Leo Season 2023
It had been 12 years since I visited my mom’s hometown of Sahuayo, Michoacan, Mexico. Since I was born, my mom would take me religiously every summer to celebrate the town’s saint, Santiago the Apostle. I recently returned home and I want to reflect on some of my experiences from the past weeks and the numerous trips I would take to the festive-filled town that my mom’s side of the family is from.
Sahuayo is a highly Catholic Mexican city. So much so, they’ve dedicated numerous days where the city shuts down and a parade is thrown for Santiago the Apostle. A figure is made of him and is carried through the streets so that people pay their homage to him, while thousands of Tlahualiles (beautiful masks worn by people) dance in honor of him. It’s a beautiful spectacle to see.
Almost every street has hanging decorations and everyone is outside their homes to watch the parade go down all day and night.
The Apostle’s festival is celebrated from July 25th - August 4th, which always fall during Leo season. As an astrologer, now looking back to my history, I laugh at how synchronistic time periods align with planetary alignments. Every year, the Sun transits through Leo in the middle of the summer which is typically from July 22nd - August 22nd. So my trips to Mexico always reflected the sign of the Lion.
At its essence, Leo represents the motivation to express oneself, specifically for risking vulnerability to receive recognition, admiration, and applause. In its highest frequency, Leo wants to celebrate life, wants to play, and seeks to express itself through creative outlets. Not all Leos are creative in the traditional sense. Some Leos are leaders who leave their creative stamp on organizations, businesses, or movements. Nonetheless, Leo's energy is about creating tangible evidence of its internal processes in the hands of the world.
For these reasons, people with strong Leo energy are known to be expressive, celebratory, and look “confident.” That last comment I have in quotes because, although Leos might look confident, they’re some of the most sensitive people because they’re risking their emotional vulnerability; they’re showing to the world who they truly are through a creative outlet.
Not everyone has a planet in Leo, but we all experience Leo season. I do have one planet in Leo, not enough to say I’m a Leo person, however, I do get a bump in my confidence because the Sun in Leo activates my planet of faith, optimism, and confidence–Jupiter.
Going to Sahuayo every summer growing up, I was given numerous opportunities to express myself. Firstly, I had to switch up my way of thinking and speaking because I had to go from speaking English to speaking Spanish. There’s something about speaking Spanish where I feel more expressive and playful. It feels like I’m unlocking a different version of myself that I don’t get to express when I speak English.
Secondly, I had to get out of my comfort zone because I wasn’t much of a dancer, and if you know Mexican culture, we love to dance! During the festivities of Santiago the Apostol, Sahuayo is filled with countless bands playing all over the city. I was a shy kid (Saturn in the 5th house), but going to Mexico helped me break out of my shell to learn how to dance and be more confident in the way I moved.
Lastly, Mexicans aren’t afraid to dress flamboyantly, but I grew up in a town where you had to dress up looking tough so you wouldn’t be picked on. I vividly remember coming back from Sahuayo when I was transitioned from my sophomore year into junior year in high school where I finally decided I wasn’t going to wear a white t-shirt underneath my actual shirt and have one extra button unbuttoned. I was made fun of because I was showing off my chest, but I was baffled because everyone in Mexico had at least 3 buttons unbuttoned, whereas in California it was the norm to wear a white T underneath the shirt.
This past trip did not fail in the celebration department. Parties, dancing, laughing, drinking, eating, and spending time with family. My confidence, once again, was enhanced by being able to hang in conversations with family and friends who are fluent in Spanish and by surprising people that this Mexican “gringo” actually knows how to dance.
My intention with writing this blog was to help inspire you to enjoy this Leo energy we still have for another two weeks or so. If you haven’t already expressed yourself in somehow, someway, please do so.
Here are some examples of how you can pay homage to the Sun in Leo:
Dance
Play
Sing
Paint
Celebrate
Act
Write a poem
Decorate
Tell a story
Be romantic
Learn from children
Do what makes you happy
Soak up the Sun
Be vulnerable with your lover
Leo energy does thrive on recognition, no doubt about that, however, if they’re no butterflies in your stomach, it doesn’t count.
Don’t forget that part!
Rawr,
Andre
