Full Moon in Leo

Leo Full Moons shine the Aquarian Sun spotlight on our individuality, on what makes us incredibly, uniquely ourselves. It’s a time to look back and celebrate how far we’ve come since we planted our New Moon in Leo seeds back in August. Does it feel like you’re a little bit closer to your truest Self? Or is it time to course correct back Home? Ditch any narratives around “not enough,” and acknowledge the ways in which you have remained soft, despite living in seemingly impossible times. Full Moons are culmination points, and when we arrive at a moment of fullness, we may still feel like something’s missing… don’t get discouraged. As Luna releases her light and wanes into her dark phase, we integrate the lessons to prepare ourselves for our next initiation.

I LOVE Leo lunations… I don’t usually get personal here, but Leo is the home of my Midheaven (which signifies the Soul’s highest potential and the legacy Soul yearns to leave behind) and is the sign Venus (pleasure, values, creative energy) occupied at the time of my birth. It has taken me YEARS of therapy and inner work to heal the traumas (which is a continual, often messy, unending process) that kept me from “exposing” myself, because circumstances taught me that shining my light too bright would result in rejection, abuse, or the loss of what is familiar and therefore “safe”… The reason I bring this up is because I believe we ALL have some Leo trauma - fears around our sense of self, around expressing our personality, our authentic beingness. Very recently, a black teenage adolescent was suspended for wearing braids in his hair - the Texas superintendent justified the punishment by stating, “Being American requires conformity,” (which is not an isolated case, just one that ended up in the news - the school was SO PROUD of their statement, an education foundation paid for a full page ad in the Houston Chronicle). Apparently this is a code enforced in military academies, an ideology that is imposed on us by law enforcement, and it reflects the reality of the value our society puts on individualism. Being an individual threatens the powers that be. Being an individual is dangerous.

Chiron in Aries conjunct North Node square Mars and Mercury in Capricorn

Collectively, our core wounds around our sense of self are being amplified through the transmission from Chiron in Aries square to Mars and Mercury in Capricorn in the Full Moon signature. Chiron is only 3 degrees from being conjunct to the North Node, which adds an extra fated flavor to this aspect. 

Healing our individual core wounds around sense of self is crucial to the evolution of humanity. We have to acknowledge our own hang ups that keep us in hiding, that keep us in shame, shine the light on it, and in so doing, create a safe container for others to do the same. We have to hold each other in our tenderest of moments, refrain from trying to “fix” those who confide in us, and simply acknowledge that we have endured hard things. The only way is through. 

The square aspect between Chiron/North Node and Mars/Mercury may have us conflicted, within our own psyches and potentially in projection outwards onto others. This aspect could have us questioning our place in the world and our right to take up space. It could bring up situations where we feel like we have to betray ourselves to please others, especially those in positions of authority, or because of ideological structures that we have allowed to exist in our own minds which keep us in a cage of conformity. We could be yearning to build something in our own lives, and then are obstructed by our beliefs around our un-worthiness or our lack of expertise. 

The Full Moon in Leo gives us the vitality and courage to proudly be in joyful expression of our truest self, or to at least quietly acknowledge this part of ourselves we may not be ready to let out, and seek out the environments and communities that will help us feel safe to do so. 

Pluto conjunct Sun from the last degree and minute of Capricorn into Aquarius

The Sun and Pluto made an exact conjunction on January 20, 2024 at the last degree and minute of Capricorn (in case you don’t speak fluent astrology, this is VERY significant), emphasizing a moment of release related to our current structures and the power they hold, and of a new seed planted as we are ready and willing to take on this next phase and co-create a new way of being. This is NOT the Age of Aquarius, YET, the very wise Rick Merlin Levine explains - you can explore his work where he tells of how we are still very much in the Age of Pisces and will not enter into the Age of Aquarius until the axis of Earth points towards Aquarius (which is a long, slow process). That being said, since it is a slow process (slower than any of our planetary cycles) we certainly are feeling the energy of that transition ramping up, and this 20 year transit of Pluto through Aquarius will certainly serve to pave the way for a more equitable future and prepare us for the next “Age.”

ANYWAYS, this Pluto opposition to the Full Moon is perhaps calling out anything in your life that is incongruent with your Truest Way Forward, and hopefully will make it virtually IMPOSSIBLE to carry any of that bull sh*t with you… Pluto WILL EVENTUALLY force you to let something go, but you can also consciously decide to do so willingly.

Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and a Yod

Venus is in a trine to Jupiter and in a sextile to Saturn. Venus and Jupiter are benefic* planets, and Saturn, a malefic*, sits at the midpoint between these planets. Saturn work can feel sludgy, heavy, soul crushing… This aspect feels super tender to me, but it simultaneously feels like a balm. As we witness unthinkable atrocities, as we come to terms with the disillusionment of our “democracy,” as we cry out for ceasefire daily to politicians that don’t give a flying f*ck, Jupiter and Venus offers hope and solutions for ways in which we can make waves with our dollars to weaken oppressive powers, for ways we can creatively strategize how to separate from and disrupt the systems that continue to violate us, our rights, and the rights of all living things.

The Venus and Saturn sextile complete a Yod* formation with the inclusion of the Full Moon in Leo. Translation: this Full Moon energy may feel more frenetic than an otherwise more vanilla Full Moon in Leo - it's as if we are in a crisis moment of deciding between two paths… to push forward into uncertain territory, guided by and in faith of our Inner Knowing (i.e. Spirit, Higher Mind, Self, etc…), or to remain in what is seemingly comfortable (which is definitely an illusion whose veneer is beginning to crack)… Venus and Saturn give us the discipline and ease to trust our Selves and dive into the unknown, if we decide to accept such a mission.

We are in incredible times, and with Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius and the impending Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in April, it is more important than ever to remember “who you were before the world told you who you should be” (Charles Bukowski). Collectively we are squeezing through a long, narrow threshold, and although it can seem, at times, hopeless, overwhelming, insurmountable… the greatest contribution we can gift to the movement is coming back to the truth of who we are again and again. Revolution does not have to be mutually exclusive with violence. Let the celebration of your weird self be a radical act of rebellion against the patriarchy.

Stay kind, stay curious, stay weird, ya’ll.

Take care of your nervous systems! Head to the apothecary to shop all things that are nourishing to your delicate, over-stimulated nervous systems. 

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*What’s with all the Mary Oliver quotes? Well, I love her, she’s an incredible poet, and also, she died 5 years ago - on January 17, 2019… so, here’s a tribute to you, Mary Oliver… may we all live as open-hearted and dedicated to our art and to nature as you were.

*Benefic - a planet that brings ease

*Malefic - a planet that brings obstacles, difficulty, or conflict

*Yod - a formation made by 2 planets making a 60 degree aspect to one another (a sextile) and both of those planets (considered the base planets) forming a 150 degree aspect to another planet (considered the Apex planet in this formation). The aspect forms a triangle.