Aug 13, 2023 | by Daniel Giamario |
A series of remarkable Venus events are the highlights of the Leo New Moon on August 16. Additionally, there is a strong Sun square Uranus that amplifies it all. Let’s take a look!
The New Moon
The 23Leo17 New Moon happens Wednesday, August 16, 2:38am PDT. Two weeks after the really close perigee Full Moon, it’s a so-called “Micro” New Moon, with the Moon at near maximum apogee. Any new moon is a monthly “seed point”, this one now inspired by the Leo Mystery School.
In the TOTAMS Astrological Paradigm, Leo is a sign of Self-Interest and Self-Exploration. Its intent is to have the courage to be “creator” for its own sake and to make it up any way you like. Leo’s spiritual essence is Sovereignty and is ideally expressed as radical and radiant self-love. Other essential qualities include joy and a beginner’s mind – like a healthy two-year old with loving, supportive, non-smothering, non-critical, non-judgemental parents. All this is in resonance with the Uranian catalyst and the Venus events.
It is also interesting to note, that if you are reading this on Monday, the Moon in Cancer during the 2 ½ days leading up to this Leo New Moon, is the farthest yet out-of bounds Moon of the year, at 27N56 declination!
Venus
Venus conjuncts Sun
Venus conjuncts the Sun at 20Leo28 on Sunday, August 13, 4:16am PDT. Venus is on the inside track between the Earth and Sun, in what can be called the “interior underworld”, when she is not visible from Earth.
Many other astrological approaches place the strongest emphasis on this conjunction to mark the beginning of a new Venus overstory. TOTAMS on the other hand, following the ancient traditions based on observation, use the heliacal rise, around August 19, to begin the new 584-day synodic cycle. Nevertheless, this conjunction, sometimes called cazimi using the Hellenistic term, is really important in the now concluding Capricorn overstory.
Merged with the Sun, representing Great Mystery itself, and off the world stage, this is where the deepest infusion of Leo Mysteries is transmitted to Venus, in a deeply esoteric and alchemical initiation. Only the tiniest remnants of the Capricorn overstory remain. Venus then rises in the morning sky, in the golden rays of dawn, as the birthing goddess is further illuminated in the pre-dawn sky, soon to fully birth on August 19 at her heliacal rise. Venus will end up being in Leo for an astonishing 126 days, from June 5 to October 8!
Leo Moon conjuncts Venus
The Leo Moon conjuncts Venus at 18Leo53 on Tuesday, August 15, 5:44pm PDT. This is a rare Moon/Venus conjunction in the interior underworld and not at all visible, thus part of the esoteric metamorphic process. It’s hard to not sense that this Leo New Moon time is more important than many others. Not only is Venus aligning with the Great Mystery of the Sun, but also connecting with 26,000 years or more of the Leo Mystery School’s lineage on planet Earth, both shadow and light – a double Solar and Lunar alchemical transmission!
The Uranian Amplification
On Tuesday, August 15, 7:35pm PDT, the Sun at 23Leo00 will square Uranus at 23Taurus00. Although the Sun squares Uranus twice every year, it’s not hard to see the significance of this one, as Uranus is squaring the entire Leo Sun/Moon/Venus configuration!
As Dane Rudhyar put it, squares mean “crisis in action”. Catalytic events that may be unexpected, and sudden changes through what we are at the effect of. With Uranus, it’s unexpected, unimaginable, and unpredictable events that can take us into other worlds and beyond one’s control. Think, for instance, about the unexplained and highly suspicious fires in Lahaina, Maui. And the greatest intensity of this configuration is yet to come!
From an initiatory perspective, the intent of a Uranian initiation is to break the “assemblage point”, personally and collectively, so that it can reassemble in a different way, in concert with original intent.
An additional consideration is that Jupiter in Taurus has moved closer than 10degrees to Uranus on July 21 and remains within 10degrees until June 14, 2024. This further amplifies the overall situation. This Uranian position is really close to the only exact Jupiter conjunct Uranus at 21Taurus52 on April 21, 2024, well within the window of the great solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. There has not been a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Taurus since 1941. There sure seems to be a lot of foreshadowing going on here!
Conclusions
The Venus synodic overstory of Leo is certainly different than that of Capricorn. Leo is Fire and right brain intuitive, whilst Capricorn is left brain sensate. But both are strong and commanding – Capricorn as elder and expert, Leo as carrier of creator vision and sovereign will. Neither are the more recent “feminine” perceptions of woman as yin, receptive, or maternal. Hierarchical feminine elder responsibility and control transforms into sovereign creatorship for the joy and audacity of it. Both desire to be respected, and in these times, both are more yang than yin.
Uranus and its alignment with Jupiter in Taurus is the wild card. There is way more to come, and much more to be revealed leading up to the April 2024 events, including the descent of the Leo Overstory Goddess into the underworld on April 27, 2024. Not to be forgotten is the morning sky union of Venus and Mars – in his Gemini overstory – in February 2024!
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Images: Naraya Naserian