Leo New Moon

The Leo New Moon brings an injection of fresh energy into our lives, which could be accompanied by a large helping of drama, too. As far as the Greeks — who invented the enactment of drama on the public stage — were concerned, there wasn’t really any story without some element of antagonism. So, if life is throwing us extra challenges, rather than becoming swamped by our feelings or worrying how we’ll manage, we might step back, become philosophical, and appreciate that at least these developments are keeping things interesting and vital!

This might seem harder if the challenges we face threaten our security in some way, such as the solidity of our relationships or our reputation in a community or professional setting; or perhaps they even relate to the health and wellbeing of ourselves or those close to us. Any development could activate our automatic fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response, generating anger, the urge to run away or stop still in our tracks, or the reflex to appease out of self-protection. None of these responses may be essentially “right” or “wrong,” but under a Leo New Moon, we probably can trust that they’ll mostly be helpful and that our intuition will assist us to respond appropriately in the moment.

Even so, the activation of this part of the limbic system can use up our resources like nothing else! The end result may be an impact on the digestive system, emphasized by the New Moon’s proximity to Ceres. This dwarf planet has associations with nurturing, particularly with nutrition — one of the body’s main keys to sustaining health. If we’re stuck in the trauma responses of the autonomic nervous system, then the gut is often affected; we may end up with a temporary lack of nutrients, or lack of desire to nourish ourselves altogether. Or, we may eat more because we feel depleted after a highly anxious moment or a difficult event. If we can remain aware of this, all well and good — we can seek out the support we need to find our equilibrium and keep our system on track.

Sometimes the planets and stars reflect situations that are deeply literal. We might just be suddenly responsible for someone else’s wellbeing — maybe even needing to supply their dietary needs. Either through this — perhaps witnessing someone eating different foods to those we’d normally take in, or because we’re reaching for different items ourselves — we could develop an addiction around this time, or at least a craving for something that seems less ordinary and maybe even a little risky in some way.

This is according to the Sun and Moon being conjunct fixed star Praesaepe, at least, which indicates a susceptibility to addiction, as well as to infectious diseases. However, it is quite possible that a component of a food we suddenly crave has a protective role to play in ensuring our immunity is supported, so maybe we shouldn’t worry too much if we seem to be going for foods that would normally set off alarm bells for us! An example might be spicy food: maybe typically, you don’t tolerate it well, but the spice could help your system by raising your body temperature to battle off a germ. The Moon being so often the marker of instincts, perhaps we can trust our impulses after all.

The Moon applies to a trine to Jupiter, which is conjunct fixed star Algenib, in the wing of Pegasus. This adds a sense of fighting spirit and strong will, together with an incisive mind and a gift for oratory. It seems that we can have faith in our judgment, persuade others, and draw on enough inner strength

This article is from the Mountain Astrologer written by Diana McMahon Collis