Hello again and welcome to my musings about this extraordinary year – from the viewpoint of the planetary cycles.

Occasionally I like starting a blog shortly after the new moon has arrived in the month and its crescent phase begins.

The word Moon links with mother, matter and month, and, if we think about those connections, we can feel the sense of belonging and interconnectedness that intertwines us with phases of our life. Just as we emerge from the womb, and bond with family, the earth (matter) and time, so also at each new moon time we can renew, begin again and seed the future.

With crisis and loss, no more so than now with this unprecedented pandemic, we can feel rather lost and overwhelmed. Therefore it is important we feel the cycles at work and their connection with our body, nature and with one another.  We are beings of cycles whilst in bodies and are part of nature’s rhythms.  This simple truth is powerful and so easily overlooked.

NEW MOON IN LEO

Once a year the playing child within us is being mirrored by the two eyes of heaven – the sun and moon – above us. Have we forgotten how to play and ignite the spark of passion for life? August is indeed the month for contacting our lionheart and having the courage and passion to engage more with the pulse of life. It is five months since the world at large ‘locked down’.  Here in the UK, it will be exactly five months on 23 August.  Traditionally the number five is the number of change and creativity.

We see crisis points and healing and freedom from old ways generated at junctions of five, whether they be hours, days, weeks, months or years. Look to your own life for turning points with that number.  What can you free yourself from and turn the tide with now?

This new moon in Leo on 18 August set a trend until the next new moon on 17 September.  Its message? Being very present in our activities and attitude. Seeing the light and joy in small and big things and being a creator with our problems empowers our landscape, inwardly and outwardly.

THE BIG COUNTRY OF THE HEART

Those sovereign in government and in the public arena undergo some change, whether of heart or in decision making. It takes courage to admit mistakes and that we are human. The shadow side of Leo is that of pride and of ego demands. Can we choose to come down off our pedestal and be more authentic and humble, whilst maintaining our dignity and humour? We perhaps all need to understand gentleness, acceptance and self-love better. The heart, which Leo rules, is a big country.  Shall we explore it? Less physical travel and networking in person, has made way for a different kind of connection and expansion.

Warmth is generated when we choose love, not fear. People who are most afraid of living fully and being open to love and curiosity, are often most afraid of dying or have a preoccupation with illness. Those who take some chances with life and are open with gratitude at the heart level often fear death less.  Life wants to live through us and we choose how we filter it.

Which are the areas where we need to step up our game and acknowledge our inner queen and king and not hide our light? It doesn’t serve others by playing small. We can empower others and still have our own power. When we smile from the heart, we light up other people’s hearts. That energy is tangible!

PLAYING WITH FIRE

As children, we often enjoyed playing with fires and were fascinated by them. The psychologist Carl Jung described the element of fire as akin to intuition. Seers would look in fires for omens and signs of the future. In the Greek myth, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to humans, freeing them from dependency on their ’gods and masters’ and providing them with ways to forge tools and to protect themselves from wild animals. (The original campfire!)

Spontaneity is also akin to fire and we can look at our own birth charts and see the balance of the fire signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, in our makeup.

Stoking our fire and directing it wisely is part of the planetary picture at present. We have the Sun and Mercury in Leo and Mars in Aries. At the angle of tension – 90 degrees – we have Mars in the eastern skies late in the evening, challenging the teacher planets Jupiter and Saturn in the south.

MARS -THE SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

In his own sign, from late June until January 2021, Mars is showing up big time as flare-ups of anger against society’s structures and traditions. In our personal lives are you feeling more irritated, restless and confrontational?  What injustices affect you – personal or group-wise? What is being brought to the table to address, and, if the heart is the ultimate peace table, which of our inner wars, fears and self-imposed restrictions can we bring to it to heal? What can we surrender? With surrender to the past and its conflicts, we find freedom, not weakness.

By example, we subtly change others. The authentic heart connects us to others and connecting is a large part of the human condition. It is fear that separates and constricts our body and health.

This new moon on 18 August formed a lovely angle of ease to Mars and now can be the time to usher in new ways of assertion, creative dialogue and less toxic reactions.

Mars goes retrograde on 13 September until 14 November, and this can be timely for strategy and a healthier martial arts approach to conflict.

We project much of our shadow self in an argument, and people who are irritating can actually be our teachers. Even bullies can be our teachers until we learn to claim our power and not resist or hand over our power to them. Again, the martial arts techniques in Tai Chi and Aikido and the like, can show us how to react around conflict. Reading books on that subject is of help at this time.

Putting our passion into doing (action) what we truly enjoy is a cleansing and healing way of contacting the inner playing child and thus being authentic. Mars is all about action!  Overthinking things, allowing things to fester and being passive-aggressive are the opposite of this.

So, as we move into the autumn, being mindful of choices in the way we react will be top of the agenda.  Spontaneity is different to impulsiveness! The former comes from an inner knowing and has presence; the latter can be off-kilter with timing and can be reactionary.

URANUS –  OVERDUE BREAKTHROUGHS

What is your unique style now? How can you be spontaneous with day to day life, coming more from the heart and not the reason?  This maverick planet turned retrograde on 16.  Retrogrades involve reflection – indeed the prefix Re applies in many areas of life. Our inner sanctum of change and inventiveness is stimulating the growth of new ideas and patterns of behaviours.

If we want change on the outside, we need to become that change and align authentically and responsibly with the inner reformer and bringer of fresh air! This is the message of this unpredictable but breakthrough planet.

HARVEST

On 22 August we enter the earthy sign of Virgo, the third and last zodiac sign of the summer season.  It rules for a month and encourages the harvesting and sifting of wheat from chaff, and the essential from the non-essential. The full moon in Pisces on the 2 September, highlights the importance of both compassion and discernment.

We have come a long way this year, haven’t we? The unknown opens us up to vulnerability but also to new pathways.  Humankind is endlessly adaptable – we have proven that recently.  As we re-shape our personal and collective identities in this latter part of 2020, let us be kind to ourselves and others, recognising the inherent potential in adaptation.  With more time to reflect, we are aware of what and whom our energies are drawn to.

TIMELY MEETINGS AND PARTINGS

Synchronistic and powerful connections are forged as we find new healthy companionship and new talents. We have never before been so close and yet so far apart in society.  Coming home to oneself and opening up to a heart connection quietly and meaningfully with those we encounter is something of wonder. With those, we are not in alignment with so much anymore, and there is a parting of some ways, we can still respect their difference and be kind.

We are much more than we think we are. Major crisis has no point unless there is a wakeup call. Blaming others, without taking action for change oneself, is debilitating both for oneself and for the recipient of the moaning.

The planetary cycles are strong messages now. The reset button and a restructuring of our values and how we live can facilitate an ultimately positive future. What is essentially important in our lives has become clearer. We see that in how we value others and are present for them.  We see that the power of love and choosing to adapt to change are powerful vehicles for growth of the spirit, as well as being open to latent talents and strengths we didn’t know we had.

We have rarely been so graced with the gifts of creativity and inventiveness. With uncertainty abounding still, those tools and talents provide openings for magical expression.

Have gentle days!

Ysanne