New Moon in Leo

The new Moon and waxing crescent

The new Moon this month is on 16th August at 10.38am (GMT) at 23 Leo. I have decided (I’ll see how it goes) to try and do a blog for each lunar cycle tracking the Moon as it moves round, so that we can see what sort of lunar weather we can expect. I know quite a few of you feel an affinity to the Moon so it will be good to know how this works for you.

It is important to remember that the Moon represents our inner world, so much of its effect will be felt inwardly.

As the Moon starts its next cycle in the late degrees of Leo, it has transited most of Leo in it’s balsamic healing phase, the final letting go from the previous cycle. So I’m going to start here.

Tomorrow (14th August) the Moon enters Leo just after midday. As it is in the final stages of the previous cycle this is all about healing after the letting go of the waning phase. And it is the Leo aspects of ourselves that need to heal, ready to start anew. This is our creativity, how we express ourselves and our need to recognition and approval. Before we go into new Moon maybe it might be useful to work to release any blockages to our creative flow, or fear of expressing ourselves or sadness at not being noticed when we wanted to be.

I am using yoga to help with my own healing journey and on Monday I will be doing lion pose. There are lots of You Tube Videos talking you through lion pose, to get in touch with your inner lion and release…and roar.

With that hopefully cleared (if the lion pose isn’t your thing, any other form of releasing will do) we move into the new cycle on Wednesday. And this is a cycle of creativity, putting ourselves out there and being noticed. It’s late summer, there is still some warmth (ish), the days are still longer than the nights so this is a time to find some enjoyment. It isn’t all plain sailing though as the new Moon is in a square to Uranus, which could present some challenges. Things might not go to plan, so it’s best not to plan too hard and go with the flow. The good news is the Moon moves fast so this won’t last too long.

The next aspect is an easier link to the North Node, which represents our growth, and this is in Aries, so for the next 18 months we are learning looking at beginnings, our own strength and independence. So of course getting in touch with our creativity and expressing ourselves is going to be great for this.

Moving on round, we’ll start the weekend with the Moon passing over Mars and Mercury in Virgo (18th/19thAugust). This might be a good weekend to get things organised, have a tidy. Spend your energy wisely, but as the Moon is waxing there will be energy.

First quarter and waxing gibbous

The first quarter is reached on 24th August when the Moon is square to the Sun. This can present some challenges. Energy is growing, but the obstacles can appear. The Sun has moved into Virgo, which is all about organisation and order. The creativity of Leo needs to be assimilated into something sensible. The Moon is in Sagittarius this first quarter so there may be a tendency to miss the finer details. It can be annoying for big ideas to have to be constrained by practicalities, but that is the challenge this first quarter.

Towards the end of the month (28th) the Moon will pass Pluto in Capricorn. At this point it will be past the first quarter and we will be heading for full Moon, so energy will be building. As Pluto is a long way away, we might not feel this consciously so we might have go deep within to be aware of it, but if we do Pluto is all about transformation and deep healing.

Full Moon and waning gibbous

We reach full Moon 3 days later, with the Moon in Pisces. This is a deeply spiritual full Moon (opposite the Sun in Virgo). This is all about bringing the love and compassion in. As the Moon crossed Saturn just before coming full, maybe we have been a little hard on ourselves or others. Maybe there have been some difficult times, but this is a time to let go of criticism and to be gentle.

In it’s full phase the Moon will also transit Neptune so this is a great full Moon for our intuition, insight and dreams. Perhaps a Moon meditation and ask for guidance.

As the Moon starts to wane it becomes a time for releasing and letting go. The first part of the cycle was about creativity, and expressing ourselves, and the realities checks that came along the way. The cycle reached its peak with the need for compassion and love, and now we need to start letting go.

The Moon will transit the North Node directly on the 3rd September in Aries, so this is a day to focus on ourselves (without disrespecting others of course) and where we are going. Are we on track, or are tweaks needed? Are there things holding us up that we need to release?

A couple of days later the Moon will be in Taurus and transiting Jupiter* and Uranus. While Jupiter is pretty ok in Taurus, it tends to be expansive and as Taurus, among other things represents our resources, this seems good to me. Not so much with Uranus, the planet that likes to change it all up. As Taurus likes stability and security, Uranus is a tricky traveller to have passing through. So this could be a bit of a choppy point in the cycle. With Uranus you never know…it can surprise you in good ways, or it can throw you off.

Last quarter and balsamic phase

The last quarter is on the 6th September, and once again the Moon is square the Sun, now in Gemini. The desire here is to talk, but with Gemini thoughts can be scattered, which can be a challenge when the Sun moving through Virgo is looking for order. As the Moon is in the waning and releasing phase it is important to decide what is of value and useful, and what is just hot air?

The last planet in the cycle to be touched by the Moon is Venus, which is in Leo. The Moon ends it’s cycle in the sign it started, having come full circle before starting the next cycle in the next sign. So in this phase, it is about completion and healing. Venus is retrograde making this a very introspective time, which can be hard in Leo, which is naturally outward looking. I am taking this as a time to honour the fact that we all need the love and care of others. It’s not so much about approval, a Leo weakness, as acceptance and love as we are.

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*Jupiter turns retrograde on the 5th September. With a retrograde there is always a sense of going back over things. The energy of Jupiter is such that we need to bring the spiritual to the traditional when it comes to belief and philosophy. In Taurus there is a material element to this too, so it is good time to consider how your approach to the material fits with your philosophy and higher self. This retrograde will last until the end of the year.