January 2024: Tarot spread for the full moon in Leo

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the Sabian symbol for the full moon in Leo.

The January 2024 full moon falls in the sign of Leo. The bold and dynamic Leo archetype infuses us with a passionate zest for living. It is the archetype of the fiery creative who is confident and unafraid to stand in the spotlight. But this infectious dynamic can also succumb to its shadow aspects of overbearing pride, drama and arrogance.

Spiritually, the Leo archetype teaches the principle of creative manifestation. Clarity of thought and focussed energy, which points to the spiritual principle that your beliefs about life tend to shape your life. You can see this spiritual principle at play with a regular gratitude practice. When you cultivate an active gratitude practice, you tend to experience a shift in your life and circumstances. And while your life may not change dramatically, your outlook to life can certainly shift.

This full moon also highlights our standing in the world, and with it, our personal power. It also lights up our role in society and the ways in which we contribute to the world. Some of us contribute in big and beautiful ways – through social activism, teaching, sharing of wisdom and knowledge – others in gentle, smaller ways – among our families and communities. Both ways of being in the world are valid.

This full moon also asks us to take a closer look at our vocation, and to see if we are in right relationship with it. To ask ourselves what we want to focus on, to determine what role our vocation – which I see as somewhat different to a career, though a career can be a vocation – plays in our life.

Astro-Tarot influences for the January 2024 full moon

To throw some more light on the January full moon astrology, let’s take a look at the astro-tarot influences of this lunation. The Leo full moon falls in decan 1, which is represented by the 5 of Wands. This is to be interpreted in conjunction with Strength, which is associated with Leo.

The imagery on the 5 of Wands indicates conflict and cross-purposes, and though these often are inter-personal, they are also, often, internal. “We each contain a diverse “internal family” of psychological parts,” Jessica Dore writes in Tarot for Change, “and when those parts are in conflict, we tend to feel stuck.” Often times, when you oscillate between decisions, seemingly unable to make up your mind, it’s your “internal family” that is in conflict — one part of you in opposition to another.

And while we may want to banish parts of ourselves and silence them, the fact is that it doesn’t really work; not for long anyway. This full moon gently shines the light on the warring parts of self, gently nudging us to look at things from different perspectives instead of getting stuck in a binary (either/or) framework.

Self-compassion is the key that can help us open up to possibilities. Calling on our wise and gentle part to mediate, to hold space, to gently tend to the wild, warring, ferocious parts. Our wise and gentle self can help us to more closely align to our values, to what really matters to us, to perhaps come up with a solution or a shift in perspective that we may not have found had we not called on her.

It is this same inner wise self, with her reserves of patience and equanimity, who we must tap during conflicts and arguments with family, friends, colleagues, or random strangers on the internet. It isn’t always easy, though, to be patient and wise in trying situations. But the more often we can try, can remember to take a pause before reacting, the easier, I think, it becomes to respond to situations more calmly. Because here’s the truth: when you approach a situation calmly, it is much easier to resolve it than if you go charging in, all cylinders firing.

Both Pluto and Jupiter form hard aspects with this Leo full moon. Which makes it even more important to remember to tap our inner wise and gentle self. You may notice a tendency to obsessively go down rabbit hole and overwhelm yourself. You may also experience mood swings or bouts of sadness or grief. And your inner wild self may be prone to an impulse to over-spend, something to be watchful for, especially if you’re on a tight budget or on a minimal or no buy year.

Sabian Symbol for the January 2024 full moon

The Sabian Symbol for Leo 5 degrees is An Old Fashioned ‘Conservative’ Woman Is Confronted By An Up-To-Date Girl.

This symbol reminds me of all the changing trends and ideas we see around us, and how, if we are not careful, they can send us on quite the tailspin. As an example, when I was growing up, a job was seen as just a job — the thing that puts the bread on the table. There was no glamorising of work culture. Our busyness wasn’t a badge of pride. Slowly, that changed. The hustle became cool. Working while on vacation became the norm. Answering work emails on the weekend a measure of our commitment to The Firm. And now we are back to promoting the value of rest and leisure.

So what’s the “confrontation” about, you ask? Lynda Hill explains in 360 Degrees of Wisdom: The Sabian Oracle, “This symbol speaks of being prepared to integrate the conservative and the new, the young and the old and the tried-and-true with the more innovative. You may find yourself faced with choices around these issues. Although both camps hold promise and reward, it is the best qualities of both that is the proper compromise.”

Tarot spread for the January 2024 full moon in Leo

Here’s a tarot spread to tap into the energy of this full moon.

1. The conflict: Draw 2-3 cards. These represent the different aspects of yourself that are in conflict with one another.

2. New perspectives: What fresh perspective does this card bring to the cards in position 1?

3. Finding peace: Draw 2 cards. These represent wisdom (related to the cards in position 1) from your inner wise self.

4. Mamma moon says: This is always an encouraging message

If you share your spreads on Instagram, please use the hashtag #moontarotstories or tag me @moderngypsy.in so we can connect with each other.

Journaling questions for the Leo full moon

Not a cardslinger? No problem. Here are some journaling questions for you instead. Cardslingers would benefit from journaling to these too:

What parts of yourself feel like they are in conflict with one another?

What impact does this conflict have on your personal power?

What impact does this conflict have on your vocation?

If you were to create some distance with this conflict, what words of advice would your inner wise self have to offer?