Anytime Leo comes into the picture, we know we're dealing with a sense of self-confidence, or the lack of it. Drama is one way to handle Leo energy. Playful responsibility is another. It's time to build a bonfire on the beach and chill out to the rhythm of the ocean waves, thanks to the continuing Water Trine. 'The universe turns differently when fire loves water.'

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  'Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! The universe turns differently when fire loves water.' Rumi

 

Astrology is a helpful tool for understanding the evolution of Life, both individually and collectively.   It helps us translate and read the cosmic story of Life reflected in the heavens.    And like any storyteller, its purpose is to awaken something already within the listener, something that resonates as true.   A true story opens up the heart, where Wisdom lies.   A true story moves us to right action.

Cosmically, we are just at the beginning of a new age (and you can see how the old patriarchy is holding on for dear life!) which we hope (along with the hippies from the 60s) will embody the belief that "all you need is love'.     This new Age of Aquarius will be one where women and men are equal and where we use both sides of the brain, making us Wise instead of merely intelligent.  

This is the mythic, cosmic story that is shaping our world and our lives.   But we are at a point in the story where things could go either way, down to destruction or onward to new life.   Will Lessa bring back the ancient dragonriders to help save Pern from the deadly peril of thread?   Will we be able to save our Earth, clean up our air, water and soil?   With our growing population, will it be possible to create a "Heaven on Earth'?   I believe the cosmic story says we can do it; that is if we share our resources equitably and move beyond the ideas of patriarchy and consumerism.

  This evolutionary cycle started in the 60s with the Pluto/Uranus conjunction in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces.   It was a wild, unpredictable time, a new birth for humanity, a time when Time Magazine asked, "Is God Dead?" (Saturn in Pisces questioning the long-ruling Hebraic father god of Western religions and his rules) and young people rejected their parents patriarchal rules (Pluto/Uranus in Virgo).   Now that we have arrived at the first square between these two planetary archetypes, we are being challenged to take individual action (Uranus in Aries) to get rid of outworn and repressive systems and rules (Pluto in Capricorn).   As anyone can see, the issues and events of the 60s are continuing to shape this next step in the evolution of human consciousness.  

However, instead of our parents trying to shape us to patriarchal expectations, today's issues involve our governments and corporations taking away our rights and freedoms, because they are the patriarchy!   It's time to reject this form of society and its values.   It's time to recreate a more sustainable, equitable, creative society.   A Love-based culture!   That's what the new revolutionary and evolutionary cosmic cycle we're in is leading us to-- a heart-centered consciousness that can create a better life for everyone, including the Earth.  This heart-centered culture is the visionary gift of the Piscean Age.  Now we have to implement the vision.

While Astrology is very logical and mathematical in its calculations, astrologers also use our intuitions and imaginations in reading the cosmic story.   That's the part which patriarchal thinking rejects--the imaginative meaning of life.   !Patriarchy is so flat-earth!   It's my way or the highway view of life is deadening to real creativity and freedom.   Just because our patriarchal culture believes that a symbolic, mystical understanding of Life is irrational and therefore suspect, it does not mean that this belief is the Truth .     Just as patriarchy has relegated women to second-class citizenship, it has also decreed that the psychological functions of feeling and intuition (which give rise to that symbolic understanding of Life) are irrelevant to any decision-making we do personally or collectively.   Along with women being enslaved, raped and considered irrelevant, our right-brain imagination has been enslaved, abused and made irrelevant, except when it is used to manipulate people when there is money to be made or fear to create.  

Leo New Moon: Marriage of the King and Queen of the Zodiac 

It's time to change that!   We were created as women & men, along with being given a right & left brain to work with, and it's time to explore how these two different aspects of our humanity were meant to work together, both within and without.   I know I understand an issue and make better decisions when I use my imagination as well as my intellect, my senses as well as my feelings.   My life develops out of my wholeness, beginning in my soul and partnered by my self-awareness. This kind of wisdom takes a commitment to know yourself, which takes time and courage and humility, but is worth the wisdom and peace you gain.   And wisdom increases when you open your heart to other people who think and imagine in their own unique ways.

The sign of Leo is all about the process of becoming a unique, one-of-a-kind individual who has taken the time to know yourself.   To know yourself as a whole Woman, a whole Man, a whole Brain.   It is the archetypal power that patriarchy has misused and abused by giving over power to kings and presidents and CEOs, because Leo is meant to imply personal sovereignty, not state or corporate sovereignty over others.    Each Lioness is Queen of the jungle, just as her partner Lion is King.   Leo wants each of us to assume the responsibility of becoming the author of our own lives.   Until we do that, we won't be able to create the Aquarian vision of equality and freedom that will be the foundation stone of this next age, a vision of sacred partnership between women and men instead of a patriarchal hierarchy based on domination and violence.

But don't forget the other side of Leo, the playful, loving, generous, childlike heart of Leo. We individuate through play and pleasure as well as hard work. Leo is all about self-confidence, and even if you have to fake it (Leo is an actor), do it during the month the Sun travels through Leo!   We need that self-confidence to ride the waves of the continuing revolution, which should start to heat up in the US next year when our "4^th of July' national Sun at 14* Cancer becomes part of the Uranus/ Pluto square through 2014-15.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 15* Leo is:   A loud and colorful circus parade snakes through city streets.   Something out of the ordinary is happening in the city--in our collective consciousness.  This celestial circus parade gives us a glimpse of the mysteries and delights awaiting us when we go in The Big Top.   Everyone in the parade is unique and different, a mystery of talents that will surprise and entertain us.   Parades always draw large cheering crowds, encouraging people to partake in fun and enchantment.   It is all about the Theatre of the Mind--that Leo sense of drama and theatricality that tells a good story.   We need to see our lives in terms of story to understand where we are going.   Instead of falling into patriarchy's story of partisan bickering, let's open our imaginations and step into a new story of celebration and mystery.   There is so much creativity within each one of us, and collectively, we can be unstoppable in our determination to change.   So leave despair behind and see the possibilities!   Change your story!

This New Moon is a time to plant seeds of self-confidence, love and self-expression.   It is especially blessed because it occurs at 15* Leo, a power gate which is celebrated as Lammas or Lughnasadh .   There are four cross-quarter days in the Wheel of the Year which correspond to the 15* critical degrees in the signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. These points are known as Avatar Points. They are considered to be degrees where important spiritual influences enter the Earth plane and our lives. Planets moving across these Avatar Points will trigger the release of these influences.   So this New Moon, take time to meditate and open yourself to spiritual guidance.  

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This New Moon is embraced and challenged by the feminine asteroids.   Vesta and Ceres in Leo add a sense of self-possession (Vesta) and nurturing (Ceres) to the seeds we plant this New Moon.     Juno in Aquarius opposes the New Moon, demanding equal rights between partners.   And Pallas adds her wisdom and intelligence to Jupiter's meeting with Pluto, so we have a better chance of mediating these two powerful energies.       

August Influences

As we move into August, the summer's grand water trine is still active, with Jupiter in Cancer anchoring in the third leg of the triangle along with Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio.   Jupiter in Cancer expands our faith in our emotional body's ability to tell us what we need.   Jupiter, who was a great lover of women, opens us to the feminine aspects of life, helping us honor our feelings, our intuitions, and our sense of what nurtures and sustains us and those we love.   Along with Neptune in Pisces' gift of empathy and Saturn in Scorpio's demand for personal accountability, Jupiter's expansive nature helps us understand that the whole world is our family!     So play fair with everyone you meet!

Jupiter is also involved in the ongoing Uranus in Aries/ Pluto in Capricorn square.   He's a busy archetype!   While the water trine calls on his blessings, the evolutionary square, with Jupiter opposing Pluto on August 7^th for the first of three oppositions, and Jupiter squaring Uranus on August 21 for the first of three squares, will call upon his beliefs and sense of values to do the right thing.   Jupiter was the King of the Gods, and it was his responsibility to mediate between the various powers of Olympus.   With his involvement in this transformative planetary square, he can either bring up even more intolerant beliefs or more positively, get us to look at our beliefs and ask ourselves if they serve Life.    For in this transformative time, we all must become servants of Life.

The Pluto in Capricorn/ Jupiter in Cancer opposition occurs on the day after this New Moon.    It seems we will be re-tuning our subtle bodies to a higher vibration--or at least a more inclusive, balanced one.

The Sabian symbol for Pluto at 10* Capricorn is: On a sailboat, sailors are feeding a tame albatross.   An albatross symbolically implies someone is carrying an emotional burden of some kind, most definitely caused by patriarchal rules and fears.  Pluto blows them out of the water!   For sailors to feed an albatross implies that if we make friends with our emotional bodies--rather than shun them--we can be relieved of the burden of old emotional wounds.   It implies compassion for ourselves and others.   Let go of those old emotions, they are no longer needed for self-protection.

The Sabian symbol for Jupiter at 10* Cancer is: A large diamond in the first stages of the cutting process.   This is what the Taoists call "the diamond body', the subtle body of the chakra systems.   Jupiter is re-tuning our bodies at the cellular, subtle levels.   Work with him to enhance the changes, the shape the Diamond. Stay emotionally curious and expansive.  Listen!

I will talk about Jupiter's square to Uranus in my next Aquarius/Leo Full Moon newsletter.

Enjoy the end of Summer!

Bright Blessings,

Cathy

Authors Website: http://www.cathypagano.com

Authors Bio:

Cathy Pagano is a spiritual advisor and Jungian psychotherapist, storyteller, author and teacher.

She is the author of a book on the return of the Goddess, "Wisdom's Daughters: How Women Can Change the World".

Cathy trained at the C. G. Jung Institut-Zurich in dream interpretation, has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in Feminine Spirituality, and is a certified Life Coach.

As an astrologer and storyteller, she weaves the Cosmic Stories written in the stars. From The Bard's Grove, she writes about emerging archetypal themes in movies and books.

Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, symbolic language, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom.



I believe that Americans are called to a higher consciousness at this point in our history. We are called on to live up to our ideals and create the country our forefathers imagined. Inner consciousness needs to be acted upon for social justice.



Cathy believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity.



Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues.