In between two Full Moons this month we are graced with one New one on Wednesday, August 16th, in Leo, the sign of the sun.

It wasn’t until the minds and times of Copernicus and then Galileo that the Sun took its rightful place in the center of our system, rendering it a solar system, much to the bewilderment and even outrage of the citizens. It now stands as self-evident and objective; a true matter of fact. But as another matter of fact, where do we still stand? On the earth of course.

At some point in evolution, certain animal species learned a special trick: they learned how to create their own inner heat. Endothermic mammals and birds now coexist with exothermic reptiles, insects and fish, whose body temperature depends on external sources.

Somewhere along the line, an inner source of heat emerged, like a second sun.

As said before, though we know the Sun to be the objective center of our great system of life, we still stand upon the earth. We still inhabit our bodies as individuals. 

Could it then be that we ourselves are also solar systems; evolving to make good use out of our own warm blood as we grow in understanding the scope of such inner light? Could it be that we are built to connect to some personal and inexhaustible energy within us that serves to organize our whole systems as various parts of ourselves fall into orbit around a central fire?

I am a Leo Sun, and my son is named Geo.  I am Geocentric as a doting mommy and heliocentric by design. I believe that our species was born to understand the blending of these two centers: sun and earth. This means that our systems orbit around solar things, like purpose, love and coherence. It also means that a path to knowledge is anchored upon the ground that we stand in and the bodies that we inhabit.

The Moon that orbits the earth could be seen as the reflective thinking and feeling that each individual owns, uniquely and privately, as light grows and dims, like music that triumphs in crescendo then falls into meditative tones.

Every month, the moon stands in front of the Sun, eclipsing its light instead of reflecting it. This is to say that every month, our ‘inner sun’ is needed even more than usual to compensate for the outer sun’s apparent absence. 

If you can begin to feel the heat, you might just begin to see the light! 

Enjoy this playful and mammalian New Moon!