moving things into balance/making things more beautiful - here she will move through squares to the Cappy planets and an opposition to Mars, so expect some challenges!

We don't want to waste this powerful week getting all riled up in things we cannot control.

Let's keep our focus, which should improve now, on the present/what we can control and especially on how to use small improvements, habits and fixes to empower ourselves!


xo all - back with the New Moon post!

photo by the amazing thefirebomb

Saturday Night Mystery | the Astrology of the disappearance of Leila C.

This is the case I was going to put up last weekend for our Saturday Night Mystery, but got sidetracked with the Pandora/Wuhan research. It's a very recent/ongoing story, so we are going to use first names only for the privacy of her family.

Leila C. is a beautiful and vivacious 21 year old single mother of an adorable two year old boy named Kamdyn living in Georgia with her grandmother and uncle. She has apparently been pretty rootless for some time living for brief periods with different family members between Georgia and Alabama.

At some point toward the end of July she told her uncle she was "thinking of going to Florida", but because he knew she had no job and no money (plus, of course, the little thing called a - pandemic), he did not take her seriously.

It appears she meant it though - because she quickly proceeds to sell a few things on Facebook Marketplace (it looks like she also attempted to sell her truck and also was looking for a place to have a yard sale), gather $60 from Kamdyn's father for Kamdyn's dental visit (which isn't clear ever happened), $40 from her uncle and drives her son, in her big white truck, to Florida (12 hours!) without telling her family or friends anything about her trip.

No one knew she was going, why she was going, if she was going alone, meeting anyone there, etc.

Within just a couple days of Leila's arrival in Florida, Kamdyn is found by a local woman. He is wandering alone in a parking lot. He's wearing a black t-shirt and diaper; no shoes or pants. As she approaches him, she realizes he is crying. She proceeds to walk him around the apartment complex asking people if they know him or have seen him before. Finally, when she isn't able to locate his family, she calls the police.

A few hours later the police department put out what they called an "urgent blast" asking people if they recognized the beautiful little boy and eventually his picture, having gone somewhat viral through Facebook shares, miraculously reached his aunt in Georgia.

Kamdyn was identified, but where the heck was Leila?

Family members grew more worried with each passing day. They think (because she was single) she might have met a man online and driven to meet him. They admitted she has had some prior drug issues, but are confident those issues are in the past and they don't believe drugs have any bearing on whatever has happened to her.

They all agreed she would never, ever leave her precious son.

Let's see if the astrology of a chart set up for the last time Leila was seen - a store surveillance video taken of Leila and Kamdyn in a convenience store at a gas station the night before Kamdyn is found and the chart for the time Kamdyn is found in the parking lot offer any clues.

Let's unpack the charts.

CHART 1 - the convenience store surveillance camera of Leila and Kamdyn, wearing masks, but clearly identifiable, shopping in Hollywood, Florida.

OK, we will start with the Ascendant, sign rising/first house ruler, which represents Leila in this chart. The chart is Pisces rising with Pisces modern ruler Neptune in the first house conjunct the Ascendant. This shows Leila as Piscean which can mean not only creative/imaginative, maybe spiritual, but it could also show illusion or deception - either on her part or she is being deceived by someone else. It might indicate self-sabotaging actions. Pisces can also show escape (like a literal escape from her daily life to Florida) or addiction; alcohol or drug use. With Neptune retrograde the addiction could be in her past, but whatever this is, she isn't acting/thinking logically/clearly at the time of the video. Pisces physicality can be thin, dark hair with light or deep-set, piercing eyes, so this fits her appearance.

The ancient ruler of Neptune is Jupiter. Here in the 11th house, conjunct dangerous Pluto in Cappy and answering to serious as-a-heart-attack Saturn. The 11th house rules friendships; maybe unusual friendships. Sometimes goals that bring us into connection with other people. Answering to Saturn this could be showing us she is in the company of an older male friend or someone who has, or once had, because all three of these planets are retrograde, some kind of authority over her or maybe showing an old friendship, someone from the past.

Leila's other significator (stand in for Leila in the chart) is the Moon.

Here in the 7th house (of the perpetrator) in Libra.

Libra represents a young, pretty woman - which she is. The Moon is closing in on an opposition (very quickly) and the Ascendant inconjuncts fiery Aries, the 8th house ruler, who is located in Leila's house; the first house. This shows the possibility of danger ahead, things going badly. The Moon in Libra is answering to Venus, in the 3rd house in Gemini (so she is active, moving about doing things, driving around), Venus is answering to Mercury in the 5th house in Cancer (mother on a road-trip vacation with a child would fit here) and answering back to the Moon.

So, a loop between the 3rd, 5th and 7th houses. This is showing us what is happening on the video - a young, pretty woman (Venus) is shopping at a gas station convenience store (Gemini, 3rd house) with her child/on vacation (5th house) with maybe a partner/the perpetrator (7th house) waiting outside in the car and/or maybe they are heading to his home because Mercury is about to move into that 4th house in Cancer.

Let's take a look at the perpetrator.

We have Virgo on the descendant. A typical Virgo appearance could mean a tall stature, black hair, long face, high forehead, someone who is full of talk, maybe a teacher/service person/healer type. Sometimes too neat, obsessive compulsive. Organized. With Virgo's ruler Mercury conjunct asteroid Hygeia it makes me wonder if he could be a germophobe or maybe just extremely health conscious.

Ruled by Mercury in the 5th (almost in the 4th) answering to that Moon in the 7th and then Venus in the 3rd, so basically the same loop. Somehow the story is right in there!

Having him represented by Virgo makes me think she knew him and he was part of her life on a daily basis (I know the family/police are working on the theory she visited someone she met online, and I guess it's possible she was talking to this guy everyday online and making him a part of her day-to-day life that way). Maybe she used to work with him or for him or maybe with Mercury in Cancer, someone in her family did. Some connection between him and home/family?

Her family said she doesn't know anyone in Florida, but maybe he once lived/worked near her or a family member. There is alot of Gemini/Mercury and we know this is a road-trip, so that fits, but we also know she was looking to sell her truck, so maybe that will tie in somehow. The third house can also indicate an argument. With the 11th house ruler in the 2nd, there could also be a connection to money.

CHART 2 - Let's flip ahead to Kamdyn's chart and see if we can tie anything together.

The chart for when he is found in the parking lot has Leo Rising. Leo is Kamdyn, ruled by the Sun in the 12th - he is what is lost, somehow put away/left behind. Just looking at Kamdyn's picture and his beautiful and memorable hair (very Leo rising) and we know this chart is likely accurate and usable.

Kamdyn is also the Moon in Libra in the 3rd house - found by a woman (Libra) in a parking lot (third house rules cars, the community). The Moon is exactly squaring Jupiter in the 6th house - again that day-to-day, people we know house, but Jupiter also a blustery/know-it-all/preacher type, probably not a local and conjunct Pluto (danger) and answering to Saturn (maybe an older man and ruler of the significator for the perpetrator). Jupiter rules the 5th house of this chart (children) - Kamdyn in his control.

The perpetrator is Aquarius rising - remember Leila's ruler Jupiter in the first chart was in the 11th house (Aqua's house) so again making me think of a strange friendship, which could mean online, maybe, but it also feels very day-to-day, so should be traceable by authorities, but they probably need to look in the past.

Aqua's modern ruler is Uranus at the top of this chart, so an erratic act (leaving the child in the parking lot) that gets public attention - this also shows, because remember this is Kamdyn's chart - his trauma at the loss of his mother. :(

In Taurus, so answering to Venus in Gemini in the 11th, answering to Mercury in the 11th, answering to the Moon in the 3rd. The 3rd is Gemini's house so again, the story is reminiscent of the day's before. It's alot of the same stuff over and over.

Aquarius's other ruling planet is Saturn, here in Cappy in the 6th. Again the older man involved in her daily life/work/health/pets? With all planets retrograde this could have been in the past - someone she used to know.

With Leila's significator in the last chart, Neptune, in the 8th house (death) of this chart, there is the possibility she is no longer living by the time Kamdyn is abandoned. This is alluded to in the chart, but I don't think absolutely shown.

Venus in the first chart, who is connected to Leila, Kamdyn and the perpetrator and exactly conjunct the IC (Leila's physical body and home) is also exactly conjunct asteroid MEDUSA. I see the asteroids as fragments of culture, held within our DNA/blueprint/chart. I am not sure how the myth would connect (I know she has three sisters, but wouldn't call them Gorgons!) and am sadly out of time tonight if I want to call this a "Saturday Night Mystery"!

Maybe I should start writing Sunday Morning Mysteries ....

We will revisit this story when it gets solved - and it will - see the Part of Fortune (outcome) at the top of the first chart showing the final result becoming known.

We'll see how any of this fits together then.




xo all

Today's Astrology Forecast | Daily Horoscope - August 14, 2020 - communicating our passions, relationship imbalances, noticing what our heart wants

The Moon (in Gemini) sextiled the Sun at 4:32AM EDT and then goes void off a sextile to Mars (moving forward - something is full-steam ahead) at 7:19AM EDT - she will be void until 7:35PM EDT when she comes home to Cancer for the weekend.

This month's Waning Sextile - Gemini Moon, Leo Sun - is the opportunity to talk about/communicate about a creative project (maybe something you are putting the finishing touches on), or maybe something about children, recreation, a passion. Ideas, choices, information is on display. At the same time Mercury (Gemini ruler) will be inconjunct a retrograde Jupiter - so when communicating, stick to facts - this isn't about what you believe. Don't exaggerate/boast or over-promise now. Old ways of expansion/moving into new territory may require adjustment.

At the same time Mercury is in a rock and a hard place with a retrograde Jupiter, we have Jupiter squaring Juno (second of three squares - we had the first square back in early March) and Mercury sextiling Juno.

This Jupiter/Juno square (remember this is the king and queen of the Gods) with Jupiter retrograde in Cappy could signify we are re-visiting/re-vising relationship rules. Juno's in Libra, so again this will be about what is fair/balanced. Where we are finding love and beauty with other people now. 

If we find ourselves at odds with our partner over the same, old thing - Mercury in Leo will be the key to moving through this. 

With Mercury (in fiery and showy Leo) pulled into the mix via a square to Jupiter and a sextile to Juno - the opportunity is with the Mercury/Juno; the Leo/Libra. This is about passionate conversations/ideas shared with our partners. Talking from our strengths. Happy/fun conversations. Generous words. Showing/sharing what we have made/created with other people.

Mercury in Leo - can even be very literal - something like a fun car ride can shift the Jupiter/Juno square energy!

So, this is all kind of repeating the Waning Sextile's portal and amplifying its opportunities to bring our attention to our own LEO, ie how we are meant to shine in this lifetime, what our heart wants, where our personal passions lie (before next week's BIG New Moon). And pulling ideas/conversations and other people (and other parts of ourselves) into this energy with us.

I hope something here is helpful.

Have some fun today and keep in mind that nearly all-day Void Moon - not the time to launch anything we want something to 'come of', don't do anything important because you will just have to do it again when the Moon isn't void so stick to routine concerns and roll with any twists and turns because they will probably amount to nothing much in the end anyway.



xo all

photo by the amazing thefirebomb