Astro-update: New Moon in Leo | Mercury Direct
In July we had two big eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn which shook things up a lot. Mercury, the planet of communication, has also had a ripper of retrograde during July. All of this has left us standing on shaky ground, questioning what we want. Mercury retrogrades help us with activities starting with re-: to rethink, reassess, rework, reorganise etc. Adding to this, eclipses tend to hide things from us—it’s like we are walking through a dark forest, only able to see a few feet ahead. This feels scary. We don’t know what’s out there and we need to trust that we will find a way to get through. We need to be courageous and rely on our instincts: not being able to see ahead forces us to look within and find the answers in our heart.
Confusion abounds when our head and our heart are separate. Often, the heart wants one thing and the head jumps in to tell us that we should want something else. The head and the heart shouldn’t be in conflict. They both have distinct jobs to do: the heart needs to feel, the head takes care of the details. We must turn down the volume in our heads so we can dive into our hearts. Once we have the answers, then we ask the head to make a plan so we can bring what we want out into the world. The heart feels, the head communicates this feeling.
We refrain from speaking from our hearts because there is a fear that if we do, perhaps we won’t get what we want. Perhaps the person we are talking to won’t react in the way we want them to, so we tell ourselves that it is best to keep quiet because then we won’t get a no. We are fearful of putting ourselves out there because we don’t want to be disappointed, or judged.
Being honest with yourself takes courage. Expressing yourself to others takes even more courage. To do both is the greatest act of self-love.
So we must harness our courage. When I speak about courage, I am referring to the following definition:
Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences—good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary courage."
When I am finding it difficult to muster up courage I like to look to the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. He went to the Wizard to ask for courage, only to be told he had it within him the entire time. He had been thinking that courage was something that had to be big and grand, that he needed to feel invincible at all times. But he showed his courage in the moments when he did what was needed and when he allowed himself to be vulnerable by admitting he was afraid. It is a reminder that courage is within all of us, we just need to harness our inner strength and vulnerably put ourselves out there. Or in other words, feel the fear but do it anyway.
When Mercury stations direct on August 1 in Cancer—the sign of emotion and nurture—it will be in combination with the New Moon in Leo. Mercury rules the mind, Leo rules the heart. This combination will help us to shine out and express what is in our hearts, so if there is something that you need to say, this is a time when you will be supported to say it.
So ask yourself what it is you really, really want: not what your head thinks you want, but what is deep in your heart. Take the time to meditate on it, to journal about it, to talk to a friend about it. Then, when you are sure of what it is in your heart, bring it up to the head to work out how you will express it: the plan you will take to bring your dream to life, the words you will say to someone. Harness your courage, shine forth and express yourself with a lion's roar.
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