the new moon at 8’37 leo is exact on wednesday july 31st at 8:12pm PDT, commencing a lunar cycle that focuses on passion, romance, creativity, children, confidence, self expression and shining! this is a LOVELY new moon that is also conjunct venus the Goddess of Love and Beauty activating themes around love, relationships, abundance, romance, self worth and self Love. what is interesting to note is that the next several lunar cycles we have venus and mars conjunct, in the same sign as and/or very close to the new moon degrees. so from now until the october new moon (10/26) we have powerful energy contributing to new beginnings in inner and outer Unions (the Inner Marriage of masculine and feminine as well as outer relationships in our lives). this is not just a focus of this new moon but of the next 1/3 of the year ;)
this new moon is not only conjunct venus but it is also widely conjunct mars and juno. venus and mars are the Divine Lovers and juno is the asteroid Goddess of partnership and marriage. we are all being asked to open our hearts, shine from our core, follow our highest passions and desires and come into deeper self confidence and self esteem! what is interesting is all the leo planets make positives aspects to chiron, jupiter and eris as they transit the sign of leo but at the same time they make tense aspects to saturn, neptune and pluto. there is healing and opportunity for growth and expansion present! but it comes by way of facing the shadow, seeing what has blocked love, self-love and self-worth and doing the deep work of excavation around the karmic past.
this new moon conjunct venus is trine chiron and square uranus. chiron is in aries, the sign of mars and the masculine yang principle. the Wounded Healer is shining a Light on the wounds and pain of the Divine Masculine (the essence not only the gender). are we angry, aggressive, selfish and pursuing our desires without thinking of others or the consequences? or are we cut off from our anger, rage, healthy self focus, independence and agency? wherever we have too much or too little mars/aries energy can be brought into focus right now.
uranus is in taurus, the sign of venus and the feminine yin principle. the Great Awakener is waking up the Divine Feminine supporting her revolution of embodiment (if you did not see my blog about uranus in taurus and the embodiment revolution you can find that here- https://divineharmony.com/astrology-blog/uranus-in-taurus-the-embodiment-revolution/). this can bring sudden and unexpected changes in our value systems, our self worth and self love and even our relationships. yet the focus is on evolution and change- so whatever arises it is for the good! it’s interesting to see this healing of the wounded masculine and awakening of the embodied feminine show up in these slow moving planets- but also in light of the fact that the next several lunar cycles have venus and mars dancing with the new moon in powerful ways!
Sacred Union and Hierosgamos is at first a journey of inner Union. our inner masculine protects us, sets and keeps our boundaries, provides safety and security, and a solid foundation. our inner feminine nurtures and nourishes us, helps us stay soft and keep our hearts open, and provides the fluidity and movement that is needed to move with change in the world. when the masculine and feminine are in Union within we can live with a fully open heart with healthy boundaries.
the state of our inner experience gets mirrored without. what we have not owned or made conscious gets projected out onto others in both positive and negative ways. positively this is what falling in love is all about- we project our inner Beloved out onto another. negatively this is get projected onto those we hate- be it a person, a culture, a religion, a skin color, a sex, etc… yes people can be the perfect projection screens (i.e. they fit what we are looking for/what we cannot stand based on the template within) but until we do the deep inner work around our inner masculine and feminine we will tend to attract mirror reflections from without in deeply karmic ways. the coming months are an EXCELLENT time to repattern our relationship tendencies, end old paradigms of relating, take back projections and own our Inner Other. from this space we don’t stop being attracted to people- but we stop being attracted to what is a reflection of our lack of self-worth, self-love and wholeness. the relationship game changes!
this new moon trine chiron is excellent for healing and bringing awareness to the wounds and pain that block us- particularly in regards to our relationship to the masculine within and without. the new moon is in the sign of the sun and chiron is in the sign of mars- the first two yang, masculine planets you look at in the chart to understand someone’s inner masculine and in a woman’s chart what she would be attracted to if she was interested in men (or masculine-essenced people). the new moon square uranus is excellent for change, letting go of the past, embracing the new and allowing endings to give way to new beginnings. with the new moon in the sign of the sun and uranus in the sign of venus- two of the three great lights in the chart (the other is jupiter)- we have amazing opportunities to embody more light, open our hearts more and align more with our Higher Self. the new moon aspects both chiron and uranus but venus does so even more tightly- bringing both healing, awakening and change into our experience of relationship, partnership, and our expression of our needs and desires.
with mars conjunct juno in the new moon chart (the exact conjunction is friday august 2nd) and both heading to quincunx pluto (exact on sunday august 4th) there are BIG CHANGES afoot in both relationships and relationship paradigms in our lives. death to the old creates space for the new. where do you block yourself from shining more, loving more and living from the Truth of your heart? where do you default to dogma, rigidity, rules and tradition at the expense of your heart and your Soul? passions can be high this week and in the coming month- and we want to use them wisely. allow the power and fire of the lower chakras to rise up and fuel the heart ablaze. when we bring our sexual energy up into our hearts we can use the energy for profound spiritual awakening and healing. wield these powers wisely!
mercury stations direct 46 minutes after the new moon! all week long a stationary mercury at 24 cancer is in double square aspect to eris- the Goddess of Discord and Chaos. eris gets a bad rap- she is not all bad. she used to be an incredibly powerful goddess who had her story change over time as patriarchal ideas began to dominate. a fierce and powerful female warrior Goddess was to be feared so she became evil and negative- but she did not start out that way. in her Highest manifestation eris reveals the shadow and the shit no one wants to see, look at or own. mercury stationing in double square aspect to eris can bring some HUGE revelations in communication, thinking and perceiving. mercury is in deeply emotional and intuitive cancer- trust your feelings and your intuition! but also do the work to discern fear or fantasy from intuition (this takes mastery). being willing to see the shadow- within and without- and then work with it (if its an inner process) or speak up/set boundaries/say no (if it’s a situational/relational process) is key.
this is a powerful new moon cycle- right on the heels of the eclipse portal and taking us into the coming 4 months of venus/mars lunations. tracking where the coming new moons will transit through your natal chart can be insightful- as this will tell you where to put your focus (this will be spoken to in the lunar horoscopes and weekly horoscopes to come).
i leave you with ellias lonsdale’s star sparks meditation for 9 leo (we always round up to the nearest whole number when looking at meditations on the degrees of the zodiac). he speaks to the journey of shadow and Light. rumi says that ‘both Light and shadow are the dance of Love’ and this meditation reminds us of that. ellias also reminds us that ‘the crises, downfalls and ordeals (in our lives) are the greatest blessings of all”. we cannot have enlightenment without embodiment. we cannot have ascension without descension. this human experience is about “learning how to be truly fully right here”. this Union of heaven and earth, celestial and terrestrial, sacred and profane starts AND ends within. and this new moon and the coming lunar cycles will help us get further on this path.
blessed be!
~divine harmony
p.s. i would like to credit john wineland for the term ‘living from the Truth of your heart’. i have had a vision of living with a fully open heart with healthy boundaries as one of my highest aspirations for many years (work in progress)- and when i heard this phrase it really spoke to me!
p.s.s. the Lunar Gate Call for this new moon will be posted by monday july 29th. the Lunar Horoscopes for the signs will be posted the day of the new moon wednesday july 31st. this is members-only content. if you would like to sign up to access horoscopes and gate calls click here- https://divineharmony.com/become-a-member/
STAR SPARKS
by ellias lonsdale
Leo 9 A solid gold egg
Designing the self to be optimal. Creating one’s own nature, path, and style. Putting into it the ideal, the essence, the soul spark of all that’s intended. Being focused, concentrated upon making sure that this design is carried out and embodied faithfully.
Identifying strongly with the destiny design at it’s best. Identifying not at all with anything less than this. Enforcing the code of being the best possible version of oneself one can ever be. And just about being able to express it this way, be this way, with no flaws, nothing to complicate the picture.
However, there is a shadow here. If there is any faltering at all, a deluge of cumulative unacknowledged doubts, fears, negations, apprehensions, and judgments comes roaring through, threatening to submerge the self altogether in it’s wake. How could something which one moment seemed to be magnificently made according to plan unravel and crack and spill out everywhere?
The key to the destiny lies in where we go with the confrontations with shadow. Do we turn against ourselves, as we are so tempted to do? Or can we recognize that what is most fallible and susceptible in us leaves us the most open to grace and ensures that we will not ride too high and forget our common basic roots in ordinary soil.
It will turn out that the crises, the downfalls, the ordeals are the greatest blessings of all. Along this pathway, everything is created to be as it needs to be. Generous allowance is made for falling flat on one’s face. Picking the self up again and being both compassionate and fierce about the whole thing offers a fresh cycle and another chance. This is about the path of creative individuality, learning how to be truly fully right here.