July/August 2008 Cosmic
Summer Eclipses to Open Your Heart

by Mark Dodich

It's time to make your choice. You can make summer fun or you can go the drag-yourself-across-the-bottom-of-the-swamp melodramatic route. Either way, summer brings heart-opening planetary activations.

Before you get to the fun and playful energy coming in late July through August (assuming of course that you chose fun over life as a soap opera), you must first take care of business.

Ambitious Mars aligns with disciplinarian Saturn in the early days of July, making an exact conjunction on July 10. Engineers and architects love this energy because it helps them make a concrete plan to bring their vision into practical reality. Because this alignment occurs in the efficient sign of Virgo, you would be well served to clear the clutter from your physical and emotional life.

The tone of summer changes shortly after the full moon on July 18, when the energies of play, romance and fresh ideas rise to the surface. A feeling from deep within your being increasingly calls for your attention as August approaches.

August 1 announces the first solar eclipse in the heart-warming sign of Leo. This special new moon calls you to your inner core, urging you to open your heart and trust the child within.

The positive side of Leo is to express a warm heart and creativity. The negative side of Leo can manifest by sulking in a corner or sharing the drama queen with anyone that is in listening range.

A solar eclipse is when your divine essence comes forth to remind you that your life is about spiritual growth and service, not the smaller issues of the ego.

Get a hint about these energies by thinking back to the events of your life in 1999 to 2000, the last time that the eclipses were in royal Leo. In the world, the kings of Jordan and Morocco died, American royalty John F. Kennedy, Jr. died and there was a dramatic war in Kosovo-Serbia.

King of the jungle Leo demands you to step into leadership. No longer can you sit back and allow life to pass you by. It is time to bring forth your passion. Even if you are uncertain just what that passion is, you must take steps to open your heart so that your passion can show itself. Begin by taking time to play because Leo energy will not work as hard if the fun is not a part of the bargain.

According to Dane Rudhyar's book An Astrological Mandala, an esoteric Sabian symbol for the degree of this solar eclipse (10 degrees Leo) is "Early morning dew sparkles as sunlight floods the field." Meditate on this sacred symbol for personal meaning for this eclipse. One suggestion is that as a person completes the passage through the dark night of the soul, it is time to renew oneself and begin a fresh chapter to life.

Leo is the sign that represents finding the innocent child within. The lion stands proud and expresses virility and creativity in a loving way. Leo advises you to have fun and enjoy life. You can trust yourself to do exactly what you know you need to do, allowing the universe to support you in doing it.

Although fears will come up as you open your heart, know that Leo has a sense of entitlement. Whatever your heart's desire, Leo encourages you to move through the fears to open your divine connection to the universal storehouse of abundance. When you know that you are a royal lion, you know that the goodness of the universe is naturally and rightfully yours to experience.

As you open to your blessings, the next step is to share it with humanity. A lunar eclipse in Aquarius on August 16 helps you to create win-win environments.

Lunar eclipses heal your emotional being. Allow fears to bubble up so the Aquarius full moon releases you from perceived limitations. The opportunity is to maintain your uniqueness, share of your generosity and still express personal abundance.

Combine sharing with groups, friends and organizations during the middle of August, but also take time alone for yourself. This is a time of deciding which friends and associations need to be released from your life.

Your goals are changing now, and you must make room for new people and activities that resonate with your renewed aspirations.

For now, it is going to be a busy summer. It begins on a serious and purposeful tone, and then moves into playful and warm-hearted energy. Create a healthy combination of alone time and group time in August. Most of all, treat yourself like a queen or king at least once this summer.

Mark Dodich has been a professional astrologer and intuitive consultant since 1980. His specialties include natal astrology, relocation astrology maps and seven ray spiritual purpose astrology. Free pdf downloads of the current Astromark newsletter, a Prosperity Enhancement Guide and more are at www.astromark.us. Or call for a free copy of his Astromark print newsletter at 503-252-1558.