Leo New Moon Letter
We are in a very mutative time as we approach the last quarter Sun-Moon square perfecting this evening, which is ending a cycle connected to the 2023 Aries solar eclipse. This last quarter square happens right before Mercury goes retrograde in Leo. Two days later on June 20th, Mars and the South Node will meet up at 19 degrees Virgo with Venus in Gemini applying to a closing square. Both are ruled by the retrograde Mercury in Leo. Finally we have the New Moon in Leo opposing Pluto in Aquarius on the 24th.
What is my role as an individual to the collective, where do I belong and is it safe, can I ever be free from oppression or must I keep fighting until my last breath?
The Cross of Laws
Both the last quarter Sun-Moon square and the Mars-South node conjunction happens on the Human Design “Cross of Laws”:
“We have four laws. We have traditional law, gate 56, law based on experience; we have the law of limitation, the 60th gate, the law that says that when you have a limitation all you can do is fulfill the limitation or the potential of the limitation; we have the 50th gate, this is the law giver, this is the carving of law into stone for the benefit of the tribe and its education and security; and we have the 3rd gate, the law of mutation, the law of mutation transcends all other laws. It makes all other laws redundant, so it’s the most potent of the laws.”
Mercury is retrograding in gate 7 line 3, its detriment. It speaks to the nihilistic tendencies we are seeing all around us: “nothing works, so let's break everything”. This tendency toward nihilism is under review during this retrograde. The great purging. The flood. “If we get rid of everyone we don’t like, we can finally be happy.” Is nihilism like blind hope?
This last quarter square warns of an elite power overstretching and a transformation that requires retrogressive periods before a renewal can take place. How long will this retrogressive period last before the mutation takes place? Mutation is an individual process and is not guaranteed, but the astrology does indicate that there will be increasing collective resistance as Pluto goes out-of-bounds in late August.
Mars conjunct the South Node
Mercury rules Mars and Venus in this chart aptly placed in the 6th house. We have experienced a clear demolition of our governmental institutions. Mars conjunct the South Node speaks to a severing of sorts, a loss, sometimes violent. It’s in the 7th house so it describes the severing of our allies. The sabian for this degree is about cooperation, it’s called “A Caravan Of Cars Headed To The West Coast”. It appears to be about our path toward isolationism. We are killing off our own world dominance, we are killing off the world’s desire to immigrate to the freedom and prosperity once found in the West. We are killing off a reality for an illusion (Neptune) of the past (Saturn).
There is a tension with Venus in Gemini in the 4th house in square relationship with Mars. Venus speaks to the inventiveness of the tribal leader to establish techniques by which common ground can be assessed. The tariffs. Venus rules the 3rd and 8th houses of this chart and with Uranus in the 3rd house and the moon separating, it demonstrates the back and forth chaos that has clearly affected the people at home and has put us in a place of tension between our own interests and our allies interests.
New Moon in Leo: An Unexpected Opposition
Raven Kaldera calls this new Moon the Sun Child’s Moon:
During the Sun Child’s Moon, we concentrate on creativity in any endeavor, and we try to re-attain that childlike confidence of the era before we became conscious of the criticism of others. It’s also a good time for people who are not performers—especially if it’s because they are too afraid to perform—to tentatively get up on stage and try their best. If we can neither create nor perform, then the task is to focus on feeling joy and on spreading that joy to others by whatever means we have.
They also have the ability to be almost naively arrogant and self-centered, and they may be emotionally clueless about such concepts as unselfish service and suffering for a greater good. “Why would anyone think that was worth the trouble?” they ask ... They are so engaging to watch that you’ll forgive them for it . . . the first few times. Eventually it does get old. They may well need someone to sit them down and give them straight and honest talk about how one loses audiences, and for reasons other than a bad performance.
The New Moon in Leo is intercepted in the 9th house, opposing Pluto in the 3rd on the “Cross of the Unexpected” … the unexpected influence. Interestingly, Epstein was born in-between the “Cross of Laws” and the “Cross of the Unexpected”. His cross is called the “Cross of Distraction” and what an apt name it is for him. Especially as it relates to the MAGA fixation on a conspiracy which excludes the obvious connection of their dear leader.
I also thought it interesting that Melania, who was born on the Taurus side of the "Cross of the Unexpected", was recently in the news for having made a comment that was touted as influential to her husband’s change of tune about supplying weapons to Ukraine. Sam Altman, one of the founding members of OpenAI, was also born on the Taurus side of this cross. Unexpected breakthroughs can lead to a shift that can change our entire trajectory. This is what I remind myself of when I get into the pessimistic and nihilistic attitude that Mercury speaks to in this retrograde. Fate has a way of intervening at the last moment and we wonder why we spent so much time worrying about a specific thing.
When you think about Pluto’s opposition to this new moon, it follows the journey of the President’s inauguration with the unexpected presence of the tech oligarchs at the conjunction. Followed by Pope Francis’ sudden death at the opening square, magnifying the tension between the Pope and the President over his treatment of migrants. Now we come to the opposition, the full moon of this aspect. What unexpected release fueling a new beginning might we experience with the New Moon? We have already seen the opposition of his most powerful ally and now we are seeing a larger rift amongst his most staunchest supporters over the Epstein debacle. What other unexpected influence might we see closer to the New Moon?
The New Moon is in trine relationship to the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries in the 4th house. This New Moon highlights the reality of the illusions we’ve all had about our belonging and our safety & security. Neptune and Saturn going retrograde brought great flash floods and fires. We are starting to see the results of inflation and the shortages at food pantries. There have been tremendous personal stories that have touched so many because of these climactic events. Will these cataclysmic events wake us up to our reality or will we continue to deflect the blame on the other. If we send all the migrants to other countries will our reality finally sink in or will there be others still to blame?
Mercury retrograde is in the same 9th house, telling a similar story. It is now in line 1 of gate 7, the authoritarian or the distorted intellect that thinks he is the only one that knows best. Sound familiar? Mars in the 10th house is now separating from the south node and the square to Venus in the 8th. Mars speaks to a high level of responsibility, a strength of will to survive but without hope of overcoming the oppression. The ultimate truth from this placement is that it’s no use complaining, one must not waste resources on relationships that are of no value. Venus is now the degree of the President’s Sun. Jupiter is also in the 8th house and in the gate of provocation. In line 1, Jupiter provokes by disengaging. Jupiter rules the 4th house. The IC’s Sabian: “The squirrel hides from hunters.”
The oppression of Mars, the provocation of disengagement from Jupiter, the nihilism of Mercury. Check, check, check. Wow… I hope this retrograde period gives us deep insight into these forces which are taking hold so we can actually take some Aries initiative.
What gives me hope is Pluto going out-of-bounds in late August. If you haven’t watched my friend Dabney Lawless interview Rosie Finn about Pluto out-of-bounds… do yourself a favor and watch it. Maybe it will inspire some hope in you too. In the meantime, channel this new moon with the creative innocence that it can inspire and watch your dramatic scene stealing moments.
If you prefer watching a video of this article with a few additional highlights, you can find it here:
