Wendy Cicchetti (wendy@twixtearthandsky.com)

Leo is the natural performer of the zodiac — the actor, the drama queen, and the charismatic leader — comfortable at center stage when any desired applause arrives and confidence is high with recognition of a job well done. The regal lion rules the jungle. We can hardly fail to notice that unmistakable roar or the halo of golden hair around the wild cat’s face. Through Leo’s lens, we need a focal point and anchor. We are drawn to leaders, whether we fear or admire them; we look to those who have the resilience to stand on the world stage to be observed and judged. We equally need to know whom we can trust and believe in, while recognizing who represents danger as we decide our own direction. Leo is the fire sign ruled by the Sun and intrinsically linked with light and warmth. Leo can carry a light ahead of us, illuminating inner wisdom — or it can singe us if we step on its proud paws!

With the Sun’s light eclipsed by the Moon, there may also be a difference in the quality or transmission of the Leo light. For ancient peoples, an eclipse, often viewed as a precursor of ruined crops, would have been greeted with panic. In modern times, we may appreciate its symbolic power as more like a power outage. Perhaps we do panic, at first, if electricity stops flowing! Many of us have come to rely on electronic devices and appliances to the extent that our livelihoods and lifestyles depend on them. A power outage will almost certainly force us out of our routine, prompting us to become more innovative or to delve into a memory of past ways and knowledge, to cope with our sudden “powerlessness.” Such moments can help to remind us that we are humans, not machines. As much as we may attempt to regularize and systematize our lives by giving them our own timetables, the truth is that we are not robots running on computer programs — and may not thrive if we try to mirror them.

We have all had “programming,” of course, from family life, school, and other sources of formative experience. Leo, as natural ruler of the 5th house, reminds us of the inner child within the psyche, whose messages were shaped early and who may yet need communication with the adult “self” today. The child within may need to be consulted about feelings, ideas, and desires. Maybe our child-self was never allowed an opinion, which could suddenly want to be voiced during this eclipse. Perhaps our child-self wanted to participate in certain ways, or felt that it gave more than was ever acknowledged; these facts and the emotional energies linked to them may need space to be honored and expressed.

A solar eclipse is like blinking and finding that you have woken up somewhere new — such as traveling and momentarily forgetting that you are not at home. Yet you are not stranded, since the Leo focus connects firmly with the heart: the true home within each of us. This last eclipse of the year beckons us to tune into the diagnostics of the heart and notice what is going on there. Do we hurt? Are we lonely? What does the heart really want for us? Can it take the risk to open up once more and let life in more fully? Even if our desires sometimes bring pain along the way, the pleasure and satisfaction of fulfilling them may be worth the price of any temporary discomforts.

This article is from the Mountain Astrologer, written by Emily Trinkaus

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, “We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. ” If we want to be different then we must change our thoughts. “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.