Starwise Forecast

Remember: August birthday people are entitled to a 10% discount for Readings this month.

We enter August just a few days before the Full Moon on the 3rd.

1 – Mercury in Cancer, which can blur thoughts and feelings, will be in opposition to the deep, hidden transformations of individual and collective structures effected by Pluto in Capricorn. This opposition can leave us feeling muddled and just not up to the task, or to think or communicate things impulsively as an effort to create the impression that you are up to the task. Better to recognize the depth of the tasks and resist efforts to become despondent or react impulsively.

2 – The Sun in Leo will square Uranus in Taurus. This can also create impulsivity although not out of despondency but out of over-confidence, or in the cause of sudden new freedoms. It can also be useful for liberation and moving forward confidently. It just requires careful self-awareness and discipline.

3 – The Sun in Leo/Moon in Aquarius Full Moon opposition. This polarizing challenge is always between the conscious identification with one’s individual authority, or the projection of such on leaders, and the unconscious, instinctual need to attune to a collective, humanitarian, egalitarian group consciousness and brother/sisterhood.

Later Mercury in Cancer will oppose Saturn in Capricorn. Similar to the challenges on the 1st. Here there will be more of a tension with the need to knuckle down and do the hard work that is required.

4 – Mars in Aries will square Jupiter in Capricorn. Mars rules Aries so his energy is very dynamic there, although prone to aggressivity and impulsiveness. Tensions with Jupiter usually result in exaggerated over-confidence rather than restrictions, and that may well be the case here. Jupiter is in Capricorn, however, a rather serious restrictive sign, so there can be a bit of both. Jupiter in Capricorn does need to move from material success to ‘progressively loftier spiritual goals.’ This confrontation with Mars in Aries could confront or ‘bring to a head’ lessons that have already been brewing.

Later in the day Mercury will move from watery Cancer into fiery Leo.

7 – Venus moves from airy Gemini into watery Cancer.

10 – Mercury, newly arrived in Leo, will square Uranus in Taurus. Mercury in Leo can be self-absorbed in its mental attitudes, thinking the world revolves around him. Mercury/Uranus contacts always create heightened intuition and new freedom in thought and communications. With a square, however, that self-absorbed tendency can also impulsively react in ways that are ultimately damaging rather than liberating. So far this kind of danger seems to be a theme in this early part of the month.

13 – And the aforementioned theme continues. Mars in Aries, dynamic but potentially aggressive and impulsive, will square Pluto in Capricorn, the deep, hidden, unconscious transformation of structures within our individual and collective lives. Pluto is the ‘higher octave’ of Mars and there is always the danger of great violence or great breakthroughs when they engage.

16/17 – Finally some harmonious opportunities for a few of the planets to express themselves.

On the 16th the Sun in Leo will harmonize with, trine, Mars in Aries. On the 17th Mercury in Leo will harmonize with Mars in Aries and then conjunct the Sun in Leo.

So, a lot of fiery Leo/Aries mutually supportive harmonious energies being afforded these three planets. This could aid one’s individual creative spirit and autonomy to express oneself, and could aid the functioning of our collective leaders to do so as well on our behalf.

18 – First, Venus, newly arrived in Cancer where she is concerned with home, security and opportunities to feel caring and nurturing, will harmonize with, sextile, Uranus in Taurus which is collectively trying to help us to be liberated from obsessions with material/financial realities so that we can we feel the love which is obscured by those obsessions. With this aspect we can really, individually and collectively, put some real caring and feeling into it.

Later we will have the Sun/Moon in Leo New Moon conjunction. A time to align conscious and unconscious in a rededication towards what creative and inspired acts of leadership are required in the year ahead.

19 – Mercury moves from fiery Leo into earthy Virgo.

22 – The Sun moves into the month of Virgo.

24 – On the 4th Mars in Aries squared Jupiter in Capricorn. On the 13th Mars squared Pluto in Capricorn. Today it completes the trio of tensions with these slow-moving outer planets in Capricorn (a large part of the Astrological themes of 2020) by squaring Saturn in Capricorn.

Now Saturn will try to restrict Mars’ energy, especially in the serious ‘all work and no play’ sign of Capricorn, which Mars will tend to have to accept, until frustration builds up and he breaks free, shooting the energies in different directions, often in a destructive way. Here is Hilarion’s* advice in handling this tension:

The secret here is the balancing-off of the restrictive tendency of Saturn against the expansive, not to say explosive tendency of Mars. If the individual can learn to find the mid-point between these principles, balance in the life pattern is possible. (End Quote)

So, we might bear that in mind on individual and collective levels around this time. Although, these Mars in Aries/Capricorn tensions are likely to be a dominant theme this month. Things could heat up, or there could be some interesting breakthroughs.

25 – Mercury in Virgo will harmonize with, trine, Uranus in Taurus. Harmonious Mercury/Uranus aspects always provide an opportunity to ‘think outside of the box,’ heighten intuition, and communicate in new and unconventional ways. Today Mercury will be aided by being in the sign it rules and can apply very detail-oriented, intelligently analyzed understandings in the cause of Uranus in Taurus’ mission of choosing the ‘love over the money.’

Later, Venus in Cancer, which does care about home and family but can also get carried away emotionally, will move into opposition with Jupiter in Capricorn which can be very materially successful but needs to transform material fixation to progressively higher spiritual goals.

An opposition like this is likely to bring out their worst sides, but so that they can be seen for what they are and consciously make the effort to choose the higher aspects.

27 – This is the day to float down the river or on a lake, or to bring the family together in the interest of love, forgiveness and compassion.

Venus in Cancer will harmonize with, trine, Neptune in Pisces.

29 – Earlier this month we had a trio of tense squares between Mars in Aries and Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn.

Today we have the first of three harmonious/trining aspects with these Capricorn planets with Mercury in Virgo. Today it is with Jupiter in Capricorn. The two to follow will take place in the first week of September.

To me in these trines there is a sense of the unavoidable Capricornian work at hand setting the dominant theme this year being able to work out some intelligent factual details to aid in their aim of transforming the structures of our individual and collective lives. A likely relief after all of the arguments and tensions and perhaps violence that the Mars squares are likely to activate.

30 – We approach the end of August, however, with Venus and Mercury running into oppositional tension with some pretty powerful slow-moving, archetypal transpersonal planets.

First, Venus in Cancer will oppose Pluto in Capricorn. Like I said earlier, Venus in Cancer is emotionally oriented towards home and family, but can also get ‘carried away’ with those emotions. That tendency and that focus is going to be challenged by the Plutonian deep, secret ‘God of the Underworld,’ planet of complete death/rebirth transformation which one cannot avoid.

Later, Mercury in Virgo, which is very intelligent and analytical but prone to being critical and over-reliant on intellect, will move into opposition to Neptune in Pisces, the planet that dissolves everything it touches, especially in the watery sign of Pisces which is ruled by Neptune.

The best advice is to be aware that your normally well-functioning intellect may be challenged, confused or deluded by some deep emotional feelings and vulnerabilities which you can’t think or talk your way out of. Better to quiet the mind and learn to listen to and trust those feelings, or at least acknowledge their power and depth. Moving to a mystical ‘no-mind’ kind of space in whatever way affords that for you would be a good endeavor today.

Blessings,
Steffan Vanel

1. Astrology Plus by Hilarion, the book which I am always quoting from and has been out of print for some time, is now available as an EBook on Amazon.
2. Nations can be found at this link