August 16, 2023 at 3:38am in Mexico City—Wednesday’s New Moon in Leo is not for the faint of heart. With a dramatic square to Uranus—the planet of disruption, change and breakthrough—the energy of this New Moon suckles on lightning. By lightning, I mean a sudden surge of forceful action precipitated by restlessness, impatience and a dramatic boldness to no longer settle for mediocrity—or in some cases (pardon my French)—bullshit.
Ever since Venus entered her shadow period on June 19th, many of us have been re-evaluating our values around partnership, community and resources. As Venus squared Uranus last week, these issues may have come to a head, forcing us to either adjust expectations or break free of restrictions, some of which are self-imposed. Today, as Venus enters the heart of the Sun, there might be a moment of insight and clarity around next steps.
Mars provides for this decan of the sky, the last 10° of Leo. He importantly serves as the wind in the sails of this New Moon. Forming an energetic trine to Uranus, Mars pumps up the volume on the courage needed to break free from people or conditions that dim our light and drain our spirit. Alternatively, Mars compels us to charge forward from our hem-haw procrastination and move with confidence on action we’ve been considering.
Rally the inner forces
The tarot card synchronized with the third decan of Leo is the Seven of Wands. In the card, we see a man defending his turf. It’s possible he’s acted in haste: notice the mismatched shoes. But yet, there’s a primal urge here to rally the inner forces and in a very Leo manner, stand up for oneself. When we’re in the Seven of Wands energy, we’re infused with a dramatic integrity and the right to protect our raison d’etre.
All this to say that in a week and a half, Mercury will turn retrograde causing some of us to rethink what we’ve said or signed up for. Mars ingress into Libra towards the end of the month will emphasize diplomacy, tact and fairness in our actions—a pretty big shift from the energies we’re feeling this week.
What to make of this? Act from the heart in a way that puts integrity first. If there’s a clean-up down the road, at least you can be Lion Proud of how you presented yourself today.