Leo Rules the Heart: And Sometimes the Heart Has to Put Its Neck Out
Posted by Shannon Cunningham on
Leo Rules the Heart: And Sometimes the Heart Has to Put Its Neck Out
Time to celebrate the Lions and Lionesses in our human kingdom.
Leo Season always makes me think of the Leos in my life: Leo Suns, Leo Moons and Leo Risings. As Steven Forrest aptly calls these three, our Sun, Moon and Rising signs, the primal triad.
Speaking of Steven Forrest...
As many of you know, Steven is my favourite living astrologer and teacher of astrology. And recently, he found himself in a lot of hot water.
During a podcast with his friend and collaborator Ricky Williams, Steven used a racial slur while they were talking about language, its evolution and its shadow side. He used the word to illustrate historical racism and the language that accompanied it. It was not directed at anyone.
And people were furious.
Talks were cancelled. Organizations distanced themselves. There were demands for apologies and accountability.
I listened to the entire conversation and, in context, I could hear what Steven was trying to say. I was also fascinated by his willingness to talk about his own evolution as a socialized white man and the times he has bumped up against conditioning buried more deeply in him than his conscious beliefs.
This is my cup of tea. I'm a Scorpio Sun. I want to know what's in the cave.
I think the only way out of our shadowy caves is to shine a light inside them and CSI what they contain. Because anything shamed back into the shadows, pushed beneath the rug or chained in the basement doesn't disappear.
It grows fangs.
Part of what makes this so painful for me is the scale of what has been placed on one moment. I listened to the conversation in its entirety, and I did not hear a racist man revealing himself. I heard one word, uttered once, in the context of a conversation about historical racism, conditioning and the very shadows Steven has spent his life encouraging people to examine.
And now, at 76 years old, this man who has devoted an enormous part of his life to teaching, listening to younger generations and trying to pass something of value forward seems to have become a container for something vastly larger than himself: racism, generational anger, power, privilege, the sins of an era.
There is something about that which I find profoundly sad.
Pluto's move into Aquarius has certainly given astrologers plenty to think about when it comes to groups, collective power and the shadow side of both. Sometimes a group can accomplish what an individual never could. Sometimes a group can become a mob.
And mobs aren't particularly interested in context.
I believe we sometimes get activated and what comes pouring out of us is much bigger than the thing that set us off. Someone does or says something that causes hurt or offence and suddenly becomes the recipient not only of the response to that particular act, but of every stored-up feeling that needed somewhere to go.
And GOD KNOWS there is an abundant amount of stored-up rage in the world right now.
Which brings me, finally, back to Leo. 💜
Leo Has Backbone
Leos are intensely protective of the people they love. They are defenders of underdogs, children, animals, anyone or anything they perceive as unable to protect themselves.
Leo rules the heart, the upper back and the thoracic spine.
And Leos have backbone.
I'm a Leo Rising, and one thing I possess in abundance is a ferocious protectiveness of those I love. This is Leo energy. Fire embodied.
Leo is the only Fixed Fire sign. Its flame is not a spark. It sustains. Once Leo has given you its heart, it will stand beside you long after everyone else has gone home.
Which is perhaps why this situation with Steven has gotten so deeply under my skin.
Steven Forrest is one of the kindest people I have ever encountered. I know I'm putting my neck out by saying publicly that I support him.
But I could give a flying fig about that.
I also recognize that I have the luxury of saying this. My livelihood does not depend upon my astrology practice, and I am not responsible for a school, organization or conference whose survival might be affected by taking an unpopular public position. I know astrologers who love and support Steven but do not feel equally free to say so. I understand that. I have nothing to lose here. And perhaps that makes it all the more important that I use the freedom I have. If putting my neck out costs me very little, then I can hardly call it courage not to do it.
I wrote to Steven and told him I am 100% on his side. He and Ricky have since recorded a video together about what happened and the response to it, which I've included below.
Something Ricky says in the video gets to the heart of this for me: We need to be able to talk about anything.
Yes. Even the ugly stuff. Especially the ugly stuff.
I have since watched another video of Steven Forrest apologizing, and I found it heartbreaking. You can see how deeply affected he is by the knowledge that people were hurt by what he said, and how heavily the whole thing appears to be sitting on him.
I am not interested in telling anyone else how they should feel about what happened, or how quickly they should forgive. But I find myself wondering what we believe accountability is ultimately for.
If someone listens, reflects, apologizes and allows himself to be confronted by people who have been hurt by what he said, is there eventually a road back?
Because if there isn't, I'm not sure we're talking about growth anymore.
We may be talking about punishment.
The Leo Classroom
And perhaps this is where Leo has something to teach us.
Leo is one of the great teachers of the zodiac. The best teachers don't shame us for what we don't know or punish us for getting something wrong. They make us curious. They encourage us to ask questions, dig deeper and keep learning.
We used to educate children in tight rows of desks with rulers and straps at the ready. Fear can make people behave.
But it doesn't make them brave enough to learn.
Give me the Leo classroom instead. Open the windows. Let the sunlight in. Talk about the difficult stuff. Bring what is buried into the light and look at it together, as Steven and Ricky were attempting to do.
Leave room for context. For intent. For evolution.
For human beings to be complicated.
Because Leo doesn't only rule the heart. Leo has the courage to use it.
The lioness stands beside the people she loves, especially when other people are watching. Sometimes love is private and tender, and sometimes love requires courage.
Leo rules the heart.
And sometimes the heart has to put its neck out.