The fire sign Leo gets a strong focus from the Sacred Feminine energies during 2023. It starts with the entry of Dark Feminine Black Moon Lilith into Leo on 8 January. Then Goddess of Love Venus, amplifies the heart-centred vibrations with her next retrograde through the sign of heart-centred individuality, 22 July to 4 September – almost four months if you include the pre and post retrograde shadow zones, 20 June to 7 October. Venus will meet with her dark sister three times during the summer: late June, retrograde in early August, then direct on 9 October at 0 Virgo.
Leo is the second fire sign of the zodiac, where the birth phase of Aries and the human stages of development Taurus through Cancer begin to discover and integrate individuality. Leo is ruled by the Sun, representing the opportunity to grow into the brilliance of our individuality, our fullest creative expression. It rules the heart and represents the qualities of generosity, courage, steadfastness, natural leadership, loyalty, and fierce pride. Leo is where we experience the heart field in human ways, with all its realms from shyness and diffidence to the warmth of a fully committed open hearted connection. Its shadow tends towards attention-seeking, arrogance, wilfulness, and dramatic outbursts. Reflect on the difference between a quality actor and the headline-seekers; the contrast is obvious.
Black Moon Lilith transits call our awareness to extremes of expression and behaviour, often through a rejection or dramatisation of the qualities of the sign she’s transiting. She’s the calling of the Feminine in woman to be fully seen in her magnificence through all her shades of expression, playing in the darkest shadows that when embraced can reveal the utter brilliance of our soulful qualities. Lilith delivers the challenge that brilliance is a quality that shines for others and not for oneself. Its invisible to the self and yet its frequency can be felt in oneself by being utterly true to our core. It’s alignment and we know it, even as it may create havoc in our lives and relationships. In relating too, truth is Lilith’s ultimate guiding star. Refusing to compromise her calling to be fully seen and honoured in the depth of her Feminine essence, she boldly risks the breaking of her heart. Despite her insistent demand for it, she knows there are no guarantees in love. And that a broken heart is equally the gateway for the soul’s expression as love is.
Lilith in Leo is aptly described as being like the Sunspot activity of solar surges. One moment quietly radiating the power of life; the next bursting forth with power for life. Full and magnetic, in her highest soulfulness Lilith in Leo draws others into her creative field to enjoy, express and create. There’s a naturally generous radiance that attracts and magnifies heart connections. If this energy is not engaged creatively Lilith in Leo can become overbearing in the need to be seen. The steady fire energy of Leo gets stuck in frustration; health including heart health can then demonstrate the repression of vitality. For are we are called to live fully, creatively and heartfully, especially where Leo is the focus?
Key themes to become aware of as Lilith enters Leo – particularly in their extremes of light and shadow. These are significantly magnified June to October by Venus retrograde and the three meetings of these dark and light Feminine powers:
- Evolving in self-love and confidence in your unique contribution to life through your self-expression. Shining like the Sun. Addressing the shadows of inhibitions, particularly the inherited ones.
- How the power of focused attention equals focused light for creation or destruction
- Bright clear sovereignty as the key to transmuting control
- Being fully heart-centred presence in whatever you express and create
- Having fun, being playfully creative, fully enjoying life
- Flirtations, romance, playmates, game-playing
- Allowing yourself fullness of emotive expression: affection, passion, generosity, fierceness, roaring.
Discover more about these key Feminine archetypes in my books: Sacred Pathways & Her Sacred Fire here. There will be a further blog deepening these themes as Goddess of Love Venus enters this fiery lion-hearted sign in June.
