On Feb 1, at 4:09 pm CST, the Moon opposes the Sun from the 14th degree of Leo. Leo carries themes of self-expression, creativity and joy, and the child-like radiance of being (among others). As the natural 5th House, these Leo themes can present as literal children, romantic activity, and the experience of play.
The ruling planet of Leo is the Sun, the only true luminary and the center around which the aptly named Solar System revolves. Indeed, Leo is an energy which centers, focalizes, and sometimes demands attention. Aries may be the Sign of the Individual-Self, but Leo is the Sign which brings that Individual-Self into a centered and coherently-embodied being. Physiologically, Leo is correlated with the heart, spine, and solar-plexus. All of these are unifying and centralized phenomena, among the few aspects of the Human body which are not bi-lateral features.
The lion is the symbol of Leo, ruling over the sun-soaked savannah and the pride comprised of its kin, which fittingly brings many of these themes together.
While those with strong Leo qualities can indeed be self-centered, many express the inverse and can be strongly other-centering. Leo loves a spotlight, but doesn't necessarily desire to be in it. Leo is the energy of centering as such. It is the Fixed Fire, initiated by the spark of Cardinal Fire, and focused into a singular flame.
This Full Moon in Leo arrives in between two major transits featuring that Cardinal Fire sign of Aries. January 26 features the Aries ingress of Neptune, and February 13 features the Aries ingress of Saturn. The shift of these two slow-moving outer planets into Aries begins new cycles of approximately 165 and 28 years, respectively.
Fire requires Air, and this Full Moon has ample supply as the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars, as well as Pluto, are all traversing the Air Sign of Aquarius. The ruling planet of Aquarius, Uranus, also features in this dynamic as it stations direct on February 3 and begins its journey back into the Sign of Gemini, adding even more Air energy to the picture.
While the Full Moon in Leo and the transits of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are relatively fleeting (though likely plenty powerful and profound), the slower moving transits of Saturn and Neptune in Aries aspecting Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini will be longer-term dynamics which are only beginning to unfold.
While Air is necessary for Fire to burn, it can also blow the flame out or spawn an uncontrollable blaze. The innocence of birthday candles, and the stoic destruction of a wildfire. While there is much enthusiasm and excitement in the zeitgeist about the forthcoming New Moon lunation and its signaling of the year of the Fire-Horse in Chinese astrology, the Saturnian aspect of Aquarius and the power of Air may prove to be the more prescient dynamic in determining how this era of Fire plays out in our lives.
"Without the Bender, a rock will not throw itself! But Fire will spread and destroy everything in it's path if one does not have the will to control it!" -Jeong Jeong, from "Avatar: The Last Airbender"
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Yin-Yang-Yoga 