Vedic Astrology Center Blog

Currently we have four planets in Leo and the sign is also hemmed between Mars and the South node. So, once again, the sign of Leo is experiencing a lot of pressure. When a sign is hemmed it means there are planets on either side of it. Both Mars and Ketu bring about a critical, sharp and potentially aggravating nature. We need to channel that aggression and focus toward inspired, perfected actions – rather than criticism and faultfinding with our self and others.

Leo is a very important sign. It is ruled by the sun. The sun is the reason for life on Earth. In many ways our vitality, strength and power comes through the sign of Leo. Which ever house Leo falls from our rising sign shows our main source of strength and vitality.

For instance, an Aries person will feel vitalized by fifth house matters — individual intelligence and creativity. A Taurus will feel vitalized by fourth house things, emotional peace and comfort. A Gemini will feel vitalized by third house things, exploring their interests and communicating. This pattern repeats through the entire zodiac. This quality of feeling vitalized is being strongly activated now.

The Sun entered Leo on the 16th of August, the day of the lunar eclipse. Soon thereafter he joined Saturn, Mercury and Venus. Anytime there are four planets in the same sign at the same time it creates an imbalance of energy. We are all experiencing this desire to express our true power, urgently. This is because the sun is in Leo, his own sign. But Saturn is there, bringing doubt. Mercury has the potential to bring skill, but he may also be distracting. Venus has the potential to be creative and bring beauty, but she may also distract through sensuality and the desire for comfort.

Mercury and Venus will stay in Leo until next week. For the rest of this week expect from frustration around implementing and following through on your inspired vision. Be especially careful of the sudden lack of confidence and laziness since last week.

Now is a great time to push through and persevere in spite of these things. The reason is because of an approaching Jupiter/Saturn trine. Jupiter in Sagittarius will move into an exact trine with Saturn and the Sun. The most acute focus of this transit will be from September 2 to September 10. Plan something big around that time that helps fulfill your vision. A Sun/Saturn conjunction can actually be a great time for deepening our commitment to the most vitalized and illuminated truths we are trying to live in our mind and express in the world. But it will demand we face down our confidence problems and be willing to sacrifice our childishness toward a higher purpose. The reason great yoga masters and saints have all talked of service is not just because it is a nice thing to do, it is because when we serve a higher cause we forget our lower causes. We will not let our petty, smaller self interrupt our higher causes, this is why service is talked about.

I understood this lesson well the first time I taught my first yoga class. You must understand, I grew up with a terrible speech impediment, stuttering — worse than most could imagine. I lived in fear of talking into my early 20s. So, even when I was in my mid-30s the fear of public speaking was there. Yet, something happens to you when you see people laying on the ground peacefully with their eyes closed waiting for you to give them something. In that moment, my fear of stuttering or saying something stupid simply vanished. There was no room for my insecurities. There was only room for doing the best with what I had and what I had been taught. Then later, there was simply gratitude for the opportunity to serve the divine in them. It is ironic I make a living now talking and communicating. But it’s not surprising. Communication is the fulcrum of the lever in this incarnation for me. Serving others and serving the divine through words and ideas and various forms of communication and media is what I do most days. It is my joy and it is my struggle. It is my pleasure and it is my service. But more importantly, when I am in that role of serving a higher cause through words and ideas I cannot allow my insecurities, fears, anxieties and aggravations to corrupt up the process. Anytime it has, the work stops, and the worst feeling I could ever imagine descends upon me. Few things will feel worse to a person of good conscience than to disappoint someone who was hoping to be inspired by you. If failing in that role doesn’t wake you up, few things ever will.

This process has brought many issues to the surface in me. Transforming my insecurities into more maturity has revealed some very unlikely parts of myself. For instance, being a role model and an example is something I had never thought of or considered myself to be (and truthfully I still don’t although others do). Realizing that people look up to me in some way and the responsibility that comes from that has been hard to understand given my personal insecurities. Disillusioning someone because of my childishness and ignorance has been an amazing teacher. I have found this to be a place where the ego cannot squirm off the hook. The innocent investment of confidence that someone has when they are willing to be counseled or taught by another is an enormous trust. But I’m not saying these things just about me — I am saying these things about you also. Realize that you are a role model, or you can be a role model. But what are you modeling? What is your role? What are you respected for? How do you disrespect your higher vision? Do you squirm off the hook when you disappoint another? These are tough questions and I’m still answering them every day. In the past I wouldn’t have written such personal things about myself. Not because I’m embarrassed to share them, because I’m not. In fact, hardly nothing embarrasses me. I would not have shared it because I would not want people to think I am vain or full of myself. But I realize that in sharing my vulnerabilities and a modest path to certain redemptions, perhaps others may benefit. I know I have by hearing other people’s truthful stories.

Trying to be of service I guess. These sentiments I am sharing are very related to this Sun/Saturn conjunction. The effect of Saturn on the Sun will bring about humility, accountability, a reckoning for our mistakes and the determination to learn from them. Yes, the main reason Saturn wants to learn is to avoid pain and guilt. These things are good teachers. It is well known psychologically that the avoidance of pain is a better motivator than the promise of pleasure. Yet, ultimately there is no dignity in guilt, fear and avoidance. In the highest sense, Saturn gives us respect for the dignity of the human condition and our struggles here. The Sun is the part of us that would rather avoid acknowledging these limitations. So, ponder these things for the next few weeks. Service is the quickest path to God because in serving another the focus is not on yourself and your ego and your smallness and the problems that you worry about and never stop talking about. The focus is on another and once the focus is on anything other than our ego, God flows into us immediately.

Actually, there are some very powerful days ahead of us once this current configuration releases. Most notably we will have exalted Mercury for close to two months, then Venus and Mars exchanging or in each other’s signs for another couple of months. In general, most of this year, through December is shaping up to be pretty positive all things considered.

I will say more about those other considerations later on.

best wishes,
Sam

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