Monday was a solar eclipse in the sign of Leo, the sign of the Sun, the sign of creativity, passion, generosity, confidence and leadership. The sign, that in Shakespeare’s words, says, “All the world’s a stage.”
In the tarot, two Major Arcana cards embody the energy of the sign of Leo, Strength and the Sun.
In the Strength card (from Tarot of the Sevenfold Mysteries by Robert Place), you can see the inner strength and fortitude, the self-confidence required of the woman to be a true companion to the lion of the card. In the Sun card (from Legacy of the Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti), you see the energy that shines brightly forth, like Leo, warm and illuminating, but also magnetic, pulling others to it with little effort, and then keeping them in orbit around them.
The qualities of Leo are exciting, attractive… until they aren’t. That is, until the desire to create, to express, to lead, to shine, are thwarted. When you cage the Lion, the creative energy turns into anger, frustration, arrogance, and moodiness. Snarls and snaps are apt to occur. Caged, the Lion’s creative energy paces, paces, back and forth, looking for escape, somewhere, anywhere.
When your creative expression is suppressed or driven inward, your skin can feel itchy on the inside; your feet want to move but don’t know where; you want to do something, make some kind of change but don’t know what.
This eclipse urges you to be the Sun and shine with joy and pride as bright as you can shine, to live your one beautiful creative life.
To do that, though, you can’t let your creative light remain hidden, that is, you can’t keep the Lion of Creativity chained or caged. You have to have the courage and internal strength to let the wild beautiful, creative beast loose.
Then, you trust in your intuition and inner wisdom to guide you and your lion where you want to go.
Rest your hand lightly on the Lion’s back while you focus on your destination and keep taking one step after another.
Where does your Lion want to go? How does your Sun want to shine?
How will you walk with the power and challenge of this eclipse?