New Moon in Leo: Light the Beacons

The New Moon in Leo arrives Tuesday night in my eastern US time zone, earlier in the evening to the west of me, before dawn Wednesday in western Europe, and so on around the globe.

Wherever you are, this New Moon offers a set of interlocking puzzles for us to explore.

When we find the key, we’ll feel the warmth of the Sun, Moon and Mercury within the creative passion of Leo, the driven intensity of Mars in Aries, and the deep ancestral lessons hidden within the South Node in Sagittarius.

Yes, this is the same Grand Trine in Fire we encountered with the Mercury cazimi, amplified now by the presence of the Moon in Leo.

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And as before, the Grand Trine is really a Kite aspect pattern pointing to the North Node in Gemini. We are heading straight toward the future.

There are no easy promises here. Saturn @ 26 Capricorn is tightly inconjunct the New Moon @ 26 Leo, and the North Node @ 27 Gemini as well. This is a yod, awkward and challenging.

Pluto is close enough to be part of this yod as well, which does nothing to make the connection easier to work with.

We wish sincerely to heal the past and move into a brighter, more just, and therefore more secure future.

But how do we untangle the rigid and toxic power structures of the past? How do we engage the best of Saturn’s hard work and ability to create supportive structure? How do we accept the tough transformations Pluto requires of us?

At this New Moon, the time when the night sky is darkest, we light beacons.

I am thinking of the iconic, thrilling scene in The Lord of the Rings when Gondor calls for aid, activating an ancient system of massive fires atop mountains reaching from Gondor to the Plains of Rohan.

(I totally admit to being a LotR nerd. I have been for a very long time. Bear with me on this one, though, as I really believe the lighting of the beacons says a lot about where we are at this New Moon.)

Consider the Sun, Moon, and Mercury together in late Leo. Head, heart, body, all aligned. Whatever our situation in the current world crises, whether we are coping with the pandemic or political challenges or both––or other things—the New Moon in Leo asks questions about sovereignty.

Who holds the power? Who wields it? Whether we’re considering nations or families or our own psyches, how is power understood, managed, and shared, or not shared?

Note the presence of Mercury, still combust, still hidden near the throne of the Sun. Mercury is small in this place, unseen, possibly forgotten.

Remember the beacons were lit through trickery, through Mercury. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, is lost in dreams of past glory, corrupted by his worst enemy. He has become actively toxic, bent on hastening the destruction of all he is meant to protect.

So Gandalf sends Pippin, small but doughty, to do what must be done. Think of all those other seemingly insignificant ones. Those who don’t “play fair” or “follow the rules,” knowing the rules are rigged in favor of those who already have power.

Also remember the beacons did not signal salvation—no “rapture” is promised, no ascension—instead, the beacons were a desperate call for help, a call to mobilize ancient bonds of defense and support.

Isn’t that where we are? Feeling desperate, isolated, wondering if we can possibly win through to some kind of victory. Wondering whether anyone can, or will, help us.

And yet, those beacons! Such a strong image in the book. One I so hoped would be done well in the film, which it was. Seeing the flames answering each other from peak to peak, made anything feel possible.

Lighting the beacons is a call to arms and also a kindling of hope.

At this New Moon, Venus in Cancer forms a tight sextile to Uranus in Taurus. Who can we call on these days? Who is our family? Our people?

Be open to the idea that your best support might come from unexpected places.

It seems we’re living in a time when some familiar bonds are dissolving as we come up against irreconcilable differences.

Who can we reach out to? Who would answer if we called? Whose calls for help will we respond to?

There’s plenty of work to be done. Sun, Moon, and Mercury will all soon move into Virgo, Mercury’s nighttime home, a place of careful, steady, patient effort.

We can think too of another kind of beacon, those lit within lighthouses. Before electricity, lighthouses were literal beacons, lit and tended by brave and isolated keepers to warn ships at sea.

There are many tales of courageous lighthouse keepers who went to extraordinary lengths to keep their beacons shining during the fiercest of storms. In this more Virgoan model, the light must stay on constantly, calling for planning, preparation, and steadfast tending.

If you feel you’re at the end of your resources, look around. Can you see a light ready to guide you to shore? Where can you find allies, resources, support?

Remember too that one of the trickster’s best exploits is stealing fire from the gods. Mercury has stories to tell and matches in their pockets. Be clever. Find a way.

As always, check where this New Moon falls in your birth chart. With the Sun, Moon and Mercury in Leo, Mars in Aries, and the South Node in Sagittarius, you’ll want to look for all the Fire signs.

These are the houses in which your beacons can be lit, especially late Leo.

Note also where the transiting North Node falls, keeping in mind this is where the Grand Fire Trine is pointing us.

At this New Moon, stoke your inner fire. Feed your heart. Connect with past and present allies ,and your own energy, to light your beacons. This is how we’ll find each other in the dark. This is how we’ll light the way into the future.

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The astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title,
adapted from the man holding a beacon by Vinicius “amnx” Amano,
and the following images:
the family group by Kevin Delvecchio, and
the lighthouse by Mitch Mckee.