Express Yourself
Hello,
It’s the season of the Sun, Leo season. When the urge to reveal ourselves and validate our presence is so strong. We’ve come out of the comfort of Cancer season’s closet and we can officially bask in the glory of our own solar-generated rays.
Hmmm, how comfortable is that for you?
Ruled by the Sun, Leo has no inhibition. It’s the proudest place to be. Vibrant, full of life, passionate, playful. Its highest calling is to be itself, its own true Self. When we come from our heart and fully embody our dream to be seen ~ witnessed as we really are and adored for it ~ we’re living Leo. A living exhibit. Never ordinary, always extraordinary.
How you experience your Leo energy is so personal, depending on your individual nature. Extrovert or introvert. Perfectly private or out there. For this Leo season especially, what matters is you find your voice and vehicle of expression. Your version of bold. Your unique way of expressing your very special Self and getting that message to whoever needs to hear it.
What matters is you wake up to your brilliance.
Wherever Leo lives in your birth chart, you can be sure you’re a little bit royal. You have an expectation to be noticed. A divine right to feel important. Gazed upon with love.
The question is do you see it? Can you see the star that you are?
We don’t always get the memo we’re allowed to take up space. That we’re the hero of our story. This is Leo’s story and expressing yourself is the only way to reveal your side of the story.
It’s not easy to rewire our messaging that says we’re showboating, big noting, up ourselves or full of ourselves when we put ourselves forward. This is societal bullshit. It’s not Leo’s problem. You really want to crush your Leo spirit? Tell yourself you’re an imposter. Not good enough, smart enough, talented enough. You lack verbal skills, confidence, creativity… Ugh.
Leo may appear to have it together but I promise you, every Leo I know has their own confidence issue and is scared on some level to share their golden light.
Building self-confidence is a life-long quest. It takes courage to reveal your essential Self. But courage really only comes when you have the guts to present yourself as yourself. Naked, raw and real.
Find Your Place in the Sun
Your Sun defines your essence. It’s where we go to find our vitality and come alive, warmed by our very own Self.
Just like the Sun we share, our personal Sun energy is intense. If we’re in its presence for too long, it burns so we cover up, worrying about the damage we’re doing. What we don’t realise is when we’re hiding from our Sun ~ seeking protection from our own solar energy ~ we’re dimming our light, diminishing our power and reducing our effectiveness in the world.
Life feels dull when we separate from our Sun.
We’re all here learning to hold our Sun energy. None of us are born with our Sun sign down from the get go. It can take years, or a lifetime, to fully embody the true expression of our Sun.
Your Sun defines the quest you’re on. Say you have a Leo Sun, you’re not just a ‘Leo’ in this lifetime, you are Leo-ing. It’s a verb rather than a noun. And as your birth chart doesn’t exist until you take your first independent breath, for as long as you’re breathing, you are living your chart and learning how to be and inhabit this Leo Self.
We know what happened to mythical Icarus when he tried to reach the Sun before he was ready. His wings melted. We need ego strength to be in the presence of our Sun. It’s a hot place to be. But when we can stand up to it (ie ourselves), feeling truly comfortable in our skin, everything comes together.
Too often we need reminding to be in our brightness. We leave it to others who do it better and say it louder. Can you remember when you stopped wearing your radiant crown with pride? When you shut down your voice and started caring too much about what other people think?
Where did you go, proud, courageous Lion?
Change Your Self-Talk
It’s not always easy to replace a negative thought with a positive one. We’re onto ourselves. We know when we’re being fooled. But we can get creative with our thinking in a way our brains can accept. For this Leo season we have a golden opportunity to get into our respective minds, play with our thought patterns and improve the way we speak to ourselves.
I’m talking Mercury here. Our personal messenger, thought processor, interpreter and communication channel. And very soon, on the Leo New Moon, Mercury will turn retrograde, retracing its steps from early Virgo back into Leo. So from 6 to 28 August, while the world’s collective modes of expression are taking a short break, we can do some contemplation of our own.
Starting in Virgo, from 6 to 15 August, it’s less about nitpicking through our thoughts and instead being really intentional about how we can think and speak to ourselves more constructively and supportively.
This is the perfect time to have a really good listen to your self-talk. If it isn’t helpful, how does it sound? Is your tone harsh? If you’re overly critical, how would you like to speak to yourself? And what would you like to hear? You don’t need to judge yourself. Just being aware and listening out for yourself is key.
From 16 to 28 August the energy amps up when Mercury backtracks into Leo. Thoughts are more spirited. Passionate ~ and potentially fiery ~ but there’s room to play around, to shape some ideas and start thinking about the things you eventually want to say. To yourself or someone else.
Something revelatory for me happened after I listened to an episode of the podcast How to UnF*ck Your Brain with Kara Loewentheil, where Kara spoke about caring less about what other people think. My entire birth chart, but especially my four planets in Virgo, gives a lot of f*cks about what people think and it gets in my way, a LOT. I say much less than I’d like to (and I can talk). I constantly edit my speech (except when I’m talking to myself) and I’m very tough on my writing.
The problem is when we try to care less and tell ourselves other people’s opinions don’t matter, it doesn’t stick because we don’t actually believe it.
Your brain literally has to believe what you’re telling yourself for it to be convinced to go along with you.
In the podcast episode, Kara explains that your brain can’t just stop a thought pattern. We can’t stop caring about what other people think. But we can replace a thought pattern with something else. As long as you 100% believe it. This has been game changing for me. She describes lots of scenarios and explains it so well, but I’ll give you the example I use that works for me.
My nervous system can get really activated after I post on social media, send a newsletter, teach a workshop ~ basically any chance where my expression or creativity could be on the line. So rather than tell myself I’m a great writer, my ideas are brilliant and it doesn’t matter what people think anyway ~ which I don’t believe ~ I tell myself what I know is true:
I’m really good at finding images and sharing information.
So simple, nothing outlandish. But I know it to be true. I do believe I’m really good at finding images and sharing information. My brain won’t argue with that. And saying this to myself when I need to hear it will be enough to stop me spiralling after I put this very idea out into the world. I will sleep tonight.
It’s so easy to slip into self-criticism and diminish ourselves unnecessarily. I know that to be true, so please listen to the podcast or read the transcript. You’ll find your safe words too.
A New Moon for a Light Heart
Oh, happy Leo New Moon. Here right when we need it.
It’s our cosmic reminder that even in the tensest of times we want to open our arms to LIFE, all of this wild and wonderful life. Just being present on this planet right now is a bold experiment. You can be the person in your crowd to raise some spirit, generously sharing yourself by being the example of how to delight in yourself.
Whatever you reveal ~ creatively, personally, intimately or publicly ~ brave-hearted Leo has your back. We need your voice, your dare to dream, your provocation. In our face. Animating us, illuminating us, shining a light and showing us the way.
You matter. Your creative expression especially matters. Leo is no slow burn. Keep that energy pent up and you risk blowing yourself up. So turn yourself on. Blow someone out of the water. If they’re surprised by the magnitude of your potential, where have they been? Where have you been?
This Leo New Moon asks you to acknowledge your light. Your human sunburst, bright burning light. To remember you’re a joyous, passionate star in the making. You’ve been seen since the day you were born. Watched with loving eyes following all your moves. You know this, it’s stamped forever in your heart.
A heart that is desperate to be ignited, but you really don’t need an audience or anyone to fan your flame. You can be the legend you want to be, in your own capacity. Just don’t dim that light. Shine in your own regard. And if for no one else, shine for yourself.
Love,
Kristin xxx