Reignite Your Life with Leo New Moon August 2023

This new moon in Leo on August 16, 2023, is ripe with some badass energy for setting goals, contemplating your personal expression and freedom deeply, and making plans to actually do something about reaching those goals. Any powerful plans you put into motion now will first come to an apex about six months down the line and will continue to grow over the next two years. If you want to know WHY this new moon in Leo has the potential to ignite your life, all you have to do is hang out with me here, and I’ll break it down into three major power components. I’ll give you a sneak preview, two of these have to do with my BFF planet Uranus, and the third is going to lead us to the strange story of Diogenes of Sinope, who lived in a large barrel, and wore no clothes…so…

1. Sun square Uranus

Uranus is rebellious energy, it's the changemaker, and when it reaches the square with the sun it could be rocking a little bit of the foundations of some of the more fixed energy in your life, things you don’t necessarily feel comfortable changing -  but this can also be a good thing to shake up some of the places where you feel stuck and face off with self-limiting beliefs, and open your mind to new avenues of different ways of being that are possibly a bit radical for you. You may feel a restlessness for expression inside of you or a need to explore an aspect of yourself that you possibly have neglected because you were afraid to let it out.

Sun Uranus transits combine the autonomy or the vitality of the sun with the emancipation or the rebirth and breakthrough of Uranus and there can be a sudden resolution to a situation but it could cause some friction in your life because you might not want to stand out or do that rebellious thing or feel vulnerable like Uranus requires you to do. Engaging in this frictional square can lead to a liberating experience where you have a lot more autonomy or self-expression and connect with your confidence, transcend some old limiting patterns to your talent, and shine a little more brightly and in a very authentic way. 

Tim Ferris is an author and podcaster, he wrote The four hour work week, and he recently laid out a process for reigniting life, and he opens with two words, Get Unrealistic. That is what Uranus square Sun can feel like. Striving and reaching for something can feel uncomfortable, it can feel unrealistic because you are straining at the boundaries of your perceived limits, but when the sun is challenged by Uranus, it also sees the options, a different perspective, a new potential - I’m not saying it is comfortable, but it is there, and friction can lead to some ignition in your life. I’ll link to the Tim Ferriss post in the description below. 

 

2. Mars trine Uranus

Double the pleasure double the fun, with Uranus here again, this time it’s aspecting Mars, and in a very supportive ride or die trine - this is strength, vigor, and courage coming from Mars in effective and efficient Virgo in an easy relationship to the changemaker Uranus in creative Taurus - so this is a very practical real-world opportunity to do or make something physical related to the active principle of harvest, and creation. 

Just thinking about these two powerhouse planets coming together in a supportive aspect is very exciting. Mars catalyzes the active energy for change, and Uranus opens the space for the liberation of that Mars warrior to get things done. This can be a release of some major pressure, and because it is a trine, this should be a relief, a supportive idea, or an opportunity to break out of oppressive situations, including the ones we unconsciously or consciously put ourselves into by self-limiting, and not engaging with the unknown or the unfamiliar. Risk taking. Breakout.

Mars trine Uranus opens up a clear lane for new activities, new encounters, and a break from the routine to invigorate you psychologically. This transit offers a chance to find the courage to break free from inhibitions, at least for a little while, in order to gain some newfound freedom. 

The image that came to me was the relationship of Thelma and Louise - even down to the literal cliffhanger ending - they are the epitome of the ride of die energy, of liberation, of fighting back against oppression and opening up the possibility or potential for a major change - and of course, add in the Mars Uranus sexiness of the whole young Brad Pitt encounter, and you have another metaphorical aspect of a Mars Uranus trine if you know what I mean here - quite dynamic - 

So the Thelma and Louise archetype is definitely Mars Uranus, but with the trine aspect, you get all the best parts of this boundary-breaking freedom-seeking courageous endeavor - without the extremes of destroying everything impulsive. So eliminate the bad stuff in Thelma and Louise, and maybe you get what I am trying to say here. 

3. Sabian Symbol Analysis 

TOTALLY CONCENTRATED UPON INNER SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT, A YOGI IS SITTING

This Symbol shows a ‘Hindu Yogi’ sitting in contemplation, concentrating on inner spiritual attainment. It implies a desire to contact the spirit and to be in touch with one’s body, often through the practice of meditation or yoga. This is a wonderful degree of spiritual striving, however, there could be a feeling of imbalance; it is as if some aspects of your life are put on hold in favor of some central issue. Being too committed to spiritual or emotional concerns can lead one to lose touch with more immediate, physical matters. However, a sense of focus on something that is very important can bring enormous rewards.

Burgess: Leo 24 (23° - 24°)

HOLDING FOCUS

We cannot expect to excel to mastery of any kind unless we bring total concentration to the matter in hand

"Giving attention only to what matters"

We cannot focus attention on two things at the same time. A highly motivated seeker will not attend to worldly matters with the same ambition as others, choosing to concentrate fully on what they consider more important - the inner reality of spiritual practice. How they appear to others is of small concern.

Rudhyar: PHASE 144 (LEO 24°): TOTALLY CONCENTRATED UPON INNER SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT, A MAN IS SITTING IN A STATE OF COMPLETE NEGLECT OF BODILY APPEARANCE AND CLEANLINESS.

KEYNOTE: An interior focalization of energy and consciousness at the expense of all forms of outward activity and care.

This traditional image of the Hindu holy man in the typical Western mind may well hide the fact that without proper training and intense concentration, what we usually consider spiritual attainment, self-realization, and the "God experience" is not possible. There can be no halfway measures if the goal is to be reached.

This brings me to Diogenes: 

This is Diogenes of Sinope one of the most eccentric philosophers of ancient Greece - also known as the Filthy Philosopher. He famously lived in an old wine barrel or possibly a large ceramic Jar on the streets of Athens and survived largely on a diet of discarded onions from the marketplace. Some of his interests included holding a lighted lantern in the bright of day metaphorically looking for an honest man and sabotaging Plato's and Socrates' lectures. He also enjoyed publicly mocking Alexander the Great, debasing the concept of currency, and is one of the founders of the philosophy of cynicism.

Diogenes rebelled against groupthink. He fought against the falsity of currency, held materialism in contempt, defied the celebration of the human ego and ideas, and he was brave/crazy enough to live his beliefs, even denouncing clothing.

It was his belief that all artificial growths of society, such as status and wealth, were unimportant, and could, in fact, be damaging to men’s souls. Diogenes held open contempt for abstract ideals such as reputation, property rights, or patriotism to any city-state.

The philosopher believed very firmly that man is not above nature. We are inescapably a part of it, and the further we retreat from this truth, hiding behind our lavish houses and material treasures, the further we withdraw from true virtue.

So without taking it to the Diogenes of Sinope extreme, we can use him allegorically to see that there is power in engaging in a new paradigm, which is actually a very old paradigm, of engaging with our true virtue. To lean into the pursuit of what is really important to you by clearly establishing your goals, perhaps by using the outline made by Tim Ferriss, and getting familiar with the parts of you that may be outside the norm, in order to courageously go forward in being “unrealistic” - because what the heck does that even mean? Even the word unrealistic is limiting, and perhaps this is a time, heavily influenced by Uranus' energy, to delete that concept at least long enough to plant a few outrageous seeds for your future. 

I like you just the way you are my friend