Happy Full Moon in Leo! It also happens to be my solar return (aka birthday) as well as 元宵節 (aka Lantern Festival).
Lantern Festival always falls on the Leo Full Moon, and it officially closes the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year. By tradition, we eat sticky puffballs that resemble the moon and that symbolize the circle of family / community togetherness.
湯圓, sticky-rice balls made by yours truly, using shiso/perilla seeds my friends grew.
This Leo Full Moon is also about you. It is dedicated to whatever part of you needs a little lovin’ — especially if your energy and attention has been going to others lately.
In Aquarius season, we’re often focused on collective wellbeing and our visions for community. The Leo moon seeks to balance this with a little self-focus. As my birthday twin once told me, “Aquarius is for the group, but often not of the group.” Under a Leo Full Moon, we’re reminded that we also get to belong to the group, and that we get to receive acknowledgement for all that we give. These are not childish needs.
We can start by recognizing ourselves, honoring our gifts as well as our needs. Leo rules the heart — what does your heart need today? Leo delights in play, laughter, and creativity. What would bring you sunshine? Can you allow yourself this, without feeling guilty for not putting all your attention on others?
Your love is worth spending on yourself.
To be honest, Leo doesn’t need any more reason to love up all over itself. But we can remind its other half, Aquarius, that when we take care of ourselves, we are better able to create our work that serves the world.
Venus in Aries
Venus just entered the part of the sky we call Aries. That makes today’s energy extra fiery. Extra enthusiastic. Extra desirous. Venus in Aries is lusty — it knows what it wants and doesn’t hesitate to go after it. So much confidence, but not much tact.
Venus is here until March 4. Relationships may be prone to conflict at this time. The object of your affection easily becomes the object of your frustration. Suddenly, your beloved is in the way or doing it all wrong. The antidote to the impatience of Venus in Aries is empathy and curiosity. It’s the willingness to inhabit the perspective of the other, and fiercely committing to being on the same team. Thich Nhat Hanh’s description of partnership, likening it to the hands of the body, has changed how I understand being on the same side. See the quote at the bottom of this page.
Other Upcoming Transits:
Mercury Retrograde on February 16: This is an extra trippy retrograde. Mercury is in Pisces, the sign of its fall, where non-linear and imaginative thinking does best, and Mercury is conjunct Neptune, the planet that dissolves boundaries, discernment, and rational thought. Triple the fuzz-brained vibes. A good way to spend the retrograde is to roam the landscape of your imagination and to find your perspective through poetry, music, and art. Wherever you have Pisces in your chart is where you are encouraged to choose creativity over logic and logistics. Mercury will be retrograde until March 9.
Mars in Capricorn also on February 16: Mars is the planet of desire and assertion, of courage and conflict. In Capricorn, Mars is in the sign of its maturity. The normally impulsive planet has greater stamina and skill here. It works strategically to get what it desires, initiating one well-laid plan after the next. If you have goals for the year, this period can help you discern what and how to achieve. Mars is here for six weeks. I advise using the first three weeks (while Mercury is retrograde) to review and re-imagine, and the latter three weeks to execute. Wherever you have Capricorn in your chart is where you’ll be superpowered to make s*** happen.
On relationship, from Thich Nhat Hanh:
Have you ever seen the two hands fighting each other? I have never seen this. Every time my finger gets hurt, I notice that my right hand comes naturally to help my left hand. So there must be something like love in the body.
My right hand invites the bell, writes books, does calligraphy, and pours tea. But my right hand doesn’t seem to be proud of it. It doesn’t look down on the left hand to say, “Oh left hand, you are good for nothing. All the poems, I wrote them. All the calligraphy in German, French, and English—I’ve done it all. You are useless. You are good for nothing.” The right hand has never suffered from the complex of pride. The left hand has never suffered from the complex of unworthiness. It’s wonderful.
When you can see your partner as not separate from you, not better or worse or even equal to you, then you have the wisdom of nondiscrimination. We see the happiness of others as our happiness. Their suffering is our suffering.
Happiness is not an individual matter.
True to the astrology, this birthday human is spending the day in a mix of self-loving chilll time, plus participating in a big community gathering to honor an elder.