by Cayelin K Castell

 Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
~ Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love

Defining Sovereign

According to Webster’s Dictionary the root word of Sovereignty comes from Old French “soverain” – sovereign, lord, ruler,   superior, master, highest, supreme, chief. An older more obsolete definition is “supreme excellence or an example of it.”

Other definitions have to do with freedom from external control – autonomy. It is also thought to have origins in the Latinword superanus and Spanish soberano meaning super or the Italian sovrano meaning excellence, superiority, remedies or medicines that are potent in a high degree.

Derivatives of Latin super include, SOPRANO, SOUBRETTE, SOVEREIGN, dozens of SUPER- words including SUPERNAL, SUPRA (a prefix meaning “above, over” (supraorbital) or “beyond the limits of, outside of”), SUPERNATURAL, SUPREMACY, SUPREME, SUPREMO.

Interestingly, sovereign is also the name for a gold coin that later became the English pound.

Sovereignty is related to having the right of governance, whether it is through the divine right of kings or being autonomous in governing personal self, a country, state or territory. There are esoteric and spiritual teachings that suggest we all have a right to personal sovereignty as the divine right of every individual.

Why the Opening Quote is a Summary of Leo

The opening quote from Marianne Williamson’s book A Return To Love beautifully sums up the essence of Healthy Leo, reminding us we each have a divine right to shine our light – making manifest the glory of the divine that is within us. Over the next year and a half we will collectively have an opportunity to discover everything within ourselves that is NOT aligned with this intent for the purpose of transforming it.

This transformational process is about reclaiming our sovereignty by returning to love – fully and freely shining the divine light of who we are. From Leo’s perspective this is its own reward, though it does have the added benefit of inspiring others, giving them permission to love who they are as well. This has the effect of increasing the love light shining in each individual and in turn exponentially increases the love light shining in our world.

It is important to consider that from the Leo archetypal perspective shining the light of the divine self is not about being in service to others as the primary motivation for living from self-love and personal sovereignty. It may appear to have that effect; however that is the result of how light shines wherever it is. The light of the Sun doesn’t shine on just a few. It shines on everyone. When our personal light is shining it is also shining on everyone and when this vibrant, healthy, radiant love light shines it uplifts everyone around us.
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Venus in Leo is an Expression of The Solar Feminine

This is the gift of Venus in Leo as the Solar Feminine Goddess whose awareness of her divinity and the light she naturally brings allows her to love herself in genuine healthy ways. Not to rule over others, or to be better than everyone else, but rather to simply be the shining light of radiant self-love that has the added benefit of inspiring others to experience their own radiance and glory.

The same could be said for all expressions of Leo its healthy expression – including the Divine Masculine.

Some questions that may be helpful to help facilitate the intent of this time over the next few months are:

What would it take for me to truly, whole-heartedly love myself on every level of my life?
What would it take for me to remember, know and live my divinity?
What would it take for me to live and express healthy radical, radiant self-love?
How do I open my heart to the expressions of pure love within me?
How do I consciously co-create fully living in, and enjoying, the next Golden Age?
How do I manifest these divine light codes in my everyday reality so that I am showing up and acting in ways that are most beneficial and supportive to me and all life?

As we live into the answers we raise our personal and collective frequencies to support our expanding awareness and conscious expression of our true divine nature. Again it helps to remember that all of the beliefs and patterns not in alignment with this intent will come up for clearing and transformation.

During the clearing process it can feel challenging to note any progress around increasing healthy self-love. It may help to remember to continually surrender to what is unfolding, and to trust your inner guidance.

Act as if you love yourself no matter what, by taking care of you in loving ways. This includes healthy eating, exercise, meditation, yoga, spending time in nature, engaging in fun, creative pursuits that inspire your passion, and spending time with people you love who are fun, loving, and creative.

A Favorite Technique for Practicing Self-Love is to make a self-love list, things you love about yourself and to also find out what others love about you. Write them down, keep adding to the list over time and be sure to read the list out loud every day. Here are some ideas to get you started.

What I Love About Myself!

• I love myself for creating a magical life that gets more magical all the time.
• I love remembering to take note of the progress I have made over the years including being more forgiving of myself and others, accepting of myself and others, and understanding of myself and others.
• I love the way I have finally created a wonderful, fun, fulfilling and loving primary relationship.
• I love that I have kind and caring friends who love me and we support each other to be the best we can be.
• I love how my innate nature is to operate from kindness and caring and that I am finally also able to extend that toward myself.
• I love the creative ideas I have all the time and that I take the time to implement many of them in fun and magical ways.
• I love that I can see solutions on how to do things more effectively and efficiently giving me more time to be creative and have fun.
• I love myself for engaging in daily self-care including: Exercise/Yoga/Stretching, Regular Walks and Hikes in Nature, Meditation/Breathing Practices, Shamanic Dreaming/Journeying with Intention, Personal Development, Conscious Healthy Eating, Getting Plenty of Rest, Doing Work I LOVE

What Others Love About Me! (This list was given to me by my beloved husband Peter Klein)

• I love how you shine so brightly with so much Joy and Love
• I love how easy it is to talk with you
• I love how you have endless great ideas
• I love your ability to provide lightening fast responses
• I love how you relentlessly pursue and delight in your work in the world
• I love how you believe in magic and create magical moments with me every day
• I love how you grow younger, more beautiful, and happier each day

Please feel free to use this list to inspire your list or even use these as they are –  if they feel true for you, or you want them to feel true for you. When creating these lists you can act as if by writing them down even if you aren’t don’t feel you are quite there YET. Note that YET is the operative word, because when we begin claiming these ways of loving ourselves they are already becoming part of our reality.

If you feel inspired please share what you love about yourself in the comments section below and lets help build our self love lists by inspiring each other!