July 23, 2017 — After a month of intensity and healing, Sunday's Leo New Moon is sparking an epic new phase, marked by creativity, pleasure, and authenticity. This month, we've been diving deep into old wounds around family and relationships, and now we are ready to rediscover our inner child, harnessing our playful inspiration into projects that allow for our fullest expression. With Uranus squaring the Sun and Moon, we are also taking healthy risks around unmasking our truest selves—revealing our eccentricities, feelings, and deepest desires. As the bright Leo Sun beams through the clouds, lightning bolts are flashing all around, heralding a fresh start. We are releasing the obstacles of our past, and valiantly embracing the present moment and the full spectrum of who we are.

Falling at zero-degrees Leo, this New Moon is extra potent, setting the tone for Eclipse Season next month—particularly the Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 21. This means that the seeds we sow now—the intentions we set—stand to blossom into epic fruition. Now, more than ever, we need to ask ourselves: What do we want to manifest in our long-term future?

On this New Moon, we can spend time in meditation, contemplating what we want in our lives moving forward—in our careers, relationships, and inner worlds. We don’t have to know our exact paths, only what we want to feel as they unfold. With audacity and courage, we can ask for our most outrageous longings. We can bring our unique talents to the world in ways we only dreamed possible—trusting ourselves more as we continue to heal our hearts.

Meanwhile, Uranus’ authenticity is shaking us out of our complacency, igniting our restlessness and discomfort until we expose our truest feelings. What have we been hiding from ourselves and others? What do we need to say that we’ve been holding back? Proclamations of love, requests for boundaries, and daring leaps onto new paths are all par for the course now.

With Venus in Gemini opposing Saturn this week, we are also learning to speak up for our values. We are discarding unhealthy friendships, partnerships, and patterns of communication, determining what we would like to commit to more deeply—what aligns with our integrity.

Since Leo is the sign of pleasure and creativity, our paths cannot merely be authentic, scrupulous, and true—They must also bring us joy. If there are any doubts about our next steps, we can use the following question as our gauge: What brings us the most pleasure? Now is the time to prioritize laughing, creating, and loving. If we are radiating our brightest light, we will help others the most, inspiring them to do the same.

With Eclipse Season arriving next month, power is being rectified, truth is being revealed, and balance restored. Personally, all we need to do is to leap fearlessly toward whatever stirs our hearts.

On this potent New Moon, may we drop our inhibitions, expanding into the light of our heart's fullest expression. May we share the warmth of compassion, beaming with genuineness, spontaneity, playfulness, and courage.

Want to know how Eclipse Season will affect you personally? Write to book a reading: juliana@etherealculture.com.