Leo July 23 - August 22

Leo

 July 23 - August 22

  

 “Hail! Mary Most Holy, Mother of All Nations.

You are wisdom wrapped in silence and saffron

Standing barefoot on the earth’s molten core.

You cradle the world haloed in the Spirit’s fiery tongues.”

Megan Mckenna

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August Dates:

Lammas, Wiccan, Lughnassad, Harvest Festival

Feast of the Black Madonna, Gnostic, Cosmic Mother

Hiroshima Day, Japanese, Peace Lanterns celebrate this day

Tisha B'Av, Jewish, mourning the destruction of the Holy Temple.

The Lights of Isis, Festival of the Egyptian Goddess Isis.

Assumption Day, Christian and Gnostic feast commemorating Virgin Mary and Gnostic Sophia rising into Heaven, being crowned    Queen of Heaven and Earth.

 

Moon Phases 

Native American Moon: Full Sturgeon Moon, when sturgeon are plentiful.      A few tribes call this the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon. A time to be protective.

Wiccan Moon: Corn Moon, a good time to focus on your spiritual and physical health. It's the time to harvest what you can now to put aside for later use.

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Attributes:

 

Duality:         Masculine

Element:          Fire

Position:        Fixed

Symbol:           The Lion

Planet:             Sun

Flower:            Poppy

Gemstone:       Carnelian

Anatomy:         Back, spine and heart

Best Foods:     Magnesium                Phosphate: whole wheat, rye, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, figs, lemons, apples, seafood, beets, asparagus, and egg yolk.

Avoid:              Do not let greed or                     fear overcome you.

Colors:             Orange, Gold

Action needed: Become independent and develop the qualities                                     that will make you a good leader.

Motto:             “I Will”   

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Vedic:

Leo is the most occult of all the signs. Leo is represented by the Sun, which is your Atma, self. The Lion - the animal in man - is represented as concealing or obscuring the Divine Father.

Character:

As a Leo, it is your mission in life to become independent and to develop the qualities that make you a leader. The first step to leadership is learning to stand on your own feet. In order to rule others you must first be able to rule yourself.

The keynotes for Leo are aspiration for illumination (knowledge) and aspiration for power. For the experienced Leo refers primarily to knowledge about one's self. When you know yourself well you are better equipped to interpret and react to the impressions that come to you from your environment. In the sign of Leo you learn that it is not enough to merely receive impressions -- you also must understand and refine the mechanism that interprets these impressions.

The second keynote for Leo is the drive to rule and dominate. Power is neither good nor bad in itself; it is the use of it that is of importance. (See King Arthur)  At first this motivating power will lead you to attempt to control other people and make decisions for them. Having seen through your own motives you will gradually discover that it is not actually you who is the decision-maker, because you let your own fear and your own greed rule you. The secret of all leadership is that one must rule oneself before one can rule others.

Your great creativity means that you often have a great love of children, and often show a generous nature. Just be aware of too much extravagance. As a result of your desire to be in the center you can surround yourself with too much splendor. On the other hand, this craving to be in the center can be channeled in a positive manner into an ability to manage an office, and, via your creativity, spread a message. Theater can be a positive way of being "on center stage" in order to disseminate ideas to other people. You can inspire people and get them started.

Myths and Legends

  

The symbol of the lion

Astrologers have long associated Leo with the Sun and it is said that when the Aquarian Age is thoroughly established, the Sun will be in Leo. This month is dedicated to Kingship and royalty as well as Personality. What better symbol to show masculine power than the lion.

This sign, Leo, is the fifth sign of the zodiac which indicates that it is part of the mysterious number, ten - the number of perfection, a relative perfection, prior to entering into a new cycle of progress. This links Leo consequently with Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, for it is the processes of initiation which make the self-conscious person the group conscious individual. I am choosing these words with care and forethought. Upon the reversed wheel, this is the eighth sign, the sign of the Christ and of the indwelling Reality; it therefore marks - in this manner - a new cycle. 

I am hinting at matters of spiritual and esoteric importance because this sign, Leo, is of essential to control in the life of the aspirant. He has to know himself through true self-awareness before he can know the divine spirit which is his true Self and then only will he know also his fellowmen.

According to Alice Bailey: "When the first incarnations on Earth took place, there existed a group consciousness, so strong that what was sensed by one was sensed by all. The origin of fear— fear that has no basis in life experience— has its origin in the separation from this original group at the individualization in Leo". (see the 100^th monkey theory).

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Lammas

See chapter of Wiccan Year

Lammas is a Wiccan celebration whose name is derived from two words: loaf and mass. This festival marks the start of the wheat harvest, and the first loaves of the season, using the new wheat, were always dedicated to the great goddess in thanks for her bounty and fertility. An early Thanksgiving if you like.

This celebration predates Christianity and is thought to be Celtic in origin, coming 40 days after the Summer Solstice. It marks the middle of summer.

When the plants of Spring drop their fruits or seeds and Summer is waning; the nights grow longer. The great Sun God begins to lose His strength. He becomes the God of sacrifice, being cut down in the fields. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes the Old God is dying, yet lives on inside Her as she carries His child. Lammas is a time for giving thanks for what we have and making offerings of gratitude. It is a reminder that nothing in the universe is constant.

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Feast of the Black Madonna

The Black Madonna or Black Virgin is a statue,icon or painting of the Virgin Mary in which dark woods, stone or paint are used to show her with dark skin. Many of these images were created in Europe through the medieval period and earlier.

There are approximately 450 of these official statues scattered around Europe. Most are found in sacred places like churches, chapels and sanctuaries. They are charming, primitive and stiff, obviously the work of dedicated believers, not necessarily paid artists.

Mary holds the Christ child on her lap, much like the statues of Isis brought to France from Egypt. In the Southern Provencal tradition, the Black Madonna is associated with St. Sara, the patron saint of the Gypsies. She is said to be the black assistant who accompanied the three Marys to France when they fled from the Holy Land after the crucifixion. In local gypsy tradition, she was a gypsy (some say 'Egyptian') woman who helped them to land safely. The cult of St. Sara persists today at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, one of the earliest Magdalene sites in France, see the month of May.

This black Mother is just one of the ache-types through which the Divine Feminine has manifested through the ages, others being the Virgin, Bride, daughter and Consort,  all personifications of Wisdom. This is the Eternal Virgin, Isis, The Mother of all the Worlds, angels, men and gods, the Cosmic Lotus, The Universal Womb from which all is born, In which they yet remain. The cosmic mother of the milky way.

The World Mother can be thought of as a high position, an exalted office filled over the eons by different feminine energies. In defining this position – The Mother of the world is joyful and expresses beauty, delight, and even playfulness. She is described as serving humanity in a nurturing role, but she also has a very special affinity for nature and the natural world. Reportedly, the Mother is now becoming more active in human affairs and urging us toward relevant areas of world service.

 Most of the locations where her statues can be found are ancient sacred sites dedicated to the goddess, they were always associated with springs or sources of water. The feminine principle is symbolized by water, a substance which embraces all in its path. The healing power of local sacred waters was always well known to the local people. The Catholic fathers observed that many people married their new religion beliefs with their ancient traditions. Thus we have Mary mother of Christ, lady of the grotto, who was the Celtic Lady of the Lake, goddess of fertility goddess and ancient divinity of the healing waters. Just her home in Avalon is gone.

 

In the Song of Songs 1:5 in the Old Testament: "I am black And Beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, ..."

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Hiroshima Day

Because we should never forget, and because there is no path to peace, but peace itself as the way: The first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945 on Hiroshima, Japan. The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Although many people were killed instantly (a total of about 92,000 if all the missing are presumed dead). This is a day of remembrance and as was first celebrated in 1948. The survivors and citizens of Hiroshima floated lanterns on the rivers to mark the anniversary of the bombing, praying that their parents and friends killed by the bombs may rest in peace. It is now an annual event, drawing tens of thousands.

Traditionally, the Japanese write a victim’s name and their own name on a lantern. But these days, many participants write prayers for peace or draw pictures on the lanterns and float them. An appropriate phrase to write would be the Holocaust remembrance term: Never Again.

Peace bell built in Hiroshima

It is pure coincidence that these two festivals, Lights of Isis and Hiroshima Day, are celebrated in the same manner. They happen to be in the same month and as way to bring them together we can choose one day and float peace lanterns sending out  thoughts of bringing peace and  light to this world.

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How to Make Peace Lanterns

Traditionally, Chinese peace lanterns are intended to float down a body of calm water while lit from the inside with candles. They are simply beautiful paper bags to which wood or plastic foam squares have been attached to the bottom in order to make them float. Sand can be poured into the bottom of each lantern and a tea candle inserted at the center of the sand. The sand will hold the candle in place and provide a fireproof barrier for the lantern. Brown paper lunch bags or colored paper bags can be used. Children can cut decorative shapes into the top half of their paper bags, being careful to keep the structure of the bag itself intact. For simple designs the top of the bag can be trimmed with triangles or a shell pattern.

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Lights of Isis Day

The Lights of Isis day is so closely tied to the same traditions as Hiroshima day that this cannot be ignored. This festival is all but forgotten, the birthday of Isis, Isis the Bright, Isis the Luminous One. In Greco-Roman times, this day was known as the Lychnapsia, or the Festival of Lights.

This ceremony began the night before, at the rising of the moon. People would carry torches, lamps and candles to light their way in a procession. A statue of Isis in a sacred boat would be taken out in procession through the streets, It was also celebrated by placing lit candles inside small paper boats that had  prayers written on them and supplications to Isis. They would be set adrift on slow-moving bodies of water. Houses, temples, and boats were also illuminated. The ancient Egyptian cities must have been a wondrous sight to see this night all ablaze with light.

 

This is a good time to meditate on the daughter aspect of the Mother.  The mother of Isis: Nut, who was also acknowledged on this day because "the mother gives birth to the daughter, and the daughter gives birth to the Mother”. This will become a powerful symbol in the future much like the Son/Son.

  

Excerpt of a Prayer to Isis

Guardian Mother, guide me and transform me,

Foundation seat, before the Beginning of the world,

You Know the Power of Love,

You Know the Power of Life,

You Know the Strength of Love,

You Know the Strength of Life,

Mother, carry me in your womb as you would a babe

Mother, feed me with the starry milk from your breasts

Mother, keep me and bless me,

Mother, protect me, as I dedicate my life in service to you.

 Original Hymn Written in 2001 ACE by Khenmetaset  (Marie Parsons)

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Assumption of our Lady

August 15 is a mysterious and special day, at this time we receive from the Mother a blessing in Her function as crowned queen.

The early Church made a clear distinction between public teachings and those traditions which were held as mysteries. The mysteries were largely unspoken.

The Assumption of Mary is just such a tradition. There is a belief that at her death, the Virgin Mary was physically taken up into heaven.  

Dormition of the Theotokos

The Dormition or “the falling asleep” is the name for the assumption of Mary in the Greek Orthodox tradition. According to this tradition, after working for the beginning church, The Gospel of John states that Mary went to live with John the Evangelist.  

               

She was living in Ephesus in Turkey, when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her that her repose would occur. The apostles, scattered throughout the world were miraculously transported to be at her side when she died.

The only disciple who was not present at her death was Thomas, who had been delayed. He is said to have arrived three days after her death, and when he asked to see her grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An apparition is said to have confirmed that her body was taken to heaven and her soul placed in the hands of the Archangel Michael.

This is a call for us to raise up our spirit with Her and participate in this mystery of transformation, bridging the personality and the soul with the renewing power of service to humanity and the letting go of our ego. This concept is known as the rainbow bridge of the antahkarana. We too can aspire to the golden crown of the Divine Feminine.

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Conclusion

 

On an inner level, we come to the celebration of the Assumption and the Crowning of Our Lady on August 15. She now takes her royal place on the throne of Wisdom, carrying the scepter of power and crowned with the crown of Sunlight. She is, in this month, the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Nature abounds in its beauty and its fruits are ripening for the fall harvest, which promises to be abundant and rich. Her angels are all around us and carry her message of the fullness of life. She, herself, is full and pregnant; she is the image of the empress of the Tarot.

THE HEART of the Zodiac, its life and fire, is LEO, the Lion, the sun/son. Leo is the most occult of all signs. The opposite sign is Aquarius…You would think then that this month would be predominantly masculine but the virgin is also strong this month, she is a powerful symbol to meditate on.

 

At this time, we are given the opportunity for deep contact with the Sun, which opens up new possibilities.  Our Mother can use the power of the Heart to rise up to her Throne of Wisdom once again on which the once young virgin was seated in majesty. Now, as the mature woman and Queen, at the summit of Her Power, She reigns over our hearts and souls as Queen of the Earth as well over the Angels as Queen of Heaven and the Angelic Hosts.

 

This month carries a hidden potential for transformation, quitting bad habits, starting new routines with the energy of rebirth, just as the seeds about to be harvested are full of the potential of new plants for the future. Through this interplay of the highest and lowest levels simultaneously, fire and water, is distilled the Elixir of Life: SOMA, which will bring the healing of Nations.