The Sun enters Leo, and Summer reaches its climax, in the Northern hemisphere, while in the Southern hemisphere this is the climax of Winter. Summer and Winter simultaneously coexist on our planet now.
With our limited perception we experience life as linear, getting used and attached to one polarity, while neglecting the other until with time, often to our discomfort and disbelief, what is ignored inevitably takes over. We may even work hard to prevent the opposite side from emerging, denying and repressing it, obdurately holding onto a separate reality.
Just as there is a part in us thriving with life, another is dead. While a side is joyful, another is sad, one is dark and the other luminous, poor and rich, ill and healthy, and so on. All opposites live within us, constantly interacting and merging. Some shine on stage, while others lurk behind the wings, waiting for their turn to come. Yet they keep all being here at the same time.
At the heart of ancient ceremonies and rituals, as well as their contemporary equivalents, lies the awareness of life as a vast multidimensional theatre production. These events were and are times of deep reunion, with all actors and characters coming together and being acknowledged, while also providing opportunities for swapping roles, exploring new stories and connections, while releasing old ones. And, most importantly, these gatherings also draw the directors and producers, those who manage the entire comedy or drama of life.
Leo is the traditional sign of theatre, drama, actors and of all those who shine in the limelight of life. It is associated with royal power, the alchemical gold and the Sun. Yet, with all respect, this is not the sun that comes and goes, drastically changing its effects according to seasonal or daily shifts. Nor it is solely the sun of monarchs and show stars, academic awards and political leaders. It is a deep inner Sun, capable of bestowing generous gifts at all times.
We may find this ongoing Sun by retrieving our hidden and denied parts, by acknowledging what was formerly eliminated from our consciousness. Surprisingly, in order to find our true source of light we need to travel into the darkness, facing all apparent areas of grievances. We need to suspend our judgements and truly getting to know the areas we find difficult to accept, ceasing to act as if they don’t exist.
What if the bits that we find harder to accept in ourselves end up being our best qualities and gifts?
We may be so frightened by true light and life, so full of shame and prejudices about our authentic treasures that we bury them away, displaying instead our worst bits to the world, paradoxically believing that they are the best.
Many of us strain to express what is dead in their life, while repressing what is alive, serving a world obsessed with conventional appearances and missing the brightness of their inner Sun.
Yet, no matter how we try to conceal it, this light regularly returns and shines upon us. It glows upon all the crucial cross-roads on our path. It encourages us to let go of our decayed scripts and roles, of what is dead and long to take its course. It shines upon the blooming parts we are truly meant to play and dance in the theatre of life.
I wish you a most fruitful ripening of all the treasures generously available for you to enjoy and share with your beloved ones.
© Franco Santoro