New Moon in Leo: Embracing your Inner Light

Leo season is here, ushering in a new frequency of energy that is big, bold and brave. As a fire sign ruled by the Sun, Leo teaches us how to take center stage and courageously shine our light with the world. Over the coming month, the themes of confidence, creativity and expressing your authentic truth will be illuminated by the cosmos. If there is an area of your life where you are playing small, expect this to come under review, especially as Mercury stations retrograde and prepares to move back into Leo.

Inhibitions around owning and expressing who we are in the world often come from external conditioning. We dim our light to fit into the mold created by society and modeled through our family environment. A culture of comparison disconnects us from our soul’s unique essence and gifts, leading us to believe that we are not “enough” if we do not follow the same path or have the same achievements as others. We are taught early on through our educational environment that success is inherently based on what we “do” rather than on who we are. We seek belonging through assimilation to our external world, often at the cost of pushing to the side our soul’s authentic voice. However, this goes against our divine essence as creators. As such, the universe has an interesting way of bringing us back into alignment: it presents us with triggers, experiences that ask us to delve into our shadow and face the deeper wounds blocking us from fully expressing and shining our light.

There was a period in my life when overly confident people served as my greatest trigger. An example: for several years I had a close friend who embodied both the higher and lower octaves of Leo. She made an impression when stepping into a room and always seemed to have drama in her life that took center stage. Her boldness and confidence inspired me while simultaneously leading to an unhealthy power dynamic in our relationship. I consistently defaulted to her when making decisions, disconnecting from my own intuition and authentic truth. My friend’s constant criticism, disguised as “advice”, slowly chipped away at my own self-esteem. Other friends noticed, remarking that I dimmed my light in her presence. Our relationship served as an important mirror, reflecting back to me all of the ways that I had disassociated from my own power.

When I consciously focused on shifting the relationship with myself, learning to embrace my own gifts rather than comparing my achievements to others and trusting my inner voice, this unhealthy relationship naturally fell away. Interestingly enough, I continued to attract confident people into my life, yet they no longer triggered me. Instead, I came into alignment with people whom I respected for standing in their power and who honored me for stepping into my mine. The energy exchange was different, more balanced as we supported each other in taking center stage and celebrated our achievements together.

As we move through Leo season, I invite you to consider what in your life has inhibited you from owning your creative gifts and shining your light with the world. Is it external conditioning, others dictating how you should tell your life story rather than you narrating your own tale? Is there something that you are feeling called to create yet a fear of failure, or even of success is holding you back?

Allow the energy of the new moon in Leo to support you in releasing limiting old stories and embracing your inner truth. The world needs your light, now more than ever.