August 2021

The beginning of August can prove dicey with our individual expressions and physical vitality dampened by the nemesis of our year — the Saturn Aquarius square Uranus Taurus — triggered by both the Sun in Leo and Mercury in Leo creating the T-Square in the Fixed Signs.

We start the month of August with the Sun conjunct Mercury and Mercury opposed Saturn on the 1st, followed the next day with the Sun opposed Saturn on the 2nd. We may feel upbeat and confident as we begin the month, only to be challenged and thwarted by past issues or present limitations. We might feel as though we are unable to move forward with our plans.

If we do feel blocked in advancing our intentions, let’s keep in mind that we are in a paradigm shift, a dramatic changing in the way of life and living as we move from the linear, sequential reality of beginning middle end into the asequential reality where things occur in the most inexplicable ways that we might refer to as magic and mini-miracles. Even when things seem to stand in our way, things can shift suddenly and unexpectedly, and even clear our path. It’s all about timing and trust in the natural unfolding. We might not understand the whys and wherefores, but things are changing, even in spite of ourselves.

The Sun Mercury opposition to Saturn on the 1st and 2nd respectively are followed by the Mercury square Uranus on the 3rd and the Sun square Uranus on the 6th. Not only can we be flummoxed by delays, frustrations and outstanding matters all blocking our path. Unexpected situations and costly errors could force us to alter our plans and draw upon contingency options.

The Mercury square Uranus on the 3rd of August is my least favorite energy configuration for air travel. With Mercury in Leo we may be looking for ways by which we can streamline our operations, wish to go our own way, but all with the liability that arrogance and too much of a self-focus could be our undoing.

While we have the Mercury square Uranus, we also have on the 3rd Venus trine Uranus. If we would concentrate on the details and the specifics, not try to rush things or get ahead of our self, then the sum of the parts can prove greater than the whole. Someone could be helpful in our accomplishing our tasks, if we would only be willing to be collaborative.

The 6th of August has the Sun square Uranus, completing this week’s Saturn square Uranus inflammation from the Leo transiting planets. We might be looking at how we could be more autonomous in our actions, take a different tack and find something that energizes us. We have to be wary that the new and the shiny isn’t like pyrite, fool’s gold, or that we expend too much energy following liable pipedreams.

The Leo New Moon on the 8th [9:50 AM EDT] may have us spreading our wings, expanding our interests, all with an overblown confidence that things will go according to plan, our plan. Although we could have the great beyond in perspective, often looking at things in the far distance seem easier attained than the reality of implementation. Add to the fuzziness of possibilities conceived before executed the fact that we are living under conditions of unexpected occurrences arising, and our plans well-conceived might not take into account the changing parameters that are likely to challenge, even thwart, the successful manifestation of our goals.

The Texas two-step of one step forward, two steps back; two steps back, one step forward; may have to be danced to effectively proceed with our plans. On a curved dimension, where wavy lines disrupt the curvature, the assumption that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line is mixing apples with oranges or mixing one dimensional template with a totally different dimensional template. Increasingly during this paradigm shift, we have to be aware, mindful, flexible and adaptable to the shifting circumstances.

The 9th of August has Venus opposed Neptune. Either we could be enamored by the holographic image of someone or some thing or our critical analysis might focus solely on the warts and flaws of the situation. If we could find the balance between these two extreme attitudes, then we might be able to see the good without discounting the weak points and avoid throwing baby out with the bath water under the illusion of only the most perfect will suffice. It would be wise for us to always keep in mind the sage advice of the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi with its affirmation of ‘the perfection of imperfection’.

Mercury opposes Jupiter on the 10th of August prior to Mercury exiting Leo on the 11th to enter Virgo. We may feel the last vestiges of summer on the 10th of August. Not that the summer season is over. We might just have a greater sense that the so-called ‘normal’ autumn activities are upon us and possibly advanced due to the past year plus of imposed lockdowns and restrictions in reaction to the virus contagion. Children and their parents may be preparing for school. And like school children, workers who have been telecommuting, working from home, may be preparing to go back into the office and work on-site or in a hybrid configuration of days working at home, other days working in the office.

We might be unwilling to let go of our summertime activities, and some people may use this time to fly away, travel, get out of Dodge, while others prepare for a return to traditional schedules.

Mercury exits Leo and enters its own Sign of Virgo on the 11th [5:57 PM EDT]. We now have a Stellium in the Mutable Earth Sign as Mercury joins Venus and Mars in Virgo. Venus trines Pluto on the 11th as well.

We are likely to take a more serious turn. We may not be done with fun summertime activities, but much of our attention reverts to our habitual responsibilities, our usual routine. Whether we are back on track with our daily lives or not, we certainly are aware of the train coming down the track.

Summer is slip, sliding away but not fully gone. It’s just that our focus reverts to our obligations and usual involvements.

The 16th of August has Venus exiting Virgo to enter its own Sign of Libra [12:27 AM EDT]. The Virgo Stellium comes to closure briefly until the 22nd, when the Sun enters Virgo, replacing Venus in the Mutable Earth Stellium. Having an infusion of Fire from the Leo-transiting planets over the summer, we may have been more self-absorbed than considerate. With Venus in Libra, we are likely to be collaborative and interested in what is going on with the other person, with other people.

Combining brain and brawn together, Mercury conjuncts Mars on the 18th. Our mind is sharp, and we can devise the most effective means to accomplish our ends. Nothing is likely to fall between the cracks, for we are considering both the details and the big picture of what we wish to achieve. Due diligence and physical stamina give us the impetus to virtually move mountains.

A sense of ‘one more time’ might be our attitude on the 19th of August as the Sun opposes Jupiter. Uranus turns retrograde [9:40 PM EDT]. Our plans for the upcoming weekend, which has the Aquarius Full Moon and the Sun exiting Leo to enter Virgo, can be a summer blowout of good times with good friends. We might not have done everything we wanted to do over the summer, but there’s still time for us to engage re-creational activities. We do have to be wary that we’re not over the top in what we plan to do over the next few days. We could overly schedule in an attempt to wring out every single fun event we can imagine. Our expansionary mood may be just too much. Let’s try and tone things down.

Before we get to the weekend, Friday the 20th of August has Mercury trine Uranus. While much of our interest may be on upcoming weekend festivities, we can work ‘smarter rather than harder’ in tying up loose ends, streamlining our operations, getting more done by utilizing our technological tools, and drawing upon various insights to be effective and expeditious in our actions. ‘Ah ha’ moments can reveal the way for us to quickly advance what we wish to accomplish.

The 22nd continues our high productivity and effectiveness. Mars trines Uranus, and we have the Full Moon [8:02 AM EDT] in the last degree of Aquarius with a Jupiter influence just before the Moon enters Pisces and the Sun enters Virgo. We may be in overdrive as we balance our productiveness and our enjoyments. We can be highly effective and still enjoy good times. Perhaps we have learned to better juggle our needs and our desires. Our physical energy is strong, and our mood likely upbeat. The entry of the Sun into Virgo [5:35 PM EDT] reestablishes the Virgo Stellium as the Sun joins Mars and Mercury in the Mercury-ruled Mutable Earth Sign.

Contacts with people on the 23rd when Venus trines Saturn can be pleasant interchanges with positive input for future plans. We often need a detached objective viewpoint for us to see the worth of our efforts, and under the influence of this aspect we could receive encouraging words and sage advice as to our best course forward.

Whenever we have an energy configuration in opposition, it is like a metronome of possible extremes between two energies or the opportunity of a balance of the extremes into integration. The 24th of August has Mercury in its own Sign of Virgo opposed Neptune in its own Sign of Pisces. This aspect could be the extremes of being so detail-oriented that we lose sight of the big picture of the whole, or of being so focused on the big picture that we forget the details with our vision becoming at best impressionistic or amorphous. If we would combine the two and not bounce from one extreme to the other, we could blend our foresight with attention to detail. Another liability would be our expectations where we have our head in the clouds and our feet nowhere near the ground, or we become critical in our analysis and see only the downside with the extreme of becoming negative, anxious and fearful. Choice, always our choice in how we perceive things.

Whether we are able to blend our intuitive foresight with rational analysis or seesawed from one to the other on the 24th, the 26th can give us laser-like perceptions as Mercury trines Pluto. If we have presentations to make, cases to argue, opinions to share, this energy allows us to express our passion with searing, spot on points that cut to the core and hard to counter. Our thoughts are incisive, and this would be a good time for us to do strategic planning, for we are likely to take a best practices approach. While there may be great intensity in how we converse, we are likely to be aware of our audience and unlikely to be stepping on any toes. In a way, there can be an iron twist to the velvet tongue.

The 30th of August has Mercury exiting its own Sign of Virgo and entering Libra [1:10 AM EDT]. The Stellium in Virgo is ended. Mercury entering Libra can make us more of a receptive listener, a quality lacking in our modern world where people are more concerned about what they want to say rather than truly hearing what the other person is saying. We can now hear what someone is telling us. We might be more collaborative, willing to take into account another person’s interests or needs. Instead of being self-absorbed, people may enquire as to what is going on with the people they are involved with.

August 2021… not the way it was…