Full Moon in Leo January 2016 – Fierce Pride

The Full Moon occurs at 01:45 (UT) on the 24th January 2016 at 03°Le29′.

When I was five years old, I was given the part of the donkey in the nativity play. I was appalled because of course I wanted to be the angel! To this day, I will never forget bouncing from wall to wall down the corridor to the assembly hall because I was too afraid to tell the teacher that I couldn’t see a thing out of my hated donkey mask.

Skip ahead six years and this time I played a gypsy woman in the yearly nativity. Finally I was in my element with huge, gold curtain rings looped over my ears with cotton (because my Mother was not going to let me have my ears pierced, no way young lady) and wearing a floaty long skirt. A glass paperweight served as a crystal ball. Finally I felt like me. To this day, I still have a fondness for floaty skirts, hoop earrings and of course I have a crystal ball, only this time it’s a real one.

Sometimes we want people to see us. Sometimes we want to hide in a corner and wish away the audience. Often it comes down to how confident we feel, whether we’re in character and whether what we’re doing or saying comes from the heart. What’s going on behind the scenes makes a marked impression on our ‘performance’.

I often call Leo the child of the zodiac – playful, full of light, expressive. It’s your nine year old yelling “watch me, Mum, WATCH me” as they show their latest party trick. But over time, some of us lose our light.

Stop showing off!
Stop being silly!
Be quiet!
You’re not the only one in the room!

As we get older, our stage fright shows up. We fear being seen as different. We try to fit in. We fear asking someone out on a date or standing up in front of our peers to make a presentation in case we look foolish. We fear being ourselves.

But our core self fights to be seen and it’s fighting at this Leo Full Moon with the Moon and Sun widely square to Mars, creating a tense t-square. Someone, somewhere wants to prove a point. Maybe we don’t feel like we’re getting the attention we deserve and ‘act up’ to catch the eye of another. It’s possible that we’re too focused on what others want and need, trying to please them and feeling aggrieved when they don’t respond. It’s temper tantrums all round and bruised egos.

The Moon is on the Sabian symbol :-

A Formally Dressed Elderly Man Stands Near Trophies He Brought Back From A Hunting Expedition

This Sabian says we want others to see what we can do or what we have done. We want them to know we are brave, that we’ve got this.

Maybe it’s about acknowledging our own achievements, cheering ourselves on, giving ourselves a pat on the back and a glowing review – even more so if we’re feeling discouraged. Remembering past successes reminds us of what we are capable of doing and being. Have fierce pride in your triumphs.

The Full Moon is a time of culmination or crisis. We may find ourselves thrust into the spotlight yet feel uncomfortable. Mars is there offering courage but the danger is that we could go overboard, pushing too hard for what we want or to make an impression because any impression feels be better than none. The Moon is sesquiquadrate to pained Chiron and therefore we may feel far too conscious of how much it hurts to be ignored. During this lunation, we need to be aware of our subconscious motivations and what we really desire.

Full Moon in Leo January 2016 – Chart

The backdrop to this chart contains other sticking points. Mercury is still retrograde and tightly conjunct Pluto in Capricorn so we’re intensely focused on getting a result (or the truth) but we’re not getting anywhere fast. Venus is suited and booted having just entered Capricorn so our tastes are restrained and unimpressed by drama queens. Saturn square Neptune distinctly takes the shine off things. There’s a stiffness to this chart that doesn’t quite gel with the normally exuberant warmth of the Leo Moon.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t use these energies positively. The key to Leo is that whatever you’re doing, whatever situation you are in, it’s about living from the heart. Whilst there are some social conventions we generally need to abide by and yes feeling like we belong is important, it’s just as important to be yourself. If you’re having to play at being someone else to please another then the gap between the real you and the false front may widen as your inner warrior battles to make a real and profound connection. Don’t let your pride or fear of looking silly get in the way.

The truth is, not everyone is going to like us and that can hurt but it hurts far more to be anything other than who you are. Be brave and shine your light.

Painting – ‘Resting Lion’ by LeRoy Neiman