Generalities- This month features a Mercury station retrograde from the 20th of August to September 12th. Considering the slow motion before and after the exact station, it will be wise to act as if the Cosmic Herald is haywire from August 15th through September 19th.
Aries- Does road-rage ever get the best of you? Don’t they realize you have someplace to go, dammit! They do not get it, but yes indeed, you do have someplace to go, Furious Lamb, however, offering the sign of the unicorn will not magically make the dullards clear the way. I know the importance of your mission though, and want to suggest that your lesson, as you go swiftly about your rounds, involves how you go about getting to your destination. Consider and contrast, Aries, these two ancient adages: “The end justifies the means.” and “The means and the end are the same.” Now, get really creative and riff off of these aphorisms and make up your very own, custom, pithy phrase that will enhance your community standing as you employ it to guide your actions and re-actions during these August days of awe and wonder. Send me your new, personal, guiding bumper-sticker saying and I will publish it in the next column.
Taurus- Intoxicating fun-in-the Sun for Taur-baby in the early daze of August shifts down into a grind, focusing upon necessity and mundane matters. The shift from glory to dreary comes on or near Saturday the 7th. Why? Are you being punished for your carefree, hedonistic ways? Not at all, Gentle Bull. This is a brief, but critical phase that will allow you to incorporate your re-invigorated and reawakened creativity into new priorities and more purposeful passions. The good mojo generated by your recent play days shall now be redirected towards synergistic inter-subjective transformation. Hmmm, let’s see…think tantric sex combined with aesthetic reawakening combined with remembering how to use your magic wand. Too abstract? Spend good quality time with your very bestest friends and lovers, and the rest will happen naturally.
Gemini- Interestingly, you can learn a lot from reading the August highlights for Taurus, Gem. Subtract a smidge of the pure fun and wait until the 3rd week, and you can project yourself into situations of passionate, productive creativity. Gemini, you will be so fertile and productive, in fact, that you might want to set clear intentions and apply prophylactic protection to your co-creative endeavors, unless of course, you are ready to “be fruitful and multiply”. As a master of manifestation, you know how to turn your ideas into reality. Your powers of “making it real” are best (re-)directed starting mid-month into finishing up old projects and detailed reviews of upcoming productions because your patron planet, Mercury, will appear retrograde from August 20th to September 12th.
Cancer- Maintain your balance and reach for the stars, Crabby. No, leap for the stars! If you can keep your calm and stabilize your personal world, you will enjoy unlimited potential to make tsunami-sized waves, demonstrate supreme leadership, soar to new altitudes, ignite super-nova brainstorms, invent world-changing technologies and elucidate electrifying ideals. The cosmic spotlight is upon you, challenging you to perform impeccably, and with conviction. A crucial respite and re-evaluation phase mid-August to mid-September makes sense in the natural rhythm of things as Mercury the Messenger adjures you to come down out of the stratosphere to re-check for flaws in your thinking, and re-analyze for any potential snags. Fret not, more soaring ahead; mark the dates from Thanksgiving to Martin Luther King Jr. Day this upcoming autumn and winter as “Days of Destiny” for Cancerians.
Leo- Impatience and impulsiveness in the “I really do deserve it!” birthday phase of your yearly cycle might leave you wishing you had shown a bit more restraint when your bills come due. A Leonine lavishing of generosity may come from an outside source, but if you share assets, guess who pays anyway. Your August ‘scope reads like an old “I Love Lucy” script with one partner lobbying fiercely for an extravagant vacation and the polarized other counting on his/her fingers all the fun and relaxing things we could do (cheaply) here at home. This, or other polarizing issues, could easily escalate into a power struggle. If you are single, the war still simmers, but inside yourself. Check out the great Gollum/Smeagol debate scene in “The Two Towers” and you can appreciate how this feels. Your homework: find lots of opportunities to laugh during these dog-star days of summer, Lion-heart. You might try those priceless b&w re-runs of Lucy and Desi on Hulu or Nickelodeon for a start…
Virgo- This month features your patron planet, Mercury, doing its thrice-yearly turnaround for a month-long retrograde cycle – and here’s the exciting part – in your sign! If you can get on board with backwards-traveling Mercury’s agenda, you have the opportunity to re-fashion and upgrade the most important relationship in your life. That relationship, of course, is with you. Have you noticed your self-talk, lately? Sweet, innocent Virgoes can have a nasty habit of being cruel and self-flagellating to themselves. What you say to yourself, even in the privacy of your own head, especially in tense or disappointing situations, has a profound and cumulative effect. Time for more “put-ups” than “put-downs”! If you can affect a self-congratulatory and generously self-approving mode (that would make a Leo or Sagittarius blush) for 28 straight days you shall manifest the personality-equivalent of an extreme makeover. Let’s hear it for the renewed you!
Libra- It looks like a contest between you and Capricorn to see who gets the most out of this evolutionary growth phase. Even though Cappy got a little head start, you are settling in nicely with the arrival of the heavy-weight “helpers” in your life departments of identity and home. Either way, it’s personal and profound. If you are not breaking up, you are finding new wings and inspiration to carry you further and farther in your partnerships than you ever dared before. Unfortunately, there is no way to “nice” your way out of needful confrontations, or blithely choose to ignore the inglorious mess wriggling uncomfortably out of the dungeon of denial. Mercury’s back-dash through your Solar house of secrets will be enormously helpful with the soul-level karmic clean-up you are engaged in. Homework to facilitate the process: Ask 3 trusted friends to anonymously type and mail you a letter describing a personal habit or behavior of yours that annoys them. Ask all three to send the letters prior to the Full Moon. After receiving all three, send a form letter back acknowledging the gift of their constructive criticism and gratitude for their willingness to overlook your faults while remaining your valued friend. After the Full Moon and before the next New Moon, burn, bury or compost the letters and vow to be completely loving to all your selves, even the less admirable and un-evolved aspects. You will be setting an example for the entire society as you do this, Libra, and may we all be better for your consecrated endeavors at shadow-work.
Scorpio- We all need friends, even lone-wolf, rebel-without-a-cause Scorpions. (This goes for the socially adept and engagingly charismatic Scorps, too.) Muster some effort towards cultivating contacts and strengthening the ties with your allies prior to the Pisces Full Moon on August 24th. Make party plans for the immediate or not-too-distant future, phone your pals, meet for coffee or a walk, or buy a buddy a virtual beer on Facebook. This will ensure you all the companionship and support you might need for the next couple of months, as your personal star shines brightly and garners the attention you deserve. You are far more powerful these days with an enhanced professional and personal support system thriving and vital around you.
Sagittarius- All of that attention you have paid to career matters and that business of getting ahead, gaining increased recognition and developing an excellent professional persona should be paying off handsomely in the immediate near-future. This month signals a shift, for all work and no play makes a sulky Sag. Oh yeah, play time! Enjoy it and feel the frisk, Galloping Pony. It is even a good month for travel, your favorite pastime, provided you double-check all your arrangements and itineraries in case you go wandering after the 15th. Business matters may stall for a bit from mid-month to the middle of September, but that’s o.k. as long as (and this is important) you make sure all the details are handled and orderly before you give yourself a much-needed vacation. The momentum you have generated towards your success will pick up speed along with Mercury, so you will be riding high in the saddle come October, Centaur.
Capricorn- You were made for these times, Capricornus. Your gritty, rugged, steadfast unflappability and determination mean the most when it really matters, and boy, does it matter now. “Be excellent”, Sea-goat, and whatever you attempt will be the right medicine for these times. Not much is easy when you are up to your elbows in alligators while trying to set the standard for righteous effectiveness and at the same time trying to manage your sudden super-strength like a lone firefighter handling a full-force fire hose. Here’s my subtle suggestion for an essential ingredient to your recipe for success over the next two months: Something you need to finish hasn’t been completed yet, possibly with regard to refining a technique, mastering a tool, correctly assessing the mood of the masses, or attending to the fine print with regard to what you need to graduate, get certified or get your papers filed. As the much-lauded Master of Organization, you know better than anyone than to leave loose ends dangling – they might trip you up later.
Aquarius- You have something to say and something to offer the world, Electric One. Alas, you can be your own worst enemy, Aquarius, oft-times radically adhering to your ‘truth’ at the expense of any tact or deference. In the current phase, it might be advisable to negotiate for what you think you deserve with some sensitivity to the limitations or prejudices of your audience. The need to compromise comes not at the cost of core values, Water Bearer. Taking responsibility for your capacities to hold the broadest perspective and longest-range prescience means that you might understand others better than they understand you. Rather than allow the pain of alienation to make you prickly, utilize your keen intellect and high moral standards to ensure that your precious gifts are received – and rewarded accordingly. Its time you advance from soapbox to showcase, and get that long-overdue raise.
Pisces- Have you been over-reliant upon the kindness of others, Gentle Fish? Do you play audience to the dynamic displays of eager attention-grabbers? Is there a habit of passivity when the nearest neighbors are assertive me-firsters? Do you sleep at the wheel as long as the rent gets paid and the garbage gets picked up? Methinks you and your Swimming Kin may tread water no more. Specifically, Saturn in your solar 8th House may crimp the supply lines that have supported you so you can get that experience of self-reliance your soul desires. Meanwhile, the dynamic duo of Jupiter and Uranus in your 2nd House of talents and money make you more than capable of mining your natural, Goddess-given gifts in a most profitable manner. Enjoy new and innovative ways to show your stuff and generate prosperity through your freshly-stimulated creativity, and potent-ized personal resources!