Venus and Mars are both striding and strutting through fiery Leo right now. Mars is there for another 10 days or so but Venus will be there a lot longer. Including her retrograde period which starts on July 23rd, she’ll be in Leo for several months. It’s always interesting when these traditionally male and female planets come close together. Actually, I’m not fond of that particular binary so let’s talk about active and relational instead. In Leo, both are expressing themselves with passion, drive, and drama. But what really got me thinking during this transit is Mars as the King and Venus as the Queen.
The heart-centered sovereign
These royal figures are powerful archetypes, embodied especially strongly by these two planets in regal Leo. Both hold authority over a particular territory. In the realm of Sun-ruled Leo, this territory is our self, our whole and deepest self. Often kings and queens are born into their power, so there’s something here about birthright, and a shadow side of entitlement and even arrogance. Here is the sovereign, the leader. Here is where we get to be our own supreme authority – if we have the confidence. If we tend to give our power away, allowing ourselves to act as if we are in charge of our own lives is a radical step.
In Jungian psychology, the Queen / King archetype is considered both the first and the last to come into consciousness, to be embodied. When we are born, we are utterly in touch with the divine sovereign within us, whole unto ourselves. As we grow our sense of self shifts until finally, we are able to embody the higher self. As everyone who has ever been in charge of anything knows, being a king or queen isn’t about doing what you like. It’s about being in service to the greater good of your “subjects”, whether they are other people or simply all the parts of yourself.
Magic for our inner sovereign
As the Queen and King move through Leo, we can think about the “ordering of the realm”. What do we want within our realm and what do we leave outside it? This is a great time for bringing this into our magical practice. the direct and powerful energy of Mars especially helps us to assert ourselves, to honor what is ours. Leo energy seeks to make whole, to express the fullest version of ourselves. One of my favorite practices, when there are planets in Leo, is a solar meditation. Simply sitting in the sun, allowing the rays of the sun to warm us inside and out, absorbing their energy. And then visualize them radiating out to support others and let them see their own light.
Venus in Leo magic
This is the most gloriously Venus in Leo image I’ve seen in a long time, definitely one to embody in our Venus in Leo magics! With Venus in Leo until October, this is a great time for magic around self worth, relationships, and our values. During the retrograde period from 23 July to 12 September, this is ideally more internally focused. We might journal or meditate on how we own our power whilst still being in collaborative and reciprocal relationships with others. Perhaps we consider our relationship patterns and how we can heal any imbalances. Simply paying attention to all that we are in relationship with, the human and the more than human, is also a powerful practice for this transit. We might consider how those relationships allow us to shine. And how we can inspire those we are in relationship with to shine.
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