New Moons aren’t just for wishing.
Better to enchant this area of life with the gift of your attention.
Fire up the Leo “neural circuits” with authentic appreciation.
My son is currently 24 and enjoying an internship in Portland. I’m proud of him, but when I think about Leo victories, I remember a night when he was six. “Mom,” he announced, “don’t move and don’t scream. There’s a mouse head in the kitchen. Don’t look at it. I’ll clean it up.” Branden knew how the mice the cat brought in freaked me out. The last time this happened, Branden was just as scared as I was. But that night, all by himself, he got the broom from the garage, found a grocery bag, and swept it in. My hero.
It was odd though. I’d spent the last hour in the kitchen cooking dinner — you’d think I would have seen it. The cat was locked outside and couldn’t have carried it in. I asked Branden what the mouse head looked like. He described the little eyes, the little ears, the bones sticking out of its neck. “Are you sure it was a mouse?” I asked. “Yes… or maybe it was lettuce. It was dark. No — definitely a mouse.”
Ah, it was probably from the dinner salad, a radicchio leaf fallen to the floor. Mouse or lettuce, Branden was my hero just the same. In real life, this is how heroic Leo moments come. We do something we think is noble, despite our insecurity and fear. Dramatic plots tend to collapse a hero’s life into a single colossal act. As though one great moment were all we needed to redeem ourselves–or to express a lifetime’s bounty of gifts. But Leo victories, like the Sun which rules this sign, are actually daily events. Does the lion roar once only? Will one creative act, no matter how huge, exhaust Leo’s hunger for self-expression? Real life brings lots of heroic moments. They may seem ordinary against the fictional heroic scale, but our real-life hearts still pound. A challenge is a challenge all the same.
And often, despite our best efforts, the recognition doesn’t come. My cat presents me with her prize as a loving gesture, expecting I’ll be impressed; instead I scream and chase her from the room. The hero works for recognition, but cannot control when or why it comes. Sometimes it’s due to lack of skill. Sometimes it’s just timing. Sometimes great books make the bestseller lists and sometimes lousy books make the bestseller lists. We might do better to regard the world’s admiration and applause as a mystery, rather than the reason for our work.
This is an important Leo secret. We need appreciation, but we can also let others off the hook. Our lion is hungry, but we can feed his need for recognition. A daring act! In fact, often enough, this is the hidden, precious, sought-after thing–our own awareness of our radiance. How recently have you observed your own radiance?
A simple, yet brilliant Leo enchantment you can perform at this New Moon is this: recognize a few of your own heroic moments. Especially look for the little ones you tend to ignore. They matter, along with the spectacular ones.
Start with the Leo house in your chart. Consider that area of life and investigate. What quietly (or boldly) heroic thing did you do there in the past six months? After you’ve come up with one or two victories, rummage through your history and find more. Go five years back. Or recall an especially dark time of your life. See how, even then, a part of you was heroic and shining.
Let this be more than a mental exercise. Let your heart fill with pride as you witness your own gestures of creativity and courage. If it feels appropriate, applaud or dance in celebration. Share your victories with a friend. Witness theirs. This will start the Leo archetype happily humming within you.
Finish 2017 in style. You’ll enjoy imagination and support with Dana’s monthly Moon workshop. Do start your exploring with your free Moon phase report in Chart Play.
Learn astrology with me! Check out my ebooks for colorful, soulful introductions to the archetypes.
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