The astrology for this week of August 21st through the 27th of 2023 demands we hold steady despite the frenetic activity operating and with Mercury turning retrograde for its three-week cycle of Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’.
The week begins benignly enough, perhaps a reflection of the peaceful, easy feeling of this past weekend.
It doesn’t take long for things to ratchet up severalfold. The intensity increases, with anxiety and concern heightened, and extremes and excesses liable to be engaged.
Mid-week has the Sun exiting Leo to enter Virgo and create a brief Stellium in the Mutable Earth Sign as the Sun joins Mercury and Mars in Virgo. On this same Wednesday, Mercury turns retrograde in its own Sign of Virgo.
We may be getting back on track with our regular affairs but with clarity and effectiveness lacking.
This three-week Mercury retrograde from Wednesday the 23rd until the 15th of September can be a doozy [as if any Mercury retrograde is a walk in the park]. Just as we may have experienced during the last Mercury retrograde back in April-May, this Mercury necessitates our attending to our health, medical issues, our finances, and the question as to where we place our worth reminiscent of the admonition: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”
The latter part of the week can be the tale of two interests — returning to our regular involvements and our desire for a late summer blowout. One without the other might not work to our benefit but could have us in a tug-of-war between our needs and our desires. Let’s try to find a balance point between what we need to do and what we want to do.
The weekend continues this push – pull between obligations and pleasures. The summer season is unofficially winding down, autumn responsibilities beckoning.
We can be highly productive if we let go of any resentment over the dying embers of summertime and accept our need to prepare for getting back on track.
Sunday has Mars exiting Virgo, ending the Stellium of three planets in the Mutable Earth Sign, and entering Libra. We might be less critical of other people and better able to see situations from another person’s perspective.
All in all, there seem to be wild swings this week. Better for us to enjoy the ride rather than to grouse about it.
Monday, August 21st – Take it Easy – Pluto, Sun, Moon Void-of-Course. Monday begins this week with the Moon completing its transit of Libra. Late in the day, the Libra Moon squares Pluto and the Moon sextiles the Sun. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost three hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes is transit of Libra and before the Moon enters Scorpio later in the day. After what might have seemed a fairly calm weekend that allowed us that easy, peaceful feeling, this Monday may continue in the same vein with us taking things slowly and not pushing the envelope. There may be a great deal of discussions today but despite all the talk, people may be disinterested in walking their talk. Responsibilities might impinge upon our serene attitude late in the day, but we are unlikely to feel pressured to accomplish much unless we feel impassioned by what we need to get done. The evening hours turns the intensity up, an intensity that is accentuated even more so over the next two days.
Tuesday, August 22nd – Chasing After – Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune. Tuesday has the Scorpio Moon trine Saturn. The two ‘good guys’ of the planetary realm, Venus and Jupiter, are in square aspect, and Mars opposes Neptune. And so it begins; a two-day romp into a fantasy world of illusions and delusions. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week demand that we keep focused and attentive and not be lulled by the appearances, hype, or ill-conceived wishes. If we do not take the time to plan out our day with a detailed course of action, we could be like a dog chasing its tail, going around in circles, or like a greyhound racing after the mechanical Rusty the rabbit with a race to nowhere. If we would take the time to concentrate and prioritize, we coud avoid excesses of too muches that might prove costly and prevent ill-conceived actions liable to being accident prone. Despite having an Earth Grand Trine operational, arrogance and narcissism may turn the positive attributes of the Earth Grand Trine into merely adding fuel to the fire of dysfunctionality and incompetence. By throwing skill and merit out the window, we have lowered the bar of acceptance for work done, projects accomplished. Hopefully, we can prevent the scourges of reaping what our society has sown.
Wednesday, August 23rd – Mercury Visits – Lunar T-Square, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury, Neptune, Sun Virgo, Mercury retrograde. Wednesday has the Moon is Scorpio with the Scorpio Moon sextile Mercury, and the Moon trine Neptune. The Scorpio Moon triggers a Fixed Sign T-Square with the Moon square Venus, and the Moon opposed both Jupiter and Uranus. The Sun exits Leo to enter Virgo [5:01 AM EDT] triggering a brief Stellium in Virgo as the Sun joins Mercury and Mars in the Mutable Earth Sign, and Mercury turns retrograde [3:59 PM EDT] in its own Sign of Virgo. This Wednesday could prove the idea of Wednesday being ‘hump day’ both as being in the middle of the work week and often considered the hardest day of the week. Resources might be limited, and it would be wise for us to conserve our resources and put something aside for a ‘rainy day’. People used to put things aside for a rainy day, and we don’t have to go to the extreme of preppers, but it would be wise during these tumultuous times to have contingency plans with basic necessities on hand to carry us through any disruptive events that might occur. This is a day when we might give thought to what we don’t have rather what we have. There is an old saying that ‘fish and company start to stink after three days’. Mercury will be retrograde for three weeks until the 15th of September. If we can postpone major purchases or significant decisions until after Mercury turns direct, it would be suggested. Mercury retrograde engages Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’. We have all experienced Mercury retrogrades, which usually occur three times a year, and this one could be ever more intense with Mercury retrograding through its own Sign of Virgo. Workmanship, health, finances, mindset can all be under assault with things often going awry — increased dysfunctionality in what seems like an ever increasingly dysfunctional world. This Wednesday suggests we slow things down, maintain composure, check and re-check our efforts, and avoid hypercriticism. A tall order for sure, but also one to enlist over the next three weeks.
Thursday, August 24th – Focused or Scattered, always our Choice – Mars, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Lunar T-Square, Sun, Saturn. The early morning hours of this Thursday has the Scorpio Moon sextile Mars, and the Moon trine Pluto. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for three hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon completes its transit of Scorpio and before the Moon enters Sagittarius. The Sagittarius Moon triggers a Mutable Sign T-Square with the Moon square the Sun in Virgo and the Moon square Saturn in Pisces. Mars trines Pluto. Either we can be highly attuned to what we need to get done and do it effectively and expeditiously, or we could see so much in front of us that we feel overwhelmed and scattered and decide to put on hold any pressing matters and escape from our tasks and instead head out in whatever direction. Although these times are incredibly volatile and challenging, extreme actions only exacerbate the issues and make us feel powerless. It’s always best to remember that during this paradigm shift we are no longer in total control of situations. We are co-creators with the universe unfolding. We may have to deal with unexpected situations, and yet we are never given more than we can handle. Let’s avoid wallowing in confusion or victimhood and deal with whatever confronts us the best that we can. We might be surprised when unanticipated challenges are met successfully by unexpected interventions.
Friday, August 25th – Here or There – Venus, Mercury. Friday has the Sagittarius Moon trine Venus, and the Moon square Mercury. Similar to yesterday, although likely far more toned down, today can have us feeling the push pull of fun events of summertime against the sense of what we need to get done. The former may prevail. After all, it’s a summertime Friday and we’re cognizant that we are nearing the end of our times for relaxation and reinvigoration before we fully get back on track of our usual routine. Today is a day for us to sing in the sunshine of our summer season. The evening hours may have us feeling the restraints of all that we should do, all that we should have already accomplished. As our society is mired in the blame game, there could be a tendency of people being critical of the choices of others or admonishing oneself for a summer that is fast slipping away with some plans unfulfilled. Yesterday and tomorrow have intense energies of self-recrimination with a tendency to move into fast forward but with little positive effect, only racing our engine and exhausting ourselves in the process.
Let’s cut everyone, including ourselves, a great deal of slack. Just getting through these turbulent times is success in and of itself.
Saturday, August 26th – Crazy Antics Before Getting a Grip – Lunar T-Square, Neptune, Mars, Moon Void-of-Course, Sun, Saturn. Saturday finishes the Moon’s transit of Sagittarius, but before it does so the Moon triggers another Mutable Sign T-Square with the Sagittarius Moon square Neptune in Pisces and the Moon square Mars in Virgo. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for two hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Sagittarius and before the Moon enters Capricorn where today the Capricorn Moon trines the Sun and the Moon sextiles Saturn. We had a Sagittarius Moon T-Square on Thursday with different planets involved, and here we go again. In the early morning hours, we need to be careful not to be too hasty or move too fast, for a liability of being accident prone by rushing and not thinking is a strong possibility. We also need to be wary of water issues today, whether we are going boating, dealing with intense precipitation from strong storm systems, or managing plumbing issues around our home. The early morning hours demand that we be mindful, keep aware, and not be impulsive. As the day proceeds, we may feel more in our body, more capable, and can act both strategically and decisively. Although there was a song that declared ‘what a difference a day makes, 24 little hours’, we no longer have to wait twenty-four hours for things to shift and often shift dramatically and suddenly, a major characteristic of this paradigm shift.
Sunday, August 27th – Up and At ‘Em – Earth Grand Trine, Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Sun, Saturn, Mars Libra. Sunday has the Capricorn Moon triggering an Earth Grand Trine as the Capricorn Moon trines Mercury in Virgo, and the Moon trines both Jupiter and Uranus both in Taurus. The Sun opposes Saturn, and Mars exits Virgo to enter Libra [9:20 AM EDT]. We might awaken on this Sunday feeling a little beat up by much of the past few days. It may be slow starting on this Sunday, and we are liable to feel slightly defeated, certainly exhausted, and stressed by some of the various incidents these past few days. If we can shake off any Sunday morning blues, then this day could prove a highly effective day when we can accomplish a great amount and achieve successful results. The Earth Grand Trine that has been in the background since the end of July, sometimes quiet behind the scenes, other times in full force, is fully engaged today. If we don’t wallow in self-pity, we could discover that things fall neatly into place. Innovative techniques along with streamlined methods could have us feeling like we’re operating on greased wheels with things being accomplished easily and quickly. This Sunday is not a day to be lost but rather one when we can either deal with our pressing demands or prepare constructively for future commitments and obligations. Sundays may have traditionally been ‘days of rest’, but Sundays nowadays are not what they were in earlier times. This Sunday is a day for us to be ‘up and at ‘em’. Mars is in Detriment in Libra, but it allows us to be more understanding even conciliatory of someone’s interest rather than just focused on our own.
