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August 2005The Big Picture for AugustAs I write this, the elevators in my
apartment building are acting up again, I've had to reschedule several
appointments, my neighbour's mail was delivered to my door, I've observed
tension in some online discussion forums, the local liquor stores have
threatened to strike, local hydro workers ARE on strike, and some
newsletters I had unsubscribed from weeks ago are mysteriously reappearing
in my Inbox. Yup, sounds like a typical Mercury retrograde!
Aug.02 – Mercury Rx OPP Neptune (in Leo/Aquarius) This is the second of three passes that Mercury makes
opposite Neptune. The first pass was
July.13 and the last will be
Aug.28.
Being the retrograde pass, this energy is best used for introspection,
meditation and creative imagination. Inspired thinking, mental fantasy,
imaginative ideas and lucid dreams are likely during this transit. This can
result in enormous creativity that sees inspiration and magical ideas in the
world around you (be sure to write them down to develop later). Your
communication may be unusually intuitive and inspiring now. However, it can
also be a time when your perceptions about reality are a bit off and
coloured by wishful thinking and illogical conclusions. Doing a reality
check with a trusted friend or advisor is a good idea, especially if you are
trying to make important decisions right now. But be sure to explore any
non-rational or irrational thinking, since the veil between the conscious
and unconscious mind is thin now and you can learn much by observing your
thoughts and perceptions.
Aug.04, 11:04 PM EDT – NEW MOON IN LEO ("What's a New Moon?") This lunar cycle
encourages us to get creative, compassionate and centered. You have
opportunity to learn new ways to let your light shine from very deep within
you, and respond to inspiration and potential that comes from far beyond
your usual horizons. At the same time, you also need to get real about who
you are, what your limitations are (and aren't), and establish personal
boundaries that clarify your range of influence. You may struggle with
challenges in three possible areas: First, you may have to dig deep inside
yourself—beyond the ways that you might be second-guessing or questioning
yourself—in order to find and express your true sense of self, your
creativity, and the life force that feeds your spiritual fire. And even
then, you may find that self-expression works best when it's non-verbal,
non-rational, artistic, intuitive or instinctual. Second, your vision of
potential may seem so far beyond ordinary life that it seems unattainable or
out of your league. You will need to bridge the gap between idealism and
realism by accepting that you are only part of something much greater than
yourself, but this doesn't negate your value as an individual. And third,
you may have circumstances in your life or personal inhibitions that seem to
block your way and make your potential seem like more trouble than it's
worth. You will need to balance realism with an open heart, hardship with
courage – possibly with the help of friends and loved ones who can mirror
back the best of who you are, or by attracting the resources you need to
give yourself the support you need.
Aug.04-11 – Wedge (Sun-Mercury Rx OPP Neptune, SXT Jupiter) ("What's a Wedge?") This aspect configuration begins at the New Moon
and continues for about a week after; then comes back again later in the
month. On one hand, you have a personal viewpoint that strives to clarify
your sense of purpose and identity. On the other hand, there is a
transpersonal level of potential encouraging you to go beyond purely
personal interests. Although these extremes can complement and support each
other, they also produce a creative tension. This tension can be mediated
and balanced by developing a broader understanding and wisdom that puts both
sides into perspective. Strive to shed or reframe any old beliefs, opinions
and viewpoints that might obstruct the natural flow of balance between those
contrasting extremes.
Aug.05 – Sun CNJ Mercury Rx (in Leo) Around this time, it might be tricky to tell where
your sense of self and purpose stop and where your objective thoughts and
perceptions begin. This can make for an open flow of intuitive ideas from
inside your brain, although it might not be easy to bring them to the
outside world in a way that is clearly understood by your audience. It can
be a good time to take your perceptions and input them into your internal
database, to be developed later. Observe and go with the flow; the words
will come later. This marks the half-way point of the Mercury retrograde
cycle. From now until the Direct Station (Aug.15), your mind will likely
work better in a Right Brain (intuitive, creative, receptive) way. Take some
time to relax, meditate, take some quiet space, listen to your dreams and
enjoy the stars.
Aug.08 – Sun OPP Neptune (in Leo/Aquarius) For a few days, you are face to face with the
boundless universe! This could come to you in a number of ways, from
creative inspiration to vivid dreams to enchanted encounters with great
mystery. There is a tension now between clarity of purpose and infinite
vision; between being centred in yourself versus being connected to the
Great Unknown; and/or between personal independence and autonomy versus
blurred boundaries with a person or situation. If you lose your bearings,
you could feel some depression, lethargy or confusion. Your dreams, longings
and expectations may be rooted more in wishful thinking than reality right
now, which could lead to disappointment or disillusionment. It's a good idea
to do a reality check with a trusted friend if you need to make any
important decisions. But you are also able to see your hopes, dreams and
illusions more clearly than usual, reflected back through other people or
the outside world. Try expressing your experiences, feelings and perceptions
poetically, artistically, creatively or intuitively.
Aug.08-12 – Arrowhead (Venus SQR Pluto, SQQ Mars) The same planets that formed the Grand Trine in
Fire last month (see July.11-22) now form a configuration called an
Arrowhead (sometimes also called "Thor's Hammer," "God's Fist" or a
"Quadriform"). That impulsive, sexy, flirtatious, passionate energy in July
has now evolved into a set of consequences and implications. You may be
required to take action to resolve conflicts between
what you desire on the impulsive surface versus what you really want deep down
inside. You may also notice a difference between
what you are able to consciously attract into your life versus what seems fated to
come to you (or not). Aim for choices and decisions that break the stalemate of convention
and habit, without resorting to outright combat or manipulation that forces people
and circumstances to bend to your
will.
Aug.10 – Venus SQR Pluto (in Virgo/Sagittarius) For a few days before and after this date, your
relationships and interactions, your sense of beauty, and your material and
financial dealings, are likely to be deep, intense and transformative,
although not necessarily pleasant. You are encountering the dark shadow of
your desires—the hidden, secret or unconscious hunger that is the flip side
of what you allow yourself to see. This is a challenge to be resolved in
some way. It might bring out conflict rooted in envy or jealousy, if you
perceive someone having something you believe you don't. It could also
prompt you to reach deep into your soul to find new beauty, value, empathy
or empowerment about something that seems undesirable, unforgivable or scary
on the surface.
Aug.12 – Mars enters the Shadow (until Feb.04.2006) ("What's the Shadow?")) Mars now enters the section of the zodiac where he
will go retrograde later this year (Oct.01 to Dec.09). Similar to Mercury
entering the shadow, Mars will gradually build energy between now and
Oct.01, which will then be rehashed, redirected and revised until Dec.09.
From now until October, pay attention to the situations and encounters that
come up that require you to take action and assert your desires, goals and
power. You may find these situations have a hidden component that will
require deeper exploration and modification later. For now, just notice what
situations inspire your reactions, or trigger your anger, or stimulate your
passion, or provoke the need for empowerment.
Aug.12 – Jupiter CNJ Lunar South Node (in Libra) ("What's a Lunar Node?") This has been in effect from about mid-July and
remains in effect until early-September, but reaches its peak now. This is a
time to take a look at your aims and aspirations, your beliefs and
principles, and the ways that you expand your horizons (literally through
travel, or figuratively through personal growth). It is time to assimilate
and integrate the knowledge and philosophy that you've accumulated over the
last four years (since Jupiter went over the Lunar North Node). You can also
benefit by letting go of old beliefs and opinions that have become stale or
outlived their usefulness. If you look closely, you will see a spiritual
element in your relationships and interactions that is in the background as
a resource. "Spiritual" in this context could mean religious beliefs that
act as an inner support system, or a strong sense of your greatest
potential, or a broad perspective of being a part of something greater than
yourself.
Aug.13 – Mercury Rx SQR Mars (in Leo/Taurus) This is the second of three passes that Mercury
makes in this current retrograde cycle. The first pass was June.10 (in
Gemini/Pisces) and the last pass will be Aug.25 (in Leo-Taurus, like this
one). Fiery speech, argument, hot debate and impatience characterise this
time. You may encounter conflicts of interest and want to solve them NOW,
and in your haste to find a quick fix, you could create more problems than
you are solving. Use this energy to stoke your motivational fires and to use
your ideas to generate action, and pace the energy like a race horse. This
is a time to "do your homework" to find new solutions to existing problems,
especially any that are repeating since early June.
Aug.14 – Mars SXT Uranus (in Taurus/Pisces) For a few days before and after this date, you
have an opportunity to take inspired action that can bring some creative
problem solving to any conflicts or challenges in your life. Now is the time
to think outside the box and experiment with trying out new responses,
actions and directions. The idea is to be refreshingly spontaneous, not
recklessly impulsive.
Aug.14 – Sun TRI Pluto (in Leo/Sagittarius) Your sense of purpose is strong now, as you are
able to tap into a deeper level of energy and determination. Your
personality is likely to be more forceful now, which can be great if you
need to make a strong impression but perhaps not so much in situations
requiring delicacy or subtlety. Your ability to see below the surface of
things is especially clear, and it may be possible to unearth secrets or get
at the core of unconscious patterns (yours or others').
Aug.15 – Mercury Stationary Direct (in Leo) ("What does Stationary mean?") ("What's Mercury Retrograde?") For up to a week before and after today, you may
experience intensity, confusion, miscommunication or changes in plans, as
Mercury takes the slow turn to resume his direction motion. Mercury has been
retrograde since July.22, giving you the chance to rethink and rehash things
that require some fine-tuning or revision. Now, for the next couple of weeks
while Mercury is still in the Shadow, it will be time to put these revisions
into practice, carefully and gradually. In the meantime, take it slow, one
step at a time, and untangle yourself one strand at a time.
Aug.16 – Venus TRI Chiron (in Virgo/Capricorn) Healing and rebalancing are possible now,
especially in the areas of relationships, finance, resources and values. Any
problems that have persisted in these areas lately may benefit from an
influx of helpful and healing resources, as your negotiations and strategic
efforts for resolution finally come together. Like the
Serenity Prayer, you
may now find it a bit easier to accept that which you cannot change, while
finding you can move forward with the things you can.
Aug.16 – Venus in Libra (until Sept.11) Venus now glides through her own sign of Libra,
giving you the opportunity to expand your interactive style, cultivate
diplomacy, beautify your surroundings, schmooze social connections, and
discover a new fashion statement. Find something beautiful, balanced or
harmonious to appreciate or do during this time. It can also be a good time
to negotiate agreements with people in a way that is fair and focused on a
win-win solution.
Aug.17 – Jupiter TRI Neptune (in Libra/Aquarius) This is the last of three passes of the
Jupiter-Neptune Trine, which we've also seen on
Nov.29.2004 and
Mar.14.2005. This
long-term process has brought us the opportunity to integrate healing,
beauty, imagination, spirituality and uplifting optimism. You may also have
seen the ways in which your hope, optimism and euphoria can get a bit
carried away and take on a life of their own, leaving realism behind.
Obviously, falling into fantasy and wishful thinking has its dangers, making
you susceptible to delusion and deception. But it doesn't always have to be
a bad thing, and could be one way to leave behind old negative expectations
or beliefs that inhibit your growth and freedom. During this final pass, you
are integrating and applying what you have learned about yourself and about
life in these areas, and bringing this learning to fruition. This can be a
time when you bring into clearer focus a new sense of faith (in terms of
religious beliefs, or just faith in life and in yourself). You may now be
able to see beyond your usual horizons to the distant possibilities open to
you, if you can keep that new faith in focus. This inspiration may not last
in its current form, but can be used to clarify and enhance the goals you
have been pursuing for many years, as well as formulate some new ones. We
won't see another Trine between Jupiter and Neptune until 2013.
Aug.18-31 – T-Square in Fixed (Mercury OPP Neptune, SQR Mars) ("What's a T-Square?") The Moon sets the rhythm for this T-square,
starting just before the Full Moon and continuing until she begins a new
cycle on Sept.03. This T-square brings the need to balance surrender and
faith in what you can't see with concrete action that makes things happen;
between passively allowing things to come to you versus proactively pulling
them in. The last half of the lunar cycle brings this need for resolution to
the foreground. This T-square reaches a peak around Aug.25-26.
Aug.19 – FULL MOON IN AQUARIUS ("What's a Full Moon?") It may now feel like that larger-than-life
potential from the New Moon is demanding to be put into action – but in a
way that combines originality, unconventionality and dramatic flair with
action that is structured, methodical, and gradual yet persistent. On the
other hand, if you feel like you're stuck in conflict, chaos or complexity,
ask yourself if what you are really up against is an inner part of yourself
that's trying to break free of habit and routine, to reach for that New Moon
potential. The mediating force here is empowerment. Courageous force of will
can help you confront and break through the blocks, but it is inner resolve
and deep purpose that comes from the pit of your stomach that will
ultimately bridge the gap between any conflicting or contrasting aspects of
your situation. That inner resolve comes from that sense of self you've been
cultivating since the New Moon in the form of personal potential and
spiritual perspective. Just be sure it doesn't become an excuse to
power-trip, control or impose your resolve on others. It might be a
challenge to find a workable balance between rebellion and empathy, or
between analysis and intuition, but it will help to allow these qualities to
come to you in unexpected or even cerebral ways (for example, a humanitarian
response, rather than deeply emotional empathy; or using analysis to
understand intuition rather than compete with it).
Aug.22 – Sun in Virgo (until Sept.22) Happy Solar Return to all Virgos! And while the
Sun is in Virgo, we are all honorary Virgos, being encouraged to clean out
the toxins in our bodies and minds, organise and tidy up our lives, and take
stock of the ways we give service and make a contribution to the world
around us. Take some time to pay attention to the details and precision of
what you do, and appreciate how much you can do with very little.
Organisation, useful procedures, and practical application create the key
that opens the door to effectiveness, efficiency and improvement. This is a
good time to adopt a service-oriented attitude, whether that involves being
helpful to someone else or dedicated to your own healing and betterment.
Aug.24-31 – Wedge (Mercury D OPP Neptune, SXT Jupiter) ("What's a Wedge?") This is a repeat of the Wedge aspect configuration
that originally took place from Aug.04-11 (see above). Mercury is now Direct
and comes back to finish forming the ideas, inspiration and focus that was
begun during his earlier pass. As you'll recall from early August, there was
creative tension between the personal and the transpersonal, mediated by
understanding and wisdom. This time, it is more about your mental
perceptions and communication being stretched by that creative tension. You
are also urged to combine that mediating understanding and wisdom to
negotiation, diplomacy, generosity and opportunity for love and beauty. This
is especially true on Aug.27 when the Moon joins in to create a Grand Trine
Kite, bringing full potential into focus and providing an opportunity to
assimilate that larger-than-life learning and knowledge into your ongoing
awareness.
Aug.25 – Mercury D SQR Mars (in Leo/Taurus) This is the last of three passes during Mercury's
latest retrograde cycle. The first two were
June.10 and
Aug.13 (above). The
first pass brought motivating or unsettling perceptions and debate that
required deeper reflection. The second pass brought an opportunity to see
things from another angle, which might have raised frustration or passionate
argument or the need to examine your deeper motives. This final pass asks
you to put your learning and insight into action, finding a new way to solve
the problems or challenges that have evolved over the last few months. If
you've been putting off taking action, you might be spurred into action out
of necessity now—but it's best to respond from the knowledge you've
gathered, not react impulsively or recklessly.
Aug.28 – Mercury D OPP Neptune (in Leo/Aquarius) This is the last of three passes that Mercury
makes to Neptune during the latest Mercury retrograde cycle. The first pass
was July.13 and brought an encounter with the Great Unknown, bring your
awareness of creative inspiration, spiritual longing, and possibly the ways
that you have a tendency to see things through rose-coloured glasses. The
second pass, on Aug.02 (see above), brought the opportunity to look within
yourself at the internal origin of your imagination, yearning and escapism.
This final pass brings the chance to reclaim the hopes, fears and wishful
thinking that you've projected out onto people and situations, using the
insight and awareness that you've gathered over the last couple of months.
It also gives you the opportunity to express those longings, illusions and
spiritual inspiration in a creative way—perhaps artistic, or maybe just
using a new approach that avoids a habitual or cynical view.
Aug.28 – Mars SQR Neptune (in Taurus/Aquarius) From mid-August to mid-September, you have a
chance to discover and work with your blind spots and hidden motives that
trip you up. It may feel like you are spinning your wheels or
"shadow-boxing" and not even sure why. You may be fighting a hidden agenda
(yours or someone else's) or unconscious motives. You might be trying to
apply a concrete solution to a confusing situation. You could get tripped up
by thinking that your actions, motives and intentions must be above
reproach, when you would actually get farther by accepting that human
imperfection (yours and others') is part of the plan. Passive-aggressive can
be tempting under this transit, since you may not know how to take direct,
decisive action. It can be tempting to resort to manipulation to get what
you want, or resentment to express toothless anger. Owning your own
feelings, needs, wants and agendas, and being honest with yourself about
these, will go a long way to empower yourself. This is the first of three
passes (also Nov.07.2005 and Jan.18.2006), so you'll have lots of time to
work with these issues through a long-term process.
Aug.30 – Mercury leaves the Shadow (until Oct.26) ("What's the Shadow?") Mercury finally leaves the shadow—the of the
zodiac where it went retrograde from
July.22 to
Aug.15. This means that
issues and themes that came to the foreground during that time have now
finished playing out their changes that emerged under Mercury’s influence.
If you've been waiting until Mercury finished with the retrograde cycle
before you made a final decision about something, this can be a good time to
decide what direction you want to go. Don't forget your common sense though.
Aug.30 – Venus TRI Neptune (in Libra/Aquarius) Love is in the air! This can be a time of romance, creativity and
faith in the natural flow of things. Socially, things can run smoothly and
even a bit magically, so be sure you are clear in yourself about what you
really want. Financially and materially, this can be a time of blessings and
abundance materialising out of nowhere...as well as overspending and
wondering where the money went! Your natural beauty and warmth can shine
through now, so try peeking out from behind any façade of glamour or
illusion you might be cloaked in and let the beauty of your essential spirit
shine through!
Aug.30 – Mercury TRI Pluto (in Leo/Sagittarius) It is possible to dive deep below the surface now,
in your perception of situations, other people and yourself. If you have
been working on trying to understand the deeper motivations and dynamics of
what is happening in your life, there could be a breakthrough now. The light
may finally go on in the darker corners that have eluded you, and your
penetrating insight. You could find a way to articulate these perceptions
and speak your mind in a way that is unusually powerful or intense (so be
careful you don't inadvertently blow your audience out of the water). This
transit can bring an opportunity to shed and leave behind old worn out
perceptions or ineffective forms of communication. Try writing down your
thoughts and ideas to capture the energy of this transit.
Aug.31 – Sun OPP Uranus (in Virgo/Pisces) This transit brings an encounter with the
Awakener! This could come in the form of another person or outside situation
that shakes you out of your habitual routine and pushes you to try on a new
approach to your situation. Life is very unpredictable right now, requiring
you to be spontaneous in the way you respond to it. Although this might be
stressful (or stimulating), it is actually showing you a new path in the
darkness, like a lightening flash in the night. If you feel startled or
caught off guard, and confused about what to do next, find your centre and
be open to what the situation is teaching you. You now have a chance to shed
some old habits and ways that you are stuck, if you can stay grounded and
centered in the middle of the whirlwind.
© 2005 Wendy Guy |
"How long does each event last?" Not sure what a word means? Look it up in the Glossary!
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