Heart

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I heard it on Oprah:  one out of every two women will die of heart disease.  I also heard: the greatest common sorrow among those with heart trouble is not feeling appreciated.  In astrology, Leo rules both the heart and appreciation.  This is an auspicious time to tend to both. 

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I was surprised at what came next.  People got friendlier.  Their eyes were a little brighter when they looked at me, their smiles more genuine.  Handing me change, the cashier at the health food store enthused “I love your hair!”  Outside the movie theater an eight-year-old skated by and shouted “Excellent hair!”  Women my age confided “Your hair looks great… wish I could do that.” 

A friend of mine once said the reason we’re so enamored with rock and movie stars is that we love to see people expressing themselves, playing at life, having fun with being human.  We feel the same way about good authors.  They show us their talents, but also their hearts.  And we’re energized by it.  Our appreciation flows.  But culturally, we may be a little off balance, sending appreciation to only a few, when every one of us is a star in some way.  Daily, through widely different gestures, both little and big, people around us express their individuality and creativity, and our lives are better for it.

I think that’s one reason the world around me changed when I dyed my hair.  It’s also why I hope to get the blonde teller at the bank, so different from me, yet with her radiant smile and awesome efficiency, I’m energized every time I see her.  Incredibly, she seems to really enjoy herself at work.  Then there’s the opposite, when the pizza boy glumly drops off the pizza, how it stains the whole meal.

When we love ourselves, and love what we’re doing, we make the whole world happier.  The entire field is energized by the vitality of many individuals joyously being themselves.  Though it’s not socially appropriate to think too much of ourselves, our hearts get stronger when we do.  When we know we’re good at something, when we’re willing to express ourselves, our passions and our joys without fear, when we put crazy colored streaks in our hair just because we feel like it, we’re doing the work of the Leo season. 

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If you haven’t been feeling appreciated lately, perhaps the outer world is offering a reflection of your inner world.  When was the last time you acknowledged what’s wonderful and special about you?  Appreciation is good heart medicine. 

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In addition to the collective work, you’ve also got an individual cyclic agenda for the season, owing to the circuit of the Sun through your birth chart.  Follow any natural inclinations to be self-expressive and playful now.  Also look to the house where Leo falls for further clues about your personal Leo season. Where Leo appears in your chart may be where you’re required to be more willful.  It’s important to feel that you’re in charge of this part of your life.  This is where you especially need to leave your personal mark on the world.  The sign on your fifth house cusp can suggest the style you prefer to use. 

Offering to the Personal Collective

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Psychologists suggest that each of us has a “sympathy group” of around 12 people, those individuals whose death would leave us truly devastated.  Psychologists also suggest we each have a larger group (around 150 people); these are ones we have social ties with, people we wouldn’t feel shy about joining if we bumped into them at Starbucks.  These groups represent your family and your tribe.  Think of them when you make your Leo group offering.

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Be a positive vision holder for your circle.  In a meditative state, experience your own star quality, and then send this energy into the web of people you know, starting with your family and extending it to your tribe.  Feel the radiance in the whole circle, how this energy exponentially increases as each member shines on, and is appreciated by, the others.  Allow the images of individuals from your family or tribe to come to your awareness and one-by-one see them as the gifted, divine beings they truly are.  Throughout the solar month, as you connect with your family/tribe in daily life, look for the unique qualities of each person, consider what you most appreciate about them.  Let them know this--and notice how the energy changes when you do.  If you find this practice difficult, it may be that Leo is afflicted in your chart—all that means is you may have to work a little harder to enjoy its gifts.