"The cry we hear from deep in our hearts comes from the wounded child within. Healing this inner child’s pain will transform negative emotions."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
The month of Aries is the start of the lunar new year. It is called in Hebrew “Rosh Chodashim,” the head of all months. As the seed of the year and the DNA of all the coming months, it affords us the opportunity to plant seeds with our consciousness to do deep inner work that will soften our journey and smooth our path to change.
The first 12 days of Aries are especially important as they each correspond to one of the 12 months of the coming year. The sixteenth century Kabbalist Rav Isaac Luria explains that the spiritual work we do on these 12 days influences what we will experience in the corresponding months to come.
To guide you through a process of internal transformation, I am going to overlay two modalities, Kabbalistic astrology and the inner child archetype, to assist us to do profound work of healing from within.
My hope is that with the knowledge of the cosmic opportunity ahead of us these next 12 days, a gift given to us by the great Kabbalists, together with an exploration of our inner self, we can begin embracing our child so that we can move to our spiritual growth and maturity.
Looking forward to taking this journey with you.
The 12 Days of Aries Day 5: Leo
Welcome to Day 5 of the 12 Days of Aries, the Kabbalistic window in time that begins at sundown on Tuesday, April 12 and ends at sundown on Wednesday, April 13.
Leo is a fixed fire sign. The energy of the fixed signs is focused and directed, and the gifts of the fire signs are creativity, inspiration, and leadership. The sign of Leo is ruled by the sun, which gives the Leo a lot of energy and capacity to share with others, if sometimes not for the right reasons. The motto of the sign is “I will, therefore I am.”
The Leo Inner Child Archetype sells itself for the short-term fulfillment of the ego as opposed to the long-term fulfillment of the soul. It expects and demands to be love and admired, and will go to great lengths to get that validation. It stamps its feet and responds with anger when its needs are not met. The Leo Inner Child Archetype, says, “See me! I matter! I am important!”
We all have a bit of the Leo Inner Child Archetype within. Perhaps someone dismisses us and we want to lash back. Or maybe we are simply ignored altogether and we throw a tantrum. Whatever the case may be, the point is not to judge it. In fact, non-judgmental recognition of our Leo Inner Child Archetype can motivate us to reach for a connection to our spiritual essence, which needs no external validation.
Consciousness for the Day: Resist reaching for recognition or praise. Use your power to be of service rather than to be served. Connect to the Light of your soul through true humility.
Most importantly, be gentle with yourself and your inner child. You are work in progress and a child of God who loves you. Healing comes from positively acknowledging and taking responsibility for what we need to change, not from beating ourselves up.