Sun in Leo: Shine

At the height of summer, the light shines long, the sidewalks sizzle, and the sun soaks everything in a honeyed splendor. Throned on lawn chairs, our bodies play hide and seek in swimsuits and sunglasses. It is totally magnificent. Leo has arrived.

As an archetype, Leo is pure fire, heart, and spirit, radiating the abundant light of the season. Gifted with the learnings of the previous signs, Leo knows its experiences have created its own unique being -- as unique as the star that is our sun. Creative, playful, and bold, it is here to express its individuality and its most authentic, most glorious, most sparkly self. Leo is unabashedly proud of what it has become, presenting its brilliance with the shamelessness and purity of a child. 

Leo honors itself in a beautiful and necessary act of self-love. Yet when confidence becomes conceit, the ego becomes a beast. If it shines solely inward, Leo’s light can become arrogant, self-righteous, and vain, stuck in its swaggering, blind to any needs outside its own. At its worst, Leo season has the potential to fuel individual self-interest. It has the potential to encourage individuals to discard their masks, to get lost in pleasure and play, and to laze in what is comfortable rather than doing the difficult work of liberation. Given this potential, it is especially critical to keep asking ourselves: How do I honor myself and those around me, simultaneously, in an intentional and nourishing balance? What personal needs must I address so that I can continue to show up for, donate to, and generously support Black and Indigenous lives, trans lives, and the lives of those who have been most impacted by systemic injustice?

Leo is at its most powerful when it shines both within and beyond itself; it can spotlight specialness like no other. As we relish in the summer sun, be a witness to all that is extraordinary, original, and worthy of appreciation. Take the time to acknowledge and appreciate yourself and others, sincerely and without shame. Use this weather to recognize and elevate those doing the beautiful, hard, messy, and necessary work to help build the future that we want to live in.

Don’t forget to give yourself whatever fuel you need to keep showing up for your community. Create art with the spirit of a younger self. Make a grand entrance on Zoom. Admire your body without abandon. Wear something fabulous. Pay generous and delicious compliments to those nearest and dearest to you. Pay reparations. Remember that the collective needs you.

Lead with your heart and shine your light.