New Moon Aug. 27, 4:17 a.m. in sidereal Leo, Magha: The influence of the lineage: What to continue and what to release

New Moon Saturday, Aug. 27, 4:17 a.m. eastern time in sidereal Leo, Magha: The influence of the lineage: What to continue and what to release

The New Moon is in a powerful degree of sidereal Leo called Magha, the generous and regal one. It is ruled by the Pitris, a grouping of deities connected to the ancestors. When Magha is prominent in the sky as it is now with this New Moon and as it will be when we move into September, our “families” - ancestral, spiritual and chosen - come into the spotlight. (Pitru paksha is when we honor our ancestors and is celebrated September 10-25, 2022.) It’s a beautiful time to give thanks to our lineages, to the gifts we see handed down, generation by generation. As the African proverb says: “If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.”

But, with Rahu’s influence on the New Moon and Sun this month, this lunar cycle pulls in the shadow side of family: the challenges we may experience because of what has been handed down to us that we did not choose - and would not have chosen.

Like the last full moon encouraged us look at what was necessary, what is extra and what we are putting into the world, this New Moon cycle asks us to do the same - but with our attachments and expectations of ourselves, especially the unconscious ones that can be handed down from our families. Part of the offering of this New Moon cycle in Magha is to become clear about what is “yours” to focus on and to manage in new grounded ways, versus what is your ancestral stuff coming up for you to release (like the “7 generations” idea). We’re being given a chance to recognize what is worth keeping and what is worth releasing - not just for us but for our lineage, in both directions.

When we look at the sign Leo, it can glamorize and aggrandize whatever planets it connects to. In this moment, it’s the Sun and the Moon: our selves (matter) and our hearts/minds (consciousness): Purusha and Prakruti, the beginning of Sankhya philosophy. We may overestimate what we can take on during this Leo time, which can create frustration towards ourselves. This is an opportunity to look at our internal talk and the expectations we have of ourselves. Are they purely from within because we know our abilities? Are they from family expectations? If so, is it because they believe whole-heartedly in you? Or because they want you to rise up to Leo king-like status? Are they from the excitement Leo creates? Are they because of the ego wanting the spotlight? Or are they true assessments of who we are and what we are capable of? This can take time to work through because Leo can be very convincing! This New Moon can offer us a chance to reset our expectations of ourselves and set goals that are healthy and exciting, not because we feel the need to prove ourselves to others.

The last lunar cycle and this next one challenge us to get real with ourselves. The next Full Moon in Purva Bhadrapada in sidereal Aquarius is excellent at burning off “bad habits” so to speak. It will be influenced by Ketu, Rahu’s counterpart, reinforcing the deeply personal and karmic time with these two lunar cycles. We have been building up to this, truly releasing from old ideas: around our notions of our worth and value, where we put our attention and time, how we nourish ourselves, what we are ok with, what paradigms need to shift within us so they can do the same in our physical world, etc etc. When we take time to look, we free our energy up to step deeper into our own mastery. It requires courage which Leo has in spades. While Leo likes to perform and can be attached to how it’s viewed in the world, this doesn’t have to be a public process (although I’m sure we will see this happening). This New Moon in Magha is the early degrees of Leo and so its focus is on the ones closest to it.

Some questions to help get focused:

•What gifts have been passed down to you?

•What habits and ideas have been gifted or, conversely, put upon you?

•What is asking to be birthed/ rebirthed within you? Your lineage (ancestral and chosen)?

•Are there any habits/patterns/beliefs/ideas you’re ready to acknowledge and drop?

•Or ones you’ve been avoiding and are ready to embrace?

::PEACE::