Though we enjoy technological achievements vastly beyond what previous generations could ever have imagined, our increasing reliance on intoxicants to make it through each day is unprecedented. As a society, we are turning to anti-depressants, alcohol, and illicit drugs in a fruitless attempt to hide our pain and ease our fears. Yet, even those who stay sober mistake their pettiness for something meaningful and spend so much of their life energy propping up an illusion. We cling to race, religion, nationality, even political affiliations, titles, and surnames. No matter the consequences, we will use anything as a lifeline to keep us afloat… until it doesn’t. When the storm hits and the waves of circumstance tower over us, our pride abandons us and we are left feeling alone and afraid. What’s the answer?
Considering the zodiac as a representation of our journey from embodied being to liberated soul, the constellation of Leo is that point in our journey when we assume a physical body in order to find meaning. For most, this means seeking the answer in the material world (through Virgo). Yet, even though our physicality is projected outwards, it is how we see ourselves that unlocks the door to meaningful experience. Thus, Leo is the state of our self-confidence and our self-worth; in short, Leo is our self-image and Virgo is where we express it.
Uma’s Garden is a wonderfully, uplifting site featuring aphorisms and artwork as well as inspiring quotes from icons of spiritual thought. One of the illustrations I found especially relevant this month is that of a butterfly and chrysalis with the proclamation “What confines us doesn’t define us”. From one perspective, this illustration urges us to look past our limitations and trust in the process of transformation — a natural part of every human life. This is an important attitude to take for too often we sabotage our experience of joy simply through over-analysis and self-judgment.
The chrysalis also symbolises how the process of transformation happens within us just as we are. Though we are a bundle of physical and emotional traits gathered from our past, those traits do not define who we are. Like the caterpillar in the chrysalis, no matter what is on the outside, the inner change from individual to exalted soul is happening within the context of who we are, just as we are — right here, right now. Though it happens whether we realise it or not, even whether we want it or not, becoming aware of the process has the power to turn a fragile spark into a roaring blaze. 🤗