Waxing Moon in Leo

Writing again this morning during the Moon's time-between-times, I feel like I'm looking out on a new landscape. Washed clean in the Cancer New Moon, we emerge into a new world with the Moon in Leo. The Moon officially entered her void-of-course period with her sextile to Saturn at 7:48am EDT, bursting into Leo at 8:53am today, Monday.

For me, the Moon in Leo is linked to Inanna, Queen of Heaven. Her descent to the underworld, though central, is only part of her story. She is a queen of passion and of war, protecting her people fiercely, associated with Venus as the morning star. This combination of traits – love and war, deep personal transformation and worldly power – may seem difficult to contain in one queen, yet all reflect the Leo Moon.

The Moon will shine in Leo until early Wednesday. From now til then, we have a bright window to passionately and creatively express whatever the New Moon Eclipse is bringing us.

Leo is fixed Fire: dramatic, passionate, creative, playful. Leo loves children, theater, color, expressing whatever is in the heart, and being in the spotlight. Leo can be a drama queen overly focused on the ego; the remedy is the permission to create, to express the heart's desire in playful, dramatic, bright ways.

This is the seed time of the New Moon, the window through which we send our dreams and wishes into the cosmos. What new visions has the New Moon Eclipse brought you? Which House of your chart has been brought to life? Where have things shifted? These are the areas where the Leo Moon wants to play and create.

If other New Moons saw you writing neat wishes on small slips of paper, go big this time! Find those bright red origami sheets, get out the paints, up-end the wrapping paper box looking for ribbons and colored paper. If your usual approach to crafting intentions is calm meditation, this time, get up and dance. And if you naturally approach these ritual times with flair and color, revel in it.

When the Moon emerges into Leo today, she will conjunct Mercury, and flow energy in trine with Uranus and Jupiter in Aries ... this is not a shy Moon at any time, and joining forces with mind and communication (Mercury), revolutionary change (Uranus) and generosity and luck (Jupiter) create an amazing energy for creative expression of our heart's desires.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the Moon makes no significant aspects, but Venus (always a creative force) in careful Virgo will help us make sure we get the details of our creations right, and remember the need to serve others as we reach for our own goals.

Early Wednesday, at 6:23am EDT, the reminder to place our individuals desires and gifts in a wider context is repeated with the Moon's final aspect, an opposition to the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in late Aquarius and early Pisces. Neptune and Chiron are checking to make sure our visions are big enough to embrace the cosmos ... with this Leo Moon, dream BIG!

The lioness and cub were photographed in the Serengeti by David Dennis, the oil palette is a photo by Max Wehlte, and the Chinese dragon is a photo by Caseman, all from WikiMedia Commons.