August

Traditionally, August is the month when many people take their summer holiday. In fact, August is the month when most people leave town to bask in the golden summer sun. And why not? For August is the month of the Sun being in its own Sign of Leo, at least for the first three weeks of the month.

This August begins with four planets in Fire Signs, two planets in Earth Signs, one planet in an Air Sign and three planets in Water Signs. One planet is in a Cardinal Sign, four planets are in Fixed Signs and five planets are in Mutable Signs. Five planets are in Positive Signs, and five planets are in Negative Signs.

We start the month still feeling the influence of the Fixed Sign T-Square created by transiting Mars through Taurus triggering the Saturn Neptune opposition that has gone on since last Autumn. We have seen its effects with its whipsaw motion of questioning whether we’re dealing with fact or fiction in the equity markets and in our own judgment of reality, whether we’re dealing with true reality or some form of illusion. By Sign, this opposition continues on into September when Saturn ends its two and a half year transit of Leo and enters Virgo.

Although we may still feel the influence of the Saturn Neptune opposition and might feel as though we’re walking on eggshells through a minefield where anything can occur and our semblance of security can be shaken at any moment, we also have a sense of exuberance thanks to the fiery nature of the early part of this month.

Not only do we have the Sun in its own regal Sign of Leo until the 23rd, Jupiter turns direct on the 6th. Before we get there, the beginning of the month has the Sun trine Jupiter on the 2nd. We may be feeling far more confident, expansive and exuberant than we have been. With the Sun trine Jupiter we can regain our confidence and recognize that any recent blockages were only as if we had stubbed our toe. It may have been a painful misstep but not a lasting catastrophe. Our exuberance and optimism re-emerges and we’re ready again to put our mark on everything we do. Suddenly, we get a second wind. We’re determined to make our plans a reality.

On the 3rd, Mercury sextiles Mars. Our optimism can be blended with well thought-out plans and strategies to maximize our efforts and seek our optimum. Even if we assumed our resources were limited, we can find a way to make them work for us. With Mercury sextile Mars, we could come up with inventive ideas to stretch a dollar and put on a show that is dazzling and impressive without breaking the bank. A caveat remains that we need to be certain whether we are dealing with the facts of a situation or are being mesmerized by the images and appearances. Blueprinting our moves, utilizing strategic planning and downplaying any wish fulfillment would go long ways towards creating both realistic goals and the most appropriate and expeditious means of realizing them.

On the 4th, Mercury enters Leo, adding more fuel to the Fire. With Mercury in Leo, we now have a stellium of three or more planets in the Fixed Fire Sign with the Sun, Mercury and Saturn all in Leo. We also now have five planets in Fire Signs with the three planets in Leo and Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius. We’re looking for fun, seeking recreational activities, and wanting joy in our living. We might decide now is the time to step off the track and take a holiday or, at least, a break from our daily routine.

On the 6th, Jupiter ends its four-month retrograde cycle and turns direct. Going through its own Sign of Sagittarius, Jupiter direct can better express and externalize its qualities of expansion, exuberance and optimism. Also on the 6th, Saturn trines Pluto. Now is a time when we can rebuild, rework and restructure. Since we have the ability to see the very basics and the fundamentals and the essentials of a situation, we can now build solidly on rock rather than putting something up merely on sand. Our fire is turned up and our creative spark ignited. We are not like a shooting star blazing across the midnight sky only to burn out. Our efforts are well-considered, and our actions measured and methodical. We can accomplish a great deal at this time.

The second week of August could see a great deal of shifting, repositioning and trying to find the right stance. Jupiter turns direct on the 6th, Mars leaves Taurus to enter Gemini on the 7th, and Venus retrogrades out of Virgo and back into Leo on the 8th. We may feel tossed and turned during this second week of the month. We may want to fast forward but we could find our fast forwarding has us going in several different directions.

The Fixed Sign T-Square by Sign that we’ve been feeling ends on the 7th when Mars leaves Taurus and enters Gemini to create by Sign a Grand Cross in the Mutable Signs with Mars in Gemini, Venus in Virgo, both Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius and Uranus in Pisces. As Mars enters Gemini on the 7th, Venus squares Mars which could provoke irritations in our contact with others. We might find that people are making demands on us. Someone may expect something from us that would only distract us from realizing our personal best. If we are looking for encouragement and support right now, we need to look to ourselves.

The Mutable Sign Grand Cross shifts into a Mutable Sign T-Square on the 8th with Venus exiting Virgo and entering Leo. With Venus coming into Leo, our stellium of three or more planets in one Sign is increased to the four planets transiting Leo: the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Saturn. We now have six planets in the Fire Signs — hot, hot, hot. This intensity is turned up severalfold on the 12th with the Leo New Moon with six planets in Leo and the Sun Moon conjunction opposed by Neptune.

During this fortnight from the New Moon on the 12th–13th to the Full Moon on the 28th, we have to be especially careful of the trickster — people, events and situations that appear one way, the reality being totally different. We could easily fall into wish fulfillment, assuming that our optimism and enthusiasm can make things happen the way we want them to. While our vitality and verve to realize our dreams can be strong, we need to focus on a practical approach and use the most appropriate means in order to achieve our intentions. We need to be careful that we don’t rush headlong into anything until we are certain as to where we are going.

The potential for confusion is ratcheted up on the 12th, 13th, 14th with the New Moon on the 12th, Sun exactly opposed Neptune on the 13th and Mercury exactly opposed Neptune on the 14th. During this time, we could easily fall prey to snake oil salespeople, hucksters and scam artists. We also have to watch that we don’t portray that role on ourselves. We might be deceived, even disillusioned, if we don’t step carefully and proceed with due diligence. We might make assumptions based upon our desires and what we want to be true rather than the reality of the situation.

This mid-August period has a great deal of energy configurations going on. We start with the New Moon on the 12th-13th, followed by the Sun opposed Neptune and Venus conjunct Saturn on the 13th. On the 14th, Mercury opposes Neptune. On the 15th, Venus trines Pluto and Mercury conjuncts the Sun. On the 17th, Mercury conjuncts Venus, Mercury trines Pluto and Venus conjuncts the Sun. On the 18th, Mercury conjuncts Saturn and on the 19th the Sun trines Pluto.

Our ability to concentrate is almost laser-like. We can strip away the nonessentials and get to the heart of any matter. If we harness our drive and our determination, we can effectively blend brain and brawn, using the force of our will with insightful means to achieve our goals. It will be important to check on our actions and consider our decisions as we go along, a process of slowing down and reviewing before speeding up again.

During this mid-month period, the transiting Leo planets oppose Neptune, conjunct Saturn and trine Pluto. We may feel like we’re in a maze, going from one direction to the other, occasionally coming to dead ends, having to turn around and start over again. This maze could prove a labyrinth whereby while it may seem that we’re walking in circles, in truth we have the ability of discerning and separating the substance and reality from the image and appearance, and then focusing on the essential and the fundamentals. We are in search of greater meaning for our lives. Even if we’re on holiday, having stepped off the track, we still have the ability of collecting our thoughts, considering our options and determining a course of action that truly speaks to us.

Let’s remember that while many of us may be on holiday or vacation during this August time, this month is also a month of preparation for getting back on the fact track, back into our daily routine and back into our normal life circumstances.

We start to pick up some of that energy on the 19th as Mercury enters its own Sign of Virgo, followed on the 23rd by the Sun entering Virgo. The sense of Summer drawing to a close may be poignant as we feel the weight of our responsibilities bearing down on us.

Before the Sun enters Virgo, the Sun conjuncts Saturn in Leo. Some of our greatest plans might seem thwarted. Our recent drive and passion can seem like idle musings as past issues rise up to be addressed, outstanding matters demanding our attention. We could feel a little overwhelmed by everything that is going on at this time. A sense of fatigue, exhaustion and lethargy could come over us. If we keep our wits about us, then we could also create the foundations on which to build our projects, establish guidelines by which to move our interests forward.

At the end of that week, shortly after the Sun enters Virgo on the 23rd, we have the Mutable T-Square fully engaged with Mars opposed Jupiter on the 23rd, Mercury square Jupiter on the 24th, and Mercury square Mars on the 25th. We could be juggling a number of different situations now, some preparing for the Autumn ahead and our getting back on the track, others still seeking a respite from our lives by taking a few days off or enjoying the waning days of summertime. We can be hopping, seeking to expand our activities in our quest for fun and good times. We may push ourselves to extremes and gloss over details to embrace the bigger picture of what we want. Like a kid in a candy store, we could engage our sensual delights, wanting more and more, ever increasing our push to indulgence.

One thing we have to be careful of is jumping to conclusions. We may be trying to do so much that we allow important information to fall between the cracks. We need to slow things down, prioritize and not get confused by too much information or too much going on.

Also on the 25th, Venus opposes Neptune. We could misconceive other people’s intentions, possibly holding them to too high a standard and finding fault or projecting a character not in keeping with the reality and praising their apparent strengths. We could easily buy into appearance without considering the substance or the consequence of our decisions. Although in the back of the mind we know better, our actions may be driven more by impulse than well-considered moves.

With the twilight of Summer drawing to a close, we may want to ‘live for the day’. Let’s just be careful we’re not rash and excessive in a late Summer blow-out.

Towards the end of the month on the 28th, we have the Pisces Full Moon. With a Grand Cross in the Mutable Signs as the Pisces Moon opposes the Virgo Sun, squares Jupiter in Sagittarius and squares Mars in Gemini; we could be all over the place. Our emotions might go through a real whipsaw, up and down. We may feel buffeted by circumstance. The pace is accelerating rapidly and we need to pick up our pace to a sprint. We might feel on overdrive, having more on our plate than we intended. We need to be careful that our actions are not rash and impetuous. Otherwise, we could easily get carried away by the frenetic energy that can lead to us feeling frantic.

At the time of the Full Moon on the 28th, Mercury opposes Uranus, both in Mutable Signs. While we could get some startling insights, even ‘Eureka’ moments of solving problems long plaguing us, things are moving very quickly and we need to be nimble and quick to take advantage of sudden opportunities and to deal with unexpected situations. Defensive driving, backing up computer files and thinking before speaking are all cautionary suggestions to keep us from having problems and difficulties we may need to address and later rectify. We might not be able to slow things down but we can effectively deal with our schedule and unanticipated matters by picking up our pace and keeping our wits about us. With the Mercury opposed Uranus, our visionary sense can conflict with focused details. While we might come to some startling revelations and answers to problems that have plagued us for awhile, it would be essential for us to think outside the box and consider alternatives and recognize that we have many options to take into account before arriving at a definitive decision. Around this time of the 28th, I would question air travel and would certainly keep track of weather systems, as this configuration could speak to intense storm activity if the weather conditions warrant.

This August is a month when the fiery nature is turned up severalfold. Like a steam valve to release pressure, we too are likely to need an escape from our daily routine and find an outlet to express our energies and recharge our batteries. Towards the latter part of the month, we take on a far more sobering attitude but one that may demand a constant looking over our shoulder.

August… hot, hot, hot…