This August can have us stepping off the track, getting back on track, stepping away and back off the track. Confusing? It doesn’t have to be. It’s a question of balance, always a question of finding the balance.
Traditionally, August has been THE month when people take off for a long summer vacation. Many traditions have gone by the boards over recent years and the August vacation is one of those long gone. We may still take some time away from our regular routine, but much of August has us gearing to get back on track. The school year, which once began after Labor Day in September, now begins for many children and their families in mid-August. And colleges welcome freshmen for orientation.
We may not want to let go of summer fun and so we could find ourselves doing a two-step off the track, on the track, off the track and on.
The early August period could prove rather extravagant. We have the retrograding Venus conjunct Jupiter on the 4th, an aspect we experienced on the 1st of July. If we didn’t blow our wad in that early July period, racking up charges on our credit cards and enjoying ourselves to the max; then this early August period could have us spending more than might be wise. And even if we did go whole hog in that early July period, we could be ready for another pig roast in this early August time.
The push – pulls between expansion and contraction could prove evident in early August. We have the dance with both Jupiter [expansion] and Saturn [contraction]. The 4th through the 7th has this dance engaged, bookended by Venus conjunct Jupiter on the 4th and Mercury conjunct Jupiter on the 7th. In between, Venus squares Saturn on the 5th and on the 6th Mars trines Saturn while Mercury squares Saturn.
This may be not only a time of push pulls but also a time of caroming between extremes. We may be feeling good about things, wanting to put our best foot forward and looking for good times with good friends. And doing so with little regard for the consequences. On the other hand, we have to be careful that we aren’t engaging old patterns, re-creating our past and finding ourselves between a rock and a hard place with our finances. Our mood swings could be wild, and we might even feel like we’re going through a manic-depressive episode or being witness to someone else going through extreme emotional swings.
The 7th and 8th of August have two major shifts in energy as Mercury exits Leo to enter its own Sign of Virgo on the 7th and Mars exits Cancer to enter Leo on the 8th. Even though Summer is still very much in high gear, some of our thoughts can return to our everyday circumstances and give us the idea of returning to our normal routine. Meanwhile, we are unlikely to want summer to pass without some further grand adventures.
On the 11th, Jupiter ends its year-long transit of Leo to enter Virgo for a year. Jupiter is in Detriment in Virgo, not a comfortable fit.
And as we come to the end of summer when Saturn transits out of Scorpio and back into Sagittarius on the 17th of September, we shall have a year-long Mutable Sign T-Square by Sign with Jupiter in Virgo square Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter opposed Neptune in Pisces with Saturn square Neptune.
Those who are Virgo and other Earth Signs may find the Jupiter transit of Virgo to be highly beneficial for their work and their self-esteem. But the irrational exuberance that Jupiter in Leo allowed for may be gone, and we have to be wary of a carping attitude or any tendency to overwork ourselves with a perfectionist attitude. During the next thirteen months, we can focus on the details of our projects, fine tune those involvements that we have begun, all the while keeping in mind the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi with its perfection of imperfection.
The 12th has Mercury opposed Neptune, and we have to be wary that we don’t fall prey to the perspective of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Either we can get lost in the minute details of a situation and not see the big picture or we might view the big picture as a situation in a most abstract manner and lose sight of the specifics. If we blend the two energies, then we can visualize and have the foresight to create the overall blueprint of a situation and with every particular and detail incorporated.
Just prior to the Leo New Moon on the 14th, the Sun trines Uranus on the 13th. The Leo New Moon also feels the influence of the Sun conjunct Venus and Mercury trine Pluto on the 15th. With this Leo New Moon in the 3rd Decanate of Leo [the Aries influence], this next fortnight up to the Pisces Full Moon on the 29th can be a highly creative time for us, a time when we can initiate new projects that fascinate us and fully engage our interests that may be reflective of our new sense of Being. While we have an incredible thrust of energy for us to put our mark and imprint on new areas of interest to us, we can also develop a best practices approach whereby we devise the most efficient strategy to accomplish our goals.
This two-week period from the 14th to the 29th can be a fun time and a productive time. We can explore, investigate and with the realization that no matter what the impediments might seem to be to our plans, they may prove more phantoms based upon our past conditioning or fears generated by the sequential realities of the past. Even if we are stepping back on track at this time, we might recognize that there is something different about us, something that has grown within us and even in stepping back on track we could find ourselves stepping out.
Let’s keep in mind that we are on the threshold of a paradigm shift. Things are not what they were. The mechanics of our lives are not what they were. We have all stepped out and stepped onto the magical, mystery tour of awe and wonder — things happening in a most unexpected manner, the serendipity and synchronicity of these times of asequential reality where there is no beginning, no middle, no end… It all just IS…
To fully enjoy these times, we have to let go of our preconceived notions, release the belief of our total control over our circumstances and be open to receive. As the saying goes: ‘the universe has far greater plans for us than we could ever imagine for ourselves.’
The 19th has Venus trine Uranus. We could have some strange encounters, bumping into people and amazed by how the connection may have been made. We can see people in a different light, more aware of the rapid growth they have gone through, facets of their own transformations, and we might realize that what we are seeing in other people is also a reflection of the dramatic changes within ourselves.
The Sun squares Saturn on the 21st, and we might feel that we need to turn away from some of the explorations of self we might have experienced over these summer months. We could feel pulled back to our responsibilities, our obligations and our past commitments. We may have to step back on track, and we might feel as if the wind has been knocked out of our sails, but once we have seen our own version of our promised land we have a vision of where we intend to go no matter how long the journey to go there might prove to be.
On the 23rd, the Sun exits Leo ending the Stellium of three planets in Leo, and the Sun enters Virgo, briefly creating a Stellium in the Mutable Earth Sign as the Sun joins Jupiter and Mercury in Virgo. The Sun conjuncts Jupiter on the 26th, and we might find ourselves ever more enmeshed in our routine. But we might also feel as if the summer months have reinvigorated us, given us a burst of energy in order to focus on what lies straight ahead for us.
On the 27th, Mercury enters Libra and exits its own Sign of Virgo, bringing closure to the brief Virgo Stellium that had three planets transiting the Mutable Earth Sign.
The Pisces Full Moon on the 29th can trigger a wistful sentiment, a desire for days gone by but days that seem far more appealing in retrospect than they were at the time. There can be a truly moody quality to this Full Moon with one foot in fantasy, the other foot in practical reality. We may sway between the two, and if the sway becomes a whipsaw then we have to be wary that illusions and delusions don’t taunt us or that critical attitudes don’t raise self-worth concerns.
The month of August ends with the Sun opposed Neptune on the 31st. The wistfulness of the Full Moon can continue on through the end of August. We might question who we really are, what we are really doing with our lives and the meaning of it all. As I often remind people: ‘confusion is the starting point of wisdom’.
When we are in a confused state, our solid beliefs do not seem so solid, the security of our lives does not feel so secure. Everything has a transitory, impermanent sense to it. And like a blank slate, that’s when we can be open to the possibilities, the prospects, the magic of these times. Letting go of our assumptions, we can open ourselves to truly understanding.
August 2015… stepping back on track, stepping off the track, stepping out…
