25 Sep Being Brave
The last time I sat at my laptop to write a blog post, I was starting a series on Relationships and Dating. On July 22nd, 2023 we entered Leo Season, also known as my birthday month, so I celebrated my 41st orbit around the sun by hosting the “Be Brave Leo Season Celebration” on Facebook. Leo Season is all about embracing who you are, with the pride and courage of a Lion. Little did I know, I’d be called to be braver than I ever had to be before.
Leo Season coincided with Venus Retrograde, with Venus going direct on September 3rd, 2023. When Venus goes retrograde in Leo, we find that our decisions and stances regarding love and money become more self-centered. Meaning, many people (myself included) were challenged to have a look at ourselves and what we really desire when it comes to relationships and finances.
For me, it started with a very intense New Moon Ceremony on July 17th. I was feeling frustrated about a setback around social media networking and feeling defeated by the barriers that were interfering with my ability to make authentic connections with others. I was also experiencing a lot of stress in my relationship, which felt very draining and counterintuitive to my goals and desires. So I started with a 45 minute Chakra meditation narrated by Deepak Chopra that I really enjoy. As the guided meditation moved through the chakras, I was called to use the Tapping method to enhance the meditation with affirmations for each chakra. Then, I sat with my paper and pen to start writing my intentions. Usually, I set three to five intentions for the month, but at that moment, my desires were flowing out of me and I did a freestyle writing exercise affirming everything I wanted to have, feel or do. The free-flowing writing exercise is something I often do on the Full Moon to express everything I want to release and forgive, however, this time it was calling in what I wanted instead. I wrote on six pages, front and back, and then I felt like I needed to burn the pages to release them. Again, this is something I do during the Full Moon, as I normally keep my New Moon wishes in my diary to track my progress and create action steps throughout the month. However, in my feeling of desperation I felt like I needed to surrender my wishes to the Universe and so I held a lighter up to the corner of the paper and it instantly vanished in my hands. Never in my life have I witnessed paper burn and vanish so quickly. It was a very powerful experience.
Almost immediately I was faced with challenges that forced me to look at myself, the patterns I am repeating and the habits that no longer serve me. I experienced what we refer to in Tarot as a tower moment where everything falls apart. The important thing to remember about the Tower card in the Tarot Deck, is that even though the breakdown is scary and painful, everything falls apart to create space for something new. To make room for what you have asked for.
The Leo Season Celebration went very well. I showed up on camera daily in the group to give tips and exercises around self-acceptance and self-expression. Even though I was going through a difficult time, it was wonderful to wake up every morning with a higher purpose, to serve the participants in the group and to make authentic connections with others.
As a result, I have recently launched a new 10 week coaching program called Becoming Brave to keep the spirit of Leo Season alive all year round and support my clients to be authentic and courageous in the pursuit of happiness and purpose in their lives.
The “Be Brave Leo Season Celebration” will be an annual event and I’m already looking forward to doing it again next year, but it’s always a good time to practice self-acceptance and self-expression so I’m available for one-on-one coaching any time of the year.
Veronica Weston
Personal Development Coach