Happy New Moon in Leo! This New Moon at approximately 12 1/2 degrees of Leo became exact at 5:13 AM New York time (9:13 GMT) on Sunday, August 4, 2024.
Leo is a fixed fire sign that is represented by a lion: an animal that exemplifies pride, beauty and power. Fixed signs in the Zodiac come in the middle of a season and bring the energies of stability, endurance and stubbornness. Fire signs come with high energy, vigor, passion and outgoingness.
Leo is ruled by the sun, which is that big ball of fire that all planets in our solar system rely on for light and sustenance. Leo rules over the 5th House, the House of Pleasure. The themes of the 5th House include joy, fun, play, pleasure, creativity and children.
We had a stellium in Leo on this New Moon, with the sun, the moon, Venus. During Leo season, the sun is at home in its own sign, so people are feeling comfortable in their own skin.
Leo signifies the ego, charisma, and being seen in ‘all our light’ (being fully illuminated by the sun). Leo is also associated with abundance and ‘all things golden’–as the sun appears gold in the sky. The Lion’s Gate—which is the celebration of the heliacal rising of Sirius over the Great Pyramids of Giza—occurs during Leo Season. This year, it occurred on Lughnasadh (August 1).
It’s a time to be optimistic and to dream big! The sign of Leo supports the manifestation of our biggest dreams. During Leo season, it’s the time to let go of any fear of being seen in all your glory! Let go of any fears on how you are perceived. Be the unique you and bring out the most positive aspects of your personality!
This is probably the most auspicious New Moon of all of 2024! We had an incredibly lucky Minor Grand Trine form between the sun/moon in Leo (representing the Highest Possible expression of you), the North Node in Aries (representing your Highest Possible destiny/path), and the Mars-Jupiter conjunction in Gemini (representing opportunities).
I can’t stress this enough: take advantage of the opportunities that life presents to you over the next four weeks! The Universe is trying to roll the red carpet out for you.
Take some time to meditate on—and visualize—what you would like life to look like for you if you could write the script your way.
NOW is the time to get as clear as possible on your vision for your life! With an exalted Retrograde Neptune in the final degree of its home sign of Pisces sextiling an exalted Retrograde Pluto in the first degree of Aquarius (Uranus also joins in to make it a Minor Grand Trine), now is the time to have big thoughts and visions about how we can make a big impact on the world!
Here are some great questions of self-inquiry to get you dreaming big—and taking big steps forward—with the energy of this very auspicious New Moon:
– If everything was going to work out great for me, and I had nothing to worry about, where would I want life to lead me? What would life look and feel like for me? Describe in detail.
– If I indeed have a crucial role to play on this planet (you do!), and in this Ascension, what might that role be?
– What do I feel like my mission is here on Earth? Why do I feel I came to this planet?
– If I had no fear, how would I choose to earn my living (or how would I choose to live my life–it doesn’t have to be a career or job)?
– What type of legacy do I want to leave behind? What is the one thing that I have to help heal or improve (for other people, animals, plants, nature, the planet or society) before I leave the planet?
– Make a list of goals for 1, 5, and 10 years out. Dream big!
– Out of all the projects/goals on your list, rank the top 3 priorities.
– Make a list of 5 (or more) practical steps you can take toward realizing your dreams over the course of the rest of 2024.
– Make a list of 5 practical action-steps you can take toward realizing your dreams between now and the next New Moon (in Virgo September 2).
It’s a great time to partake in any fun or spontaneous activities. With the Retrograde Mercury making us feel nostalgic, it is a wonderful time to get back to childhood in any way that we can–like the 6 of Cups in the tarot.
What activities did you really enjoy when you were young? It can be something simple like walking on the beach and looking for sea glass; playing in a lake; or making a watercolor painting. This is the best time of the year to bring out the Inner Child (more on that later in this article).
People’s egos can be a bit out of control at this time with all the Leo energy and with Venus squaring Uranus–so it is advisable to stay away from angry people and be aware of your surroundings when walking in seedy areas.
MERCURY RETROGRADE IN VIRGO
Mercury, the planet of communication, has gone Retrograde in the mutable earth sign of Virgo.
On the New Moon, it was stationed, imprinting very strong Mercury Retrograde energies into the template for the next 28 days. Naturally, this will bring with it its fair share of technological and communication issues (especially the latter, since Mercury is at home in Virgo, the sign of communication).
However, it also give us a wonderful opportunity to re-visit and fix issues that are left over from the past (as well as to re-start projects that we had put on the back burner)–and it gives us a great opportunity to check in and catch up with people from our past, as well as to revisit and get reacquainted with activities and passions from our past.
Virgo rules over cleaning and organization—so August now is the best month of the year to clean out and re-organize what needs to be cleaned and organized (I sure have a lot!) Venus is now in Virgo, and the sun will be entering Virgo later this month—so August has a lot of Virgo energy!
While Mercury is Retrograde in Virgo, it will in particular cause issues with interpersonal communication, travel and electronics. On August 15, Mercury will re-enter Leo, moving the focus of the Mercury Retrograde to evolving our personalities, and re-addressing relationships with others.
By the way, if you were born under a Mercury Retrograde, it’s not going to affect you as strongly–and in fact you might even feel more ‘at home’ during this time.
Here is some general advice for navigating a Mercury Retrograde period:
- Make sure that all the ‘I’s are dotted’ and ‘all the T’s are crossed’ when signing any contracts. Consider Murphy’s Law during Mercury Retrograde: what can go wrong, will go wrong. Consider holding off on signing contracts, or holding any really important meetings, until September, if it’s something that isn’t time-sensitive.
- Be extra clear in your communication with others. Give others more leeway than usual. Inquire to clarify what someone means by something if you’re unsure, especially if it’s via text message or e-mail.
- Avoid purchasing big-ticket items (e.g. a new car) until September, if possible
- Back up all of your computer files and your smartphone!
- Triple-check travel plans and appointment times. Verify times with others.
- Release expectations of others, especially when it comes to people responding in a timely fashion. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Expectations of others may go unfulfilled.
- As always, use Mercury Retrograde as a time to refine your communication–rather than to be afraid of miscommunications, or electronics breaking down, or travel plans getting interrupted.
This Mercury Retrograde phase officially began on August 4 when Mercury stationed Retrograde. It officially concludes on August 27. The most potent effects are felt in the seven days before and after the Station Phases—so July 28-August 11, and then again from August 20-September 3.
BRINGING OUT YOUR HIGHEST PERSONALITY AND YOUR AUTHENTIC VOICE
Leo rules over the ego, so let’s discuss it!
The ego is not inherently bad. The ego is much more complex than that. The truth is, the ego (actually a better term for this is the ego-personality) is the vehicle that is necessary for the experience of being almost any type of physically incarnate being.
Your soul chooses a particular predetermined personality in each lifetime that will allow the soul to experience life from a particular individuated (unique) perspective. In total, you likely have hundreds (or thousands) of unique individuated perspectives that your soul experiences in human form on earth—in different timelines, time periods, and geographic locations; and in different types of bodies, with different ethnic backgrounds, families/upbringings, cultures, economic climates, and geographic climates, etc.–to form a complete ‘wheel of experience’ (to simplify, think of it as your soul experiencing the unique perspectives of all 12 signs of the Zodiac wheel, over and over again, so that it can experience the totality of the Zodiac wheel while here on Earth).
I believe that the day and time that you are born is predetermined by your soul, meaning that your astrology is also predetermined. Your natal chart pretty well determines your personality.
So your soul wants to experience life through your unique perspective. Your unique ego-personality is not a barrier to Ascension; rather, it is the vehicle through which you are meant to experience the Ascension.
This New Moon chart really exemplifies the importance of individuality due to Venus also being in Leo—and squaring freedom-seeking Uranus.
Changing up your look and wardrobe would be a really great way to align with the energies of this New Moon for the same reasons! With aesthetically-focused Venus in expressive Leo squaring expressive Uranus in vain Taurus on this New Moon, we are feeling a call to focus on our fashion, style and aesthetics. With Mercury Retrograde in Virgo, and Venus now in Virgo, it is a great time to clean out our possessions, too—so this is the best time of the year to re-do your look and your wardrobe!
As you go through your Ascension process, your personality will inevitably shift and evolve. Some of the Shadow aspects of your personality that show up in your birth chart—those negative, immature, and unhealthy tendencies and aspects of ego—will dissolve away and you will embody more and more of the most positive, healthy and Spiritually Mature aspects of your particular ego-personality.
In fact, as one Ascends, what is really happening is that the aspects of the personality that come directly from the soul are starting to shine through. Yes, it’s true–the soul has a unique personality too!
And it’s likely that if the soul has a personality, so does the oversoul and the monad. I believe it’s likely that all individuated aspects of the All-That-Is have a unique personality. Perhaps it’s a logical given, considering all individuated aspects of the All-That-Is have a unique perspective due to having a unique experience of existence.
So we shouldn’t be ashamed of our egos! We only should strive to transmute any of the negative, unhealthy, immature aspects of ego.
One of the best ways to bring out that Highest Personality is to purify. As empaths, we tend to sponge up ‘stuff’ from others, and if we don’t know how to set boundaries with others and shield or cleanse ourselves spiritually, we won’t be able to experience our Highest Personalities coming to life. You can’t be fully YOU if you’re expressing all sorts of ‘crap’ from others!
To experience more purity, it is important to spend occasional time in sacred solitude, and plenty of time in nature. Man is a social creature, yes, and that truth is illuminated during Leo season; however along the spiritual journey the importance of alone time cannot be understated.
It is also crucial to practice spiritual hygiene: take cleansing baths, use palo santo or sage, and use visualization and sound frequencies to keep yourself clear. Remove negative cords with people in your life. Also, exercise daily–it moves stuck energy out of your energy field.
Around this New Moon and over the course of the next 28 days is the time to highlight the most positive and charismatic aspects of your ego-personality. I feel like as a Leo Rising I need to be an ambassador for this point. Don’t be afraid to let yourself loose, to let yourself shine! You deserve it!
I feel I have a pretty good sense of humor. Without my sense of humor, I think my life would be pretty boring and depressing, and I wouldn’t be able to meet so many cool people. So I consider my sense of humor one of those ‘soul’ aspects of my personality.
Here are some questions of self-inquiry (and to journal on, if you’d like) to help you figure out which aspects of the ego-personality might be from the soul-self and which aspects you still might need to transmute:
- Which aspects of my personality am I most proud of?
- Which aspects of my personality serve others best?
- Which aspects of my personality feel most associated with Love?
- Which aspects of my personality do I feel come from my soul?
- Do I have a tendency to hide these most positive aspects of my personality?
- Am I afraid to be seen? Why might I have this fear? Could it come from childhood? Teenage years? Past lives?
- Could I allow myself to shine more?
- Which aspects of my personality are toxic, manipulative, codependent, or martyrish?
- What do I know deep down that I need to do better in order to transmute these negative patterns into healthier ones?
- How would my soul act in this body of mine? How would my soul speak?
Leo is also associated with the Inner Child. Let’s discuss.
Leo is the most childlike sign of the Zodiac, bringing with it an air of freedom, play and unabashedness. As the ruler of the 5th House, it rules over children. The Inner Child is an aspect that we all carry within, though unfortunately most of us forget it is there as we journey from childhood, to our teen years, and into various stages of adulthood.
As adults, we can become so disconnected with how it feels to be a child. Sometimes I get nostalgic recalling how amazing and adventurous everything was when I was a kid. How my friends and I would spend from after school until sundown playing sports and games in my backyard, taking breaks to drink my mother’s delicious fruit punch. My yard was the biggest in the neighborhood, so all the kids would congregate there. In the wintertime we would build elaborate snow forts and go sledding often, taking full advantage of the overabundance of snow in Western New York.
Most adults in today’s Western world have become disconnected from their Inner Children. Society is structured in a way that most people don’t have time to connect with their Inner Child, as they are too busy just trying to earn enough money to survive. And many of those who do make more than enough to survive end up finding themselves lost in illusions/addictions like gambling, alcohol, drugs, pornography, or sexual obsession.
In fact, one of the reasons that so many teens and adults find themselves so enamored with those things is that it gives them an outlet to play. (Note: I’m not saying there’s anything inherently wrong with gambling; alcohol; substances that are classified as drugs; pornography; or sex; it’s all about how they are used—is it a healthy experience of play/pleasure or is it addiction/obsession/escapism?)
But we can find ways to play in more innocent ways. We can dance. We can sing. We can make silly faces. We can make jokes. We can build sand castles in the summer and throw snowballs at one another in the winter.
Doing an Inner Child meditation would be a great idea around this New Moon. I like to take myself in my mind to a beautiful forest scene and really sink into this setting. I then imagine my Inner Child approaching from a distance, and I ask him what is it he needs from me that I haven’t been giving him?
I embrace him, I hug him, and I make sure he feels like I am there for him and I am listening to him.
If you’ve never done an Inner Child meditation before, you may find that your Inner Child shows up at the age that you feel like you experienced the most trauma and abuse. This is because whatever basic physical or emotional needs that weren’t met by your caretakers at that age are what you then spend the rest of your lifetime healing.
The things that people say or do that trigger you most directly relate to those unmet needs of your Inner Child. As an awakening being, you now have the opportunity to heal your Inner Child and experience the liberation of being a fully integrated sovereign adult consciousness. To do this, we first must get to know the voice of the Inner Child and identify what needs he or she has.
When the Inner Child’s needs haven’t been met and then are continuously ignored during adulthood, the Inner Child must find a way to get your conscious attention.
So, the Inner Child will put on a scary mask, so to speak, and become the Shadow. The Shadow Self can trigger you to act out in the darkest of ways, or even to attract people to treat you in nasty ways. The Shadow Self may sabotage your dreams and make it difficult for you to move forward.
The good news is that by listening to the voice of the Inner Child, the Inner Child feels seen, heard, and acknowledged–and thus doesn’t need to morph into the Shadow to get your attention. When we consciously make the choice to honor those needs that the Inner Child has let us know he or she has, we can make rapid leaps forward in our spiritual development.
Here are some questions to ask yourself (and ideally journal on) to help you get into deeper communion with your Inner Child:
– If I had to guess, what would my Inner Child say about my life as it is now? Would (s)he be happy about it?
– If I had to guess, what would my Inner Child say about my current living environment? Would (s)he be happy about it?
– If I had to guess, what would my Inner Child say about my current job/career? Would (s)he be happy about it?
– If I had to guess, what kind of things have I been neglecting to give my Inner Child that (s)he needs?
– Which activities or creative endeavors from my childhood have I neglected lately?
– Have I been taking life too seriously?
– Do I let myself fall into the trap of the seriousness of those around me?
– In what ways am I still mean or nasty to myself? How can I stop being mean or nasty to myself?
– Am I OK with failing? How could I learn to be OK and forgive myself when I fail or mess up?
– Do I forgive myself instantly, or do I tend to hold things against myself?
– How could I practice instant self-forgiveness?
– Do I tend to let others’ negative emotions take me over? How could I avoid this pitfall?
– Am I OK looking silly or stupid to others? Does what others think of me actually really matter?
– Am I truly honoring my deepest desires?
SPENDING EXTRAVAGANTLY & GREED
With Venus in Leo squaring Uranus in Taurus on this New Moon, we are going to want to spend money liberally. If you can afford it, buy whatever is in your heart’s desire! But if you are on a budget, be mindful of that budget, as the tendency now will be to overspend (and possibly set yourself up for financial trouble later).
Also, many unscrupulous characters will be acting out of greed during this time, as this is also a greedy energy. Be discerning and avoid getting scammed.
Wishing you a fun, enjoyable and auspicious New Moon in Leo!
With Love,
Matthew John
About The Author
Matthew John is an internationally-recognized Spiritual Teacher, Intuitive, Psychic, Medium, Trance Channeler, Intuitive Astrologer, Starseed Guide, Energy Healer, Medical Intuitive, Speaker & Spiritual Life Coach/Mentor working with angels, Archangels, Ascended Masters, and Galactics.
He is a gifted intuitive, wisdom channeler, trance channel, and a transmitter of healing frequencies.
Matthew has been on a 14-year+ Awakening journey. His powerful and effective teachings and healings are a product of many intense Awakening experiences, deeply human ordeals and tens of thousands of hours of study. He receives clear guidance from his Guides which he shares with his followers and clients from around the world. He specializes in helping others to heal their childhood and past-life traumas, reading people’s life plans from a Soul perspective, as well as serving as an activator and a mentor for Starseeds and those who are looking to accelerate their spiritual development.
As a Sirian, Blue Avian, Orion, and Andromedan Starseed, Matthew is intimately familiar with the mission of Starseeds on Earth. He guides clients and followers to connect with their Starseeded essence and to align with their specific Divine Service Work on Earth.
Matthew is a spiritual leader for the Golden Age. He has an innate ability to see the ‘big picture’, and this is why he is so effective in assisting his clients and followers to heal, transform, and accelerate their Awakening.
Matthew resides in Western New York, U.S.A. with his Ascension dog Sebastian.
Visit Matthew’s website: https://www.youareadivinehuman.org/
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