What is your calling? What is in your heart that desires to articulate itself and be lived, enacted, expressed, so that the world will be a different place once you leave this lifetime? This year, 2012, seems to be asking that of all of us, and the Leo New Moon could highlight a new beginning in the  realization of our soul’s calling.

Leo is the sign of generosity, creativity, and the fullest expression of these qualities. It is ruled by the Sun, the only sign in the zodiac to claim such authority.  The Sun is the bringer of life, the center of our solar system, around which revolves all of what we know to be, to exist. It sets the groundwork and is the energy source for the arena of material reality that souls come here to use and mold to their purposes. Leo’s influence this month asks us to evaluate for ourselves the connection we have to our creativity, to the expression of our unique voice, our solar energy, and whether or not it is being made manifest.

Given that we are in a time of profound changes, individually, and collectively, and that the planet itself is reflecting these changes, we must adapt to the times as best we can.  But our resources are being tapped into more than ever, and we run the risk of losing focus, going adrift, and succumbing to the ravages of grief, fear, loss and depression. The paradigms by which we have lived for many, many years are shifting. We are much more informed nowadays, are more connected than ever before in human history, and yet our sense of stability and safety seem to be eroding quickly.  The daily news reports of violence, shootings in the US and around the world find us shaking our heads and wondering where this is all going.

While there is no one answer to that question, we can pay close attention to what sustains us, to what brings us a sense that our lives have meaning and purpose. Leo’s energy supports the awareness that “it’s all good” and that there is purpose to everything. It’s not so much an intellectual understanding, as would be the case for its opposite sign, Aquarius, but it’s more of a faith, a knowledge that lies deep within the heart, which is the center of Leo’s energy.  The heart chakra is the connection point between the three lower chakras that deal with survival, sexuality, and our social interactions, and the upper three chakras that deal with the higher or spiritual energies of knowledge, wisdom and our connection to the Divine.  The heart then is the mediator between physical and non-physical realities. Leo energy seeks to be a bridge builder, using its creativity, charm, and most importantly, its light, to shine outward and to bring a renewal of faith and confidence in the processes of Life, to re-awaken the love of being alive.

Just two days prior, Mars and Saturn have formed a conjunction, both at about 25 degrees of Libra. This New Moon forms an exact sextile (an angle of 60˚) to these two whose energies have been fused for the past week. Mars is about moving through the world, and Saturn governs our sense of limitation. One pushes, the other constrains. When the two conjoin, oftentimes our aggressive energies are greatly highlighted and anger forms, leading to frustration and even violence. Mars is an activator energy, and formed a T-square at last month’s New Moon to the ongoing Uranus/Pluto square. This occurred on July 19th, just the day before the shooting in Aurora, CO. Mars conjoined Saturn may bring on more than just bad drivers on the road, we may encounter within ourselves a feeling of being very constrained and wanting to bust out. 

Since these two planets are closely sextile to the New Moon, the message here is clear: find the creative urge within and follow it. It may take a little more effort than usual to get there, but you may find that once you do, a sense of fulfillment replaces the anxiety. Bust out of your previous ideas of “I can’t.” Mercury is also in Leo, forming a harmonious trine (120˚ angle) to Uranus. These two both rule the nervous system, and our thinking processes.  Great creativity and inspiration is possible now!  The out-of-sign opposition to Neptune from the New Moon indicates the need to let go of your egoic ideas of being “a creative person” or “doing something creative” and just let the process have its own course.  If we infuse too much of “me” in trying to be creative, it becomes just another narcissistic exercise. When we allow the creative process to have spontaneity, we discover expressions and qualities larger than our personality and ego, the aha! effect. This involves a spirit of playfulness, another Leonine quality. 

Venus, now in Cancer, has replaced the angle that Mars took at the last New Moon, forming a T-square to the Uranus/Pluto square. (See diagram). This changes the dynamic of the transformative power of Uranus and Pluto from a month ago, shifting into an emphasis upon receiving, listening, being, rather than doing, rather than making and pressing our imprint onto the world around us. It also points out the grave deficiencies of the dominant masculine paradigm, that controlling and dominating are things of the past.  Now we must learn to become cooperative with Life, lest it cease to sustain us. But Venus also has her shadow side, and we need to be careful with our relationships, that we don’t become overly controlling or make the expression of our feelings more intense than they need to be in our interpersonal interactions. Pluto is about intensity, and if our feelings become too intense, it may be a warning sign that archetypal forces are ready to take over.  Then we “lose it” and things get not pretty. 

We can learn to be cooperative with our fears and shadow material as well.  This takes first of all, becoming familiar enough with them that we are able to recognize them and then navigate around them. We then can give them a place to reside in our psyche, a back seat, where they are safely out of the main focus of our attention. Again, the focus of the heart, Leo’s domain, urges us to use loving kindness (with ourselves) to creatively navigate these challenging territories. We are all equally capable of the worst behavior, as well as the most honorable.  Knowing this brings a balance to what we witness in others around us and opens our hearts to being compassionate.  Once our hearts are open, we can hear the call from our soul deep within us.