Full Moon in Leo
This morning (Wednesday, February 16) at almost 9am we experienced the fullest point of the moon in the sign of Leo, but its energy started on Monday and will continue through today. We also are under the conjoining of the planets Venus and Mars in the sign of Capricorn, and this combination reminds us that Love, although it may be sparked quickly, gets deeper and fuller when we are willing to move slowly and purposefully rather than with the rashness that the excitement of Love often engenders. This combination also reminds us that as adults in a world full of expectations and responsibilities, real devotion and effort is required to allow our childlike joy and wonder to remain as a living part of how we move through our lives.
The Full Moon in Leo illuminates our relationship to love, adoration, praise, creative self-expression, romance and childlike play. (If you know your birth chart, found here, this moon will also bring light to the 5th house of your chart, and the house that was ruled by Leo at your birth.) Unlike the other signs in the zodiac, Leo is not ruled by a planet, but rather by the biggest star in our solar system — the Sun. Each sign is also associated with different organs in the body, and it’s no surprise that Leo is most closely associated with the heart. In this combination alone, you can feel the love and joy that is inherent to this sign.
As I always look at things through an Astrological and Yogic lens, the deepest lesson of Leo is to recognize the light of love within your own heart, and then to shine that light like the Sun — without preference or condition. This is the foundational concept in Yoga philosophy that each person has a light in their hearts that can never ever ever go out, and that light is the light of the Divine whose love is infinite. Yoga also reminds us that in order to really experience the world in an open way rather than through all the damage we’ve accrued through the years, we must cultivate a childlike mind, which includes play and unfiltered joy.
And this is where the union of Mars and Venus in Capricorn comes into the story.
As adults, for many of us it takes real work to be able to reach that part of ourselves, and it may even take a lot of work to believe that this part of us still deserves a seat at our internal table. Regardless of however difficult or easy it is for you to tap into this part of yourself, it definitely requires effort on your part to keep that wonder and enthusiasm as a consistent part of how you make choices and how you experience life.
Capricorn is the sign of work (both in general and also vocation), and as Mars is the planet of action and Venus is the planet of desire, these two planets in this sign urge us to consistently work hard for what is important to us. And, I would argue that if joy, play, love, creativity and self-expression seem like superficial things to work for, you have been brainwashed — through no fault of your own — by the patriarchal and capitalist society norms that tell us we are only worth what we can achieve and produce.
Mars and Venus in Leo also remind us that romantic love is a long road that requires sustained devotion and effort.
Some good things to reflect on for this Full Moon are:
How much do you prioritize love, play, creativity, self-expression and adoration with life?
What stands in your way of giving love freely and to whoever crosses your path?
What really are you working for?
