A New Moon starts the cycle of renewal. It ignites the eternal flame of emotion, subconscious, and feeling. The moon's newness is dark soil. It is the fertilization that nourishes our seeds through the storm. It is cold. It is fresh. It is raw and unnerving. The August 2018 Lion New Moon in Leo is no different. It is charged with the illumination of the sun's hidden rays as it casts the last Leo solar eclipse of 2018. 

On August 11, 2018, in the wee early moments of dawn, the moon rises in the darkness again. Invisible in her approach but almighty in her roar, our insides are purified from their sleeping states forever.

You can expect deep changes with this lunar phase. Slow, insightful, deliberate, and decaying transition. The kind of transformation that makes you cut all your hair off and grow it back three months later. The kind of shift that alters everything and nothing all in one swoop.  

With rebellious Uranus now Retrograde in stubborn Taurus until November, our internal landscapes are sticky and chaotic with colorful greys. Experiences during this transit can feel boring and dull, but still chaotic and unnerving to say the least. 

Raging projections of submerged fears or worries may surface. Try not to cast or shun your shadows. Greet them. Invite them in. Make them tea and coffee. Invite them to know you. To reveal themselves deeply to you. 

Understanding our hurt leads to self-confidence that cannot be tethered by fear. It is the kind of strength that surpasses all physical understanding and shame. It is internalized. Deep. Buried and tucked away like a newborn baby suckling on its mother's full tender breast. 

No matter how you feel during this new moon, your feelings are raw, valid, and glistening. Listen to them. Honor them. Let go of what no longer feels good. Release what now brings you suffering. You do not have to suffer. Banish the belief that love is suffering. Love is stretching. It expands, challenges, and sustains but it does not bring malice. Be strong and brave enough to face the difference. Even it is your own pain. 

"Being who you are is not a chore, it is not work. It is commitment."

A Ritual For the 2018 New Moon and Solar Eclipse: 

First: Write down your one thing that just has to go today. It can be very specific or extremely broad. Think of this as your personal nemesis. What rules your Life? What oozes into the corners and overshadows your glow? Is it fear, scarcity, a person, an experience, a place, a thing? Call it forward and bravely write it down. Writing it down allows you to bring it from the higher realm of consciousness into the material world of the physical. 

Once you've taken a second to write it down, ground yourself. Close your eyes and visualize this thing. Visualize the essence (the energy) of what it is that you are vanishing. If it is a feeling invite the feeling to take over you. If examples of this feeling pop up, try to ignore it. Allow the feeling to feel itself. You are the observer, not the feeling. 

After you have taken a second to ground, start your practice by asking yourself some simple questions. 

Ask yourself questions like:

How does ____ effect me?

Why does ____effect me?

What triggers ____? 

How can I directly address _____? 

What will happen if I address _____? 

Once you've got a clear picture and some answered questions either written down or in your mind, write down and say the following three lines out loud.

I accept ________ as my truth.

I embrace _________ as my truth. 

I banish ________ with love.

Say and write these three lines with power and courage and strength. Give impact to your words. Breathe Life and healing onto the paper. Don't be afraid to let this go. Don't be afraid to let go of this FOREVER. Humans instinctually have this intrinsic fear of eternity but it's the truth behind what we are. We areeternal flames. We do shine brightly forever. So why not banish something for eternity? It is possible. You do have the power to make a decision and stick to it. To never react to its triggers again. It takes honesty, love, and repetition. It takes trust, evolution, and transcendence. But it does happen. It can happen. It will. 

If you're ever feeling stuck or mislead by ANYTHING, repeat this simple two-second ritual over and over again until it becomes automatic like breathing.

You can do this at any time, anywhere. It can be as simple as 123 or you can be more elaborate and add candles, a circle, or an altar.

Monitor your thoughts and emotions over the next three to four days when the Moon is still dark and fertilizing. Take stock of what keeps coming up for purification. Answer any inner promptings or calls that you receive for change. Trust the sacredness of this dark time. There is so much love here when you accept it.