The astrology for this week of August 5th through the 11th of 2024 has the beginning of the three-week Mercury retrograde when delays and mix-ups call for contingency plans for whatever we choose to do.
The week begins with Mercury turning retrograde in its own Sign of Virgo. Mercury will retrograde back into Leo next week. If we have been burning the candle at both ends, we need to be certain that our health does not suffer. Many of us are trying to cover too many bases, running on adrenaline, and exhausting ourselves in the process. This week calls for us to focus on our procedures, how we do things, and not burn ourselves out.
With Murphy’s Law of “whatever can go wrong could go wrong” in effect over the next three weeks, we need to be careful in our actions and in our decisions. If we can postpone significant matters until after Mercury turns direct, the better it would be. Otherwise, we need to check and recheck with everything that we do.
The mid-week period would be a good time to go back over situations that we felt we concluded but might have done so in a haphazard manner.
With schools reopening over the next few weeks, we may want to take advantage of school supplies sales or sales tax holidays. We just need to avoid impulse purchases. Having a list of what is essential for our autumn reengagement would prevent us from going blindly down the store aisles.
The end of the week and early weekend can have us catching up with those people we intended to get together with over the summer but just didn’t.
The end of the weekend could have us paring down and cleaning out, and a prime time to focus on the truly significant and rid ourselves of the extraneous.
Monday, August 5th – And So It Begins – Uranus, Moon Void-of-Course, Venus, Mercury retrograde. Monday starts this week with the Moon in Leo and with the Moon square Uranus. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for six hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Leo and before the Moon enters Virgo where today the Virgo Moon conjuncts Venus. Mercury turns retrograde [12:56 AM EDT] in its own Sign of Virgo. Whenever a planet changes direction, things can get squirrely until we get used to the shift in energy. Things can get convoluted as we begin this week. Unexpected developments might put a kibosh to our plans. It would be wise for us to embrace humility and not engage the blame game, whereby we look for everyone but ourselves for any mix-ups, miscommunications, and any other misses. This Monday calls for patience and adaptability to changing circumstance. Things may not go the way we intended, so it would be wise for us to have contingency plans in mind and a great deal of patience.
Tuesday, August 6th – Brain before Brawn – Mercury, Mars. Tuesday continues with the Moon in Virgo with the Virgo Moon conjunct Mercury to begin the day, and the Moon square Mars late in the day. It would be wise for us to plan our day, all with the recognition that conditions may change forcing us to alter our trajectory. It would be best for us to take care of what is right in front of us. Dealing with specifics and details could prevent us from running amok later in the day. If we focus on our long-range goals, we might consider too many options, too many alternatives, leading us to run around in circles and wasting time. And in making our choices today, we may not have full information. Relationships could prove dicey with people being hypercritical and laying heavy duty expectations on each other. We may be anxious about one thing or another, so let’s avoid nitpicking or assuming we can get everything done in one fell swoop. This is a day for us to do proper planning and in pencil with a large eraser in case we need to shift and change our trajectory. Tuesday and Wednesday could prove challenging and call for us to be judicious in our actions and rational in our decisions.
Wednesday, August 7th – Wild Swings – Lunar T-Square, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Sun, Mercury, Venus. Wednesday continues with the Moon in Virgo with the Moon today triggering a Mutable Sign T-Square with the Virgo Moon square Jupiter in Gemini and the Moon opposed Saturn in Pisces. Late in the day, the Moon trines Uranus. The Sun sextiles Jupiter, and Mercury conjuncts Venus. The day may seem almost metronome-like with mood swings between elation and despair. We might start the day feeling upbeat and positive about our prospects. Hard, cold reality could douse our spirits with our responsibilities and obligations. Outstanding matters might need to be addressed. While we are more interested in spreading our wings and enjoying the camaraderie of a good friend, we can feel hampered by what we need to do. Wants and needs may create a push-pull, impacting our emotions and determining our course of action. If we could fly away today, that might be our preference. Let’s not get caught up in the wild swings but maintain an attitude of good cheer. No matter how we get up in the morning, things seem to shift dramatically late in the day. Much of our whipsaws of emotions and confusing behavior can abate late in the day when an inspired thought makes us aware of an alternative approach we had not previously considered.
Thursday, August 8th – Special Connections – Neptune, Pluto. Thursday has the Virgo Moon opposed Neptune in the early morning hours. The Moon then moves into Libra where today the Moon trines Pluto in Aquarius and initiates an Air Grand Trine with the Libra Moon trine both Mars and Jupiter both in Gemini tomorrow. Thursday and Friday are two sociable days when we can get together with friends and enjoy the uplift of camaraderie. Interactions with people could offer insights as to how best to proceed in realizing our goals or becoming aware of possibilities that we had not even considered. Someone might be supportive of our ambitions and encourage us to go for the gold. Often discussions turn into brainstorming sessions and this Thursday and Friday could be two of those days. Although relationships can be critical when Venus is transiting through Virgo, today allows for healthy banter and good feelings between people. With summer slipping away, Thursday and Friday of this week are two days to take a ‘time out’ and reach out to those people we wish to spend time with and enjoy their company.
Friday, August 9th – Good Times, Good Friends – Mars, Jupiter, Sun, Moon Void-of-Course. Friday has the Libra Moon trine both Mars and Jupiter both in Gemini, and the Moon sextile the Sun. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost twenty-five hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Libra and before the Moon enters Scorpio Saturday evening. Yesterday, the Moon triggered an Air Grand Trine with the Libra Moon trine Pluto in Aquarius and the Moon trine both Mars and Jupiter today. Thursday and Friday are two days to enjoy the company of that special someone or the special people in our lives. If we can take the time to have a leisurely lunch or get together for coffee, we would garner great benefit and delight from the social occasion. They often say in our fast-paced world how important it is to ‘stop and smell the flowers’. We get so caught up in our fast-paced lives that we hardly have time to enjoy the simple beauties of living, one of which are the people who add so much sparkle to our lives. Today is a good day to appreciate the importance of the people in our lives. We don’t have to do anything spectacular, just a brief acknowledgment of the importance of the people in our lives.
Saturday, August 10th – Weeding – Moon Void-of-Course, Pluto, Mercury. Saturday continues with the Libra Moon Void-of-Course for much of this Saturday with the Libra Moon making no connections to the planets. Late in the day, the Moon moves into Scorpio where the Scorpio Moon squares Pluto and the Moon sextiles Mercury to end the day. Thursday, Friday and much of Saturday can be pleasant and good times for social occasions. People are less judgmental, more appreciative of the individual characteristics in each other. The energy shifts dramatically Saturday evening. People may get intense, even snippy with a liability of tearing down rather than building up. Saturday evening and Sunday are times when we could determine what we need to pare down and get rid of. Although we’re not in the autumn season, our thoughts are likely revolving around getting back on track, preparing the necessary components for our routine lives, and contemplating what we need to focus on and what is merely extraneous thought. We are in a weeding process, letting go of things that have outlasted their purposefulness and concentrating on the fundamentals to make our lives work smoothly and effectively.
Sunday, August 11th – Everything in Order – Venus. Sunday continues with the Scorpio Moon with the Moon sextile Venus today. If we have social obligations to attend to, this Sunday would be a good day to do so. The energy is not the same as the past three days, when social engagements may have been lively and scintillating. This Sunday denotes taking care of responsibilities and necessities, those things that need to be done. If a child is going off to school or away to college, this Sunday might be a day to get their school needs in order and then have a family gathering celebrating their next step towards adulthood. Whether with children or childless, this Sunday suggests putting everything in its place. We may be feeling the rapid approach of autumn activities with various start-ups and reopenings happening next week. We have the sense that it’s time to get back on track, and we’ll want to be prepared to have an orderly procession from summertime recreational activities back into our daily routine. This is a day when we can get everything in order and with appealing style.
