August 21- SOLAR ECLIPSE IN LEO
Have you been feeling the energy in the air? If so, you’re not alone – this month has been a powerful one energetically – all leading up this point, the solar eclipse in Leo on August 21. Eclipses are fascinating and mysterious, and fill us all with the sense that something is happening deeper than our understanding. With eclipses, sometimes its as important to embrace the mystery, the not-knowing, as much as it is to figure out what they mean. But as an astrologer, I’m here to help you understand how to work more deeply with this energy and give you perspectives to understand what’s going on both inside yourself and the world at large. So here we go: some ways to look at and understand the eclipse this month.
First, let’s examine where this eclipse is happening. Falling on 21 August, the eclipse will be happening in the late degrees of Leo. Leo is the sun’s home sign – where the sun’s energy shines brightest. The symbol for Leo is the lion, the King of the jungle. Leo energy stands alone, stands apart, it is the ruler of the crowd. This is why it’s the sun’s home sign – because the sun is the center of the solar system; it too stands alone, stands apart. If you know anyone with Leo energy, you know they are natural born leaders, that there is something special and unique about them. In fact, they’ve probably told you just that! Leos are not known for being modest. But this eclipse, we can all take a page out of Leo’s book. What is in us that stands alone or stands apart? What is unique about us?
Let’s also take a moment to understand Leo’s opposite, which is Aquarius. Understanding the opposite of a sign helps you to understand more about the deeper meaning of the sign itself. Aquarius is the sign of the collective. As you may know, we are just beginning a two thousand year period known as the Age of Aquarius. In the age of Aquarius, the age of the collective, of equality for all, we are struggling to understand Leo’s energy. We are struggling to understand the archetype of the King, the one man (or woman!) above all. It is interesting to note (and many astrologers have done so!) that the last time there was a solar eclipse on August 21 in the late degrees of Leo, it was in 1998, when Bill Clinton was impeached. At that time, and in current American politics, we are all struggling to understand how much power one man should have over the rest, and what that power should be used for.
Two weeks ago we had the lunar eclipse in Aquarius, heralding some of the issues that will be coming up at the solar eclipse. The full moon, which is directly opposite the sun in the sky, as the moon is during the lunar eclipse, is like a pregnant woman, full and round. During the new moon, she is giving birth – something new is coming. She has once again joined the sun in the sky on her monthly journey, and their union leads to the creation of something new.
This is the birth in all of us of the Leo archetype – the birth of what Jung would call the Self – the central, orienting part of our personality, the part inside of us which is King, which holds the light of the Sun. For all of us, change is coming through this birth. As we head deeper into the Age of Aquarius, we are being called upon more and more to find our inner light and then give that to the collective. The degree to which we can do this has to do with the degree to which we are open to it.
Here are some questions for you to reflect on in the light of the solar eclipse:
What inside me wants to be born?
In what areas of my life am I changing?
Am I allowing this process of birth in myself? Or am I holding it back?
Am I truly being what I am, or what others think I should be?
If I am adhering to tightly to others expectations, how can I become more truly myself, and give birth to what is unique and original about me?
If you want some help with any of these questions, I made a guided meditation for the lunar eclipse which will be just as powerful to work with on the solar eclipse. You can find that here.
Sending you lots of love as we all navigate this process! May the energies of the solar eclipse help you to draw closer and closer to your Self, to who you truly are.
