Like I said in my last post, there was so much in this month of Leo that I had to split it up into two articles. As of now we have all been through the toughest part of the month. How did turn out? Were you able to keep your cool and ask other for help? If not, don't worry. Spiritual growth is a process that takes time. We will never be able to grow spiritually if we don't allow ourselves the freedom to fall and make mistakes first. From the fall, we are able to learn and become better from it. This month is somewhat of an anomaly in kabbalah. Normally the beginning of any month is full of the energy of mercy and positivity. As the moon comes out of its new phase and moves into its fullness, the energy of growth and support is available. It's an ideal time to begin new projects. The period after the full moon is of a time of judgment and wrapping things up. This is a good time to tie up loose ends and finish projects that may have been lingering. All months in the kabbalisitc calendar follow this pattern, with the exception of Leo. The first half of the month of Leo, the first nine days to be exact, is filled with judgment, and the rest of the month is much more positive, particularly the full moon.
Let's dive into some of the more interesting aspects of this month. We have Venus, the planet if love and beauty, moving into Cancer on July 31. This planetary ingress pulls our focus onto domestic life and family relationships, and we will feel a need to protect and guard those we love. Remember the energy of last month, the month of Cancer? This will echo that need to nurture those in our lives. One difference, however, is that we will also focus on nurturing our home itself. We may suddenly feel the need to redecorate or simply bring in fresh flowers. Bringing balance back into our home life is now a priority. Topics surrounding home and family that may have come up last month, will pop up again. If we had any disagreements or anger towards certain people that are lingering from last month, Venus can help us reach out to them and begin the process of healing and reconnecting. She urges us to protect and nurture those we love more than we guard our own egos. If we do this, we can bring balance and love back into focus.
The most exciting, and most positive aspect of this month is the full moon in Aquarius on August 7th. This particular full moon also happens to contain a partial lunar eclipse. The Kabbalists explain that the full moon of the month of Leo is particularly auspicious as it holds within it the energy of the perfect union and, consequently, soulmates. You see, almost every sign shares its ruling planet with another sign. For example, Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus. Aries and Scorpio are ruled by Mars. So, most planets have their energies dispersed between two signs. This allows us to feel their energies with less intensity. There are only two signs who have planetary rulers that do not share that ruler with any other sign: Cancer and Leo. These two signs are ruled by the luminaries: the Moon and the Sun. That is why these two months are so intense. All of the energy of these two celestial bodies is concentrated into their one home sign. When we look at the sign of Leo, the Sun is its ruler. In Kabbalah the Sun represents the masculine aspect of the universe, and the Moon represents the feminine aspect. When you have the totality of the Sun's masculine energy filling the moon, you get a union of spiritual and physical energies that allow us to tap into the cosmic energy of soulmates.
The eclipse adds another intense aspect to this already powerful day. Eclipses are like piercing jolts of cosmic energy that enter into our universe. They realign us back on to track if we happen to be off course. As it is in the sign of Aquarius on the south node, we can see that there will be something within us that must shift and transform so that we can leave behind old patterns of behavior that no longer serve us. Maybe we have been looking for our soulmate in the wrong group of people. This eclipse asks us to stop relying on others and outer circumstances to bring us what we want. With all of the energy coming from the Sun and Mars in Leo, we are being asked to push forward on our own. We can no longer sit idly by and wait for our soulmate to show up. Especially if we have been looking for them in the same spaces or communities. We must work on changing ourselves, changing our environment, and changing our consciousness if we want to attract our soulmate or bring our current soulmate union to the next level. Jupiter in Libra will have made his final square to Pluto in Capricorn on Aug 1st, and it will last through the eclipse. Luckily Jupiter will make a sextile to the Sun and a Trine to Moon the same day as the eclipse, which will help to boost the soulmate energy and bring a stroke of luck into the mix. Jupiter is in Libra, the sign of marriage, after all. The Jupiter-Pluto square aspect pushes us to see how vulnerable we are allowing ourselves to be. Sometimes we allow the pain of past relationships to affect how open we are with others. Never forget that vulnerability is not a weakness, and that often times, it can be our greatest strength. If we channel this energy correctly and push ourselves to grow past our comfort zones, we can break free of old chains that have limited our current relationships or hindered us from finding our match.
There are a few more notable transits happening this month. Mercury will go retrograde on August 14 in Virgo and will give us the ability to revisit our daily routines and organization skills. Inefficiencies in daily processes and work habits as well as those in our health habits that have built up since last year will get another round of pruning. In the end of the month Venus will make some hard aspects to Pluto and Jupiter giving us the opportunity to prove to the universe that we are truly serious about making inner changes that will result in lasting relationships in our lives.
Back in the ancient days, the full moon of the month of Leo, known in Hebrew as Tu B'Av, would mark the beginning of the grape harvest, and the the unmarried daughters of Israel would dress in white and dance in the vineyards in hopes of attracting an eligible suitor. Energetically, it is one of the greatest days of joy in the universe, and gives us a much needed reprieve from the heaviness and difficulty that the days prior carried with them. Take advantage of this energy and allow yourself to be open to inner change as well as a change of environment. Maybe you just haven't danced in the right vineyard yet. ;)
With all my love,
Josh
P.S. I provide relationship consultations for couples and singles. If you are interested in purchasing, click here and scroll down to Composite Chart for couples and Natal Chart for singles.