Yes, it looks like a wild, fasten your seatbelts kind of month ahead, and the days leading up to the New Moon will be pretty interesting, too. (Then, of course, we have the powerful New Moon eclipse in late August, but more on that later)

How this (or any other astrological influence) will affect you depends on your natal chart, and your skill in managing your life. Since you’re reading this post, I imagine you are the sort of person who tries to make informed choices, and you have a spiritual focus. People who work actively and knowledgeably with the current astrology and keep an eye on spiritual realities tend to make the best of the active planetary influences, but when we are looking at the country as a whole, outcomes tend to be more problematic. Why? Because we live in a culture steeped in fear. But that’s the topic for another post.

I just want to point that out so you don’t fall into the trap of imagining the worst-case scenario when I describe what the New Moon chart says about what’s ahead for the country this month. I’ll also look at some of the myriad ways we can use this energy positively, and your mission is to focus on creating a best-case scenario for yourself and those around you, while staying aware, compassionate, and involved in the big changes that will be happening as we approach the next New Moon, the eclipse that will stretch across the USA on August 21st.

A Bit of Astrology

(Here’s the info for those who know some astrology and want to follow along. New Moon falls on July 23, at 5:47 a.m., in 0 degrees 44 minutes of Leo. Chart is cast for Washington, DC.,(which makes it predictive for the entire country) with 26 degrees 50 minutes of Cancer on the Ascendant. The New Moon conjunction is rising, and tightly conjunct Mars, which rules the Aries Midheaven. Uranus, in Aries in the 10th (which rules the Executive Branch and the political party currently in power) is in a separating square with the rising planets, and an approaching square to the Ascendant. Uranus is also trine Mercury in Leo, which is conjunct the North Node in the 2nd. Jupiter, in the 4th, ruling the 9th and 6th, is in a tight approaching square to Pluto in Capricorn, in the 6th and co-ruling the 5th with Mars. Also note Venus in Gemini, ruling the 4th (natural resources, weather) and 11th (Legislative Branch) opposed Saturn (ruling the 7th [adversarial challenges] and 8th [debt, taxes, shared financial resources] in Sagittarius.)

On the National Stage

Leo is always about leadership, and discussions around what makes a leader and how they lead will come up not only around politics, but in other arenas as well. No matter your feelings about hierarchy in general, it’s still the primary method of human social organization. It’s also quite efficient. Not everyone wants to be a leader, because the job, if done well, comes with a lot of work and responsibility. But we have choices about who we follow, who we support in their role of leader, and those choices are important ones that should be carefully considered.

The citizenry will be active and irate this month, with strong overtones of patriotism shading into jingoism. There’s a haze of anger in the air, and there will be arguments around core values that have strong religious overtones. Luxury, glamour, and spectacular displays of over-consumption and entitlement will be much in the news, with lashings of both judgment and envy further poisoning an already-polluted psychic atmosphere.

So you can see that you need to guard your mind this month. Do you have a daily practice that involves cleansing, grounding, and centering? With perhaps a few minutes of meditation to top it off? Shifting your own mental state will help clear the psychic atmosphere. You may think that one person can’t do that much, but that isn’t the case. One person, working regularly in a conscious manner with their thoughts and emotions, creates an energy that ripples outwards and affects many others. And you won’t be alone. The public discourse will also be full of thoughts about generosity and creative solutions to problems. The question is — as always — will you choose to be part of the problem or the solution?

We can expect yet more upheaval, surprises, and antagonism from and towards the White House. The Legislative Branch is likely to be constrained by judicial matters, and the political arena this month will be defined by litigiousness and lies. (Yes, I know. Even more than usual, though). The astrology suggests that those of us who are focused on creating change must look for truth, have the courage to face it when we find it, then channel our anger into action.

We are also looking at some excitement and upheaval in the financial arena that may have to do with debt and probably the over-valuation of something, possibly real estate or natural resources. Gold may play a larger role in the economy than usual, and economic problems due to weather and/or environmental situations will be highlighted. How markets are manipulated may become an issue. The financial arena is shown to be even more of a swamp than the Federal government (not that the two are really separate.)

Back on the Home Front

Now, let’s take a look at what this all might mean on a more personal level. Leo is a Fire sign, in the Fixed modality. Leo gives a long, slow burn. Leos are exceptionally loyal, and focused on self-expression. When they are playing to their strengths, they are strong, creative individuals who appreciate the individuality of others. If they have been raised in a way that allowed them to develop a healthy ego, they not only accept, but celebrate differences as sacred expressions of identity.

Leos are often criticized as “egotistical”, but let’s consider what the ego actually is and what it does — or is supposed to do. Contrary to what many believe, ego is not something we want to “overcome”, or leave behind on our spiritual journey. Ego is an important part of any human being, essential to being a healthy individual in this world. Ego has a job in the overall organization of our psyches, and that job is to manage physical reality for us, to make certain limited decisions and instigate certain actions, in response to the outer world, in line with the vision, directions, and boundaries set by the CEO — your greater Self. Ideally, ego has an upper-management position with power, but not the ultimate say-so. Ego — when it’s assigned its proper job and not allowed to run the company (Your Life, Inc.), is our friend. It assesses what’s going on in outer reality, and suggests strategies to deal with it.

But when the ego starts running things, when it sits at the CEO’s desk and starts making the kind of decisions only the CEO should make, that’s when we see the overweening sense of self-importance that is what most people mean when they say someone is “egotistical”. When ego is running things, we become overly conscious of how we appear to others, we compare ourselves to others, and we require outside admiration and affirmation because there is no underlying solid sense of Self. We are anxious and fearful, and often hide that fear and anxiety, even from ourselves (coping mechanisms, denial, etc.)

Often, fear encourages us to put the ego in charge and listen to what it tells us to do, ignoring messages from our greater Self. Ego puts a lot of stock in appearances, because it’s usually trying to cover up underlying shame and insecurities. It goes for control because it lacks vision, perspective, and understanding.

When the ego is making decisions for which it has neither the experience nor the information required, it’s doing a job it’s not qualified for. It will hijack our journey on our spiritual path if we don’t stay aware of the goals of our Self for this lifetime. (And if you’re wondering what the goals of your Self are for this lifetime, astrology can answer that question. Drop me an email, and we’ll set up a consultation.)

What’s your ego up to these days? This might be a good month to assess that. The question is, can you be truthful with yourself about it? One of the main reasons people don’t do more serious self-inquiry and tend to go into denial about their behavior is that admitting we are not living up to our own standards, that we are “at fault”, can be simply too painful to bear if we have been raised to blame ourselves and feel shame. Unless…we have worked on forgiving ourselves.

This is another side of Leo — a generosity of spirit, a loving acceptance of others, faults and all. Can you give that to yourself? Can you allow yourself to recognize the less appealing portions of your personality, to own the actions and words that hurt others, so you can avoid repeating them? Your perceived faults are part of life’s learning experience, not a reflection of your basic worth. Shame is a difficult emotion to process, and we all deal with it. (Again, I recommend the books of Brene Brown). But if we don’t do this work of facing our faults and working through our shame, we’ll just keep replaying the same old tapes in our heads, and — no surprise — getting the same results. If you want different results, take the opportunity this New Moon offers to begin making changes — and then fasten your seatbelt!