Hi Friends,
Things start moving forward this month as we begin August with Mercury going direct in Cancer as well as the New Moon in Leo, both of which occurred on the very last day of July. The New Moon in Leo is setting the stage for formulating goals regarding “all things Leo.” We might concentrate on new ways to enhance our romantic life, creative endeavors and hobbies, and relationship with children, as well as to build our self-confidence and healthy pride in ourselves. Over the first few days of August Mercury will begin to pick up speed as it moves direct once more. Since it’s in Cancer, the sign that rules emotions and feelings, we may find our feelings getting hurt over misunderstood criticisms of our ideas, but once the speed of the direct motion takes off, forward progress will be made and we’ll be able to see new ways to put the finishing touches on our plans.
Those plans will get a major boost of creativity on August 11th when Mercury re-enters Leo. After a retrograde spell that took Mercury back into Cancer so that we could see how we feel about those big, bold ideas we’ve been having, Mercury is back on the move forward into Leo again. It’s time to go for it! We’ll be off to the races once more until Mercury is ready to move on to Virgo towards the end of the month. To further enhance the enthusiasm on the same day, happy-go-lucky Jupiter goes direct in Sagittarius. Jupiter began its transit into Sagittarius on Nov. 8, 2018 and will journey through the sign until Dec. 2, 2019, giving us nearly thirteen full months to ride the wave of this auspicious placement. Sagittarius, which is ruled by Jupiter, is one of the planet’s home signs, making it an extra-comfy placement that only amplifies all of Jupiter’s gifts and energies.
With Jupiter now moving in a forward motion it will urges us to increase our cultural and spiritual awareness, to expand our higher minds, to broaden our experiences, and to have faith in the universe. As Jupiter moves direct through Sagittarius, we deepen our interest in philosophical, and perhaps religious, thought, and determine what it is that gives us joy–what truly is important in our lives in the long-run. We trust in something higher than us, and this gives us a sense that we are doing the right thing and that we are spiritually protected–“things will work out” is the overall attitude now. The downside to this transit is
Jupiter’s nature to be extravagant, we must guard against “too much.” Moderation doesn’t come naturally to either Jupiter or the signs that it rules. We may feel over-confident to the point of recklessness, or we may slip into a “know it all” stance if this energy is mishandled.
There is one more cosmic event that takes place on August 11th, Uranus goes retrograde in Taurus. Uranus is known as a planet of sudden change, progressiveness, and total individuality. It rules the airy sign of Aquarius, who we love for being totally unique, intellectual weirdos who aren’t afraid to let their freak flags fly. Uranus stands for unapologetically being yourself, no matter how far from the status quo that person may be. It asks us to embrace our individuality and originality, always question the norms, and be unafraid of disruption or sudden changes in course. Riding Uranus’ wave is very much about letting synchronicity take the reins. Uranus retrograde in Taurus is all about re-evaluating our relationship to ourselves, our values, our possessions, our finances and investments, and the people in our lives.
This month’s Aquarius Full Moon on August 15th continues the Uranus theme. Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius so depending on where this falls in your birth chart there can be some unexpected surprises lurking about.
There’s no such thing as a “typical” Full Moon in Aquarius, but this one is unusual even by the standards of this most eccentric sign. Full moons tend to bring out the more emotional, instinctual—you might even say irrational— side of our nature. And although Aquarius can be quite intuitive in its own way, it tends to favor the head rather than the heart. As a result, even full moons in this fixed air sign can have an emotionally detached kind of vibe.
But with this Full Moon opposite a whole stellium of planets in heart-centered Leo, there’s nothing detached about it! The Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all in this fixed fire sign, making us feel like everything is an expression of who we are at the deepest, most essential level. Everything will feel extremely personal during this lunation and no matter how much we try to stay neutral; we’re likely to take things too personally.
Our motivation dramatically changes on August 17th when Mars enters fastidious Virgo. This is a period of having tremendous energy and focus to really clean up those loose ends. The Virgo energy thrives on putting the pieces of the puzzle in the right order. Mars provides us with the physical strength to do it. When the planet of war moves into the mutable earth sign of Virgo, we can move mountains as long as we pay attention to the game plan. The Virgo energy continues on August 21st when Venus enters Virgo too. The energy of Venus is concerned with our social interactions. It tells us how much of a “team player” we are and how well we have mastered the art of diplomacy. It is all about the beauty and art and harmony we need in our lives. And, it is about the love we have to give one another.
With Venus moving into “pick-it-apart” Virgo, don’t expect to find anything you like for a while. Here she will focus her many talents on analyzing every aspect of the relationships in her life. She needs to know all the details and understand why. The thought of letting her feelings just flow never really enters the picture. She’s too busy picking them apart. Fitting the pieces of the puzzle together is much more interesting.
The Sun also joins the Virgo party on August 23rd as well. As the Sun moves through Virgo, a mutable earth sign, our focus shifts to analyzing the details in our lives. We’ll want to understand all the little pieces of things and how they fit together. Virgo loves nothing better than solving puzzles, some meaningful, some just for the fun of it. Virgo is ruled by the flighty Mercury, but because of the earthiness of this sign, the thoughts and ideas are more down to earth. While the Sun is in Virgo, we become very practical. Yet Virgo is a mutable sign, so we can also be flexible and accepting of new ideas and better ways to think about things.
And speaking of Mercury, on August 29th Mercury enters Virgo as well. Mercury’s move into Virgo brings a period when we want to get down working on those big ideas we had while it was in Leo. Mercury is the ruler of Virgo, and for good reason. Virgo is focused on figuring out how all the little pieces of the puzzle fit together. And Mercury, the planet that represents the mischievous and inquisitive god, Hermes, just loves it! He is in his glory zooming from one part to the other with messages of what’s happening on the other side. Since Virgo is an earth sign, the ideas that appear during this time do have at least one foot on the ground, so they tend to be useful and well thought out. Our only problem now is not to get so hung up on the details that we forget why we’re there in the first place.
And finally on August 30th, the New Moon is also in Virgo. The New Moon in Virgo presents an opportune time to commit to personal goals that express the positive energies of the sign which include: health, constructive discrimination, rolling up our sleeves and getting down to serious work, being pro-active, working constructively, beginning a new project that requires attention to details, making lists, and taking pride in our “little” accomplishments. Some of Virgo’s “lessons” involve learning to make sense of our lives by focusing on tangible, practical matters. If you’ve ever allowed such things as paying bills, handling paperwork, and organizing drawers or closets go to the wayside for an extended period of time, you’ve probably experienced some level of chaos (and the vague feeling of guilt that goes with it).
Tackling piles of bills, handling emails as they come in, sorting through drawers and closets, and other such menial tasks is surprisingly relieving. Freeing our minds of unnecessary clutter is one of Virgo’s lessons, and the New Moon in Virgo presents an ideal time to commit to such a task. Another important lesson that we can learn from Virgo is the art of discrimination. Virgo natives can sometimes be criticized for criticizing! Well-developed critical faculties, however, aid us to cut out some of the fluff or the chaos in our lives, and allow us to spot problematic situations. We all need to do a balancing act with regards to opening our minds to others and to situations, versus deciding what and who to cut out.
Astrologer
Joseph P. Anthony
0 Comments