The heart of the sun is burning bright, the earth is in a generous mood, and the moon is renewing its commitment to love and to courage. The fullness of the season is planted in the dark sky on this new moon in Leo. 

The sun and the moon both dance with the inner lion today; wild mane, loud roar, and all. The big personality of this flaming, flirty, fantastical archetype loves an opportunity to shine. What parts of you want to be seen? What are you longing to share with the world? What wants to burst open and radiate in your life? 

Leo is a sign associated with confidence, courage, and creativity, with a fiery essence that sparks conversation and connection wherever it finds itself. Leo is known for being the life of the party, the fire that draws everyone’s attention. When this part of us is grounded, the magnetic power of it offers warmth and light, and the energy that comes toward it is generously shared.

I wanna take a moment and remind us that playing with astrology doesn’t need to involve believing in it. Working with the archetypes of the zodiac can be meaningful and helpful in our lives regardless of how we view or interact with it. Personally, I love engaging with those characters that, let’s not forget, humans projected onto the constellations. We can have enriching conversations and develop meaningful relationships with planets, stars, moons, and constellations when we are open to interpret the stories and characters in many ways, learn about ourselves through the process, and make it about more than ourselves. 

You don’t have to have any Leo in your astrological chart in order to find where it lives in you and interact with where it shows up in your life. 

Leo lives in us as desire and the ability to get what we want, as our passion and willpower that keep us going, as an attractive, charismatic force, as a shining star – after all, the sun is Leo’s ruler. We all feel desire – we all want something all the time – that’s part of what keeps us moving. We all have passion in us, but it isn’t in everyone’s personality. Not every person we meet is someone we would consider a “passionate person.” but all of us feel pulled toward something. 

Maybe we can let this lunar cycle remind us to check in with what we feel pulled towards. Turn toward what turns you on. Maybe as this lunar cycle unfolds we can make deeper connections with what we care about, what makes us feel alive, what stirs, spins, churns, and burns us inside. 

Perhaps we can lean into the primal desire that pulses at the heart of all of us. We don’t need to turn every thing that sparks us into flames. We can breathe softly and let the sparks create a pattern of sparkles, as if we were the night, and our desires were fireflies.

Leo has a big energy. It makes bold choices. Is there anywhere in your life where being courageous and going for what you want in a big way is a good idea right now? It isn’t always a good idea, but sometimes it’s exactly what we need in order to break a pattern, in order to fulfill a dream, in order to create something we’ve been sitting on for a while. This may not be the time for it, but perhaps you can take this invitation with you, and remember to receive it when the timing is right. Note: the timing hardly ever feels right, and sometimes you just gotta go for it. Your inner Leo is your guide for those big feline steps.

There’s drama when we meet a lion. It’s dangerous. You might get eaten. It’s a beautiful kind of drama – theatrical and engaging – like the performance of a lifetime by your favorite actor, like a Greek myth coming to life in front of your eyes, or inside of your heart, like an athlete giving it all they got in the Olympics, like falling in love in the Summer. And it’s the annoying kind of drama; the “save the drama for your mama!” kind of drama. 

This is a call to look at where you play small, where you shrink yourself in order for someone else to be more comfortable, or in order to not make waves, in order to not create drama. Look at where you put yourself down in order to be liked, loved, and accepted. Sometimes we need to take a moment, to step down or step back, to take care of others. Sometimes we need to put ourselves on the back burner for a while. It’s not a bad thing. You can’t always be the main character. But if you always keep yourself small and unfulfilled, then maybe it’s time to come out and stand in the Leo limelight for a moment. 

This archetype is truthful, and authentic. This new moon invites us to root into truth – not just our truth, but truth as in facts, truth as in a wider picture, truth as in there’s more to the story than what you feel in the moment, or what you think it is, or what you see right here. As we mature, we learn to direct the bright light of Leo in many directions, so that we can see more, understand more, and allow the truth to be a source of pride and humility simultaneously. 

Leo is a leader, with problem solving abilities, optimism, and an intense source of energy to pull from. We can’t all be leaders all the time. And some of us are not built for leadership positions. But we each must take responsibility and lead our lives, guide ourselves in ways that consider more than ourselves, and be in charge of who we are. 

There’s more about that in this FREE Leo New Moon video.

Maybe during this lunar cycle we can cultivate our confidence. Tame the mind enough so that our thought patterns don’t put us down. Train ourselves to direct our thought process toward helpful habits. We can build a healthy relationship with ourselves. Does your inner beast tear you down? As we play with the leo archetype, perhaps we can feed the beast so that it doesn’t devour us, befriend it so that it doesn’t go after us, take care of it so that it lives peacefully in us. We don’t need to domesticate it – then we’d be left with no art. But we need to collaborate with it, so that we don’t become unhinged. 

Leo leads us to the heart and from the heart. This lunar cycle is brought to you by Leo’s love for life, which can become a guiding force in the way that we lead our lives. It can help us access the core of our being, and it can support us in cultivating confidence. If you feel low in self esteem, maybe a little trip into what you are inspired by, into what you love doing, into what makes you feel connected to life’s deliciousness can be a portal into deeper trust in yourself. Leo is trustworthy and loyal. The sun and the moon ride the lion that roars at us from within, demanding that we take the actions that shape us into a trustworthy presence, loyal to ourselves and to those we love. 

If you want to embody these concepts, to explore this seasonal moment more deeply, to journal and move and breathe with the power of this solar, lunar, earthy gateway, sign up for the Lughnasadh Somatic Ceremony. The mythology that unfolds from the mythopoetic session and flows down into the ritual practices is yummy. You’re gonna love it! 

Today is the new moon in Leo. Tomorrow is the Solar Lughnasadh portal. Lion’s Gate is on the 8th. And the Lunar Lughnasadh doorway is on August 19th. It’s a wonderful time to do some deep inner work that we can take into the world in meaningful ways. 

With so much going on in the world, grounding ourselves, creating spaciousness, burning through some shit, alchemizing, strengthening our spirit, and forging pathways of connection within and around us is necessary. Embodied practices, ritual, and deep contemplation can be really helpful.

All the info for the Somatic Ceremony of this seasonal moment is here.

Wishing you a meaningful, magical new moon.

XOXO

Hagar