July's New Moon in Leo 2011

July's New Moon is 7 degrees and 17 minutes into Leo and occurs at 11:40 AM PDT, Saturday July 30. As always I like to remind you that this "empty" moment, that is both an ending of one and a beginning of the "new" Moon's monthly (almost) cycle, is a pregnant one. When we approach this day with awareness and intention we multiply its potential power to set things into motion.

First we look to the chart of this exact moment for clues about the energies that are reflected there. We know the Sun and Moon will both be in Leo and will be sharing the same 7 degree position. Only 5 degrees behind them is the planet Venus, so we will think of this as a Venus flavored New Moon.

There's also a nice 120 degree aspect (trine) down to Uranus which adds some spice that can be spiritual, electric, stimulating to the nervous system, unexpected and exciting. Seeing this, my mind went to kundalini, a process where sexual is transmuted into spiritual. Overall the aspect energy of this chart is fairly mild, with no particular cardinal mode energy, like we've seen in the Cardinal Crosses these past several months.

So it's always good to refer to your own chart and see where the 7 degrees of Leo falls, which house, and which, if any, other natal planets it aligns with. I did this and discovered that it fell in my 6th House and overlaid my Pluto/Chiron conjunction there. In addition the 7 degrees Leo New Moon opposes my Venus (ditto for the Pluto/Chiron). So this lights up my 6th/12th House axis which has to do with unselfish devotion to my own healing process and interest in supporting that of others.

This takes us to the topic of the collage I created for this month's post. I started with the kundalini concept combined with the self-awareness and self-expression of the sign Leo, ruled by the Sun. Here sexuality/sensuality is all part of the Divine Feminine owning and expressing itself in a natural and uplifting way.

The young woman (painted by Gauguin in 1890-1) is lying down in natural surroundings with a fox, symbol of sensuality in the Indian culture. Below this joined hands are resting on the lap in a gesture (mudra) of meditation, the Dhyana Mudra. The upper image is a lotus which suggests the spiritual possibilities that are always present within the physicality of human incarnation. And so it seems I have found a way to introduce sexuality once again into this collage process.

Hmm, perhaps the next New Moon in Virgo will slow down this trend? I hope this post helps each of you better find your own intention on Saturday.