New Moon in Leo, and a deep dive into the power and vulnerability of authentic expression.
Today’s new moon greets us with all the irrepressible joy of the sign of the Lion!
The New Moon occurs exactly at 11:12 am UT, at 12 degrees 33’ of Leo. We’re heading into the Cross-quarter day of Lughnasa/Lammas in the Northern Hemisphere, and Imbolc in the Southern Hemisphere.
(Wait, didn’t that already happen a few days ago? Traditionally this feast day is celebrated on August 1st, but astrologically we’re looking for the day the Sun hits 15 degrees of Leo — on August 6, this year.)
Cross-quarter days mark a change in the season, and always occur in the fixed signs of Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus. Fixed energy brings a solidity of tangible manifestation to the dynamic momentum of what’s set into motion during the Solstices and Equinoxes.
Especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where Lughnasa is known as the “first harvest” festival, we’re looking at the “fruits” — the takeaways of the season — as it begins to visibly blend into the next one. The light has clearly changed. Imbolc, on the other hand, represents conception: where are we “pregnant” with the first sparks of the coming Spring?
It’s against this backdrop that the Leo New Moon is coaxing something unique and special out of our chests, wanting to be seen by the world.
I’m reminded of the verse from the Gospel of Thomas,
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
This lunation arrives with a fanfare and rolls out the red carpet, to welcome what we’re bringing forth from within. Remember, too, that we’re in the midst of Leo season. Something in our inner universe has been developing, percolating in the tender darkness of Cancer, but is now ready to have a spotlight shine on it.
The question is: will we dare to stand in that light?
A while back, I attended a poetry workshop. At one point, we were getting ready to share some of our poems out loud with the group. The facilitator was about to get us started by reading one of his works-in-progress. Before he began, he said to us,
“The only thing I want to hear as feedback is: that was the most fucking amazing thing I’ve ever heard.”
Then he looked at the group, chuckled, and said,
“OK, OK, I will take feedback. Later. I’ll be happy to hear your critiques. For now, I just need to hear this poem’s the most fucking amazing thing. I’m not ready for the hard stuff yet. Alright? I want us to say that to every poem we hear tonight. When we’re sharing for the first time, we don’t need criticism, only celebration.”
Honestly? That was the best Leo role modeling I’ve seen in a long time.
The sign of Leo often gets flak for being self-centered, “attention-seeking”.
In Leo’s shadow expression, we see that same narcissism that’s become a buzzword in our TikTok-psychology-saturated social universe.
I think these are symptoms of something we collectively don’t get quite right around the energy of Leo. We have work to do in liberating our relationship with both being seen and being good witnesses for each other.
There’s vulnerability in showing up, and for many of us, a heavy inheritance of shame.
(Are we too much? Too little? Too intense? Too quiet?)
There’s also skillful leveling up to be done in holding space for ourselves and others with both warmth, and clear discernment.
It’s worth putting a word in for our Sun signs here. Roughly one in twelve of us are born under the sign of Leo, but we all have the Sun somewhere on our chart. Leo and the Sun are inseparably linked: even if you personally have no planets in Leo, wherever your Sun is located in your chart, there’s Leo-action going on.
What makes each of us special, precious, irreplaceable? At the core of Leo’s solar logic is the pure radiance of that ineffable “something” that each of us was born with: a perfect divine spark made flesh. A miniature Sun.
This spark is obvious in young children. Indeed, Leo is often associated with the Inner Child, but I sense this is less about youth itself, as much as how available our access is to that spontaneous “divine gesture” when we’re little. A baby’s uniqueness radiates out of every pore, before conditioning sets in.
As a culture, we’re figuring out diversity and identity — and certainly our identity labels, stories and biography play a role in how we “bring forth” who we are inside, into the social stage.
But I’d argue that with Leo we’re looking at something less culture-bound and more like the hues, tones and texture of our home frequency: our individual lifeforce signature. When we hang out in that home frequency, our energy fields are vibrant, vital, humming. We have a sense of coherence, and healthy boundaries. We glow.
With our narratives, our creativity, our clothing, our mannerisms and our self-expression, we can enhance that signature — however it feels best to us.
But even if we were naked and nameless, we couldn’t help but beam out our selfhood into the Cosmos — through the light in our eyes, the timbre of our voice, the specific rhythm of our laughter.
Leo’s wisdom flows from the metaphor of an artist and their audience: the one heart giving voice and resonance to the feelings of the collective. Our signature frequency touching something in others that can’t be awakened any other way.
Leo says, “the Individual is Universal”, and so our unique experience deserves to be seen, elevated into artistry. Inside that dynamic, there’s a sacredness to have our inside feelings match our outside expression, to be revealing and open. Doing so exposes much more than just our bounded individuality: it allows a free flow of life and Spirit through our energy field. And yet, exactly because in that act we’re baring such an essential part of us, we can also feel our most vulnerable.
How we’re received in moments of authentic expression — especially when we’re young, but really, always — makes or breaks this cycle of the heart touching the world. The process I’m describing is inherently relational. (Even if we’re by ourselves, how werespond to our own spontaneous expression makes all the difference).
“Garden-variety” narcissism and attention-seeking—or even what we often call energy-vampirism, when others seem to suck the life right out of us in interactions — develops from the wounded sense of self of someone who hasn’t been able to receive, and fully take in a clear reflection of how precious, and irreplaceable, their soul-spark really is. Someone might express this wound more visibly, with outward grandiosity. Another, through larger-than-life shamefulness. Both are Leo dysfunctions.
When love and attention are dependent on what others need us to be, conditional on performance, or withheld altogether, a dark void opens inside us, swallowing the glow of our inner Sun. We develop layers of protection, masks, hiding-places, tortuous pathways to get what we need. We’re likely to hurt others in the process, too.
For ages, our culture has worked under the following assumption:
Need for attention = bad
(Variously labeled immaturity, lack of self-worth, pride-as-sin, lack of character, pathetic neediness).
All the while having an awfully ambivalent relationship with that same need for attention. This is obvious today in the ways social media allows and incentivizes the consumption of content and of the individual-as-spectacle.
How many people do you know whose worlds failed to give them the care, the attention, the blueprint for shining their light outward?
… If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
Or, what is the cost of swallowing the Sun?
Allow me to go reeeeally big picture here:
If the wound of being unseen, rejected, or shamed for being, has the potential to develop into full-on pathological narcissism, then the cost is Everything.
As the hungry void in the chest of even one person becomes a black hole, it can gain the power to destroy lives, countries, ecosystems, planets.
But — when we are witnessed in the glow of our presence, and that glow is recognized and celebrated…
When we ourselves acknowledge how essential that two-way sharing is, and make it a priority, not a luxury; seeking, to the best of our ability, those who will receive us well, opening our hearts even if they’ve been broken before…
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.
An alchemical act takes place. In being witnessed, we see the source of the light we hunger for, mirrored by the Other, shining from within us. Eventually, hunger stills, fear and shame settle, and we can simply shine.
The reflection others offer us is an obligatory ingredient in that alchemy. We cannot know our gifts unless they are given to someone else.
I’ve only scratched the surface on this incredibly delicate, yet utterly necessary balancing act that Leo proposes. The mix of vulnerability and maturity required to put ourselves “out there” to receive attention — for our presence, our inner beauty, our creations, and everything that’s original and spontaneous about us— all the while remaining sincere, unguarded, yet wise enough to know when, how and with whom to share any of that with.
Still — here’s to your light. The most fucking amazing thing anyone’s ever seen.
Over to you, friends: how is this New Moon landing in your world?
What creative spark or inner glow is coaxing its way into a fuller expression?
We have a bit over a month till the end of the Benefic Summer…
These are two session specials I’m offering at a reduced rate until the September Equinox, and I still have openings for both. Jupiter in particular will be getting utltra-activated this month, so now’s a gret time to plan how you’ll use that extra boost!
1) The Heart’s Mirror: Psychic Relationship Readings
These psychic sessions are 1hr- 90 minutes long and the price is 88€ (my regular rate for general readings is 111€).
We can focus on one relationship you’d like to understand better, or on helping you gain some clarity about what you need (to do, change, let go of, embrace or empower) for better relationships in general. This extends beyond romantic relationships, you can ask about family and/or friendships too. Read more about what readings entail here.
2) Bet on the Right Horse: Your Jupiter in Gemini Wins
This special consists of two separate, hour-long calls with me where we’ll look at your natal chart to see what this year of Jupiter in Gemini holds for you, and what positive goals, projects or outcomes will generate the most magical momentum in your world. The price for this special is 244€ (regular rate 320€).
I like to do these two sessions separated by at least a week, to give clients time to digest and daydream while integrating the information we explore in-call.
Read more about my Jupiter in Gemini guide here if you missed it, and about my services here. If you’d like to book one of these specials, or check in to see if it’s a good fit, email me at hello@karineglinton.com
