August 16 5:38 AM EST
This new moon in the sign of the bold, courageous, proud lion has many subtle messages for us if we are willing to listen. Leo isn’t usually subtle! But with Venus retrograde there (since July 22nd), we are having a deeper and more introspective Leo season than usual. A much more thorough analysis of Venus Rx in Leo and its powerful implications for us for this entire summer (spanning early June through early October) can be found here. It is worth reviewing since the new moon at 23 degrees Leo, is conjunct Venus Rx at 18 degrees.
This new moon is a highly potent invitation for fresh beginnings, in existing relationships, or with new people in our lives. We can note that since the inferior conjunction of the sun and Venus Rx has already occurred at the time of the new moon (on August 13th) which is an aspect that indicates a reset in the area of all things Venusian, this new moon fully and demonstrably amplifies that message.
We are READY for a new chapter in our relationships, and in our creative projects and desire natures- these themes are highly important to both Venus and Leo. Venus is about beauty, attraction, magnetism and sensuality. It soaks in the pleasures of life through the senses and encourages our enjoyment. Leo, likewise, rules the heart and heartfelt human impulse to connect, to create, to have fun, and to fan the flames of excitement and celebration in our lives.
It may seem obvious, but most of us have gotten “out of sync” with this in our lives over the past few years. Survival mechanisms were kicked into high gear, trauma re-enflamed for many, and profound shifts in the landscape of our culture have been happening at rapid fire pace. We are just now beginning to see the dust settle and to have a chance to LOCATE ourselves in this new landscape- and decide, yet again, “Is this where I want to be?”. For some this can be a geographic contemplation, but it is reaching us primarily at the deepest level, the Leo level : the heart. This means we may need to face uncomfortable truths about our marriages, our needs, our finances, our desires, that have been shuffled around or sidestepped through the chaos and drama of the past few years. We can no longer afford to ‘refuse to see’ the writing on the wall. For some, this Venus Rx is making it too uncomfortable to ignore. For others, this new moon could be the catalyst to showing us that we no longer desire what we once did and it is our responsibility to own that and have the necessary discussions or make the needed changes.
It is not enough now to merely ‘take note’ of some of these things. After all, Leo is brave. It says the thing. It takes the chance. At it’s highest, it follows its heart no matter what- not in a reckless and selfish way (though lower vibrational Leo certainly can do this)- but by following its true north star along its path and staying in integrity in its words and actions every step of the way.
This point is underscored strongly by an earth sign grand trine during the new moon. Mercury and Mars, conjunct at 19 and 22 degrees of Virgo respectively, are trine to the Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus, and Pluto at 28 degrees of Capricorn. This is magnificent! To have all of these planets in cooperation with each other is an invitation not to be missed. But it calls our attention to the highest hallmark of the earth sighs: reliability, integrity, durability and substance.
Before we can ‘walk away’ from people or situations that we feel do not meet our current needs or standards, we must take a look in the Venusian mirror and see where we need to be in higher integrity ourselves. This will be the TRUE key to shifting our relationships, finances, and outer circumstances. The more we can take practical steps (earth) at realigning OURSELVES, the more easily everything else can shift. And the more Venus Rx in Leo and this fiery new moon can “burn off” the old.
This is all the more significant when we consider that the upcoming full moon, the midpoint of the lunar cycle started by this new moon, is the full moon in Pisces which will be conjunct the ‘Master of Karma’ Saturn. The more we ‘get a handle’ on all of these issues of honesty, integrity, accountability, and realism NOW, the less Saturn will ‘need’ to redirect our attention with its ‘harsh lessons’ during the 2nd half of this lunar month.
If and when we are willing, however, to take a look in the mirror and come to terms with what we see, we can lean into unprecedented shifts and transformations now. The new moon at 23 degrees Leo is exactly square to change-agent Uranus at 23 degrees Taurus. Uranus is not nostalgic, it is revolutionary. And we are ready for the revolutionary path in our lives now, in our next steps. Our authenticity is what Leo AND Uranus demand of us, and we simply cannot afford to ‘play along’ with things that we don’t enjoy or desire (Venus) anymore.
“The Heart wants what it wants” could very well be the message of this new moon, and it’s up to us to figure out how to honor that, while respecting our own as well as others boundaries (earth sign grand trine). But liberation is a major part of all of this. Uranus wants to liberate us from the past (and the present), so we can say yes to the future.
Lilith is also a big player during this new moon. Lilith is often ‘in the shadows’, and speaks subtly until we learn to recognize the sound of her voice. Which is another reason this new moon has many ‘subtle messages’. But Lilith is at 24 degrees of Leo, just 1 degree away from the new moon. Hers is the voice of the primordial feminine. Not the domesticated feminine. Not the feminine who has suffered patriarchy and come out on the other side. But the feminine who has NEVER been subverted or exploited. The feminine that has remained wild, intact and unabashed- even if that had to mean existing ‘on the fringes’ of our psyche and collective consciousness.
Our inner Lilith is sexually unbounded, magnetically powerful, and the master of her own body and energy. Lilith has been reintegrating in our personal and collective psyches in a major way over the past decade or so and is speaking very strongly now, at this new moon, during this Venus Rx. Her message for us, whether we are male or female, is that whatever those things are about ourselves that we love or enjoy that we have abandoned in order to fit in or gain approval, those are our sacred gifts. And we cannot be fully self-expressed, empowered or LOVED (Leo) the way we want to be, until we do that work of reclamation ourselves. This is our opportunity.
So as we face whatever is holding us back now, we can know that we are very supported in this process. Even if ‘shocks’ (Uranus) come now in the form of situations or revelations, it is all in service to getting back in heart alignment and reclaiming our power, and our pleasure, in deeper and more satisfying ways than ever before.
*art by @trippydana
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