Full Moon in Leo: Listening to All Parts of Self
To heal personal or global discord calls for expression of the self, to integrate divergent voices, and to establish true integrity within.
This week, we welcome the Full Moon in the fixed fire sign of Leo, the Lion. Leo is the heart-centered, confident leader at his or her best, the prideful, pouty oligarch at their worst. With the Sun in Aquarius opposing the Moon, we are faced with questions of revolution from the public and groups, and how those on the Leo throne will react. It’s a cosmic crunch on the global stage that asks us to look within at how we deal with issues of power and control, force and flexibility in our own personal lives.
As within, as without. Unless we face our own shadow in these arenas, it will continue to be projected in Technicolor on the nightly news. This is all staring us in the face alongside the approaching first exact hit of the U.S. Pluto Return on February 22, 2022 in Capricorn; governmental power structures are up for transformation. Pluto continues his underground sewage overhaul, dredging up the political shadow in North America and all global governments combined, as no nation is an island anymore.
Astrologically, the Full Moon lights up a Fixed Grand Cross that resists change yet paradoxically requires it, pouring bucketfuls of stress into the collective atmosphere. As mentioned, the Leo Moon opposes Sun in the fixed air sign of Aquarius, and both of these luminaries square the North and South Nodes of the Moon in Taurus (fixed earth) and Scorpio (fixed water), respectively. If you are, like myself, at all sensitive to channeling collective energies, you might be feeling this oppositional energy deep down in your bones, especially if you are a Fixed Moon or Sun yourself or have fixed signs on the angles of your chart.
To understand what is moving through the airwaves, we need to look from both the archetypal, collective view as well as how it plays out in our personal lives. First, the macrocosm:
The Sun in Aquarius represents Freedom for The People, revolution, change, and disturbances that are upsetting yet may have the outcome of catapulting a person’s life, a country, a collective consciousness into an evolutionary process. Saturn, the planet of limitations and time, is also in Aquarius, which challenges us to deal with restrictions in order to prove how willing we are to work for the change of which we speak.
“When people are free to choose, they choose freedom.”
~ Margaret Thatcher
The Full Moon in Leo archetypally represents the king, the monarchy, the enthroned ruler calling the shots from the castle. Leo represents the über-wealthy, the crème de la crème, the finest of the finest. Pure Leo energy is definitely not working class, and avoids sidling up to dirty servants or the poor.
The Sun and Moon are squaring the Nodes, as mentioned. The Taurus North Node represents wealth, money, resources, values, and land. Scorpio on the South Node represents banking and accounts, funding, investments, big business, and monopolies. We see these four players at odds with each other on the court. As observers, we are at a standstill, wondering which interest is going to “win out.” It is a messy, uncomfortable situation, to put it lightly. It could get very ugly.
What happens when the elites in power are faced with having to both listen to the serving/working class and rely on that same class for goods and services? And what is the role of the professional class, aka the newly dubbed “Zoom Class,” who are capable of working remotely and having monies deposited directly into their bank account, conducting much of their lives via apps or laptops? Is it easy to judge what’s on the ground if you never have to leave your cozy nook? Are we hearing all points of view?
Let’s talk a moment about listening. Make that listening and learning, as a permaculture farmer friend from Jamaica likes to remind me. Whenever I ask how she is, she says, I am listening and learning.
Listening and Learning – Parts Work
When we have a standoff between interests, as we do with the current planetary configuration, we can apply the tools gleaned from various psychotherapy approaches known as “Parts Work,” such as that found in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and others.1 In this form of counseling and healing, various parts of one’s self dialogue with each other and each have their say. The goal is to integrate discordant voices found in the soul, ego, personality; the body, heart, mind – the Whole Person. It might take a long while to discover and hear the parts, let alone for the parts to enter into harmony with each other. It is work that focuses more on process than outcome.
Inside of the self, you might have a cranky, colicky baby wailing alongside a dominating parent-taskmaster alongside a wistful poet-artist alongside a sex-drugs-rock’n’roll deviant character – and many more characters within, each with their own, important voice. The Artist, The Infant, the Authoritarian, the Rebel – all of these are living archetypes along with The Child, Queen, Parent, Slave, Grump, and so forth. The list is endless but many are common.
If a voice is ignored, buried, belittled, let’s just say the squeaky wheel is going to make sure it gets heard, or a major monkey wrench is going to be put into the mix, causing the individual person’s psyche to feel disoriented, triggered, even traumatized. One of these parts may go into hiding, only to surface decades later with a vengeance – an illness, a personal crisis, a life blowing up. Another part may double-down, or try to pull rank, or sabotage the actions of the person – unless it is made conscious, which is, again, the real work of Listening and Learning – to make the unconscious, conscious.
First, we must remain aware to hear which voice is screaming and crying to be heard in ourselves. Second, the voice must be acknowledged. It is critical to both hear and see the situation accurately. Otherwise, the part of self will behave like a two-year-old in the candy aisle at the grocery store. The tantrum sets in, the toddler is not budging, will not get up off the floor, and the entire Safeway knows about it. Who knew a tiny thing could have lungs like that?
This is the situation we find ourselves in right now, on the global stage, the theater of what is occurring around the world where protests are flaring up. The nightly news is the archetypal playing ground. We see the Full Moon in Leo leaders, puffing their chests and pulling rank, saying, “You’re outta here or we’re taking your money or your livelihood - or both.”
We see the Sun in Aquarius rebels demanding their freedom and digging in their heels. Have we been listening and learning? Do we really know these people? Has anyone actually taken the time to hear their stories? It’s so easy from the comfort of our Zoom room to write them off.
In order for the collective to heal, we must do our own shadow work. Are we willing to sit in the fire, in the exact centerpoint of the Grand Cross, and listen to all parts of self? This is much harder than posting a meme on social media to promote one’s personal brand of being a conscious person. It’s so much easier to present the persona of a conscious person than to actually do the work and remain be conscious of the deeper forces at hand.
Try this to see and hear things accurately, to listen and learn:
List the parts of self that are asking to be heard. Who are the internal “family members” squabbling in your inner home? Give them each a name. What ages are they? How are they feeling about the state of things in your world, in your personal life?
Once you’ve contacted the parts, let them tell you their various fears. Fears of financial insecurity, being alone, being on the streets, being ignored, being exiled or outcast, being unloved, shamed, found out. The list goes on.
Now, here’s the hard part: For the next few days, do not try to come up with a solution, do not try to get these parts to “get along.” Simply notice how you feel. Observe your dreams, your daydreams, your fantasies and emotions. Sit with all the parts. Listen to them all.
Too often we force a solution too quickly. We try to fix something and we haven’t really understood the deeper nature of the issue.
We judge that which we do not understand.
The Personal is the Universal
“There is not a person we couldn’t love once we’ve heard their story.”
~ Mary Lou Kownacki, a Benedictine nun; also attributed to Mr. Rogers
Whether one is feeling affected by a global or a personal crunch, know that all of this is completely necessary. The drama must be played out in order for the voices to be heard. You may ask yourself, in the archetypal play, how are these things affecting me? Perhaps not at all – you’re comfy and fine and things are good. You follow the rules, because you agree with the rules. You have no need to question whether the rules are good for everyone, because you agree with them yourself.
The Sun in Aquarius continues to urge us to listen to the freaks, those that are different than us; those that seem strange or odd; those that are pissed, upset and tired of being ignored. Perhaps you feel disturbed, but can’t put your finger on it; this would be a good time to listen. Time and time again, I’ve been wowed and astonished at what I’ve discovered about the world and myself once I’ve considered the points of views of those that I am most afraid of or that seem most different from me.
It's vital to come out of vanity and arrogance. Leonine pride can keep us distant in order to protect an image we want to project. The highest use of Leo energy, when claimed with true dignity and humility, is about sovereignty, and leadership with heart and intuition. It is about making decisions that are not dictatorial, but based on courage. The courage to speak out, to speak up for who you are and what you need to express, and to let others do the same.
This time of the Full Moon in Leo calls for expression of the self, to integrate divergent voices, and to establish true integrity within so that we can recognize true integrity without. The opposition is heard, the division is seen through. The lion roars with the loving and healed heart.
Parts work can similarly be addressed in tools such as the family/systemic constellation work of Bert Hellinger, the archetypal work of Carl Jung, the psychosynthesis work of Roberto Assagiolli, Sacred Contracts work of Caroline Myss, The Artist’s Way work of Julia Cameron, and many others.
I loved this! What you wrote is exactly what I've been experiencing. I feel there is no other answer in these times than to turn within. I also appreciate the suggestion about how we can connect with more parts of the self.