Hello friends! I hope you are having a great weekend so far with this lovely waxing Moon in sidereal Cancer. Here’s a heads up about the Full Moon that will occur Monday afternoon, February 22, 2016 (1:19:48 PM ET) in the noble and warm-hearted nakshatra of Magha in Leo constellation. Magha nakshatra is ruled by the Ancestors, known as Pitris, the immortal progenitors of the human race who exist in heavenly realms and help oversee humanity’s progress and development.

In the Vedic tradition, “Magh Purnima” is the name of this Full Moon day in the month of Magha (which falls in January or February every year). On this day according to Vedic tradition, a holy bath, fast, charities and pujas are performed, including worship and offerings to one’s ancestors and spiritual lineage. It is believed that Lord Vishnu resides in the Ganga River on this day so that even just touching its holy water on this day provides spiritual freedom.

Leo the Lion stands for courage, an interesting word that comes from the Old French “corage,” which means “heart and spirit.” So this is a wonderful time to contemplate the true meaning of courage as the “fire burning within the heart.” Here is a practice that I like to do for the Leo Full Moon at any time on the day before or the day of the Full Moon (Sunday or Monday):

First light a fire, incense, or candle(s), and contemplate the flames of the fire for a while before closing your eyes, and then carry the images of the fire into your mind’s eye. Call on your divine guidance for assistance and blessing, and then imagine a bright reddish-gold Moon above your head, with divine nectar (soma) dripping down from it into your own inner heart center, transforming your chest into a bright and blazing fire.

Once the fire is really burning in you, bow before it and begin to offer it all the impurities of your mind, whatever they are — fear, worry, anger, sadness, sorrow, frustration, illness, pain, and so on — and then, allow the fire to transform these impurities into trust, compassion, joy, peace, well-being, gratitude and whatever else you are hoping to call in and enhance more of in your life. Allow the fire to burn brighter and bigger until in encapsulates the whole world and beyond, transmuting everything it touches into one divine light.

One last thought…and perhaps it’s the most important. The Full Moon always falls exactly opposite the Sun; which means they are 180 longitudinal or zodiacal degrees apart. This is considered a “full aspect” in Vedic astrology. Astrologer Dana Gerhardt describes the potential of this particular soli-lunar aspect: “Oppositions *reveal*. Just as Luna on Full Moon nights fully accepts the light of the Sun, so must we accept whatever truths shine toward us.”

Interestingly, the same theme of “something being revealed” plays out in the Full Moon chart via the Sun’s conjunction with the fixed star Fomalhaut, in the mouth of the Fish, just south of Aquarius constellation. This conjunction only happens once a year when the Sun comes to ~10 degrees of sidereal Aquarius. Fomalhaut is associated with Archangel Gabriel, God’s Messenger. The Sun in my own natal horoscope is conjoined this star so I have a special affinity for this star and Archangel Gabriel who brings messages to us from the realm of the Divine.

So my sense of this is…Listen deeply and be aware of any and all messages coming through in the coming days and week from any source, as these messages may be very important. Deep listening may be easier than usual now as Mercury and Venus (mind and heart) are transiting in Shravana nakshatra, which is the Moon’s own nakshatra that is associated with inner listening and deep connection. In the mundane realm, I expect some truly “interesting” announcements to be made in the news in the coming days and week as the Sun represents leaders in the government (especially the executive branch), and also the Sun stands for banks and all kinds of authority figures (CEOs, heads of schools, and religious leaders, etc.).