My Leo Moon Child

As I type this quietly
whilst my littlest one sleeps alongside,
She bursts urgently into my room
with gifts of fossicked treasures
and freshly created collages of bright coloured paper;

Frenzied whispers explaining all the tiny details
contained within
her handfuls of heart offerings.

A radiant smile when I offer her my gaze and heart in return.

Her medicine calls on me to connect
with the luminosity of my own inner child.

This is the invitation of Leo energy;
To reconnect with the warmth,
the spontaneous joy and creative essence
That radiates from our Heart centre.

With her Moon in the sign of Leo
This is her recipe for nourishment -
To be met in her exuberance;
To play and tousle;
To draw endlessly

To be seen

Just like the Shen
- the Heart spirits acknowledged by Traditional Chinese Medicine -
Leo energy shines when it is illuminated by the gaze of another.

When our Shen are healthy we are lit from within.
We are able to feel the warmth of others.
And equally, our own Heart’s essence
radiates forth into our life and relationships.

But these Spirit birds of light
Can be easily startled from the nest of the Heart;
By shock and trauma,
or the constant sensory assault that has become modern life.

We know our Shen have been disturbed
When we feel anxious or bereft;
When we struggle to hold presence with ourselves
and with those around us.

I can recognise when my own Heart has wearied
with parental seriousness and the hustle of life;
When, despite all my diligence and sincerity
I can’t find my way back
to meet Her in her simple delight.

From this place
It’s all too easy to turn down her invitations into play;
To try to temper her impassioned displays;
To feel drained by her intensity.

But if instead
I can settle my gaze
On the shifting details of her eyes;
soften my breath
and open my shoulders in receptivity,
I can feel time slowing into stillness;
Her breath ease a little in response
As connection is restored.
Something momentarily alighted
From within us both.