Into the Lion’s Gate: Leo New Moon Conjunct Mars -and- The Heart Chakra

July 20th 2017: The Moon transits conjunct Venus for the fourth time since Venus has risen as the morning star, representing the fourth gate of Inanna’s descent into the Underworld. During this part of the Venus cycle, we focus our meditation on clearing and removing blockages from the Heart chakra.

The Heart Chakra

The Heart chakra is our organ for multidimensional perceptions and expressions of love and connection to the source of all consciousness. The Heart chakra, anchored in the physical heart organ, generates a toroidal electromagnetic field around the human body, which carries our thoughts and emotions outside of our physical bodies, and absorbs the thoughts and emotions of others. Many of the uses of the Heart chakra have been culturally associated with the physical heart: it is the foundation of our experience of emotions, and therefore the basis of how we filter our experience of reality. Feeling buoyant and free during the experience of love and connection, feeling crushed and broken during the experience of separation and loss.

Anatomically and physiologically, the heart organ cannot be described or discussed in any way without also describing the lungs. They operate as a single, incredibly sophisticated and complex unit. This is why intentional breathwork is crucial to maintaining a healthy, open Heart chakra. If conscious breathing is not a part of your daily meditation, commit to researching and beginning a breathwork practice during this week of the Heart chakra gate and Leo New Moon conjunct Mars.

Embroidery by Andrea Dezsö

Moana and the Grand Fire Trine

This weekend’s main activity is cradled by the grand fire trine formed from Mercury and the north node in Leo, Saturn and Lilith in Sagittarius, and Uranus/Eris in Aries. Mercury’s transit past the north node solidifies all the bonds between them into a churning molten iron core emanating an intense gravitational pull towards the center of being. Eris has had her shrieking multidimensional identity crisis conjunct Uranus- the conjunction is now separating, and she is no longer in crisis mode. We are remembering Who We Are… Moana uses the skills of Wayfinding- knowing where she has been(Saturn/Lilith), knowing where she is going (north node/Mercury) to confront Te Ka (Eris).

Know Who You Are – Moana Restores The Heart of Te Fiti ©Disney Pixar

July 20th: Inanna’s Descent

As the Sun and Mars begin to merge in the final degrees of Cancer, they form a square to Uranus at 28° Aries, and a trine to Chiron at 28° Pisces. This gives Sun and Mars a powerful boost- to make a conscious choice for how this boost will push us, we must work to be tuned into this strange new Eris/Wayfinding awareness, and carry it forward into the Lion’s Gate. Asteroid Sekhmet, Lioness Goddess, is at 22° Gemini, exact opposite Saturn 22° Sagittarius, and forming sextiles to Mercury and Eris. She reigns over this configuration with a burning white light.

On July 20th, the Moon-Venus conjunction is at 17° Gemini, exact opposite Lilith 17° Sagittarius- and also forming a quincunx to Pluto. This is Inanna’s descent through the Heart chakra.

I adore this configuration for resembling an abstract heart, but I am blown away by the Moon and Venus exact opposite Lilith representing the heart. Lilith is the point of the mean lunar apogee, so the Moon is as close as it can get to Earth while transiting opposite that point. Aligned with Venus, and in close proximity to Sekhmet, we are intimately aware of the multidimensional sensory experiences that are revealing a total understanding of the Heart-chakra-based emotional filter that creates our version of reality. Blockages in this filter can now be identified. The quincunx to Pluto can be appeased to great satisfaction by letting go of these blockages that have been revealed by this Moon-Venus conjunction opposite Lilith, at the heart of the Grand Fire Trine. And Sekhmet opposite Saturn is like a solid gold handrail that gives you the inner confidence of knowing what to do, in no need of any guide, trusting the knowledge that arises from within.

Leo New Moon Conjunct Mars

Three days later, Venus is separating from quincunx to Pluto and is immediately pulled deep into opposition with Saturn; Sekhmet has advanced out of opposition to Saturn and crackles suspended at the midpoint of Uranus and Mercury; Mercury has crossed the north node and forms an exact square to Sedna in Taurus; and Mars, the Sun, and the Moon enter the sign of Leo in synchronicity to form the incredible Leo New Moon conjunct Mars. At less than 3.5 degree orb, Mars and the Leo New Moon form a stunning out-of-sign Fire Square to Uranus in Aries.

Collectively, we are at a crossroads where we are deciding what it means to be a part of a society. What responsibility- if any- should we have in helping other people get their needs met, especially when it is so hard to meet our own needs? Individually, we are weighing the pros and cons between destroying all the barriers that prevent us from creating our own communities on our own terms, and further isolating ourselves by focusing exclusively on our own wellness. Mars reminds us that love is a verb, and our actions are what matter most.

This new moon is epic for me and everyone else in my generational cohort. Specifically, everyone who was born between December 1980 and August 1981. We have natal Uranus between 26° Scorpio and 0° Sagittarius, receiving a grand trine by transit of Sun/Moon/Mars and Chiron. We are the ones who are too old to be Millennials and too young to be Generation X. We are all having our 2nd node return with north node in Leo. We all just had our third Jupiter return. Saturn in Sagittarius is transiting our natal Neptune. We are going through a lot.

Smells Like Teen Spirit came out when we were 10 years old, and Kurt Cobain killed himself when we were 13. Growing up in the grunge 90’s, a lot of us were socialized from an early age to rebel against advertising that demanded we love ourselves (by buying the product that fixes that thing we hate about ourselves). Our greater culture of sexist, racist capitalism grossed us out, so investing time and money in our own wellness seemed like a shallow and soulless pursuit. Did I mention we also have Chiron in Taurus?

The north node’s transit through Leo is all about self-esteem, and the most important thing to focus on is WHY we need self-esteem in the first place. Is is so easy to get sucked back into the trap of individualism. Having low self-esteem gives free reign to unchecked shadow, which is at the root of all the world’s problems. And yet, focusing on improving your own self-esteem can be a selfish act when it reinforces the structures and beliefs of our toxic culture. I believe that a better future depends on enough people realizing that low self-esteem and fake individual ego high self-esteem are both rooted in the lie of individualism, both manifest isolation, and so therefore the solution is to destroy isolation- a revolutionary act of rebellion against our poisonous culture.

Mercury conjunct the north node, square Sedna, forces us to acknowledge our fear of being seen. This aspect highlights the challenge of extending your vulnerability to others, knowing that a lot of people are still stuck in the trap of individualism and will either leave you hanging or take advantage of you. It also highlights the challenge of finding the resources to hold space and care for others who have extended their vulnerability to us, when we are still in a place where we feel that we need those resources for ourselves.

If we are to truly understand our own suffering, we must acknowledge that our society has failed us. We must acknowledge that our culture is designed to obfuscate what our real needs even are, designed to enhance insecurity and interpersonal violence, designed to promote a supposedly empowering individualism that is actually an incredibly unhealthy isolation. It is an abusive culture. It wants us to feel bad because it wants us to think we need it, and it drains us.

In a brilliant essay on the struggles of finding an authentic self-care practice, Laurie Penny suggests that we can “learn a great deal from the queer community, which has long taken the attitude that caring for oneself and one’s friends in a world of prejudice is not an optional part of the struggle—in many ways, it is the struggle.”

…..Chris Maisano concludes that while “the appeal of individualistic and therapeutic approaches to the problems of our time is not difficult to apprehend . . . it is only through the creation of solidarities that rebuild confidence in our collective capacity to change the world that their grip can be broken.”

from Life Hacks of the Poor and Aimless

New Moon Meditations and Intentions

New Moon at Zero Leo: I matter. I know who I truly am. I am a light, here to shine.

Conjunct Mars, Square Uranus: I will reach out in new ways to connect with a community of other shining lights, breaking down the walls of isolation, and sharing energies in mutually beneficial ways.

New Moon/Mars trine Chiron: I am willing to let go of the ego-pride that feels so good when I believe that I am self-sufficient, because I understand how this is a major blockage to my Heart chakra. I cannot fully connect with a community that meets the needs of all, if I can’t acknowledge that we all truly need each other, and actively offer my participation.

What Comes Next

In the days following the Leo New Moon, Mercury at 28° Leo completes the trine to Uranus at 28° Aries, and the Moon finishing its transit through Leo with a conjunction to Mercury at 29° Leo, trine Uranus, uniting our emotional reality with the powerful new changes we’ve introduced during this New Moon and descending Heart chakra gate. On July 26th, the Sun completes its conjunction to Mars at 4° Leo, beginning a powerful new cycle that will give us our sense of direction in life for the next 2.5 years. Stay tuned to Planetary Clarity for all this and more.