A New Moon in Leo Square Uranus in Taurus

Transcript:

0:01
Hi everyone this is Acyuta-bhava from Nightlight Astrology. Happy Friday everybody. Today we are going to take a look at the upcoming New Moon in Leo. This is a special New Moon because this new moon is forming a square with Uranus in Taurus. It's also happening as Venus is moving through an opposition with Neptune. I actually did a video on this transit with one of my former students who is now doing full time astrology work. His name is Spencer Michaud. And you can find the link to that New Moon podcasts that I did with him in the description of this video. And in my newsletter if you subscribe, you can subscribe on my website, nightlightastrology.com. So we did about an hour deep dive into the New Moon. And so I'm not going to repeat everything that I said there. If you want to check that out again, see the link, we're going to take a slightly different angle. And we're going to talk a little bit about the signatures of the New Moon in general. And then specifically some plant spirit allies that you might use or look for some help from this month. My wife Ashley is here today and Ashley is fantastic herbalist clinical herbalist who has been studying and working with the plants for a really long time, when we first started working together, guess it's been going on 11 years now, we did a lot of work bringing planets and plants together. So we still like to do that and make some content now and then that can give you some herbal help or some suggestions for what types of plants to work with, given what kinds of astral influences are present. So thank you. Thank you, Ashley for being here.

1:46
So good to be back. It's funny because we're right down the hall from each other.

1:59
We were like, well, why don't we just get in front of the same computer. But the audio is really tricky with one microphone, it ends up sounding kind of weird. So at any rate, let's take a look at the real time clock and give everyone a picture of this New Moon and then you know we can we can go from there. So here's the real time clock. The New Moon is actually coming through on Sunday morning, August 8, here's the New Moon in Leo. And at 16 degrees of Leo is forming a square with Uranus, almost that 15 degrees of Taurus. Now this energy comes on the heels of a lot of planets passing through the opposition with Saturn and activating a square from Saturn and Uranus that perfected in June, which is still lingering in the air right now. So what I'm going to do is break down some of the major signatures of this New Moon based on what has happened recently what's about to happen. And then we're going to ask Ashley for advice on what kinds of plant teachers might work well with the energy in the month ahead. So the other thing that's present as this New Moon is coming through, is a Venus opposition to Neptune. Now again, for a deep dive on all of this, check out the video I made with Spencer Michaud on his channel. I didn't want to repeat everything that I did. So I thought I'll just point people there. I'm going to give kind of a summary here.

3:41
So if you can imagine, first of all that the past two lunar cycles have been all about Saturn and Uranus, then you'll understand what I'm about to say which is that things are about to get significantly lighter. I actually saw chiropractor this July for some neck problems, which actually came about because of long periods at a at a desk I'm pretty sure. I saw a chiropractor right as the Saturn Uranus Square was perfecting. And it was really funny because I was on the table. And you know if you ever seen a chiropractor things crack like you're it's kind of like a medical version of having someone crack your knuckles. So anyway, it was an amazing adjustment that she did for me, but I was like, oh, my neck feels free. You know from the stiffness, Saturn, but it came through the sudden kind of jerking motion that cracked and liberated a stuck structure. So if you think about right now, the idea that for the past two months, your life may have been getting like a chiropractic adjustment, then you're in you're in the right ballpark. Like that's kind of what the synergy has been like. Not easy. Chiropractic adjustments as far are a little scary, you know, because you're like, I don't think you're gonna break my neck. But then all of a sudden, it turns out that you're fine. So there's anxiety, there's adjustment, there's the sudden shift or changes of structures, there's freedom and release from something that's been pent up, or maybe a little bit stuck. But there's also the hard work of gradually working toward liberation.

5:28
For example, another way that I would point to this in my own life right now and in our lives has been moving in. A slow, gradual process, changing a big sort of psychic structure in your life, and then start to feel free and you can get back to like just kind of living normal and get back into some good healthy rhythms and stuff like that. So if you can imagine that, that's been the energy for the past two months, and then throw into this that anytime a planet goes through Leo, in the past month or month and a half, it has been activating that over and over and over again, triggering it with different kinds of secondary planetary dynamics coming through Venus has gone through it. Mars has gone through it, Mercury has gone through it, the sun has gone through it.

6:14
So now we're in this New Moon cycle where the cycle opens up with the opposition's to Saturn being complete the square between Saturn and Uranus being complete. But now we have a sun square to Uranus. And if you listen to the last two videos that I did this week on sun square, Uranus, you know that that transit has to do with that feeling of breakthrough, kind of heroic, triumphant feeling of breakthrough, sometimes very suddenly. And maybe with Saturn in the background, it's been slow coming. It's something that's been building over the past few months, but the feeling of like a cloudburst. The feeling the need to individually to change to be lit up from inside with very inspired, and eccentric or intense creative energy. So these are the kinds of energies we're working with in this cycle, which makes me feel like overall, this cycle should be helping us feel like we're moving forward again, after some of the hard work of the Saturn Uranus dynamic over the past month and a half. So that's the short version of my New Moon forecast. Remember, at the outset of this cycle, Venus is also in her fall in Virgo opposing Neptune in Pisces, it's gonna pass really quickly. But lots of transits pass quickly and they're influenced, we may not spend as much time on in a new moon forecast. The reason that you pay attention to a transit other than the New Moon itself, at the time of the New Moon is because those transits perfecting at the time of the New Moon tone the New Moon cycle, so you can really feel them throughout are their themes or lessons will have a way of threading their way all the way through the cycle.

7:52
So Venus opposes Neptune in her fall, the idea of disillusionment, or illusion are on the table right now. So personal creative breakthrough. But if we let ourselves get too carried away by the Uranian energy, it's possible that you'll drink your own Kool Aid or you'll go to the grocery store on an empty stomach, so to speak, and do more than is necessary, like kind of go to some extreme, it's like you get you get high with creative energy. And you you go to an extreme, very similarly, you know, I'm thinking of the spring cleaning vibe that you I'm going to, I'm going to suddenly clean my whole house and you just go completely bonkers. And maybe your spouse or partner comes home at the end of the day, and they're like, wow, you cleaned the whole house, you also painted it all pink, you know, like you went a little crazy. So that's the Uranian impulse where you have to be really careful, because right now the uranian impulse could be also diluted by images or desires or wishes that aren't realistic, or that you're like deluding yourself somehow, or you can be feeling yourself a little bit too much. This is a moment of a moon cycle that could point to victory, but also, maybe getting a little too high on yourself, or being diluted about how good something is or how good you are or something like that. So just be aware of the tangled web of Venus Neptune at the beginning.

9:21
Now on the other hand, the positive of that transit, is that Venus, Neptune is often going to clarify what we actually need, what we desire, what we want, what makes us happy, and what doesn't. And that can be the beginning or a part of the breakthrough that we're talking about. That can be the thing that flips the switch and says, Oh, I'm repulsed by that. I don't like this or I'm not happy with this or that. So Venus, Neptune can give us a sense of what we do want or desire versus what we don't want or find sort of, you know, personally repulsive or something that we need to reject, again, based on what we find attractive, pleasing or desirable. So that's coming in at the beginning of the cycle. You've got the sun Uranus dynamic, fueling the need for creative change, that's pretty intense. You can see how, why those two energies put together could be very overwhelming. And we could lose discernment or just become almost like a little too revved up or something. So to me, those are the energies, we're working with this lunar cycle. And what I want Ashley to talk to us about now, and I'm going to just zip my lip is I want her to talk with us about which plants, we could ally ourselves with this lunar cycle, given the intensity of these energies, and we're talking about plants that should be pretty easy to get ahold of, and are common, you know, can work for a lot of different, you know, different people. And, and it could easily provide some support this month. So actually, given that this is what we're, we're dealing with in the month of August in this new moon cycle, what are the best plant allies you could recommend and why?

10:55
So there's quite a few different elements happening here. And I'm imagining that there might be two different responses to these energies. And so I have two different herbs in mind that I've been thinking about, that I think fit really well in this picture. So on the one hand, we've been having all of this Saturn activation and constriction, and that can be really exhausting on the system. And so the first word that comes to mind is ashwagandha, which is an incredible adaptogen. It's a nourishing restorative. So you know, if you're entering into this new moon cycle, and you're feeling kind of depleted, or rundown, or raggedy on your edges, like your nervous systems just a little bit frayed, you know, there's sparks flying out randomly, then finding an herb like, like ashwagandha. And bringing that into your system might be really, really helpful. Because it's grounding, it's nourishing, it's calming. And I wouldn't say it's not sedating, like it's not going to put you to sleep, but it's going to take the edge off, while at the same time building up those deeper reserves, which we are going to need, you know, going forward. And ashwagandha is one of those herbs that can take a little while to have an effect on the body. It's not like you take it once, and then Oh, now I feel relaxed, I'm good, let's carry on, you really need to take it for about three weeks or a month, to start to feel that effect. And I'll say that most people, it takes about three weeks, some people that are really sensitive it, they can just take it for a few days, and they really notice the difference. But most people I think will really benefit right now because it's going to build you up. And when we get that activation from Uranus, that's gonna start really sparking these new ideas and these creative endeavours, you want to make sure that you're starting into that place from a place of being of being grounded and nourished. So even if you can just start ashwagandha now, it's going to keep you from burning the candle at both ends, right?

13:06
Ashwagandha it translates in, in Sanskrit as he who has the virility of a horse or like, horse root, or vital horse. And, you know, to me, it's like, we want to be like a large course that's going to plough a field, we want to have that amount of energy and vitality. But you know, we were talking to about the sort of beastial science and the earthiness of the moment. Acyuta, can you talk a little bit about the earthiness? This plant is earthy, it smells it actually smells kind of like a horse. So it has that very, I think very earthy quality.

13:45
Yeah, I mean, so if you're looking at this from the standpoint of the signs, then we're talking about the sign of the lion, the sun and moon in the lion, and Uranus in the bull. So those two signs have a lot to do with potency. They are they have natural square in the Zodiac to one another. They have a lot to do with potency and strength but in different ways. So if you think about Taurus, for example, you're thinking about a sign, kind of a youthful spring sign that has its eyes set toward the pole star because the sun in this position of the solar year from the northern hemisphere is perspective in the sort of ideal seasonal language of the zodiac. The sun is moving upward toward the pole star toward that summer solstice point. So everything is moving upward. So if you think about a lot of people think about the bull and they just think about grass and pastures and hanging out and peace and stuff like that. But if you think more about a slow, steady, sustaining effort, like how do I move toward my goal, why also enjoying and feeling good about the experience of getting there.

15:05
So for example, you know, let's say that you're building a garden, and it's going to be this beautiful garden, people are going to come see it - I just went to the Arboretum today with my daughter. So let's think about, you're building a beautiful garden for people to walk through and so forth. The idea here with tourists would be not that you're just going to hang out in a garden, but that you're building one that people can come to and enjoy. So it's a very idealistic sign that has the future in mind, most people don't know that or don't think about that with Taurus. In fact, this is these are some of the things I'll be covering in my upcoming video on the misconceptions about Taurus. But so it's a future oriented sign that has a goal like a an ideal garden, let's call it in mind. But it's not like Capricorn, where it might suck really bad to get there, but you just take it and Capricorn, the real Marsy sign, Mars' exaltation. Taurus is like we should get there in a way that resembles the exact quality that we feel when we're finally there. Like Ashley's a double Taurus, and I'm a Taurus rising. So it's like, if we have a plan for the day it is in like, we're saying, We're going out as a family and Ashley's like, arrange some plan, we're definitely going into nature of Ashley's planning it, so it's going to be great, it's going to be beautiful, it's going to be fun. But if you, if you mess with my wife's plan, you're also getting the horns, you know what I mean? So that idea of moving toward a goal of beauty, right? But then you won't even notice as long as you go along with it, you won't even notice that there's a very controlled fixed goal in mind. Because the experience along the way will be laid back, it'll be sort of chill.

17:02
And compare that and contrast that with Leo, where the, the sun in Leo, we're talking about squaring Uranus, right, the New Moon. So with Leo, you're thinking more about the idea of the imminence of death. This is a sign where the solar year is starting to come down toward the basement. And so you're thinking about what is my plan in terms of the legacy I will leave behind after I die. So Taurus isn't thinking about death, like Leo is, but they're both thinking about the ideal and something about what constitutes beauty or worth, or what is valuable. Taurus is going to be a little bit more worldly, because it isn't turning that corner of death yet. So in a sense, worldly doesn't mean bad, either. It just means it's going to be more about something that you're creating here. Leo has a lot more to do with things like legacy. How does my legacy endure like the idea of kingship, it's something that's passed down, right, or it's something that lives on its own. So Leo has this idea kind of this eternal image beyond death of what is valuable and honourable. So the idea of what constitutes both ego and its life beyond death, and also shorter, let's say more immediate goals about what constitutes beauty or pleasure. Those are all very, very earthy things, even though Leo is a fire sign, those all have to do with lived concerns about legacy and what we're making or doing that's beautiful, what will last and things like that. So for that reason, both of the signs, even though you have one fire sign and one earth sign, have beastial qualities, a lion and a bull. So they're very, very much about our concerns with worldly things. So I'd wanted to share that because at what Ashley was telling me when we started planning for this video about ashwagandha, I was like, Oh, this is greater because of how earthy these signs both of these signs are. So that plays a big role in why I think this herb would would help.

19:07
Yeah, and I think to to play into that is, you know, ashwagandha it has the future in mind. It's also an herb it's really good for virility, which is also like potency, like sexual potency and reproductive potency. So you know, that is one of its its ru Vedic uses was to really help with longevity and longevity for the future for you know, being able to procreate so it has that medicine in it, but it also has that immediate or or shorter term effect of giving a person a sense of calm steadiness, nourishment, revitalization as they're making their way into that into that legacy work. And, yeah, it's a really nice plant, that can be taken long term as well. So this would be one that I would really you know, people can start it today, and, you know, take it through, you know, take it for six months and just see how you feel, maybe make a little note in your notebook. Day one, here's how my nervous system feels, here's how my reproductive system feels, you know, go through your body systems, make a list, and then six months later check back and say, Have any of these changed? Do I feel different, you know, it has a revitalising effect on the skin too, it makes the skin more shiny and, and luminescent. So, you know, you might be able to see that Leonic glow, you know, come through later on, after taking this herb for a long period of time. And a lot of people find that their sleep improves in the short term, they get better rest in the short term with this plant.

20:47
I've been taking ashwagandha for a while now. And one of the things that you'll see in like Men's Health journals like, like for people who want to work out, or who want herbs that are good for building, kind of the the masculine qualities, let's just call them energetically like ashwagandha was listed in a number of different places that I was looking at when I started, like lifting regularly. One of the things that I wanted to mention about this is that the sun square Uranus, which is a part of the New Moon, is like textbook, liberating of masculine energy. Now masculine energy doesn't mean you know, it's it's within all of us that yang quality. So like, like unleashing some some element of that young quality within us the sort of sacred masculine is part of what this New Moon cycle is also, you could look at it from that perspective, in which case, if I'm hearing what you're saying, right, that this would be a plant that would be well aligned with that as well.

21:50
Totally, yeah, it's an anabolic plant. So catabolic it is, our plants or herbs that break things down, anabolic are substances that build things up. So this is definitely an anabolic building up type of plant. So it is good for increasing muscle tone. And yeah, all sorts of different cardiac function. I mean, it kind of touches most systems, but for most people, they recognise it most in their nervous system. And then also muscles and skin, you know, just really seen improved integrity in those areas.

22:25
So should I tell people how to take it? Okay. So there's a few different ways my favourite way is as a tincture. And so you can, you know, purchase this from any reputable herbal company, try to find organic if possible, and it's the root that is the part used. So you want to look for ashwagandha root, the Latin name is withania somnifera. And so that somnifera gives us a peek into some that are sleep. So it has, you know, it has a long history of use for sleep. So you want to find the root in a tincture and you can take two droppers full, you know, maybe two or three times a day in a little water or directly in the mouth. You can also find the powdered organic route. And this is really nice to add, you know, maybe a teaspoonful into smoothies, you can add it into applesauce or yoghurt and just eat it that way twice a day.

23:16
Nice, nice. Well, this is this has been really, really helpful. Is there anything else that you want to add?

23:27
I think when I started off, I was saying that there's sort of two ways people might come into this. The first way is maybe from depletion, and the second one is just from complete overwhelm. So I'll just say really quickly that if you find that for you, you're entering into this state and into this cycle and you're feeling really overwhelmed too much energy, you're finding yourself getting headaches, you're feeling really restless and agitated. Then skullcap is another herb that's really nice. This is Scutellaria lateraflora. And this is another it's an herb that's also used in aryuveda but it's it's native here to North America, but it's been adapted into aryuvedic practice, but it's a wonderful nervine relaxing so this one's really going to be more sedative in its action, but it's considered in aryuveda to be sattvic. So it's really harmonising for the mind. It's really clarifying for the mind mental processes, visioning out your future, planning things out. So if you feel like that's maybe more where you are, then you could take skullcap and most people find the effects really more immediate because it's a nervine and it just takes the energy down so you could take start off with one dropper full of tincture and this is the aerial part so everything above ground and try one dropper full and just see how you feel and some people might take two droppers full, you know, if you do I usually dose on weight so and sensitivity. So if you're really sensitive, stick with one if you're a little bit more robust and it tends to take more for things to affect you try to drop And take it as needed, you know, take it as needed throughout these next weeks and see if that helps just sort of take the edge off a little bit.

25:10
As far as I can tell, I've been able to find these herbs like at our local Co-op, you know, they're pretty accessible. So I think I'm sure you can get them on Amazon in some organic versions as well. But the people shouldn't have a hard too hard time finding these right?

25:23
That's right. Yeah, your local herbs shop, always try to support your local apothecaries, if you can. Co ops are a great place. There's a retailer called mountain rose herbs, and they have high quality tinctures and powders you can buy. So those are Yeah, those are some good places to start.

25:40
It's always a battle. I was talking to one of my teachers earlier, we're talking about where to order his book, and he was like, oh, man, you know, I always want to tell people to go to these local bookstores or whatever, and then you end up just on Amazon, you know? So, anyway, so support your local herbalist and apothecary or Co Op, if you can, that would be great. But anyway, so hopefully you guys feel like you have some good information about this moon cycle to come some good herbal helpers. Big thanks to Ashley for being here. By the way, I don't know if you guys some of you guys out there know are married. It is so weird for me to be calling my wife Ashley. Because usually, usually I'm just hollering around the house, babe. So yeah, but anyway, I'm so glad that you guys could meet Ashley and like get to know her and her work more. If you want to check out more of her work. Her herbal channel skyhouse herbs, you can also follow she makes regular content on you know herbal medicine and other kinds of things that might be useful for all different kinds of situations in life. Plus some good mama and plant medicine advice and stuff like that is anything else that I should plug?

26:53
Well, I do have a workshop coming up with horary keerthana das this Saturday. That is going to be the 7th of August and it's the recording will be available but it's on bhakti yoga, spirituality, Tulsi and gardening. So we're going to be talking about the intersection of plants and plant consciousness and yoga consciousness and looking at sacred scriptures and how they refer to plants and how we can use our connection with plants for our own spiritual growth and advancement. So that's going to be really fun. And they can go to my website skyhouse herbs.com, click on the Events tab and you'll see it right there.

27:33
Okay, great. Yeah I just interviewed Hari for another workshop that he's doing that'll air on I think, August 16, or something like that. So you'll be seeing not too long. My mentor Hari, who's Ashley's mentor as well and he's well worth hanging out with as much as Ashley is when it comes to these topics. So you guys should definitely check that workshop workshop out I forgot that it was this weekend for some reason I thought it was next otherwise I would have remembered that. But we will put the links to all of this in the description of this video. So check them out there. You can also go to skyhouse herbs.com or find Ashley's YouTube channel. So thank you so much for being here, Ashley and thank you everybody for watching. We will see you next week. Take it easy, everyone. Bye