Make hay while the sun shines in August. As well as some hairy aspects next month, Mercury goes retrograde. PLANET REPORT: August will be a busy month with planets zipping through signs bringing variety and a kaleidoscopic landscape. By contrast, September is going to be one of those roller-coaster months full of delays. Take action now while the cosmic weather is calm. Mercury will be retrograde then making it a priority to finalise important details now - or else wait until the end of September. We will start to get clues and omens from August 18th when we enter into the shadow sphere of this phase. The beginning of August was intense, particularly within relationships, when an emotional Venus opposed staunch Pluto from 1st to the 3rd bringing deeper issues into the open – good communication and an open mind would have helped avert long term rifts. The third of three, the Full Moon of the 6th is another lunar eclipse. In Aquarius (12:56pm NZT), this is the last in this series of eclipses in fixed signs (the new season that began in July will occur in cardinal signs from now on). Setups and plans that began in late January ’09 will reach a culmination with this Full Moon and with Mercury travelling through scrutinising Virgo, we may need to scale back on the larger expectations that we had back then. The karmic North Node, representing both our personal and global soul journey, also enters new territory, Capricorn, for the first time since December 2007. A subtle shift will commence that will operate in the background until March 2011. With Mercury travelling through its own sign Virgo from the 8th to the 26th, this is a good time to look at the smaller details of everyday life. From commercial activities to writing projects to connecting with people, our analytical powers can be enhanced by the discerning influence of Virgo. It can also get too bogged down in detail and nit-picky especially around the 17th and 19th when it connects with Saturn – decisions are hard with so many choices. This is a good time to scale back and work toward restructuring that is efficient and basic but try to keep some room to manoeuvre – this period will finish eventually; the health of projects can be improved by taking a closer look at what can be streamlined or discarded as unnecessary. The period between the 3rd and the 8th was particularly good for this. Mercury moves into Libra on the 26th, the same day as Mars shifts into emotional Cancer, making the latter part of August a touch-and-go time when objectivity can get bogged down by emotional rumination that masks the bigger picture. The Sun joins Mercury in Virgo on the 23rd at 11:40am (NZT). The New Moon occurs in the last degrees of Leo on the 20th at 22:03 suggesting even further that unfinished business needs to be attended to over the following lunar month.
ARIES: Until the 26th your ruler Mars zips along in Gemini making this a busy month for communications and short journeys. You may find yourself handling documents, writing letters or proposals, making phone calls, working on an assignments or thesis, or much busier in your neighbourhood than usual. After the 26th, hold on to your hat as storm clouds start gathering when Mars moves into your domestic sphere. If you are dressed for the emotional weather, you will sail through this phase while the people around you are getting wet. This phase also sets the tone for the coming months so look at the positive side and try to set old grievances to rest.
TAURUS: What you own or earn is important to you this month and despite the choices or options, you will need to think hard and then act quickly (by the 18th if possible) before Mercury goes off air next month. Be diligent and pay attention to the small details which are embedded within the larger context of your activities. The females in your life can prove good value with their insights, ideas or advice. Over-the-top situations in your home life may throw you off-track around the 15th but you can stop domestic, family or career situations from going too far if you can scale back expectations and keep details in perspective. The emphasis shifts to children, romance, investments and creativity after the 27th however the chameleon New Moon then can also blur the boundaries or create a smoke-screen.
GEMINI: It has been a busy time for Gemini-folk with Mars powering through your own sign. Mars remains in Gemini until the 26th but after that it shifts into murkier waters within Cancer; how to channel energy becomes less clear and we will tend to go inward and become less objective. Harness the intellectual spark of energy while you can and stock up on the ideas or initiatives that have been pouring in. It is also important to keep your energy focused rather than scattering yourself far and wide otherwise little of value will be achieved. Your ruler Mercury goes off air in September highlighting family and domestic situations that have been going on in the background of your life since December 2007. You will become very much aware of how structures and relationships have changed in this time.
CANCER: August is the calm before the storm. With Mars set to move into your sign on the 26th, your life will become much more public and out there than it has been. At the moment, it is the behind-the-scenes activities that are keeping you busy but once the energising effects of Mars comes into play giving you a huge push via people, events or your own initiatives, who knows where life will lead you. Mercury also goes off air in September and will follow a zig-zag path first within your home and domestic sphere and then back into your thinking and communications areas. This means that what takes place up until the 25th won’t be finalised until late September. Try to use the first weeks of August to tie up loose ends but if not prepare to put major decisions or agreements on hold until the way becomes clearer.
LEO: The Sun opposes big-thinking Jupiter between the 13th and 15th from your own sign leading to a heightened sense of optimism that in turn leads to inflated expectations or taking on more than you initially thought you could handle. Be careful what you promise to undertake or invest in as there is more to life than meets the eye now and life will follow a strange path as the month wears on. This is even more important with Mercury entering its shadow phase before it completely tunes out in September. There is also a nebulous New Moon on the 20th that will throw a smokescreen across previously defined situations. For Lions, financial concerns are where this focus will be. Money that you come by through your own efforts or because of expenses that need to be met will be where you need to focus. Avoid spending too much and budget appropriately.
VIRGO: With your ruler Mercury going off air from September 7th and zig-zagging through your own sign, August is the month to knuckle down and get all the loose ends tied up in your personal ventures - or be prepared to wait until this phase has passed in late September. In your sphere of how you connect directly to your environment as well as your health and wellbeing, the spotlight is very much upon your sign and therefore you. Take care of diet and getting some rest! Somehow what you do becomes of interest to others making you feel as if you are on display in some way. Female friends and the groups and networks that you are involved with become much more important and you will find yourself drawn into a family like circle as you work toward a common goal.
LIBRA: August is preparation month that presents you with a small window in time before Mercury turns retrograde in your sign on September 7th. Try to tie up essential factors up until August 18th but after then you might consider waiting until early October. Between September 18th and October 10th Mercury will transit back into Virgo bringing what is going on behind closed doors, secret meetings or in private out into the open. Whatever is taking place now, whether on an inner level or in situations which require secrecy or contemplation, will come back for review in the latter part of October. This gives you the chance to either change key factors or give you greater understanding as facts come to light in September. Your energy has been channelled into travel or educational or philosophical pursuits but a key female could spark a volatile situation in your career or life direction.
SCORPIO: Your focus shifts from sharing, dividing or negotiating joint finances, resources or assets, or from finalising a claim, settlement, tax or insurance matter to the broader canvas of your mind or beliefs. You could follow the lead of a female in your life by investing your emotional energy into travel, educational or publishing activities to achieve a goal that could become a reality in a couple of month’s time. If you have a personal objective in mind, August is the month to sign and seal anything that requires a firm commitment but from as early as the 18th you will get clues that perhaps you should wait until early October to finalise matters if you haven’t done so by then. There will be disruptive aspects in September that could undo well-laid plans and you might be better off sitting back and waiting for these unusual developments to appear.
SAGITTARIUS: The big picture of your life comes into focus this month as you consider ways to improve your knowledge or experience. September will be an important month career-wise and with Mercury doing an about-turn then, up until August is the time to focus on finalising or committing to a certain goal. After that time, there will be too many delays or obstacles and in mid-September sudden changes can throw Gemini, Virgo, Sag or Piscean folks for a six when Saturn opposes Uranus and joins the Sun. For you this will occur in your career, reputation or parental sphere and the limitations are part of an already-in-motion set of aspects that reaches a final culmination then. If you decide to pursue a certain course keep your expectations within practical limits and only take on what you know you can handle comfortably.
CAPRICORN: Mars move into your opposite sign Cancer and into your relationship zone on August 26th. Up until then it is travelling through your health and everyday tasks sector helping you to come up with brilliant lists of ideas or strategies designed to make life easier and manageable. A key female you have teamed up with is already laying the groundwork for relationship issues to manifest later in the month and this will be your focus in September. There will be a lot of emotional content to deal with so watch what takes place between now and the end of the month in matters that relate to education, publishing, religion or travel as one or all of these areas will go through major adjustments during September. Financially, keep within your budget and avoid the temptation to splash out on big-ticket items or rely on a payout that may be smaller than you expected.
AQUARIUS: Enjoy the fun, laughter or passion that has filled your life that a child, lover or creative pursuit has created in the past month or so. By the New Moon of the 20th a new angle will appear in an important relationship in which you share assets, resources or finances. September will be the month to focus on joint money matters or situations involved mortgages, taxes or insurances, claims and settlements. Mercury in this zone and a set of hairy aspects in mid-September will draw a very different picture to what you initially expected so it is vitally important that you set the stage for a great outcome in August. By the same token, you might be better off waiting until October when all the facts and figures have revealed themselves.
PISCES: How you communicate and what you say to others will be the focus in September and key issues are developing right now that will take up all of your mental energy next month. Agreements and pacts are very important so if there are major decisions with someone who holds the key to the success of these projects, try to get the details clear by August 18th or otherwise wait until early October to follow this particular line of enquiry. Like Gemini, Sag and Virgo, you will be under a lot of stress to complete a long-standing issue that finally reaches a culmination in mid-September. Once this happens you will feel as free as a bird despite the outcome because at least this situation is done and dusted.
