The Full Moon in Leo occurs at 18:28 (UT) on February 5, 2023. The Moon will be at 16LEO40.
I’m in the midst of a heavy cold, coughing, sneezing, a head full of cotton wool. Thankfully, I already did the full recording for my analysis of this lunation over on my Patreon. But to accompany this piece here on my website, I’m reposting something I wrote almost a decade ago to give you a flavour of some of the themes of this lunation.
When I was five years old, this little Leo Rising was given the part of the donkey in the nativity play. Outrageous, cried my inner princess! I was appalled because of course I wanted to be the angel, the star of the show! 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 that hated donkey mask.
Skip ahead six years and this time I played a gypsy woman in the yearly nativity. 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 or whether what we’re doing or saying comes from the heart. The more concerned with our with the reaction ‘out there’, the further we retreat into the shadows. 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, 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.
All these themes land at our feet during this lunation as the lights are tightly square Uranus in Taurus. The threat of alienation for being too ‘weird’ seems too close for comfort. And yet, if we dare to blaze our starlight, the result is a profound shift. Set yourself free. Shine.