August 2007: Adjusting Your Actions and Taking Time to Have Fun

The month of August 2007 begins with the first two days focusing on marking adjustments in how you want to take action and how you want to implement yours plans. Mars in Taurus forms a quincunx to Pluto retrograde on August 1st and Mercury in Cancer forms a quincunx to Pluto retrograde. When two personal planets make a quincunx to Pluto within such a short time period, it’s important for you to think about your immediate situation and how you want to enjoy feeling that you are making sound decisions in your life. These decisions are not just personal, but they also include your family. You may feel a little tired these two days but perhaps that’s because you’ve been working too hard and not taking the time to relax. You may even feel that your family hasn’t been supportive in some of your decisions. But, perhaps they haven’t totally understood your actions or why those actions are important to you. As Mercury moves into Leo on August 4th, you’ll find it easier to relax. You’ll find it easier to clarify matters. You’ll also find it easier to communicate with others through using words of encouragement.

This is an important shift of energy because on August 6th, Saturn forms a trine to Pluto retrograde and Jupiter turns direct.

Saturn forms a trine to Pluto approximately every 33 or 34 years. Depending on your age, this may be significant. There is a desire to succeed in life no matter what obstacles are placed in front of you. In mundane astrology, Saturn trine Pluto represents where countries and their people try to take back their national identity. It’s not unusual for countries to announce that they will nationalize certain industries as part of their attempt to gain back their national identity. In other cases, countries may attempt to develop economic arrangements with other nations without giving up too many concessions.

Metaphysically, this trine represents your desire to take back your own identity from the expectations of others. That’s why the significance of this trine depends on your age. If you are over 35 years of age, you’ve already experienced this trine at least once. What you may experience today could relate to 33 or 34 years ago. Think back and review the decisions you made in your life at that time. Did you make decisions based on your parents’ expectations? If so, you may want to rethink those decisions to make certain that the ones you make today reflect your needs.

It’s also easier to make decisions and move forward with Jupiter turning direct. Whenever Jupiter is retrograde, as it has been for since April 5, 2007, there’s a feeling that things you are trying to do in your life just aren’t happening as fast as you’d like them to happen. Yet, when Jupiter turns direct, suddenly things start taking off. You no longer feel that you’re stuck in a rut.

To understand how to move forward, you may want to look back to what you tried to accomplish in April, May, and June 2007. If those goals are still important, you’ll find that now you can create a plan to achieve those goals. If those goals are no longer important, you’ll be able to let go and start creating new plans.

If you were going through difficult moments over the last several months and tried to ignore them, they will now need to be resolved before you can move forward. For those of you who have your own businesses, it will be easier to implement marketing plans that lead to business success.

During the next few days, from August 7th to August 9th, you can feel excitement in the air. Mars enters Gemini on August 7th and your mind seems to operate faster. It’s easier to talk about your plans. It’s easier to see some of the wonderful possibilities. At the same time, you may talk a little too much and give away too much information. There’s a metaphysical belief that silence is a wonderful and powerful tool for focusing your energy on thoughts and achieving your goals. This could be a good day to implement that power of silence even though you want to tell the world all your schemes.

Both August 8th and 9th are days for fun. Venus retrograde re-enters Leo on August 8th and Mercury in Leo forms a trine to Jupiter in Sagittarius.

Venus entered Virgo on July 14, 2007 for a few degrees and turned retrograde on July 27, 2007. For the short period that it was in Virgo, you may have felt that you needed to spend more time on your health. However, it’s almost as if you forgot that part of having good health is to also have fun in life. Therefore, when Venus retrograde re-enters Leo, you are reminded of the importance of fun.

The same is true when Mercury forms its trine to Jupiter. You’ll feel that you can achieve anything. You may even decide that it could be a good time to take a little risk and buy a lottery ticket. Just be a little careful with your communications on August 9th. Again, there is a tendency to talk too much when Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter. If you have some important long-term goals that you want to achieve, you may feel inclined to share this information with everyone. It’s more important to be cautious and just share the information with special people in your life.

New Moons represent a time of emotional rebirth for the month. It’s a time to think about ways that you want to start over. Or, it’s a time to think of ways to bring your progress in life to the next step. This new Moon that occurs on August 12th is no different. In some ways, it’s a very intense new Moon. The Sun and Moon in Leo form an opposition to Neptune retrograde in Aquarius. When you look at the chart of this new Moon, it’s almost a see-saw of energy until you see that Jupiter and Pluto retrograde in Sagittarius forms the handle of a fan. What this means is that it’s very important for you to be realistic about your aspirations. It can be too easy for you to take actions that are based on self illusion if you lose sense of what’s really important to you in life. That’s what the handle created by Jupiter retrograde and Pluto means. Hold on to your goals by approaching them through a slow and gradual process. Understand what’s important to you and only take on those dreams that really enable you to experience your important goals. Also, be cautious with information you receive from other people. While they may not be deceiving you, they may be withholding some facts that are important to you.

This new Moon also can indicate some difficulties with the stock market that can occur between the 12th and 14th of August. Mercury forms a quincunx to Uranus retrograde and Venus retrograde forms a conjunction to Saturn on August 13th. Mercury forms an opposition to Neptune retrograde on August 14th. These are all indicators that information is erratic especially as it relates to interest rates, credit concerns, and other financial information. These are also all indicators that you may have difficulties getting other people to make important commitments. What is important is that you don’t start over analyzing your goals or accepting criticism from other people if you don’t agree with their point of view. Be very cautious with any contract negotiations as you may end up paying more than you bargained for. Perhaps with all the erratic energy occurring on these days, you may want to do something relaxing, like getting a massage or taking the day off to go to the movies with your family.

If you take the time to relax, you’ll find that it’s easier to connect with your higher spiritual self. While you may not get all the answers to your questions, you’ll at least be able to receive some clues as to where to look for those answers. It will also be easier to tune into your creative nature, especially if you’re an artist.

Life starts getting easier again between August 15th, when Venus retrograde forms a trine to Pluto retrograde, and August 17th, when Mercury forms a trine to Pluto. It’s true that when the personal planets, such as Venus and Mercury, make an aspect to Pluto, you may feel intensely passionate. Yet, that can be a good thing. It’s easier to stay focused on your goals. It’s easier to believe in your decisions. This could also be a good time to go out and meet that special someone because the intensity of the Pluto energy could increase your personal and magnetic appeal. Just be a little careful when you meet someone under a Venus retrograde. That could mean that you are going back to past habits in relationships that you’d rather not re-experience. On the other hand, it could be what is called a “pop quiz.” Metaphysically, a “pop quiz” is when you re-experience something in life for the purpose of understanding that situation is no longer valid or important to you.

On August 19th, Mercury enters Virgo. Mercury is very comfortable in its ruling sign of Virgo. You’ll find that it’s easier to focus on those small details in your life. At the same time, the Sun is conjunct Saturn and you may feel a little tired. This is not the time to criticize your actions. Rather, it’s a time to see how those actions can generate more stability.

Again, this is a day where you it’s important not to criticize actions, either yours or those of others. Rather, this is a time when you can start gathering your resources to understand what you need to do on a daily basis to achieve your goals. This is a good time to think about those “baby steps” in your life. It’s a good time to set reachable goals.

When the Sun enters Virgo on August 23rd, there’s something to be said about understanding what you need to do on a daily basis. It gives you a sense of stability in your life. It also allows you to take risks when you need to. This is the time to look at your health and make certain that you’re doing everything possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Mars does form its opposition to Jupiter a few hours later today. When Mars entered Gemini earlier this month, it started moving towards a mutable T-square that will eventually include Uranus retrograde and Pluto retrograde. However, the full impact of this T-square won’t be understood until September 23, 2007 when Mars forms the square to Pluto retrograde. In the interim, a mutable T-square can give you the energy you need to take action. It can also increase your understanding of the importance of flexibility in your life. While you may have goals to achieve, the process for achieving those goals may need to change. Basically when Mars forms an opposition to Jupiter, it’s important not to charge ahead without regard to other people involved. You may get so caught up in your decision to move ahead that you take reckless actions. As much as you want to move quickly, it’s more important to stay focused on your goals and implement them slowly.

Also, the stock market will once again be erratic over the next several days. Not only does Mars form an opposition to Jupiter on August 23rd, but Mercury forms a square to Jupiter on August 24th and Venus forms an opposition to Neptune on August 25th. Again, things are not as them seem financially. Costs for projects are higher than anticipated. Contracts are difficult to negotiate because not all the facts are evident.

When Mercury forms a square to Jupiter, it will also begin a mutable T-square. As with the other mutable T-square formed by Mars, you need to take things slowly. You may feel confused during these days because you can’t seem to get all the information you need. You may want to move ahead but feel that other people are placing obstacles in your way. Just be cautious in how much information you are willing to give others about your plans. Moving slowly is very important right now especially since an eclipse is about to occur.

On August 28th, the second total lunar eclipse of the year occurs. According to NASA, this is a deeper event since it is the first central total eclipse since the year 2000. Since the Moon is 2.6 days shy of perigee, it will appear 8% larger than it did during March’s eclipse. The total eclipse will last 90 minutes. Due to how the eclipse will occur, the southern half of the totally eclipsed Moon will appear considerably brighter than the northern half. At the instant of mid-totality, the Moon will stand near the zenith for observers in French Polynesia.

All of North America will witness some portion of the eclipse, but western observers will get the best view. The early penumbral or umbral phases will be in progress at moonset for observers in Maritime Canada. From the eastern USA, the great Lakes region and Ontario, the Moon sets in total eclipse. Only observers to the west of the Rockies (including Alaska) will see the entire event. All phases of the eclipse are also visible from islands of the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand and eastern Australia. Various stages of the eclipse are in progress at moonrise for eastern Asia. No eclipse is visible from Europe, Africa and western Asia.

A lunar eclipse occurs at the time of a full Moon. In this case, the Sun will be in Virgo and the Moon in Pisces. Usually a full Moon period is a good time of the month to make changes in your life where you emotionally feel that things aren’t quite going the way you’d like them to go. However, during an eclipse period it’s better to move slowly and not let other people put up obstacles that prevent you from taking the actions you need to take. This is a very good time to reflect on what’s important. It’s also a good time to clean out the trash, especially in your closets and filing cabinet, which you no longer need.

Mercury forms an opposition to Uranus shortly after the eclipse. This opposition continues to emphasize the mutable T-square that involves Mercury. The full result of this T-square won’t be felt until early September 2007 when Mercury forms a square to Pluto retrograde. For this reason, you may feel scattered. You may want to pay attention to details. Yet, at the same time, it’s more important to pay attention to hidden matters. It’s also very important to pay attention to the energy that surrounds you. If you are in the right energy place for yourself, things that benefit you will happen quickly. On the other hand, if you are in the wrong energy place, you may find yourself having arguments with everyone. Be cautious, if you are in the wrong energy place, you may either be fired or somehow removed from the situation. You may think that it was unexpected but in reality you may even feel relieved.

The month of August ends with Mercury forming a quincunx to Neptune on August 30th. If you haven’t paid attention to details in your life, you’ll feel confused now. This is where you need to readjust your dreams. This is also where other people may try to throw you off track by either criticizing your dreams or deceiving you. This is not a good day to negotiate contracts because people will really deceive you by not providing information. But, if you take the time to make adjustments to your dreams, you’ll find that these changes can make life easier for you over the next few months.