Full Moon in Leo with Shawnie Hamer

[Pictured: The Venus of Willendorf Statue]

I recently dreamt that I walked the long corridors of a warehouse storing the world’s treasures and magical objects: statues, tablets, chalices, and the like.

My eyes passed easily over the thousands of golden tools and trinkets, until suddenly they fell upon a stone statue of the divine mother. She vibrated with energy, as if daring me to be strong enough to pick her up.

I knew her power had survived longer than anything in the structure. I also knew she was she was asking me to allow her to accompany me on my next journey.

To take something from this place, you have to do something you’ve never done before, my friend's voice said next to me.

I stepped outside the old building to find that it sat on the edge of a seaside cliff. All around were people pushing themselves to the limit to try and earn their right to take a piece of sacred treasure. They skydived, cliff jumped, did acrobatics on top of each other, without hesitation or fear.

As I watched, I tied a thick rope around my waist and the other end to the building.

And, I jumped.

I swung wide around the structure, floating out over the hungry chaos of the people and the waves of the crystal blue sea.

I looked down to see that my clothes had been replaced with a baby pink ballgown and ballet slippers.

I felt graceful—a feeling I am not very familiar with in waking life. More than grace, I felt at peace, at ease in the risk I was taking to be worthy of the power that was calling upon me.

As creatives in this chaotic and hungry world, it feels increasingly difficult to find the balance between what we do in service of our souls, our duties, and the expectations placed upon us. I know for me personally, the challenge to find my footing in creativity over the last few months has brought on more existential crises than I care to admit.

The winter’s forced hibernation has allowed me to become steadfast in tending to the practical. I’ve found solace in the physical realm, warming the hearth, cooking meals, talking with friends, and solidifying work routines. The result is that I have found myself thriving professionally, getting swept up into roles and worlds I never thought possible.

But at what cost?

Many things have sparked over these long, dark months, but my ability to be aligned with my creativity is not one. I am sure I’m not alone in this—I know many of my fellow writers struggle to find their spark in the heaviness of winter.

Today is the Full Snow Moon in Leo opposite the Aquarius Sun. This Leo-Aquarius polarity asks us to take a good long look at how we are balancing all that is personal (Leo) and all that is impersonal (Aquarius).

As Café Astrology writes of this full moon:

The energy of the Leo Moon is creative self-expression and the boost to the individual ego that we receive through pleasure and romance, while the Aquarius Sun rules the group, more impersonal friendships, and objectivity. This Full Moon urges us to strike a balance between romance and friendship, and between expressing ourselves in personal and impersonal ways.

This moon asks us: 

• How can we express ourselves authentically in both personal and impersonal realms?
• How can we bring pleasure into duty, and duty into our pleasure?
• Where are places we have become too focused on the external/impersonal (for example, bending ourselves over backward to simply have the object, vs enjoying the process of earning it)? 

At first glance, the desires of the Leo side of this full moon might seem a little selfish, especially under the influence of the all-practical Aquarius Sun. But Leo is also incredibly loyal to its pride, meaning that this kind of self-care and delight allows Leo to be better equipped to be a part of and protect its community.

Make no mistake: pleasure is a political act. One that serves many purposes, but above all, allows us to step into ourselves authentically so that we can then be in better service to the world around us.

On the flip side, Aquarius reminds that not all things can be at the will of the ego. Like it or not, we do have duties to fulfill. We do have passions, people, pets, plants, and the like that rely on us to get shit done.

And there is so much we still need to get done.

But we can never forget that we, too, rely on ourselves. We can never forget that self-care and self-expression are duties to ourselves that cannot be buried under the others.

This might be truly uncomfortable for some to hear. This is far from the dogma we are taught and will likely require a major shift in habits.

But if we can do it, if we can make the leap in a fashion that makes us feel free, can you imagine what can be learned and transcended?

Can you imagine the power and creativity that is there waiting, if we simply make room for it within our hearts and practices?

Can you imagine the work that can be done together?
 
Do something you’ve never done before.