August 2018

As we enter the month of August, the Fixed Sign T-Square with the Sun in Leo, Mars in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus is heightened as Mars squares Uranus on the 1st.

With our eyes on the distant horizon, we might experience that we have tried to go too far, too fast.

The liability of accidents cannot be underestimated, especially if we are pigheaded enough to assume that we can force situations to our control. The concept that ‘haste makes waste’ could be proven true at this time as our frustrations might boil over into rash and impetuous actions. This is a time when we need to be careful in our actions, consider what we are doing and not try to force things. Let’s bear in mind that we are operating under the Mercury retrograde and may not have our best thinking skills at hand. Brawn over brains can be a disastrous prescription but one we might engage at this time. There is a liability to rash actions, terrorist activity and air travel difficulties.

The second week of August has Venus exiting Virgo to enter its own Sign of Libra, and the Sun square Jupiter on the 6th. If we have been a little too self-focused and self-absorbed, we can now take the time to look up, consider what is going on with other people, and seek to engage collaboration.

We may be feeling on something of a ‘high’ with the sense that we can broaden our interests and expand our activities and all with the support and encouragement from someone else.

Other people opening doors for us may be evident during this second week of August, thanks to Venus moving into Libra, the Sun square Jupiter, and Venus trine Mars.

The 7th of August has Venus trine Mars and Uranus turning retrograde. We can forge ahead into new directions and find ourselves participating with someone on a project that is intended to create a win-win scenario. We might not take into account fully the resources needed but may be more enamored with the assistance and camaraderie of developing a project together. Good friends can become especially close.

The 8th has the Sun conjunct Mercury. We might assume that we have developed a best practices approach to our plan of action, but our engagement might gloss over the necessary resources to accomplish our goals. This issue of enthusiasm and confidence being over-the-top could be a major sticking point through much of this August month. Have we become dazed by the summer sun? Have we become numb to the craziness going on in the world-at-large that we feel impervious to conditions and circumstances beyond our control or influence?

Someone might prove to be a no nonsense arbitrator of what we are doing and how we are doing it as Venus squares Saturn on the 9th. We could feel deflated by a serious evaluation of our actions and our plans. It’s all well and good to spend time in the airy realm of possibilities, but it’s important that we have our feet on the ground and consider the realistic means to achieve our goals. Past issues can come back in mind and remind us of the definition of insanity attributed to Einstein: ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’.

August 11th gives us the Leo New Moon and a Solar Eclipse as the Sun and Moon conjunct in the second decanate of Leo, the Sagittarius influence. A sense of expansion even to the point of reckless abandon cannot be discounted but increased by Mercury square Jupiter. Although this energy configuration of the New Moon can trigger a highly creative period, a time when we look to put our personal mark on our activities and our projects, we have to be wary that we don’t run before we are truly able to walk. Our enthusiasm may know no bounds and with it a heavy dose of self-affirmation where we assume that whatever we do and how we might do it have the blessings of the higher forces and universal forces. And therein lies the rub. We could easily become enamored to the point of narcissism with our own talents and abilities that we lose sight of the conditions, circumstance and parameters of the environment in which we are operating. Let’s rein in our exuberance and maintain a rational approach to realizing our goals.

Fortunately on the 12th Mars retrogrades out of Aquarius and back into Capricorn triggering a Stellium of three planets in the Cardinal Earth Sign as Mars joins Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn. Instead of being absorbed by the impressionistic images at the far reaches of a distant horizon, we can step back to determine a best practices approach and be far more present in regard to developing a right template to accomplish our goals. We can now become more focused in regard to maintaining the view of our big picture all the while that we are attentive to the essential ingredients that are necessary to compose the successful realization of our intentions.

The second half of August may put the wind under our wings. Relationships and social gatherings can be pleasant encounters. Any questions or concerns we might have regarding our future prospects could be dismissed both by our own faith, no matter how blind our faith might be, and the encouragement and support from someone who may be able to better advocate for us than we could for ourselves.

The 18th of August has Mercury sextile Venus, followed on the 19th by Jupiter trine Neptune and Mercury ending its three-week retrograde cycle and turning direct.

Although things can be slightly convoluted coming off the Mercury retrograde and as we seek to get our balance and re-establish our pace, this is a time when our discussions with other people can be pleasant and inspiring. No matter what is going on with us or with other people, we can embrace the sentiment that ‘everything works out in the end’.

Even if we cannot see the wheels operating in our favor, and perhaps with no empirical evidence for confirmation, we might intuit that everything is really okay. This would be a good time for us to step off the track and give thought to what is going. We can replenish our spirit and reinvigorate our soul connection with other people, with our environment and with life itself. We could appreciate the mystery and majesty of doing life. Quiet times of reflection, being out in the sacred cathedral of nature can go a long way towards giving us an infusion of good feeling and internal strength.

The end of August may have us back on track of our normal, daily activities. Even though we are not at the end of the Summer season, an end that unofficially occurs with Labor Day in the US on September 3rd of this year, and officially ends with the beginning of Autumn on the 22nd of September this year, we might feel the beckoning of our daily routine. Schools may be starting or having reopened, and the pull of the regularity of autumn can seem strong and impede on our summer getaway feelings.

On the 23rd of August the Sun exits Leo to enter Virgo. With the Sun transiting Virgo for the next month, an Earth Grand Trine by Sign is set up with the Sun in Virgo, Uranus in Taurus and the three-Capricorn transiting planets of Mars, Saturn and Pluto. We are moving into a time of manifestation and materialization, a time when we can bridge old and new in a manner whereby we can draw upon our experience and expertise and move into new directions and establish foundation stones for our future.

The 25th of August truly highlights this Earth Grand Trine, for on this day and just prior to the Pisces Full Moon on the 26th the Sun transiting Virgo trines Uranus in Taurus and the Sun trines Saturn in Capricorn. The Pisces Full Moon triggers a Kite Pattern chart with the Sun Moon opposition, the Sun still in orb of its Earth Grand Trine and the two other spokes to the Grand Trine, Saturn and Uranus, being sextile to the Moon. This weekend can be an especially powerful weekend where we can blend our intuitive sense with our grounded approach, where we combine our expertise with innovation and create a grand template by which to strategize and devise the most effective and expeditious means to accomplish great results.

What we have to be wary of, and contrary to the energy the week before, is the Venus square Pluto on the 26th. While we might have relied upon and benefitted from the advice of a trusted confidante the week before, this weekend of the 25th- 26th of August calls for us to take someone’s suggestions with a grain of salt and depend more upon our own sense about things and the right action with the right approach for ourselves. If we heed, much less listen to, someone’s advice, we could start second-guessing ourselves and creating difficulties for ourselves when no real problem exists.

This weekend is a good time for us to calculate and evaluate our activities and the prospects for our future. We may put into action on the 27th of August some of our plans and intentions as Mars turns direct in Capricorn giving us a thrust of energy.

While having direction and itinerary in hand, we need to avoid over confidence or assumptions that what we want we can get with little effort on our part. The 28th of August has Mercury square Jupiter with a liability to over exuberance that we might have succumbed to on August 11th and on July 9th, the two other times this Summer season when we experienced the Mercury Jupiter square. Not allowing our mind to race ahead of our feet would be advised.

We can be optimistic without being foolish.

August 2018… No rushing the river…