I’m finding that I’m having a really difficult time writing about Leo energy. A large part of that may be because I have Leo in my 12th house of the subconscious and unconscious mind, and I have no planetary bodies or major astrological points in Leo. I’m pretty much a Leo-less person…
…which isn’t really the case. We ALL have some Leo energy present in each of us. But I’ll admit – I have very little of it on my own. I like to think of my expression of Leo energy as ‘my little light’, even though others often tell me it’s not as little as I may think.
That’s why I’m such a proponent of others shining their Light fully. After all, if someone is even a small bit conscious of what they have to offer, why not encourage them to shine it? Besides, if what I have to offer others isn’t fully conscious to me until I’m working with, serving or sharing it with others, why not shine ‘my little light’ in service of awakening people to all that they are?
That’s actually what happens for me. The 12th house is not only about the subconscious and unconscious mind – it’s also about spiritual and philanthropic service. The work I do through Life By Soul© is spiritual service and soul-based philanthropy. I shine my Light to and for the benefit of others in finding and shining theirs. My work is my ‘ministry’ of sorts, and I deliver it one client at a time. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yet I find that I can get upset or downright angry when I am not acknowledged or recognized for shining my Light. That’s right – that expression of Light I’m not even conscious of most of the time. My Achilles heel is not having the Light I do shine being received (seen or heard) by others. All I want is a simple ‘thank you’ and a referral from those who have experienced my work first-hand – a sharing and spreading of the word about the work I do and the positive difference it makes for people because I want to make a positive difference for as many people as possible while I’m here on this planet. That’s all.
However, getting attention or having the spotlight on me is not what inherently drives me. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that I want to share my spiritual service and contribution with as many people as possible, I’d shy away from the spotlight altogether. So nothing hurts me more emotionally than to be accused of attention-seeking or to be told that I’m only doing something to get attention. It hurts me because nothing could be further from the Truth of who I am. I’m simply not wired that way.
I’ve come to learn that most of the people accusing me of seeking attention believe that I’m taking attention away from them. I find I have NOT gotten along with many Leo Sun people or people with strong Leo influence in my life. It’s usually because they’ve accused me of stealing their attention or their spotlight, or they believe I haven’t given them enough attention for shining their Light.
I recognize that I’ve attracted a lot of unhealthy or unbalanced Leo energy over the years. I needed to understand why I was allowing that negative energy to continue to be present in my life, diminishing my brilliance.
I wasn’t allowing myself to shine my Light because I was too busy trying to keep the peace and make others feel good about themselves. I suppressed my own Light “in service to others” with the hopes of brightening their Light in doing so. I never realized that instead I was diminishing all of us involved by doing so. After all, what incentive is there to shine more brightly if the brightest light in the room is willing to dim itself down?
It took me a long time (until recently, actually) to finally understand that other people have to choose to love themselves. I cannot give or love them enough to get them to love themselves. More than that, I cannot give or love them enough to give me permission to be myself – I’ll never get that permission from them if they don’t choose to love themselves first.
But most of all, I get to choose to love myself and to be myself fully, despite others’ feelings and perceptions of themselves and of me. I don’t need anyone else’s approval to be myself. No one else is the boss of me unless I let them be.
There ARE Leo-energy people I DO get along with. They are often very confident in their own individual expression, authentically shining their Light. They are not easily threatened by others – they are not ultra-competitive, hyper-argumentative or co-dependent. They are genuinely and unconditionally kind, generous and loving. I welcome the company of this healthy and life-affirming type of Leo energy – the type that doesn’t need to bully or manipulate to shine their Light; the type that doesn’t need to diminish the Light of others to shine; the type that finds its own unique expression of Light instead of trying to copy or mimic someone else’s.
So I ask you this:
– Where in your life are you shining brightly? Where are you choosing to not to?
– Who or what in your life inspires and encourages your radiant self-expression? And who and what has you hide or play yourself down?
– Where and with whom do you engage in arguments, competitions or co-dependent (manipulative or self-sacrificing) behaviors? And where and with whom do you partner or collaborate with others in mutually beneficial, balanced and healthy ways?
~ Where do you take the risk to shine your own Light in your life? And where or how do you depend on the Light of others for you to shine?
The more I grow into my awareness of my own Light, the more I actually appreciate and love the healthy and unhealthy expressions of Leo energy and the Leo-energy people that have been or are present in my life. They have taught me that it is important for me to shine ‘my little light’ – that it is something for me to respect, honor and shine for myself first, then in service to others.
(And it may be a bit twisted, but I’m also learning that if people are jealous or envious of me being me or what I’m up to in my life, I’m probably being brilliant or I’m onto something really wonderful….and I need to keep on being my authentic self and doing whatever it is I’m doing.)
What is the Leo Sun awakening you to about yourself and your life? I’d love to know. Please share your journey over the next month on the Life By Soul Facebook page in discussions section, or by commenting on this blog post.
Enjoy the week. Enjoy the Sun in Leo. Enjoy yourself and your life.
Until next post…
~ Light, Love and Blessings,
Grace
