Lunar News: Full Moon in Leo
A large camel crossing a vast and forbidding desert
Full Moon at 24° Leo on February 12th at 6:53 AM MST
Sabian Symbol: A large camel crossing a vast and forbidding desert
Did you know the Lunar News Spotify playlist has 12 songs, one for each zodiac sign? Each song a mini horoscope for your sign’s lunar cycle
Every year the Leo Full Moon arrives as a joyous relief from the dreary grey days of Aquarius season. It is the thunderous exclamation of the oft quoted Camus: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” As the Sun, fallen in Aquarius, trudges its way through this aloof constellation that is cold and distant and overwrought by heady analysis, the Moon illuminates the opposite polarity reminding us to tap into our heart.
The Leo-Aquarius axis is heart vs. head. Aquarius calls on us to think through our lives, systematize everything, intellectualize our emotions, and analyze the parts of ourselves that we have pushed toward the outer edges of our consciousness. Leo, on the other hand, acts from the heart, the center, and does not care to dwell on anything that could hinder its fluid progression through life. It is a warm sign that is ultimately on this journey for maximum individuation. It is not an egotistical sign (in fact, it is usually Aquarius that ends up being more egoic than Leo as it is concerned first and foremost with other people and their perceptions), but rather Leo wants to build up the Self apart from the Ego, which is clouded by unconscious drives. Successful individuation means the conscious and the unconscious are integrated and attuned to one another; the self and the shadow working together in harmony to create a personhood that acts with integrity and has grace for past mistakes, applying lessons learned. Leo is not self-conscious, it is playful and creative. The path to get to this place of joy and vitality is long, though, and Leo must go through an alchemical process of turning hubris into rightful pride on their hero’s journey. Leo’s downside is suffering from thinking it is divine rather than trying to channel the divine. In thinking it is immune to any kind of consequences or unfavorable outcomes, Leo can be reckless in taking risks and will get into all sorts of troubles inevitably leading to its downfall.
The Full Moon in Leo is trying to get us out of our heads and acting from our hearts. This lunar cycle since the New Moon in Aquarius has been eventful and maybe even difficult for some, and we have more difficult astrology yet to come. The momentum from this Full Moon will be useful in giving us the courage to face the chaos coming for us. This lunation is an important mile marker on our journey toward individuation and integration of all parts of the self. Uranus, which is now prograde in Taurus, is forming an important T-square to the Full Moon, that is, a square to both the Sun and the Moon. We’ll be feeling tension between being calculated in our assessments of the world and how we fit into it (Sun in Aquarius) and making decisions that come from our heart center to help us assert ourselves (Moon in Leo). On its own, this polarity can feel uncomfortable because when our head and heart are in conflict with one another it can feel as though we are at war with ourselves. Uranus comes in to ease the burden of this personal war, but it does so with an edge. To the Sun, Uranus is challenging the ego and disrupting daily habits and routines—the square makes us feel restless and in need of freedom and change. To the Moon, Uranus is disturbing peace of mind and urging us to do something we’ve never tried. In this psychological hot conflict between what we think we need to do and how we feel about doing it, Uranus comes in with a treaty begging us to break out of our calcified rituals at the altar of the Self and find another way to be.
Your relationships will be tested over the next few days because of this. Uranus transits to the luminaries are always taxing on relationships because we often put the people closest to us on the front lines of our personal wars. You might feel on edge with people who are emotionally close to you, or feeling like your loved ones are putting restrictions on your freedom to be yourself or demanding too much from you emotionally. If you are not conscious of the inner conflicts going on within yourself at this time, your loved ones are going to come in like a mirror reflecting back to you all the things you are (over)thinking and turning over in your mind and you might have a strong aversion to what they are showing you. These types of conflicts are normal and somewhat necessary for personal growth and development, so try not to suppress them out of fear or in an effort to keep the peace. Not every relationship has to pass the test.
On our personal hero’s journey, we have the choice to face the beasts emerging from our subconscious with humility or inflated ego. The Moon in Leo asks us to stop thinking and feel into this tension. Let go of yourself for a moment and trust that you have everything you need to win this war in your mind and come out the other side eagerly awaiting what’s coming next in your life.
February 14: Mercury ingress into Pisces
This is a sentimental time, but not a time for effective communication or getting messages across. The next few weeks of Mercury’s transit through Pisces will put us at the advantage of poetry, and we will feel a creative spirit coursing through us and our words. On the other hand, this could be three weeks of confusion and listlessness as we confuse ourselves between what we are thinking, what we’re feeling, and what we’re saying out loud. Even worse, we’ll be confusing others. In our day to day life, there will be several misunderstandings occurring, but in the life of the mind, we can expect surges of creativity.
February 18: Sun ingress into Pisces
The best thing about this year’s Pisces season is it is the last time the Sun will be co-present with Saturn in Pisces. It’s been a rough 3 years feeling like our creative spark is hampered by the cold planet putting restrictions and guardrails on our tender thoughts and actions. Make the most of this final Sun-Saturn contredanse by reflecting the lessons you’ve been given since 2023. In what ways have you been asked to expand your sense of creativity? Have you grown your emotional capacity in a way that supports yourself and your relationship to others? What do you feel like is missing in your heart-centered world and how can you cultivate more of it?
February 20: Mercury square Jupiter
This transit feels optimistic, even though it’s a tough square, and it’s generally favorable for transactions, closing business deals, and creating good magic in your life. We have the planets of details and information and abundance, luck, and expansion talking to one another to create fortified plans to make the most out of the next few months. As you go about your planning, you’ll need to be careful not to overlook any details; Mercury in Pisces is messy and prone to carelessness. You also can’t be too arrogant in your optimism at this time as Jupiter, now prograde in Gemini, is going to get ahead of itself and may risk our luck. Act conservatively, but keep an optimistic determination as you move forward with your plans.
February 23: Mercury trine Mars Rx
To assist with the vivid visioning we have done with the Mercury-Jupiter square, this trine to Mars helps us with implementation. We’ll feel a surge of energy going toward the tasks that need to get done in service to a greater, more purposeful imperative.
Typically with this transit it’s a good time to speak your mind, assert your position, or raise issues with other people, however I’d advise against getting too confident with your speech actions today. Mercury is not strong in Pisces—again, our words will be confused at this time—and Mars is currently stationing in Cancer (also his sign of weakness). Neither planet are very well aware of what’s Going On and so communicating our position or expressing feelings runs the risk of being misunderstood by the other person we are talking to. Verbal disputes and bickering are likely. Do not take anything too personally. Just stick to putting your head down and working now.
February 24: Mars stations direct
It’s been two long months of frustration and muddled movements with Mars backtracking through a little bit of Leo and much of Cancer. Our actions and reactions to the progression of our lives have been confused by this retrograde transit, but now the fog begins to clear and we are going to start to see the world for what it really is again. As Mars stays still at 17° for the next couple of weeks we’ll begin to understand all the ways in which our actions during this winter were not in our best interest. Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes and ask forgiveness from the people you have transgressed. Most important of all, don’t be afraid to try and reverse your missteps. It’s never too late to start over again.
February 25: Mercury conjunct Saturn
Today is a reality check. It complements the Mars station quite well in this respect, but it can be a harsh come down for many who were moving through life in a delusional state for the last several weeks. Saturn is providing us with a sobering clarity of mind at this time and we’ll have to get real about how to move forward in our lives with this new understanding of our reality. We’ll likely feel more critical toward ourselves and others today. Take advantage of this by thinking about how to be constructive in building your life back toward stronger foundations, don’t be too harsh on yourself or anyone else.