Use the next two days for romantic and creative pursuits:
November 25: Venus (in Scorpio) trines Uranus (in Pisces) which is great for romance and creativity.
November 26: Mercury trines Mars, Venus squares Neptune, Moon in Pisces conjuncts Uranus and trines Venus. This is a potent day for romance and the imagination and for getting stuff done, and for good surprises. A fine day for writers, dreamers, lovers, painters and filmmakers.
Posted in astrology November 2009
In this issue:
The Veil Thins: Hallowe’en/Samhain/Day of the Dead
The Planets: October 31-December 21, including the Saturn Pluto square, Saturn in Libra, and Neptune and Uranus turning direct
To people who have been reading me forever, this first section on Samhain and associated traditions is almost identical to previous years. By all means read it to jog your memory, but if there’s a little too much déjà vu, scroll down to find new information on the specific energies of Samhain this year and the major astrological happenings for the next seven weeks.
The Veil Thins: Hallowe’en/Samhain/Day of the Dead
Symbolism and traditions
Samhain is a time for honoring those who have passed from the physical plane before us and for allowing out the trickster in all of us through dressing-up and playing games. This internationally celebrated moment in the calendar occurs when we reach the halfway point (known as the cross-quarter day) between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, around the beginning of November, although the exact date is a few days later, when the Sun reaches 15 Scorpio. This year the cross-quarter day falls on November 7. Most of us will be made aware of this time through Hallowe’en on Oct 31, and the Day of the Dead on Nov 2, so the energy portal extends throughout the whole of the first week of November.
The fall cross-quarter day and the days surrounding it have been recognized for millenia as a time to honor the ancestors, the souls who have passed over to the mysterious “other side”. It’s a period in which the veil thins and we come closest to the death realms and those who have passed before us. The Celts called it Samhain, meaning Summer’s End, and saw it as a festival of major importance that marked the end of the light half of the year (samos), associated with life, and the beginning of the dark half (gamos), associated with death. In the dark half of the year, the energies of life naturally return to the womb of creation, to rest, repair and prepare to be reborn. The vital force connects to the cauldron of the land, the soil beneath our feet, the cave of renewal.
In Mexico, this time is celebrated as the Day of the Dead, a colorful fiesta that merges the old Aztec festival of honoring the dead with the Catholic All Saint’s Day, and the following day, named All Soul’s. The festivities are meant to attract the dead in order to be close to them again. In old Britain, the season of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day was called Allhallowstide, hallow being an ancient version of the word holy. In the U.S. (and increasingly in the U.K. and Europe) this portal is celebrated on October 31, as the secular festival of Hallowe’en, (All Hallow’s Eve) which even though thoroughly commercialized, still retains much of the old symbolism.
Clearly, this window is a strong time for contacting the spirits of the dead and an appropriate time for honoring their memory. It’s a time for honoring family, for thanking our ancestors–genetic, cultural, and spiritual–for the gifts of life and of knowledge that they have passed down to us. It is a powerful opening for spiritual practice, for contacting the wisdom and guidance available to us from the unseen realms. The past is vividly available right now, and gives us the chance to understand how it influences the present and therefore shapes the future. Divination is a way of getting in touch with the divine impulse, and this is an excellent time to use divination tools thoughtfully and to get useful answers to vexing questions.
It’s the time to prepare for winter, both practically and psychologically, gathering in crops and resources. In rural Britain, apples were the last major crop to be harvested, and in the Celtic tradition the fortunate dead go to The Land of Apple Trees. This association comes down to us in the Hallowe’en game of bobbing for apples.
The cross quarter days are times in which the veil between the world thins and normal rules of conduct are suspended. Conventional patterns of life temporarily cease, allowing all the energy trapped by the rules of daily life to come to the surface and be released. At Beltane this license manifests sexually, while at Samhain the normally suppressed energies are released through deliberately encountering the shadow. The wicked part in all of us is given a moment to play, in the form of pranks such as trick-or-treating and dressing up as shadow figures: witches, wizards, skeletons, and ghosts. Gender distinctions fade and cross-dressing is allowed through the anonymous ritual of costumes and masks. Even the everyday sense of being human disappears as people (today, most often children) dress up as fairies, animals, and monsters.
The liminal nature of this time–in between light and dark, life and death–gives access to the magical reality that lies just beyond the mundanity of the everyday. This is why children get so excited at Hallowe’en and why it is important for their psychological well-being.
The Planets: October 31-December 21
This year Samhain is sandwiched by two astrological events: Saturn’s move into Libra on October 29, and the Full Moon on November 2.
Saturn in Libra
Saturn is exalted in Libra, and in this sign is more associated with justice and fair play than with restriction and suffering. Saturn will stay in Libra until October 2012, apart from a foray back into Virgo (April to July 2010). This is an unusually long stay and is due to the Saturn retrogrades happening at the beginning and end of the sign. Saturn’s passage through Libra marks the Saturn return period for those born in 1951-53, and 1980-82.
Due to Pluto being in Capricorn and Uranus and Jupiter entering Aries in 2010, Saturn in Libra this time around forms a series of squares and oppositions with these other planets. This ongoing Cardinal T-square sets the tone for the next two years with Uranus and Pluto continuing to square off until 2015. The tension of these inter-relationships can at best impel a more active (cardinal) sense of urgency about our collective problems, particularly climate change. A great deal can be achieved with all this cardinal energy if we put our minds to it.
November 2: The Full Moon
Hallowe’en/Samhain arrives this year with a Full Moon, which is exact on November 2 at 2:14 pm Eastern, 11:14 am Pacific, 7:14 pm in the UK, and 8:14 pm on mainland Europe. This heightens the outgoing, party-time element of the festival, and increases our level of extraversion and sociability.
The Full Moon is in Taurus, at 10:30 degrees. Taurus is the sign of earthy sensuality, manual creativity, and material pleasures and possessions. The Sun is of course in Scorpio, from Oct 22—Nov 21. The tightening of the Taurus/Scorpio axis at the Full Moon intensifies sexuality and passion. The shadow/difficult side of this territory increases tendencies to sexual compulsion, secrecy, betrayal and anguish. The positive side is increased capacity for physical intimacy that blasts us open to spiritual energies. At this time what is shadowy and what is in the light can get confused and it can be hard to tell what is right and what is acting out. Sometimes acting out leads us to our truth. Sometimes it causes unnecessary pain and suffering. Our ability to discriminate and judge is called strongly into play as the archetypal energies of Venus (Taurus), Mars (Scorpio) and Pluto (Scorpio) face off. The personal female and male, and the transformative powers of the transpersonal, are dancing tightly together.
November 4: Neptune goes direct at 23:41 Aquarius
You are most likely to feel some impact from this turn of direction if Neptune is transiting to conjunct, square or oppose a planet or angle in your chart. If Neptune is very close to a major point in your chart by transit you may have experienced increased activity in the subconscious that you have found hard to bring to the surface of your waking life. There can be a feeling of being in a fog. This may involve any area of life, as highlighted in your chart by the transit, but most often applies to spiritual practice and inner work, creativity especially of the imagination and visual capacity, and to body symptoms and illnesses characterized by fatigue and sensitivity.
Now that Neptune is turning direct, matters which have felt confused, indecisive or held back have a chance of clarifying and moving forwards, although this will be a gradual rather than an immediate process. During the days around the direction change Neptune appears to be stationary when viewed from the Earth. These days can be rather dreamy, as during this time. Apply extra concentration while driving or operating machinery and don’t try to do too many things at once, Stay grounded! At the same time, this is a great period for spiritual practice and inner work.
November 7: Venus enters Scorpio
Venus is in Scorpio from November 7 to December 2. In Scorpio, the sign of Mars and Pluto, Venus is least content and can operate in a distorted and selfish way. Passion is heightened but can be out of control and cross healthy boundaries. Previous agreements may get breached for the sake of immediate gratification. Profound intimacy causes waves of change that may not be comfortable or easy to navigate. The best way to experience this energy is to work with sexuality and passion as a powerful element of the path to inner wisdom. Witness and explore them as part of the whole rather than separating them out.
Venus immediately sextiles Pluto, making November 7 and 8 a potent window for passionate relating. But it is squared by the Moon that same day, so all may not be straightforward emotionally. On November 19, Venus squares Mars, so be aware that what you do now may cause conflict later in the month.
November 14: Sun trines Uranus
The Sun in Scorpio trines Uranus in Pisces at 22:49 degrees at 5:41 pm Pacific, 8:41 pm Eastern on Nov 14, and 1:41 am in the UK on Nov 15.
The trine helps the energies flow most beautifully between the self-aware Sun and transpersonal, awakening Uranus. It’s a good day for everyone, but especially for Pisceans. This is the last time Uranus will be at this degree of Pisces for 84 years, so if you have planets around these degrees, make the most of this opportunity for spiritual and creative breakthrough. Uranus is stationing preparing to go direct on December 1, so things may feel slow right now, but changes you begin to instigate now will get a jolt forwards in early December.
Pisceans are often over-adaptive, seeking peace and harmony rather then conflict to a degree that can make them vulnerable to power-tripping partners and bosses. The presence of Uranus in Pisces since 2003 has been helping Pisceans break out of the restrictions of their self-sacrificial amiability, into developing a stronger personality with a devotion to self-realization even when this is at the expense of being the person everybody wants them to be, all the time. It is also helping the vagueness of Pisces come into greater creative and practical clarity. Uranus stimulates the mind into action, making thoughts crisper and more succinct.
The energies of the day are complicated, and compromised, by two building squares that become exact a few hours after the Sun/Uranus trine.
November 15: Saturn squares Pluto, Sun squares Neptune
This is the heaviest day of the year, my friends, astrologically speaking. The Sun Neptune square muddies all the waters, while the Saturn Pluto square plugs us into the underbelly of the collective psyche. The day is made extra tricky with the Moon in Scorpio square Mars in Leo making people prickly, self-centered and over-sensitive.
The Saturn Pluto square is exact at 7:20 am Pacific, 10:20 am Eastern, 3:20 pm in the UK. It marks the fourth major meeting of these planets since they began their current cycle on November 8 1982. This cycle ends January 12 2020. The pivotal points in the cycle are the conjunction (1983, last high tension period of the Cold War, Reagan saber-rattling), the opening square (1993, first World Trade Center bombing), the opposition (exact on September 11 2001 World Trade Center plane attack) and the closing square which is the one on November 15 2009.
The Saturn Pluto cycle is largely witnessed at the level of the military and political dimension of our collective life and as you can see, coincides with periods of extreme tension with violence or threatened violence. This of course has ramifications in other areas of life and coincides with volatility in the stock market and periods of recession. Tension between different interest groups is heightened: in the UK we have a postal strike and increased focus on immigration and the far-right British National Party.
Individually, we are most likely to feel increased tension when the degrees of the planets resonate with our own charts. This square occurs at 1 Libra and 1 Capricorn. The best way to handle this if you do have planets at those degrees? Work, work, dig, investigate, don’t take the easy option. Show up for big challenges and you may experience great breakthroughs. Persevere and develop grit and determination. When it all gets too much, use all your favorite coping strategies for relaxing, healing, and staying out of trouble.
If you want to read further, I recommend the excellent and lengthy discussion of the Saturn Pluto cycle in the book Cosmic and Psyche by Richard Tarnas.
November 16: New Moon
The next day we get a clean slate, a New Moon at 24 Scorpio. While this gives us a bit of relief, the New Moon squares Jupiter/Neptune and trines Uranus so the energies of the previous few days are still very much in play. The mood will continue to feel a bit confused and bleak until November 21 when the Sun enters optimistic Sagittarius.
November 21: Sun enters Sagittarius
And we get a pretty good week which will lift spirits dampened by Saturn and Pluto.
November 23: Venus squares Jupiter which can mean a good time, although be careful of spending too much money.
November 24: Sun sextiles Saturn, a good day for focused work and minor breakthroughs. Look out for opportunities.
November 25: Venus trines Uranus which is great for romance and creativity.
November 26: Mercury trines Mars, Venus squares Neptune, Moon in Pisces conjuncts Uranus and trines Venus. This is a potent day for romance and the imagination and for getting stuff done, and for good surprises. A fine day for writers.
December 1: Uranus goes direct at 22:42 Pisces, Venus enters Sagittarius
With Uranus turning direct we have a short window in which there are no retrograde planets until December 20 when Mars turns retrograde at 20 Leo (more on that next time). If there is anything Uranian you have been waiting on then this is the time to give a push forward (what part of your life this plays out in depends on where Uranus falls in your chart natally, and where it is transiting). Uranian projects include anything to do with mass communications. It’s a good time to launch a new web site, for example, or increase your exposure on an existing one.
December 2: Full Moon at 10 Gemini
The Gemini Full Moon sextiles Mars giving good energy, and then later in the day makes supportive trine aspects to Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune, with a square to Uranus just to keep us on our toes.
December 7: Jupiter conjunct Chiron at 21:55 Aquarius
As I‘ve written about several times this year, the Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune triple conjunction of this year is a perfect metaphor for the push to create a better healthcare system in the US. It is also a signature of spiritual focus, development and healing. Today sees an exact conjunction of Jupiter and Chiron, and we may see some good news on these topics.
December 14: Sun squares Uranus
Take a little extra care today because accidents can be more likely under adverse Uranian aspects. On the plus side, this square can also bring breakthroughs, even if they sometimes occur in ways that make us tense to start with. Breathe!
December 16: New Moon at 24:40 Sagittarius
The New Moon sextiles Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron just before it is exact. A great time for spiritual practice.
December 17: Venus in Sagittarius trines Mars in Leo
A fabulous day for lovers and for creativity.
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I’m touring the West Coast during November, doing events related to my new book on spirituality. I’ll be in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Mountain View, Portland and Seattle. Do come along and say hi. Most events are free and hosted by bookstores. For more information go to http://growingyourinnerlight.com
love and blessings,
Lara
In this issue: Autumn Equinox: traditions and meaning; Ingress chart for next quarter; Pluto direct in Capricorn; Learning from the third of the Saturn Uranus oppositions.
Autumn Equinox 2009
The Autumn Equinox is exact this year on September 22 at 2:19 pm Pacific, 5:19 pm Eastern, 10:19 pm UK, and 11:19 pm in Europe. The Autumn Equinox applies only to the Northern Hemisphere: in the Southern Hemisphere this time marks the Vernal Equinox.
Historically there have been several calendars beginning with the Autumn Equinox, most notably that of the Jewish tradition, which has its New Year, Rosh Hashanah, at the New Moon closest to the Equinox, which this year falls on September 18. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of ten days of ritual and religious observation known as the High Holidays (Holy Days). Rosh Hashanah is a day of cleansing, and of meditation on the year that is passing, a time of “judgement” and reconciliation with what has past.
The Autumn Equinox has long been marked with Harvest Festivals, giving gratitude for the harvest, celebrating together, stopping for a party in between the labors of gathering in the crops. It is the moment when the air changes, there is a crispness in the wind, and we start preparing for the winter ahead. The Christian calendar tacitly acknowledged the importance of this time by installing the holy day of Michaelmas in this time period. Modern-day Pagans celebrate the Equinox as Mabon.
The Ingress Chart
The beginning of the four quarters of the year are marked by the Sun being at 0 degrees of a cardinal sign. The chart of this moment is known as the ingress chart for the quarter and can give some clues about the nature of the upcoming three months.
This year the Autumn Equinox chart falls immediately after a New Moon, indicating that in this quarter we will see some genuine new impulses. We are likely to see this in healthcare in the US, radical changes in military strategy, and realistic decisions made in the aftermath of the financial meltdown of the preceding 12 months. These changes will not come easily, as the Sun in the ingress chart squares Pluto, but they will be wrangled with and some of them will actually be made.
In the ingress chart for Washington DC, the triumvirate of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune, a signature for healthcare reform is ever I saw one, sits on the ascendant, highlighting this issue. They all square the Moon which sits at the top of the chart in Scorpio, signifying the highly emotional nature of this problem. It is sometimes hard for Americans to imagine the absence of worry that comes from having some kind of universal healthcare. It has a huge influence on the shape of one’s life. No one in Europe says they are staying in a job they hate because of their health coverage, or getting married to ensure cover, or full of anxiety because they can’t afford to go to the doctor. Being sick is difficult enough without it wrecking one’s finances. And it doesn’t have to be that way. Various systems have been more-or-less working in the rest of the developed world since the mid 20th century. The US lags behind, strangled by the power of Big Pharma and the insurance companies. It’s a form of collective insanity. How much will be achieved this time around is hard to gauge, but the Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron conjunction is a rare alignment, and under its auspices healthcare improvements really should happen! So I am hopeful that something will indeed change for the better.
In the UK the Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron conjunction is atop the midheaven at the moment of ingress, and trining the ascendant. As with the US chart, the triple conjunction sits on one of the most influential angles in the chart. There is a cleansing and changing of the UK’s image to itself and to the rest of the world in process. (I’ll go into this in more detail in the next section.) The ingress chart for the UK indicates a more positive self-image over the next three months, so we may see more good news than we’ve been getting lately in this context.
Pluto in Capricorn
As I wrote last time, there were signs that the past month has seen the end of an era. We can only really see these things with hindsight, but I would venture to say that an old paradigm finally bit the dust and that the ways we collectively see finance and our relationship with the material world have irrevocably altered. Pluto changed direction on September 10 and is moving very slowly forward in the first degree of Capricorn, again, a cardinal sign. Thus it squares the Sun on the ingress chart adding to the intensity of this quarter. A new era is beginning right now.
Some countries are more affected by Pluto in Capricorn than others. The UK is strongly Capricornian and has been undergoing a major shake-up since Pluto entered Capricorn. As a major home of financial services the UK did very well in the boom years, and has suffered from the recession more than similar nations. The country shows the two sides of the Capricorn archetype. On the one hand it is a highly materialist culture which places high value on physical comfort and financial security. On the other (and in this historical time frame, this aspect is more hidden) it is a magical, mystical place of manifestation, out of which emerges an intense creativity and a natural earth-centered spirituality. These two identities often appear to be in opposition. A substantial counterculture supporting individual freedom, environmentalism and living close to the earth has arisen over the past few decades in direct proportion to increasing regulation and the heavy-handed nature of government. The clash between the various forms of this internal opposition looks set to get much more intense over the next few years.
Saturn Uranus opposition
The third pass of the Saturn Uranus opposition on September 16 coincided, aptly, with a slew of media coverage on what happened a year ago with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent freefall in the markets, along with items in the UK about inevitable cutbacks to public services due to the massive debt needing to be serviced, and oppositional dialogue in the States about healthcare.
With multiple passes of a major aspect, the first announces the problem or problems to be resolved, the second (a retrograde) gives more information about what is to be done, and the third sees some kind of acceptance and resolution, as long as the right action has been taken. In this case the first opposition was on election day, November 4 2008, the second was on February 5 2009, and the third Sept 16 2009. The first occurring on election day signaled the main themes for the Obama presidency. This is playing out in two main ways: healthcare and finance.
As things stand right now it looks as if the proactive stance taken towards the potential collapse of other banks has been the correct action and has stabilised the markets. But we have to wait and see on this. Saturn and Uranus will face off one more time in Virgo/Pisces on April 26 2010, and then oppose each other in forward direction at 0 Libra/Aries on July 26 2010. By then we’ll know for sure whether the palliative treatment applied to the toxic parts of the world economy has been enough, or if more radical methods are required. In the UK the reality is stark: two years ago the tv was full of ads offering offering mortgages and loans; now the ads are for gold and silver jewelry buyers and pawnbrokers. That says it all about how rapidly many people’s fortunes have changed.
No aspect appears in isolation. During this phase we have had, and are still having, Saturn Uranus combined with Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron = healthcare reform. And Saturn Uranus combined with Pluto in Capricorn= financial change. It’s still all in play. From the astrologer’s point of view, the upcoming Saturn Pluto and Uranus Pluto squares suggest that there is more upheaval to come — that talks of green shoots are not only premature, they are false promises. However, I would like to repeat here something I have mentioned before but that few seem to be making note of: Pluto in Capricorn signifies great wealth, as well as fundamental change to the ways we organize finance. If the right changes are made now, then we could all be much better off in ten years time. If the wrong ones are made, then the UK may indeed suffer a Japanese style lost decade, while the oligarchy of the super-powerful becomes very wealthy at the expense of the people. These are tricky times, and we need the smartest leaders we can find.
Lammas/Lughnasad traditions plus August 5 Lunar Eclipse, Third Saturn/Uranus opposition, Mercury retrograde and much more!
To people who have been reading me forever — this first section on Lammas traditions is almost identical to previous years — but if you scroll down you’ll find new information on the specific energies of this year and the major astrological happenings for the next seven weeks.
Lammas/Lughnasad Traditions
Of all the ancient festivals, Lammas is the least recognized in today’s world. Yet the significance of this window in time lives on, and we can see vestiges of Lammas in the craft fairs and green gatherings that happen in early and mid-August.
Lammas is the third cross-quarter day in the ancient year. The cross-quarter days were always understood to be the most powerful energy portals in the year. The annual cycle begins with the spiritual birth of the year at Imbolc, followed by the onset of fertility at Beltane (May Day), the harvest and the peak of power and maturity at Lammas, and the celebration and recognition of death at Samhain (Hallowe’en).
Each festival has its own place in the alchemical process of maturity. At Lammas, the psychological alembic, the vessel of individuation, heats up. Authentic creativity is at maximum potential. If you’re living in the Northern Hemisphere in full summer, and you’re too hot to do much, make notes when ideas pop into your head.
The Celts celebrated the deep heat of summer and the first harvest in the festival of Lughnasadh, named for the Irish Sun-God Lugh, honored as a solar deity throughout the Celtic world from Ireland down to southern France. The Day of Lugh is an ancient day of celebration of the marriage between the Sun and the Land. This is the period when the sun peaks and is on the brink of waning in power. The days begin to shorten, while the temperature of the land is at full heat from the summer sun, and the crops ripen in the fields.
In ancient Britain this holiday was known as Lammas, which means loaf-mass in Old English. Priests blessed the first bread baked from the first wheat harvest.
The bittersweet joy of Lughnasadh/Lammas is the equivalent of our emotional and physical experience of midlife when we are still full of energy, yet only too aware that the passage of time is a reality that bypasses no one. The year has moved beyond the adolescent rushing energy of the spring, celebrated at Beltane by giddy dancing and wild sexuality. At Lammas the energy is steadier, mature, knowing. Here we pause to savor the fruits of past labor, to acknowledge the fullness of life and the bounty of the physical realm while knowing that our work is not yet finished. It’s time to deeply relax before the effort of the autumnal harvest.
The main ritual/meditation themes for Lammas/Lughnasad are creativity and gratitude. In Ireland the traditional Tailtean craft fairs are still held at this time, named for Lugh’s foster mother, Tailte. Lugh was a highly skilled entity who had to prove his skills in many crafts in order to get into Tara, the Irish Realm of the Gods, so it’s befitting that this day should honor craftspeople.
In Britain, Lammastide was the traditional time of year for craft festivals and parades by the medieval guilds to celebrate and advertise their wares. The harvest of crafts was celebrated along with the wheat and barley harvests.
Lammas is a good moment to take some time to focus on your creative projects. What in your life is ready to bear fruit, to be harvested? August is a good time to shepherd this work to the next stage, applying finishing touches, planning how you will take it to the market place. The harvest season continues for another three months (until Samhain/Hallowe’en/Day of the Dead in late October/early November) and so there is time to market your wares, earn the reward, and store supplies for the coming winter.
The rhythm of the seasons runs deep in our bones, and flowing with it adds a good deal of power to our activities. For a ritual at Lammas to celebrate and bless your work, you can gather the tools of your trade and make an altar, asking for whatever you need to ensure a strong harvest for this season and the coming years.
Colors associated with Lammas are red and gold, bronze and yellow. Traditional activities include bread-baking, dancing, feasting, and rolling a lighted wheel of St Catherine down a hill. In Ireland couples could take the vows of Tailtean marriage, which last for a year and a day and do not have to be sanctified by a priest.
Lammas This Year
The standard date for Lammas is usually given as August 1 or sometimes August 2. However, the actual midway point between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, at 15 degrees of Leo, occurs a little later, this year on August 7. If you want to do a Lammas/Lughnasad ritual, choose a time within this window, August 1-7.
This year, the Lunar Eclipse at 14 Leo/Aquarius with the Full Moon on August 5 gives us a great time for a meditation or a ritual, especially as in the hours following the eclipse the Moon first of all trines Mars (good for focused thinking and action) then over the course of Aug 6 conjuncts Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron. It’s a spiritually expansive time. Full Moons are also of course traditionally the time for parties.
August in the Northern Hemisphere is collectively seen as the time to take a vacation and deeply relax. The lazy, pleasure-loving Leo Sun encourages us to play and hang out with our friends, children, and other loved ones. Leo also loves romance, and this is a great time to start a new relationship or bring back the romance in an existing one.
The Planets August 2 — September 22
Aug 5: Lunar Eclipse, see previous section.
In mid-August Mars is the main player, with a cascade of aspects: Aug 10 square to Saturn, Aug 13 trine to Jupiter, Aug 15 trine to Jupiter/Chiron, Aug 17 trine to Neptune, Aug 18 square to Uranus, Aug 26 opposes Pluto. When Mars gets a lot of aspects there tends to be news about warfare, and sometimes other types of violence. Certainly people are likely to be on edge, so don’t take things personally and meditate/quieten inside as much as you can to compensate for the prevailing moods, and work and exercise safely but fiercely to integrate the Martian energy in a healthy way.
Aug 20: New Moon at 27 Leo 32. Just before it renews, the Moon opposes Jupiter, Chiron, then Neptune, and immediately afterwards, trines Pluto. A powerful window to seize, because the rest of the week is not so great with Mars squaring both ends of the Saturn Uranus opposition before opposing Pluto, and Mercury conjuncts Saturn on Aug 18.
Aug 22 Venus trines Uranus and….
Aug 23 Sun trines Pluto. Two potentially good days!
Aug 26 Mars opposes Pluto (see above)
Sept 6: Mercury goes retrograde until Sept 29. You know the drill.
Sept 11: Pluto turns direct at 0:39 degrees of Capricorn, ready to really shake things up this winter! The energies at a Pluto station can feel intense, pulling one into shadowlands. Just keep your awareness, and wish all beings the best.
Sept 15/16: And now we come to the main course: The astronomical event coloring this whole period is the third pass of the five Saturn Uranus oppositions, exact on September 15/16. (See my longer post on the opposition here) So far the oppositions have had a major impact on the financial sector. This time the opposition packs quite a punch with multiple aspects set off at the same time. The opposition coincides with Saturn inconjunct Neptune, Uranus inconjunct Venus, and Venus opposing Neptune. The Sun is close by at 23 Virgo moving within the next two days to the exact conjunction with Saturn and opposition to Uranus. The Moon is conjunct Venus. With Venus so involved, this has to be about money, and possibly also the death or big news about a Venusian celebrity. The Moon is balsamic, i.e. about to become new, (on Sept 18). The Moon is right at the tail end of its cycle, and as on Sept 16 the Moon is conjunct the spiritual cleansing triumvirate of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron. I think this signals the end of an era.
That’s all I have time for this time — am very busy with projects and moving house! Be well, everyone!
love and blessings,
Lara
