‘So the darkness shall be the light and the stillness the dancing.’ T.S. Eliot
For most of August, the Sun is in Leo, the sign where it is most comfortable.
The Lion is called The King of the Beasts and the qualities he represents are nobility, generosity, creativity, radiance and joy. The Sun is the only celestial body that casts a shadow on the Earth, as the Moon’s light is reflected from the Sun. The more light, the deeper the shadow and Leo shadow qualities are deeply destructive: arrogance, intolerance, narcissism, egocentricity – to name but a few.
Astrology expresses the wisdom of the seasons. In the Northern hemisphere the sun, the ruler of Leo, is close to the earth: drama, emotion, passion, greatness and evil surge in abundance as the sun mates with the soil. It is a time when uninhibited expression is on tap and the truth will out.
We are swiftly entering the Age of Aquarius, underpinned by the energies of its opposite sign, the sign of Leo; building on this theme the Nodal Axis at present spans the signs of Aquarius and Leo.
The Nodes of the Moon celestially connect us to history: the South Node (
) symbolises the past and its effect on us, the North Node (
) symbolises the future toward which we are being drawn. The North Node is in Aquarius, closely embracing Chiron, promising healing insight into this polarity.
This month we will be particularly aware of our Lion shadow – that within us which is unyielding (Leo is a fixed sign), elitist and prone to the greed and grandiosity of our misplaced power drives – or the victim at the mercy of others committing all the above!
‘Internalising the qualities of ‘Lion-ness’ is an important aspect of our spiritual work. We are to seek gold within rather than worldly power and glory without, and we are to be custodians of Creation, as the Lord of Beasts protects his Kingdom. We are each and every one of us Lion Kings, in this sense, presiding over the kingdom of our own souls, in the knowledge that we are but a small part of something far greater than we can ever imagine, as well as being One with it. The Light of the Beyond focalises through us, and if we have prepared well our kingdom, it flourishes. ’ Melanie Reinhart
This month the heavens are dominated by two eclipses: a solar eclipse on 1 August at 9° 32’ Leo (
) and a lunar eclipse at 24° 21’ Aquarius (
) on 16 August. Most years we experience two sets of eclipses: a solar eclipse, a powerful new moon followed 14 days later by a lunar eclipse, a powerful full moon.
Eclipses occur at New and Full Moons, when the Moon is conjunct its own node. Both Solar and Lunar eclipses involve a blockage of the light transmitted to the earth by the Sun or the Moon, creating circumstances such as relationship conflicts or retrenchments that compel us to reassess our lives. Although difficult, an eclipse often supports us to let go whatever has kept us mired in the past. Flashes of insight and unexpected opportunities may awaken us to new possibilities. We are more aware of the effects of eclipses should the eclipse degree trigger our personal chart directly.
It would be worthwhile to determine in which house the Solar Eclipse falls in your chart and to refer to the Houses on this website to see which area of your life will be affected. If the eclipse is within 3° of any planet or the angles it would be sensible to book a chart reading.
On 31 July 2000 (and 1981) there was a Solar Eclipse on 8° Leo - what started for you then, what ended, how were you compelled to rid yourself of past attitudes, behaviours and people that seemed so important then? The more awareness you bring to what you were experiencing then, the easier the next few months will be.
Pluto (
), Lord of Transformation, has temporarily backed up into Sagittarius (until November), shifting our consciousness into a realm that has become familiar to us seeing that Pluto has been in the sign of the Archer since 1995. Pluto in Capricorn (since January) had us reeling with the new, most of the time, jarring reality we’ve had to face regarding economic, ecological and probably personal crises.
With Pluto, The Lord of Transformation, in the last degrees of a sign, most matters that are ending will end with a bang – the decks are being cleared for a whole new way of being. We cannot retrieve the joy ride of Pluto in Sagittarius, but we can tap into the optimism and a new belief system forged during that period and utilise it to move forward into the reshaped world we now find our self in.
The transformed Sagittarius within each of us has learned how to discipline his thoughts and speech and knows the value of silence. Idle chatter and aimless wandering is evolving into the focussed pursuit of truth and enough humility to realise that the paths to truth are numerous and varied.
No planet changes direction this month: the more personal planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars) are all direct, joining Saturn, Master of Reality, in the earth sign of Virgo. Jupiter, The Merciful Fatso, in the lean and mean sign of Capricorn and the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are all retrograde (seemingly reversing against the background of the stars).
With a Solar eclipse in Leo and the more personal planets mostly in Virgo, the story of the Grail King springs to mind – given that the King is equated with the Lion and suffering and health equated with Virgo. The old King suffers an incurable wound and is awaiting a suitable successor who can redeem his kingdom and allow him to die in peace.
Parsifal (the ‘pure fool’), not realising his true identity and initially not having the maturity and compassion to ask the crucial question ‘What ails thee?’, must go on an arduous quest and overcome many dangers before he is rendered fit for his future kinship.
Likewise, as our soul matures and especially this August, we learn not to ignore our own and others’ suffering in favour of greed or lofty ideals removed from the sphere of humanity and our earthly life. Lion symbolism is to look heartfully into the face of suffering and act accordingly.
