Join me for Getting to the Heart of the Matter: A Guide to the New Moon in Leo and the Astrology of the Lunar Cycle from August 14th-September 12th. We’ll explore how each sign can best use the energy of this new moon, we’ll do an in-depth summary of the auspicious days in this cycle as well as those that could be potentially problematic, and we’ll do a new moon in leo ritual that aligns with the significations and energies of this new moon. For those of you who have purchased the Venus Retrograde Summer Guide (tickets still available), while there is a little overlap between that guide and this new moon call, there will also be different information focused specifically on the astrology of this next lunar cycle.
The problem with having a heart is that at some point it will most likely be ripped from our chest, stomped on, disregarded, ridiculed, refused, laughed at, misjudged, misunderstood and left.
The problem with being human is that at some point we will most likely be the one to do such damage to another. There is no winning this war. We love, we hurt, we cause hurt, we put ourselves back together and we love again.
Hearts remember hurt, though. They twinge at facsimiles of the original perpetrator. They recoil from situations that smack of past pains. Heartbreak can leave us no choice but to shut down, defending ourselves against the elements of this sometimes cruel existence. Past traumas, when left unchecked can impede our ability to find love in the present moment. And yet revisiting the scene of the crime, revisiting the damaged, fractured areas of our soul and psyche can be exactly what we need in order to learn from, gain insight into and experience some healing of these wounds.
Tending to and learning from our heartbreak can be the gateway that leads to wisdom, but only if we are willing to engage in healing practices with a serious and sustained effort. And yet, there is no right way to mend a fractured heart. There is no proper timeline to stick to. There are no deadlines. There are no endings to the ways in which healing can occur and does. There is no guidebook, for each heart is wired in a specific way. Each heart is connected to its own source of wisdom. Each heart has its own rhythm. Each heart has its own cycles of growth.
You cannot get healing wrong. You cannot get loving wrong. You can only muster up the courage to do your best and then do it again a little better.
Leo rules the heart and the roar that escapes from it when we are in touched with its power and when we suffer its pain. On Friday, August 14th at 7:53 AM PDT the moon will renew itself in the demonstrative, self-expressive, dramatic, flamboyant, heart-centered fire sign of Leo.
This new moon is squared by Saturn, which creates situations that have a hefty consequence, a serious tine, a choice or a decision. Saturn reminds us that we don’t have all day, tomorrow is not promised and nothing lasts forever. Including our life. Given that fact, how do we want to show up for life in this moment?
Uranus is in a trine aspect to the new moon, which is a kinder, more supportive situation. Uranus helps us to break with traditions, especially ones that do not support our growth. Uranus encourages us to be inventive, creative and open to innovative ideas. There may be a risk you need to take that has a hefty consequence if you do it but also if you don’t.
The other very important component to this new moon is that Venus (who is currently retrograde in Leo) is conjunct or sitting very close to it. On August 15th at 12:22 PM PDT, Venus will make her inferior conjunction with the sun. The inferior conjunction marks the mid point of the Venus retrograde cycle but also marks the moment when Venus is physically closest to the earth.
Intimacy issues are intensified. Heartbreak is here for the examining. Discord is a given. Relationship situations might be mighty. Perspective might turn subjective as temperatures rise but this is the point at which we get to the heart of the matter.
Venus is traveling so close to the sun right now that she is invisible to the naked eye. Many astrologers relate this part of her journey to the myth of Inanna’s descent into the underworld where the Queen of Heaven pays a visit to her less than kind sister, Ereshkigal. On her way down into the underworld, Inanna must pass through seven gates, removing an article of her clothing or jewelry along the way. Stripped bare, revealed, vulnerable and exposed, she meets her sister who hangs her up on meat hooks and leaves her for dead. Inanna has come to the deepest part of her journey, naked, without protection and at the whim of her sister’s cruelty. Eventually Inanna is rescued and revived, returning to the upper worlds but not without great cost and consequence. She has seen her other half, her hidden half, her underworld “sister” and her life is forever altered.
We cannot live an honest life without reflecting on our own internal underworld monsters (the symbol for Venus is a mirror). This part of the Venus retrograde cycle, this new moon, may ask us: in the face of what tortures us most, what causes us pain, what refuses to treat us with dignity and respect can we refuse to become it? Can we diligently work towards not inflicting the same pain onto another? Can we protect our lives as we need to without getting caught up in hatred and bitterness?
The ancient armor we may usually wear around our hearts has perhaps been slowly removed over the process of the first part of Venus’s retrograde. Now we get to see what is there, what is the nature of our suffering, what is the nature of the strife in our relationships, what is the nature of the story we tell ourselves about being lovable, about being enough and about being innocent of our own missteps in love and relating.
Hours after the new moon occurs, at 11:25 AM on August 14th, the moon conjuncts Venus, as if to give her a little encouragement on her descent down. This might be an interesting time to do a little emotional clearing in terms of whatever Venus issue you are working on.
Venus’s inferior conjunction to the sun also marks the beginning of a new Venus cycle. This is akin to a second new moon, or the new moon phase of the Venus cycle. This means that all matters of love, relating, connecting, disconnecting and healing the heart that you are working with at the moment set a tone for the next Venus cycle, which lasts approximately 8 years.
Venus retrograde has a talent for bringing us back to the Wound Original that our heart has never forgotten, that our heart has grown around, the wound that is responsible for having the shape of heart we have. Like a tree growing around a boulder, the heart finds a way to continue becoming itself, even along a path it never would have considered had it a clear patch of land.
It is our job to learn about the shape our mighty muscle has taken. It is our job to understand the strange ways blood pumps through our veins when we encounter the ones who make it go pitter-patter. There are caverns of the heart that may take a lifetime to reveal themselves to us. A lifetime to understand. But it is our life, and what better way to spend it than understanding the mysteries of our heart?
New moon blessings,
Chani