Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances...
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
SUPER Full Moon: closest to Earth, effects magnified, high energy, celebration, gratitude, clarity
Transit Leo: Fire, heart, warm, generous, proud, courageous, confident, desire for praise and recognition.
February 8, 2020. We've got a pretty special full moon tonight--a SUPER full moon in Leo, also called the snow moon. We just had the Super Bowl, now a Super Moon...? We're definitely off to a super start. About 80% of what I put on my vision board at the start of 2020 has already come to fruition or I have concrete steps in place for me to see it manifest really soon. It's pretty crazy. Definitely super.
So what IS a super moon? Astrologer Richard Noelle defined it in 1979 as a full or new moon that comes within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. According to EarthSky (2020), this is determined by the year's closest perigee (the moon's closest point to Earth) and the year's farthest apogee (the moon's farthest point from Earth). So tonight, the moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal, meaning her effects may feel a lot stronger, too!
Full of Gratitude, Full of Love
With our moon passing through Leo, the mighty fire LION, everything about the energy tonight will be pretty lit. ;) I know, lame. But I had to. Leo's element is fire and encourages us to be generous, open hearted, proud, courageous and confident. Super powerful pairing with the super full moon, which may help us to easily open our hearts to that gratitude and love.
Despite all the confidence, though, there may also be a general tendency for a desire for praise and recognition. Rather than letting it take over your ego, let's turn it into a way to focus on how we can use this to SHOW LOVE.
Show Love
Lean into this celebratory energy of the full moon to embrace the open hearted, fearless nature of Leo. Just like I mentioned in the reflection of my first quarter journal, the more confidence we have, the easier it will be to give love unconditionally, to love fearlessly. If you're feeling that desire for praise and recognition, look at the root cause of that desire. Maybe you aren't taking the time to appreciate all that your body, mind, and spirit does for you, so when other people don't notice, it may be especially hurtful. Let's turn to a gratitude practice and list all of the things that you are grateful for. I created this for a Full Moon event tonight, feel free to download it and use it in your own journal!
While you are listing things that you'd like to give thanks for, don't forget to include the things that you are craving to be recognized for by others. Don't be ashamed to give yourself a pat on the back, too. That's also a form of self recognition and self love. Sometimes people fear that doing this will make them vain or self-centered, but I could argue that it can propel you to being even more generous and loving to others. Once you have the satisfaction of that recognition, it will be easier for you to do the same for others. Give those compliments and kudos to your friends, family, coworkers... show them love! You'll most likely become a magnet for the same kind of energy, too.
I always loved the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that I shared at the beginning as it talks about cultivating a grateful heart "in all circumstances." There's something really powerful about finding a way to give thanks even through any struggles and challenges that you face. This used to rub me the wrong way because I thought of it as super insensitive and dismissive of the emotional needs of a person who is really struggling and hurting. However, I realize now that the purpose is not to ignore that pain, but to help foster a mind-set and heart-set of growth... to help overcome the struggle. I'll dive deeper into this another time, because you definitely need more than just gratitude in order to heal... but for now, I'd like to encourage you, even if (especially if!) things are difficult for you right now to find at least five things you are grateful for. It can be small, it can be unrelated to your trauma or struggles, or you can face it head on and see what positive traits it is building in you.
My prayer for all of you is that you can find a way to incorporate this gratefulness practice into your daily routines. Practice it through the good and the bad and you'll be surprised at how it changes your life.
Namaste,
Keila