August is a “6” Universal Month [8 (August) + 7 (2023) = 15 = 1+5 = 6] in a “7” Universal Year. Generally, six energy is focused on the home and creature comforts. Major conflicts of five have passed, and six energy is focused on getting creative and moving from a space of conflict to a space of comfort and agreement. This is somewhat in alignment with the astrological energy of the month (we are coming out of some rough astrological weather) but it’s wise to remember that we are not out of the weeds yet.
The Set Up
We begin the month with the Sun and retrograde Venus in Leo, Mercury and Mars in Virgo, Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus, retrograde Saturn and retrograde Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Pluto in Capricorn. The nodes of the moon have just eeked their way backward into Aries and Libra which was a major change of the guards. We are all a little bit off balance and in need of some adjustment and stabilization.
By month’s end, the Sun will have moved into Virgo and Mars will have moved into Libra. That’s it. That’s a very small amount of planetary movement as normally Mercury and Venus keep close time with the Sun. But Venus is already in her retrograde cycle (which won’t end until early September) and Mercury will retrograde before the end of the month. We are deep into retrograde season now – by month’s end we will have eight planets in retrograde and Jupiter isn’t far behind. If it feels like very little in your life is moving forward, know that you are right on time.
The Nitty Gritty
The month begins strong with a full moon in Aquarius and a sweet earth trine between Mars in Virgo and Jupiter in Taurus. Any positive connection between Mars and Jupiter is a time to work for it – to dream big and take the very real and necessary steps to bring your dreams into reality. In the earth signs, this is an especially strong time to do work around material gain – whether it be a fatter paycheck or the acquisition of property. Mars in Virgo understands the need to put one foot in front of the other and Jupiter in Taurus knows the value of quality. All of this combined with the full moon and the energy of the first of the month makes it a great day to set intentions towards building a business and other types of long-term investments into your future. The Aquarius moon is a great innovator, too, so make sure that you are thinking outside the box and including all possibilities.
Things are coming to a completion and you need to accept that. Pluto, our planet of death and transformation, has been moving backward into the tail end of Capricorn (another sign of wealth and the completion of our Earth triumvirate) where it has resided for the last fifteen years. Pluto entered Aquarius for the first time earlier this year which was another big Gong Crash – similar to the switch of the lunar nodes in July. Now, Pluto in Capricorn meets up with the lunar nodes in a cardinal t-square. Something has got to give, an old coat needs to be shed. This is happening collectively as we throw off the shackles of Pluto in Capricorn for the innovative nature of Aquarius but also within our own lives. These past three years have been a lot – we are not who we were before 2020. It is time to adapt and step into the new.
Sort of anyway. It’s more like baby steps. This is inevitably one of those times when you will start to see the division between those who have been doing the work (as this has been a major letting go cycle) and those that are a bit more mired in their own lives. Whatever side of this you are on, try to practice some kindness towards yourself. These major planetary retrogrades are yet another chance to step up and make the changes that you need to move forward.
As we enter the first weekend of August, this may be coming to the forefront. Mercury, our fast-paced messenger, enters its pre-retrograde shadow at 08° Virgo. I will be writing a post about Mercury’s retrograde so I will only touch on it briefly here, but as always there are a few highlights. Mercury will retrograde backward from 21° Virgo to 08° Virgo which means that if you have a personal planet between 08-21°, you will be directly affected by this retrograde. Additionally, it is worth noting that Mercury’s retrograde through Virgo will happen during Virgo season and will coincide with the latter part of Venus’s retrograde through Leo. We need to feel something first (Venus) and then we will need to think it through (Mercury).
The Sun in Leo will square off with Jupiter in Taurus on Sunday 8/6 – this is a day to do less and especially to pay attention to overspending or overdoing it. Both Taurus and Leo are signs that tend towards extravagances in differing ways and Leo is very bogged down by Venus’s retrograde during this time. Say less. Do less. Spend less. Stay the fuck home and thank me later.
There are a lot of undercurrents in the air and a lot of it may just seem like it is up to chance at this time. On Wednesday 8/9, retrograde Venus meets up in a square with Uranus in Taurus for the second time – this time relationships are on the chopping block. All of this Venus’ retrograde can be considered to be break-up weather and Uranus adds an air of unexpectedness to the whole affair. Yes, affairs. Beware of who you are trusting right now, all that glitters is definitely not gold. People will be in their egos, too, so fights will be explosive and unproductive. Our Sun’s trine with Chiron in Aries (exact on Saturday) shows us that all of this hurts. Chiron is always a sign to dig into the pain and to seek the lesson behind the hurt.
Egos abound even stronger on Sunday 8/13 as retrograde Venus meets up with our Sun. This is business as usual, Venus meets up with the Sun twice in every cycle – once during her retrograde and once afterward. Here she enters her “Morning Star” phase – in about a week, she will begin to appear next to the rising sun at dawn. In any case, when our hearts are filled with ego – it is hard to see clearly. Tread with caution here. Indeed, with the Sun and Venus so close together – they both form a trine to Chiron in Aries in quick succession. Altogether this may make for a very painful weekend in which we are reminded of old wounds of the heart.
On Tuesday 9/15, our Sun meets up in a fixed square with Uranus in Taurus – this is also a day to lie low and avoid fireworks of all kinds and heavy machinery if you can. Expect the unexpected. Uranus’s influence can be compared to that of the Tower card in the tarot – it can topple everything with little to no warning. With feeling raw already, this is definitely a time to avoid domestic troubles if at all possible.
And just like that we are at the new moon in Leo which will peak in the early morning hours of Wednesday 8/16 (EST) at 23°. This will likely deepen the energy of the weekend leading up as it falls within the dark of the moon. Pack your patience and your very best methods of self-care during this time. Retrograde Venus will still be closely aligned with our solar and lunar bodies and not holding any punches. This would be a great day to do some baneful (but well-deserved) magic if you dare. Any work with dark deities would also be enhanced by this deep energy.
The rest of the week holds on aspects except those made with the moon which shows that we may need to sit with things for a while.
By the following Monday, 8/21, our Sun will meet up in a trine with our North Node in Aries and a sextile with our South Node in Libra. This is the eclipse zone and one of our first real hits to the “new” doors of fate that Aries and Libra will be opening and closing for us during the upcoming eclipses later this year. It is always wise to keep your eyes wide open when the lunar nodes have been activated – you may get a glimpse into where you should be going, or (sometimes more importantly) where you don’t belong.
Retrograde Venus squares off with Jupiter in Taurus the next day which is another day to lie low and spend less. This is the second pass through this transit during Venus’s retrograde – we may be forced to come face to face with some of our overindulgence during this time. It is wise to remember during aspects like this that astrology is happening for you, not to you. Being called out on your shadow behaviors can feel really harsh but most things get managed better when they are brought into the light.
All eyes are on Virgo on Wednesday 8/23 as the Sun enters the sign of the virgin and Mercury retrogrades at 21° Virgo in the early afternoon (EST). It’s worth noting here that Wednesday is also Mercury’s day and that Mercury is the ruler of the sign Virgo. Mercury retrogrades are rarely as scary as the pulp astrology pages like to claim but they do require adjustments. Mercury rules communication, technology, and travel so we can assume that all three of these domains will be affected but their retrograde cycle. It’s not that you can’t do these things but rather that the results of your actions will be a bit more roundabout than normal. Mercury retrogrades are an important time to pack your patience and be prepared to have to rethink, rework, and reevaluate.
On 8/24, Mars in Virgo meets up in a trine with retrograde Pluto in Capricorn and we may finally get the chance to act on the changes that we have known since day 1 of the month that we needed to make. But, with our other two personal planets in retrograde, the chances won’t come easily. Dig in. Do the hard work.
On 8/27, the Sun in Virgo meets up in opposition with retrograde Saturn in Pisces which will just likely feel hard. Saturn was not particularly comfortable in the ephemeral mutable sign of Pisces to begin with and is further stymied by its retrograde. Virgo wants to put all of the pieces together into a neat whole but there is definitely something missing. Again, patience is called for here.
Additionally, Mars enters Libra, the sign of its exile. Mars needs to move independently but Libra is almost chronically codependant. This won’t play well with our egoic Venus retrograde in Leo and Mercury retrograde is out-to-lunch so talking about it is off the table here, too. Try to avoid important relationship issues at least until Venus has exited her retrograde as they are very unlikely to go well at this time.
Uranus retrogrades at 23° Taurus on 8/28. Outer planet retrogrades are not normally felt on an individual level but they do tend to add a feeling of time ceasing to exist for a few days on either time of their station.
Finally, on 8/30, we have our second full moon of the month at 07° Pisces. We are astrological savvy folks here so we know that this isn’t a true “blue moon” (which requires two moons to be situated IN THE SAME SIGN) but it still packs a double full moon punch for the month and an extra chance to let that shit go. The gods know that we need it.
8/1 – Full moon 09° Aquarius, Mercury in Virgo opposed Saturn in Pisces, Mars in Virgo trine Jupiter in Taurus
8/3 – Pluto in Capricorn square North Node in Aries/South Node in Libra (cardinal t-square)
8/4 – Mercury enters its pre-retrograde shadow at 08° Virgo
8/6 – Sun in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus
8/9 – Mercury in Virgo trine Jupiter in Taurus, retrograde Venus in Leo square Uranus in Taurus
8/12 – Sun in Leo trine Chiron in Aries
8/13 – Sun conjunct retrograde Venus 20° Leo
8/14 – retrograde Venus in Leo trine Chiron in Aries
8/15 – Sun in Leo square Uranus in Taurus
8/16 – New moon 23° Leo, Mars in Virgo trine Uranus in Taurus
8/21 – Sun in Leo trine North Node in Aries/sextile South Node in Libra
8/22 – retrograde Venus in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus, Mars in Virgo opposed retrograde Neptune in Pisces
8/23 – Sun enters Virgo, Mercury retrogrades 21° Virgo
8/24 – Mars in Virgo trine retrograde Pluto in Capricorn
8/27 – Sun in Virgo opposed retrograde Saturn in Pisces, Mars enters Libra
8/28 – Uranus retrograde 23° Taurus
8/30 – Full moon 07° Pisces