New Moon in Leo and What in the Heavens is Happening?!

New Moon in Leo 13th August 2007, 00.02
The New Moon this month brings with it an ultra-leonine flavour. Not only are the Sun and the Moon conjoined in the sign of the lion, they’re also accompanied by Mercury, Saturn and Venus. Leo is a fire sign, so like the other fire signs, Aries and Sagittarius, it symbolises dynamism and energy, but Leo also brings with it creative expression, leadership, and has the regal connotations you might expect of the “king of the beasts”. The sign’s association with children also brings in qualities of innocence, openness and sheer playful joy at the possibilities life presents. Taken together, these elements make it the perfect time to indulge yourself in projects which encourage individual creative expression, or involve children, or encourage adopting a more playful attitude to life. Saturn and Venus in the same sign add grounded creativity to the mix, as well as urging us to take pride in our values and to deal with others honestly and openly. Underlining the Saturn theme of the need for realism, the opposition to the New Moon from Neptune warns against letting fantasy take over completely, although indulging in just a little romance never hurt anyone! The key is knowing when to draw the line and maintain personal integrity in our dealings and activities, and not allowing our ego or our pride to overtake our better judgement. Leo is one of the fixed signs, so a healthy dose of Neptune perhaps makes otherwise rigid attitudes a little more flexible, which is all to the good. Use the energy this lunar month to tap into your natural sense of joy and happiness, ask yourself what can you create that will make you proud, and take any opportunity you can to infuse others with delight in the simple pleasures of life.

Astro-News – what in the heavens is happening?!

Venus Retrograde July 27th
Quite a lot is happening in the sky around about now, actually! Firstly, Venus turned about face and started moving backwards on July 27th, and will backtrack in the sky until September 8th. This about turn in direction is known in astrology as a planet going retrograde, and of course Venus isn’t literally changing direction: she only looks as though she is from earth’s perspective, which is the perspective astrology takes as its symbolic reference point. Venus is retrograde for approximately 6 weeks out of every 19-20 months. In the business world the planet Venus symbolises assets and credit, purchasing, alliances, contract negotiations and approval or acceptance of goods and services by customers. Introducing new products during Venus retrogrades is not good: financing to support the product or service may not be available and assets will be valued downwards. This is however a good time to re-evaluate partnerships and supplier relationships. Do not sign legal or purchasing contracts at this time. You should also avoid buying new companies or businesses, divisions, or the rights to a product as these may well turn out to be overpriced, though this may not come to light until much later. On a more personal note, Venus represents relationships, values, and finances. This is an ideal time to review how these areas of your life are performing. What have you held onto for the sake of it and what needs revising? Are your financial obligations being fulfilled, are your records up to date and are you making the most of your money and investments? Revise your stock options, investment portfolios and balance your bank account, or even change it if you’re not getting value for money. On the relationship front, are you getting to take as much as you give? It has to be a two way street, and although it’s often the easy option to drift along much as you always have, it’s important to confirm your sense of self worth by associating with others who give you as much as you give them. Venus is also about values, so it’s a good time to examine what you feel is important to you, where your principles will allow you to go and whether the people you’re associating with support or detract from those values and principles. Get your relationship and financial house in order and by the time Venus goes direct in September you’ll have strengthened these areas of your life and will get much more positive reward from them.

Jupiter Direct August 7th
When a planet turns around after being retrograde, it’s said to be going Direct. Jupiter is the great benefic, the planet of luck, optimism and growth, so the journey starts here, people! How do you want to expand and grow from now until May 2008 when Jupiter turns around to go retrograde again? It’s up to you, take positive action and trust in the Universe!

Mars into Gemini August 7th
Mars is the planet which symbolises drive, motivation and the urge to take action. It can also be anger and the way it is expressed, and in a woman’s chart can describe the type of man she’s attracted to or the way in which she interacts with men in relationships. Gemini is an air sign, and fire (which is Mars’s natural element) and air generally get along well, so this should be a good period for getting motivated. As Gemini deals with information gathering, encountering new ideas and new people, it’s a great time to take advantage of the warmer weather and get out there to socialise! Gemini is open-minded and curious, so don’t be afraid to ask questions and to take the initiative if you bump into someone fascinating: pump for information as you never know what they’ll inspire you to do next! It also means this is a good time to take a more open minded and flexible view on life, especially for Scorpios and Aries, as Mars is the ruler of both of these signs.

Sun into Virgo August 23rd
Once we’ve spent the summer months basking in playful Leo energy, it’s time to get back to work and reality with a dose of Virgoan responsibility! Virgo is all about hard work and building positive routines in the areas of health and our everyday lives. Hopefully a brief glimpse of sunshine will have inspired us, and now is the time when we can set about putting that inspiration into action to make something tangible of it. Use the next month or so to work at perfecting your projects, getting into the nitty gritty of what it is you need to make the routines of your life run more smoothly. It’s also a time when you may be inspired to think about how you can be of better service to others, and on a wider level how you might be more conscientious about your contribution to looking after the environment. The generation born with the planets Pluto and Uranus in Virgo may especially feel motivated to go green during the Sun’s passage through Virgo this year; this is people born between the years of 1962-63 and 1967-68. Virgo at this level is concerned not only with the health and wellbeing of the individual, but the health and wellbeing of the planet in general, so if you haven’t already, get a “bag for life” or start recycling.

Lunar Eclipse August 28th
Finally in this month’s astro-news, look out for the total lunar eclipse on the 28th August. Lunar eclipses are periods when emotional highs or lows can occur, and it looks like this one will make quite an impact. A substantial part of the chart for this event is made up of a configuration known as a “Grand Cross”, which contains a great deal of tension which can potentially be converted into energy. The eclipse is likely to be felt especially by people born in the early parts of mutable signs, that is Virgo, Pisces, Gemini and Sagittarius. Grand Crosses generally bring a four point focus, and that is where problems can start: you may feel in the run up to the eclipse and for several weeks to follow that you are faced with four or more important issues which all need attention, and you just don’t know where to turn. The best way to tackle this is to prioritise. Concentrating on one thing at a time can be a very successful strategy, so be strict with yourself when deciding what needs sorting first. You can schedule time for the dealing with the other areas when the point of current focus has been resolved, and it’s important not to be distracted by feelings of guilt at not being able to do everything at once. Take the opportunity the eclipse brings for a good old session of emotional housekeeping: sweep those negative energies and resentments right out of your system! Getting real about positive health and dietary routines is also good at this time, as the Pisces Moon is Eclipsed by the Sun in Virgo.

Around the houses: the fifth and sixth house
Whenever I’m consulting with clients and the fifth house comes up I’m really happy, for this is a very positive house indeed. It’s the house of pleasure, joy and creativity. Sometimes astrology seems to lump many different areas of life under the roof of one house, and taken at face value it may seem strange that children also come under the 5th. That is until you look at this house form the viewpoint that children are literally what we create on a very personal level, and can be the source of our joy and inspiration. Similarly, lovers and love affairs belong to the 5th house, probably because of the euphoria and optimism we all feel when in the first throws of romance. The fifth house is the natural house of Leo, and the creativity and childlike qualities of the sign are two of the things it has in common with its native house.

Once we move onto the sixth house we’re into putting our nose to the grindstone territory. It’s the natural house of Virgo, and like that sign is associated with health, everyday work and the routines of our day to day lives. This means, for example, that anyone with the Sun placed in the 6th will derive their sense of self-identity principally from what they do on a daily basis. A sixth house Sun person who’s in a job that they don’t find fulfilling is likely to feel lacking in self confidence, and needs to restructure their everyday life in a way that enables them to find fulfilment leading to a strong sense of self. A positive example of someone taking maximum benefit from the way they choose to earn a living is actor Antonio Banderas, who has creative Leo conjunct Uranus in the 6th. This man finds fulfilment on a daily basis from a job which allows him to express his energetic individuality and personal creativity. A great example of a lion playing Puss in Boots and feeling like the cat who got the cream!

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