Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash
August of 2023 is hardly as august as it would like us to believe. With Venus retrograding the whole month and Mercury joining her backward motion from August 23, we are entering a turbulent month. To make it even more paradoxical, the first day of the month takes place on a Full Moon, which symbolizes ending, rather than a beginning.
But as always, when things are upside down and reversed, it gives us an opportunity to see things differently, place the camera in a different angle, and notice aspects of our lives we failed to see before. In addition, the Full Moon on Aug 1st is the Biblical Day of Love, boasting the Moon in Aquarius (sign of humanity) opposite to the Sun in Leo (sign of love). It is a great day to spend with friends you love or develop friendship with your lover. The Jewish holiday of love was celebrated at the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (516BCE – 70CE) and is still called Tu B’Av since Tu is the 15th day of the month of Av, the Babylonian and Jewish month which means “Father.” Leo after all, is the king of the zodiac, the benevolent protective father. The Sabian Symbol of the Full Moon: A popularity that proves ephemeral.
Venus Retrograde
Venus started her apparent reverse motion on July 23 and will continue until Sep 5 (including stationary days). Things that relate to relationships, finances, justice, and design, demand a great deal more focus as they can get convoluted and challenging, demanding a redo. That is good news for the terrible laws the ultra-religious and ultra-right government just passed in Israel, curtailing democracy as well as the will 2/3 of Israelis. Since it was passed during retro Venus, there are two options: 1. It would be undone 2. Civil War (Venus represents peace and when she is reversed she can lead to war). In the US we saw it play with the Hunter Biden trial, where the judge sent the parties to renegotiate the plea deal. Again, during Venus retrograde it is best to engage only in actions that has a prefix “RE” before, like redo, renegotiate, revisit, redo, reedit etc.
Since the retro takes place in Leo, it can be somewhat melodramatic, as if we were cast in different roles of tacky soap opera. Things can be extra intense around August 8 when Venus conjuncts the Black Moon as she descends into the underworld. It can get heavy on your relationships, finances, and self-worth. On August 13 Venus becomes the Morning Star and a new cycle of the goddess of love begins. In addition, we have another Full Moon on Aug 31 – the Harvest Full Moon, one of the most powerful lunation of the year taking place when both Venus and Mercury are retrograding. Indeed, August is a Lunatic month.
Mercury Retrograde
Between August 23 to Sep 17, Mercury retrogrades in Virgo, his sign of exaltation, it is a bit better than other retros since Mercury is stronger. However, watch your health, diet, routine, and relationships with coworkers, employees, and whomever you serve or serves you. Also, your pets might act out and maybe have some issues on their own (yes, animals also suffer from retros). As always, Mercury retrograde is not a good time to sign documents and start new projects, especially between August 23 to Sep 5, when Venus and Mercury join hands and tango together in reverse. Nevertheless, you could start something new if you tried before and failed to accomplish it.
- August 1 (Full Moon in Aquarius): This is the biblical day of love where people since the second temple celebrated romance. A great day for a date (I know Venus is retro). Love and romance are in the air, do something special with a friend or a lover. You might feel a push and pull between the need to be with your children and your company; lovers and friends; your will versus others’.
- August 1 – 2 (Mercury opposites Saturn): Everyone and everything feels so serious and complicated, but it can also manifest as sadness, brooding, and negative thinking. Don’t take your thoughts too seriously.
- August 1 – 3 (Mars trines Jupiter): This is an uplifting aspect that is stronger August 2 and 3 and can help you add some major chords to the gloominess of the former aspect. A perfect time for physical activity, leadership, and initiation of projects that relate to education, travel, mass media and publishing.
- August 6 – 7 (Sun squares Jupiter): Too much, too fast. Be careful of excesses, greed, and gluttony.
- August 8 – 10 (Venus squares Uranus): Craziness, chaos, unpredictability. New relationships or contacts you make these days should be taken with a grain of salt. A general sense of anarchy with finance and relationships.
- August 8 (Venus conjuncts Lilith): You might feel as if your ex or their new partner is giving you the evil eye. Jealousy, envy, paranoia, and mistrust. If you have a fight with your partner in work or in life, stop the deliberations or arguments and resume in a few days. Today there is no resolution. Also watch for sketchy money-making deals.
- August 8 (Lion Gate): This is a numerological date of 8-8. The Tarot card of Leo is the numbered 8 in the Major Arcana (Strength) and it is also the time when the brightest star of the sky Sirius comes closer to Earth and aligns with Orion’s belt. This alignment happens every year (July 28 – August 12) but August 8 is the official date. Sirius is the higher octave of our Sun, the spiritual center of our heavenly neighborhood.
- August 9 – 10 (Mercury trines Jupiter): A good time for connecting analytical and wholistic thought; engineers and philosophers. Your left and right hemisphere are in harmony. Ideas and opportunities are everywhere like low-hanging fruits.
- August 13 (Sun conjunct Venus): Apollo and Venus come together in a parade of beauty. It is a glorious day to go on a date (someone you met before Venus went retro, or a past relationship that didn’t work before). A good time for an artistic project.
- August 16 (New Moon in Leo): The royals are out parading themselves. A good time to start a creative project, get pregnant with a child or a project, start a new hobby or a sport. An entertaining day so don’t spend it alone.
- August 15 – 16 (Sun squares Uranus): Disruptions and unpredictability. Don’t plan too many projects and chores for today. Humor, laughter, and jokes can elevate the tension.
- August 17 (Sun conjunct Lilith): The Sun shines upon someone in your life that serves the Mother of Demons. We all are in danger of slandering, seeing the worst in people and acting out of fear. Take long baths with salt water and connect to a tree that can anchor you.
- August 15 – 17 (Mars trines Uranus): This aspect favors relationships with friends who are leaders, outspoken, opinionated, and independent. Good for technology and ecommerce.
- August 21 – 25 (Venus squares Jupiter): Be careful not to smother people around you, especially partners in work or in life. Avoid trying too hard to pacify and please people around you.
- August 15 – 25 (Trine between Pluto, Mars, Uranus): This is a golden trine of luck and synchronicities. Use it to make things happen and ground innovation, action, and investments.
- August 23 (Sun enters Virgo): For the next 30 days we are all Mary Poppins. We have magic as long as it is used to serve others. Pay attention to your diet, health, employees, work, and pets.
- August 21 – 23 (Mars opposes Neptune): Boost your immune system, as this aspect can bring about disease and ill health. There is deception, lies, violence, and confusion. Take heed.
- August 23 – 24 (Mercury stationary): Yes, here we go again. Mercury is stationary. Worst time to start a project. Things you do today may get stuck for a long time.
- August 25 (Mercury retrogrades until Sep 17): Avoid signing documents and starting new projects. This retro can cause trouble in health, diet, work and with employees or coworkers. If you have pets, they too might feel the retro. A great time for editing and returning to projects you dropped before.
- August 25 – September 17: We have all the outer planets (Pluto, Uranus and Neptune) as well as the social planets (Saturn, Jupiter) and in addition Venus and Mercury all retrograde with Chiron joining the reverse march of the heavens. It is not easy to have so many of the celestial guides in retrograde. This can cause delays, frustrations, and mistakes. However, our inner world is fertilized by intuition, dreams, synchronicities, and magic. It is as if we are entering a liminal place where the supernatural can happen.
- August 23 – 26 (Mars trines Pluto): The two rulers of Scorpio are having a ball. An auspicious time for connecting to your power and manifesting your desires. Passion, sexuality, magic, healing is all around you.
- August 26 – 27 (Sun opposes Saturn): Good father opposite to the bad father. The giver and taker, the mentor versus the evil boss. There could be someone around you repressing your self-expression. Make sure it is not you or that you don’t do it to someone else.
- August 27 (Mars enters Libra until October 12): Mars doesn’t feel comfortable in his sign of exile. You might feel tired, depleted, angry, indecisive. It is a good time for the redesign of projects, art that demands muscle, and fighting for peace or for your partner.
- August 28 – 29 (Uranus stationary): A bit of chaos as Uranus, “El Loco,” is changing directions. With mercury and Venus retrograding, electronics, machines, computers might act crazy.
- August 30 (Uranus retrogrades until Jan 28, 2024): Rebel without a cause, unpredictability, Stranger Things vibe. There could be false awakening or misguided “calls of action.”
- August 31 (Harvest Full Moon in Pisces): One of the most important Full Moons. You are harvesting what you planted in your life in March – May. A great time for meditation, cleanse, detox, dance, yoga, and make sure you do it with a community.