New Moon in Leo
deck: leonora carrington
situations where the moon is ruled by the sun or visa versa always get me extra excited, but as a natal leo moon, there is no way i'm not biased. with this placement in my 8th house, the house of scorpio and the underworld, i get extra buzzed about a sun-ruled moon in a state of complete blackness. there is nothing more exhilirating to me than figuring out what it means to shine a light of raw self expression completely inwardly and intuitively. it's like the ultimate eroticism, the ultimate rebellion. i think this becomes clearer in a language beyond words in my leo season moodboard.
here, we work with the high priestess for team moon and strength for team leo, with it's head coach, the sun. the 2 and the 8. as mention in my venus in virgo post, the new moon happens on a date that adds down to 2, corresponding to the second sphere on the tree of life, chokmah or wisdom. drawing us directly back to the 2 of the high priestess and her reputation of carrying infinite wisdom in silence. she also represents duality with the pillars of severity and mercy on either side of her, a duality we also see represented in the strength card in the form of our higher and lower selves.
together, these cards and this moon moment speak to conversations we have with ourselves. they ask us to be honest and keep a line of communication open with ourselves, or otherwise risk what needs to be expressed finding its way outward in ways and means we may not be thrilled about or proud of. i find that many confine expression to words, verbal means. if we don't have language for it, even with ourselves, if we can't rationalize or logic our way through the situation, we invalidate it. but language is manmade, and we are so much more than flesh and bone and systems of glyphs and vibrations to go with those glyphs and systems of reasoning. we are spirit, energetic forces with accompanying vibrations called emotions that do just that, set us in motion.
it's important that we take time to assess, honor, explore and expand the vocabulary with ourselves, verbally and beyond. so below, i offer a meditative exercise that i hope will assist in just that.
art: jillian adel
‘LIGHT IN THE DARK’ MEDITATIVE EXERCISE
this is part meditation, part creative exercise. and really, it’s a magical working. so let’s prepare accordingly.
sit in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed in a comfortable seat. have a journal and writing utensil handy, and look ahead to step 2 to consider how you might want to engage with it so you may have any items you need ready for you there.
step 1: somatic scan
enter a meditative state however you enjoy doing so. you may close your eyes or lower them halfway. you may take a few deep breaths or breathwork of your choice. whatever you need to calm your body and clear your mind. once you feel ready, start scanning your body slowly. you may start from your head and work your way to your feet, or the other way around, but make sure you go slowly and check in with each body part. as you go, notice if there are any parts of your body that feel like they have something they want to express. don't put any pressure on yourself to know what it is, or second guess it. simply follow how your body feels with your intuition and notice. pick a body part where this is true, and that will be your focus for this work. you may repeat this process for multiple body parts if you like, but only do one at a time.
step 2: non-verbal exploration
now that you've chosen an area of your body that feels like it wants to speak, choose a medium to allow it to do so that is non-verbal. you may draw or scribble in a sketchbook. you may collage, digitally or physically. you may want to explore songs and make a playlist, or more abstract sounds. an interesting idea might also be to take a walk and take photos of things you find. the goal of this is to observe and sort through non-verbal media (images, sounds, etc.) without judgement or logic, and just choose things that feel how your body feels in the area you chose. You may even ask it what it wants to say before beginning, inviting it to speak through you. Pretend it's in control completely. If you are curating, make sure to bring everything in one place. If you are creating, make sure to record everything and then put it in one place so you can assess it after. Take as much time as you need with this.
step 3: verbal observation
now, bringing words back but keeping our logical minds at bay, grab your journal and your collection exploration from step 2. look through the group of images or listen to the songs or sounds you chose, and observe with words. pretend that someone else made this collection. how would you describe it? what do you see? what do you hear? you may use keywords and a list or write in sentences, but don't make meaning out of any of it. just observe through words.
step 4: reflection
now, take a look at what you've written in step 3. bring yourself back into the room and respond to the words and sentences written. how do you feel about them? do they spark any strong feelings in any direction? are there ways that you'd never describe yourself that have appeared? are there descriptions of things you'd always to be here that you felt you never were? make any notes about anything that arises. if anything has been clarified verbally, make a note.
Step 5: Comparison / Affirmation
finally, return to your meditative state in connection with your body. you may close your eyes and take a few deep breaths again if you wish. reconnect with the part of your body that you've chosen to speak in this exercise. you may simply sit in silence and contemplate what you found. or, if you've found some clarifying or affirmative words or statements about the emotion, say them out loud now however many times or in whatever way feels good to you.
you have now found an evolution of honesty with yourself, revealing more of yourself to yourself, through your intuitive channels and personal expression, beyond language that will increase the flow of your dual nature in the beginnings of this new cycle.
so it is.