Summer is wrapping up as August is coming to a close. Leo season has kept the energy of high summer with intensity and gave us drama, extremes of passions and bursts of luxury. We also felt dignity in hardship and pride in any unexpected challenges. We’ve come out the other side better than we went in. We’ve come out with more creative ideas, more self-awareness and more confidence. Now we need to summon our strength and our abilities a calmness inside and out permeates.
A mass of planets are moving into Virgo. By the beginning of
September all quick moving planets would have located there. And on
Saturday 31st, both luminaries, the Sun and Moon, will give extra power
to all things Virgo. An analytical approach, a sense of organisation
and order, as well as service and everyday pleasures in clearing out old
stock will replace our desire for entertainment and games.
Self-realisation looks different as we prepare ourselves for the change
of season. A melancholy peplos will cover our moods. We’re becoming
practical and mastery. The Sun is still high in the sky. So let’s go
outside and let’s get to work.
In between the summer and autumn, we feel the transformation beginning, using our shamanic sight we may observe the vibrancy of the season’s change. Journey with your kindred spirits while waiting for the cue to shape-shift into your sleeping season’s skin. Tread softly again, with Earth Mother’s gifts, we are all saved.
Themis, the Goddess of Divine Law, Order and Justice, arrives this week to guide us. Beautifully painted by Susan Seddon Boulet, her depiction of Themis shows the Goddess resting, while performing her oracular magic. She is one of the oldest Goddesses in Greece, her mother is Gaia, the earth Goddess and her father Uranus, the sky God. With Zeus, she had six daughters, including the Three Fates, who determine the destiny of all mortals and Gods. Delphi was one of Themis oracular places, where she foretold the future. When she prophesied, she was the Divine voice, themistes, instructing humans in the essential laws of right and wrong. Themis is the personification of natural law, an abstract concept difficult to represent symbolically. She was assigned the scales as a symbol for balance and the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, as a symbol for abundance. Later on, Themis was depicted masked, or wearing a blindfold, as not to see who, or what, she was judging. Themis excels in making aegis, shields, and when the Goddess Athena was born, she was given an aegis by Themis.
In her role as an earth Goddess, Themis gives us a message to stay grounded and she reminds us that social order is dependent on the natural order of earth. Her deep wisdom of both the earth and sky functions as a guide into our soul. In Virgo season, we may feel that the earth’s gifts are bountiful, or we may feel a lack of prosperity. Themis steps in to create a balance in our material world, by cleansing away that which is in excess and bringing in that which is needed. Her wisdom of the cycles of nature, coupled with her sense of justice, is to ensure fairness to all living things.
Themis also reminds us of our own predictive talents, and as the masked Goddess, she tells us to listen to our intuition and not to follow promises which make us feel doubtful. Her skills as a shield-maker indicates that we are capable of protecting that which we believe in, and that we are always protected by the greater order of the universe.
Meditation with Themis
Try
this meditation with Themis and tune into what her special message to
you is.
Sit
down in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.
Focus on the image of Themis, resting with one eye open, she is the Oracle of Delphi and her knowledge of the past and the future is vast. Ask her one question, the most urgent and important one you have. Observe how the sun and the moon energetically complement each other with their fiery and aquatic energies, and with the earth and her animals as a balancing factor. With Themis, we know we are held and safe and that our experience of being human is symbiotic with natures and its’ cycles.
Stay
in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.
After
the meditation, journal about the below questions.
What
answer did Themis give you?
Which
steps can you take to fulfil her answer?
Additional
practice – manifesting prosperity with Lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli is a beautiful blue stone and its’ name comes from the Latin lapis, meaning stone, and the Persian lazhuward, blue. Lapis lazuli is formed by multiple minerals; lazurite, sodalite, calcite and pyrite. Ultramarine, the striking blue paint used in many world-famous paintings, is created from ground Lapis. It has been highly regarded as a stone of inspiration, courage and divination in many ancient and contemporary cultures. Lapis lazuli supports the third eye for prophetic sight, astral travel and past life insight, and the throat chakra for communicating with authority and integrity. Lapis lazuli will not let anyone diminish your personal power. Lapis lazuli is grounding, calming and strengthening and makes us confident to receive prosperous opportunities. It is perfect when studying since it improves concentration and it gives courage during auditions and job interviews. Lapis lazuli promotes truthfulness, mental clarity and it helps to organise our daily lives. It is a manifestation stone, first attracting the energy and then bringing in the material outcome of your wishes, in a calm and steady manner.
For the healing ceremony, lie down in a comfortable place. Place the Lapis lazuli on your third eye chakra. Imagine how the beautiful deep blue colour is soothing your third eye and balancing your thoughts. Sense how the colour is spreading all over your body, all the way down the feet and all the way up to your crown chakra at the top of your head. Feel how the blue energy is creating a grounding blue shield around you, making you feel balanced and vibrant. Stay in the stabilising energy of Lapis lazuli and feel how relaxed and receptive you are to manifest prosperity. Note any messages you receive at this point.
Take
a deep breath and say thank you to Lapis lazuli and its’ healing
gift.
Repeat
this practice as often as you wish. It will help to manifest
prosperity and opportunities which are aligned with your highest
good.
The full moon in August is a full moon in Aquarius. She invites us to release all barriers to complete our creative projects, publications, plans, and engage with others. We can ask for help or just another opinion. An extra set of eyes can offer a different perspective or might help us suggest something that will reveal answers and solutions – sometimes obvious and sometimes hidden. In any case, it points us to open up to others and join groups of like-minded people. Barriers to participate in the community, teams or organisations will be blown away. As we stand still under the Sun in Leo, these are projects, goals and inventions that come from the heart. Friends and relatives are part of our special path in life. Forward movement will happen with the assistance of others who divinely have turned up for our benefit. Accept the editor’s input and be grateful. It will be a happy surprise.
The aftershocks of July with its retrogrades and eclipses still reverberate as we enter August. We are still feeling the retrogrades creating confusion, and the eclipses sending dramatic messages uprooting us and tearing up old structures. Anything unforeseen is possible. So the month finds us suspended and motionless but in a halo of wisdom, not taking anything for granted, but instead seeing the world from another perspective. We maybe having had to deal with a sudden turn of events, and holding space for us and others. Mercury’s shadow period will last for a couple of weeks into the month and the eclipses could be sending a second wave of messages, urging us to follow new paths and finally conclude with situations that no longer serve us. While this is going on we can only surrender serenely to events using our restrictive circumstances, or necessary pause, to gain a new point of view and drill down to the absolute fundamentals of life. Reflect and meditate on what matters to us. What are the thing we most value? Change is inevitable and this voluntary, or involuntary, suspension will help our decision making when things pick up and energetically start moving again.
But before that happens we are reminded by the Devil that we still have some work to do. And it’s work that goes inside us. It’s personal, it’s about us facing our demons, our self imposed limitations, our fears and nightmares, anything that might be an addiction. An addiction which can be substances, inter-dependency to others, negative self-talk or simply bad habits. Anything and everything poisoning our existence that we fear is larger than us becomes pronounced. This darkness in the background that naggingly won’t allow us to enjoy a fulfilling and joyful life with others and in ourselves has to be dealt with now. The Devil card reminds us that if we want to move on and out we need to face up to it – whatever it might be. We can not hide, and it won’t be to our benefit anyway. Now is the right time to face darkness and resolve personal challenges. We have to go through to go out. So that the month promises to be very active with people and things, and in a way that would benefit us and those around us. There are going to be some tough moments in August only because we absolutely need to finish off projects, personal or professional, and move on. Once this is done, there’s no turning back.
Ultimately, this will
give us the World. The World which contains all the elements – fire,
earth, air and water as represented by the images depicted in the
four corners of a lion, an ox, an eagle and an angel – our own
contribution as we create our path in life. We are not passive in the
happening of the World rather we rise and participate in creating it.
The Universe is with us and Luck is on our side. Work is paying off.
The time has come to celebrate our accomplishments. The end of August
culminates with another new moon that will find us in a totally
different place to that of when we started the month. We are now
encircled in garlands of success and flying up in the air with
emotion and joy.
All three cards this month are heralding change in its different forms, and demanding that we pay attention in specific areas of life. First, accepting and observing, taking our time and not reacting to events. Subsequently, dealing with honesty and integrity any negative influences or obstacles that bound us to an unhealthy situation. And finally, change is coming by reaching our goal. We have achieved what we set out to do. And quite deservedly we are ecstatic about it.
To sum up: The Hanged Man teaches us about the metamorphosis which is under way and the Devil what we have to do in order to achieve our highest purpose. There is vitality and evolution with great rewards. The recurring theme of August is bondage and liberation. Breaking old patterns too. We are all evolving.
The Exemplar of the Pipes from the Medicine Woman Tarot steps forward this week to guide us. Traditionally this card is the King of Wands, a fiery man with authority. In the Medicine Woman Tarot, the card shows us a powerful woman, wearing a pink dress with a cloak, and a feathered headdress, holding a staff and a smoking pipe. A white deer and the sun are depicted on the shield behind her. She sits on a boulder, and there is a flute with flowers below her.
The card represents a charismatic leader who is entrepreneurial, ambitious and creative. She can take on a big challenge and lead herself and her people through any blocks which present themselves along the way. The card reminds us to be an exemplary leader, in our own life and also in the lives of those around you. We know what we have to do and decision making comes easily to us now. This is not the time to hesitate or feel small since the possibility of success is now open and there are no substantial obstacles. You can take your desired course of action, it will harmonize with your wishes.
There is a performative aspect to this card which is aligned with the new moon in Leo on 1 August. Accessing our leadership qualities might necessitate a performance. However, this acting is coming from the heart as the leonine passion is heart-centred and bold, with a touch of the theatrical. The Exemplar of the Pipes indicates that there is an initiation of a new era, coupled with the Leo new moon energy, there is an awakening of our creativity. Take the opportunities which are presented within the next six months, and have no fear, because everything is waiting for you.
Meditation with the Exemplar of the Pipes
Try this meditation with the the Exemplar of the Pipes and tune into what the card wants to say to you.
Sit down
in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.
Focus on the image of the Exemplar sitting in an authoritative position, holding the staff and a smoking pipe. Notice how her posture simultaneously emits confidence and calmness. Sense how you can embody her self-confidence and trust your own power. The sacred white deer on the shield is giving you a message to stand tall and the sun reminds you to let your unique identity shine.
Stay in
meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.
After the
meditation, journal about the below questions.
How can you embody the sun in your own life to access leadership?
What opportunities can you take a clear decision on now?
Additional practice – connecting to your feminine fire with Carnelian
Carnelian is a warm and joyful crystal which is energising, empowering and awakening. It has a colour range from pink-orange to rusty brown. The internal structure of carnelian is trigonic, and it is a variety of chalcedony belonging to the quartz family. Carnelian is derived from a Latin word meaning flesh and it has a stimulating energy which ignites passion. Carnelian was worn by ancient warriors to enhance courage and physical power. In Egypt, carnelian was called the setting sun and its’ orange colour was identified with receptive or passive female energies and associated with the Goddess Isis fertile menstrual blood. Carnelian encourages action and helps us to overcome procrastination and/or indecision and it tells us to stop waiting for our dreams to appear and instead activates us to bring them into reality. It connects us to feminine power, sensuality, sexuality, abundance, prosperity and creativity. Carnelian is stimulating and motivating and it awakens our leadership qualities and courage.
For the healing ceremony, lie down in a comfortable place. Place the carnelian on your sacral chakra. Imagine how the beautiful orange colour of the carnelian comforts your sacral area. Sense how the colour is spreading down to your root chakra and down the legs to your feet, and then up from your sacral chakra though the solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye and crown chakras. Feel how the orange energy of the carnelian is aligning your chakras and making you feel balanced and vibrant. Stay in the shimmering warmth of the carnelian and feel how your feminine power is arising. Note any messages you receive at this point.
Take
a deep breath and say thank you to carnelian and its’ healing gift.
Repeat this practice as often as you wish. It will help to awaken your leadership qualities, feminine fire, courage and ignites you to take action today.
