Important astrological energies for the month of August 2023:
- Venus in Leo is retrograde as the month of August begins. It went retrograde on July 22, 2023. It will remain retrograde until September 3, 2023.
- Full Moon with Sun in Leo and Moon in Aquarius occurs on August 1, 2023.
- New Moon with Sun and Moon in Leo occurs on August 16, 2023.
- Mercury in Virgo turns retrograde on August 23, 2023. It will remain retrograde until September 15, 2023.
- Full Moon with Sun in Virgo and Moon in Pisces occurs on August 30, 2023.
Living Fully
By Misty Kuceris ©2023
As August begins, Venus in Leo is still retrograde and will be retrograde throughout the entire month. Venus went retrograde on July 22nd and remains retrograde until September 3rd. During this retrograde period, you need to slow down and determine what is of value in your life. You need to decide where you are willing to make commitments that enhance your life. These commitments may involve relationships, financial matters, personal well-being…any area of your life that supports your ability to live honestly and fully…as you want, not as others tell you to live.
Also, this is a month where you’ll experience a synergy of emotions as two full moons bookend the month. About every two and a half years there are two full Moons (or two new Moons) that occur in a calendar month. August 2023 is one of those months. As the month begins, the first full Moon occurs on August 1st and as the month ends, the second full Moon occurs on August 30th. When I write about the full Moons “bookending” the month of August, this means that as the month begins and as it ends, you need to determine what to release, on an emotional level, from your life so you can move on and you can live fully.
When the full Moon occurs on August 1st, you want to emerge from any hidden crevice in your life and experience the joy of being in the world. You want new adventures. You want to play. This is because the Sun is in the sign of Leo. Meanwhile with the Moon in Aquarius, you don’t want other people telling you what to do. You want the freedom to discover your own way. While relationships are important, you realize those relationships need to support your lifestyle. You don’t want any of your commitments to become entanglements, dragging you away from what’s important in your life. Now is the time let people know what you need so they can choose whether or not to give you emotional support. By doing this, you may realize that some people are incapable of giving you the emotional support you need just as you may realize you also cannot provide them with any emotional support. If this is the case, your relationship may be an emotional entanglement that needs to be released.
After the full Moon occurs, Mars forms a trine to Jupiter and Mercury forms an opposition to Saturn retrograde. With Mars forming the trine to Jupiter you feel the freedom that comes from participating in external activities. You’re optimistic about what you can experience. You have all this energy.
Yet when Mercury forms the opposition to Saturn retrograde later in the day, you wonder if you made the right decisions regarding some of your relationships. In some cases, people you tried to move away from throw out their tentacles and try to entrap you. In other cases, you feel that you need to accept responsibility for taking care of others even if they aren’t asking for your assistance. In reality the energy of these two aspects can actually help you. Rather than letting others ensnare you or criticize your own behavior, you may find that you can clearly articulate why you need to make the choices that you did. Or, you may find that you don’t need to clarify anything to anyone.
When Ceres forms a quincunx to Jupiter on August 5th, you may need to negotiate with someone in power just so you can succeed on your next quest. Or, you may find that someone else is trying to impose their rules which don’t serve your needs. Things are not straight forward. For this reason, this is a day where you need to approach your discussions with others in a flexible manner. You also need to listen carefully to understand the true meaning behind their words. Don’t take their conversation at face value. They could have a hidden agenda. In honesty, it’s best if you don’t let them determine the next steps that you need to take.
On August 9th, Venus retrograde forms a square to Uranus and later in the day Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter. Both Uranus and Jupiter are in the of Taurus a which is ruled by Venus. For this reason relationships as well as financial matters are highly emphasized today.
So be cautious in either relationships or financial matters when Venus retrograde forms a square to Uranus. Uranus rules unexpected occurrences. Although you may have created some good plans for the day, something occurs that throws you off track. For this reason, you don’t want to take any risks. While you may be tempted to try something new, you’re better off waiting a bit. What you see isn’t really what you’re going to get. There could be hidden costs if you’re thinking about signing a contract. Or, people may decide not to follow through with commitments they made and you’re left on your own to complete the tasks.
Things may appear a bit better when Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter later in the day. But, you need to be a little cautious here as well. Mercury will be turning retrograde on August 23rd, so Mercury forming a trine to Jupiter today is one of three times this aspect occurs during this Mercury triad sequence. As it occurs this first time you may feel that you know what you want and how to get there. You may even discuss your plans with others. But, there’s something you still don’t know and it’s kind of “niggling” at you. Part of that something you don’t know may be the cost of the plans. Or, perhaps you don’t realize the actual amount of commitment you need to make in order for the plans to succeed. This also indicates there’s something you still need to develop about your plan.
When this aspect occurs the second time on September 3, 2023, don’t be at all surprised if you need to review your plans and make some important changes. You may have better insight into the actual commitment required for success. Or, you may realize that you still need better financial funding in order to succeed. At that time Mercury will be retrograde, so taking time to review the details will be critical. As a matter of fact, it won’t be until September 25th when Mercury is direct and this aspect occurs for the third time that you’ll have all the information you need.
August 11th is a good day for problem solving as Mars forms a quincunx to Chiron retrograde. With Mars in Virgo you tend to move with purpose. You do everything possible to avoid any unpleasant situations. You move slowly with intent and pay attention to your environment. You even establish an “escape route.” This means that you look at all the possibilities which could occur in order to determine the best possible solutions. You put safety and well-being first.
You continue to take care of your needs on August 14th as Venus retrograde forms a trine to Chiron retrograde. With both Venus and Chiron in retrograde motion, you find yourself re-evaluating past situations so you can move on with your life. You also find that it’s less difficult clearing up past problems.
August 16th is a day where you want to move forward with your life, yet you realize that it’s important to implement any activities more slowly than usual. This is because after the new Moon, with Sun and Moon in Leo, occurs, Mars forms a trine to Uranus, Mercury forms a quincunx to Chiron retrograde, and Venus retrograde forms a sextile to Ceres. And while those three aspects become exact after the new Moon occurs, their energy is still felt at the time of the new Moon.
With the new Moon in Leo, you want to experience life. You don’t want other people to prevent you from having fun and enjoying yourself. At the same time, the new Moon forms a square to Uranus indicating that if you move too quickly, you could run into some unexpected obstacles. Either the events you want to experience are a bit too costly, or a bit too risky. So, it’s important to temper whatever experiences you want to undertake. Uranus is also part of a grand earth trine which also involves Mercury, Mars, and Pluto retrograde, so there’s another part of you that wants to be practical. While you want to have fun, you don’t really want to take risks which could put you in any danger. This is especially true with Mars in Virgo forming the trine to Uranus.
Normally when Mars forms a trine to Uranus you are willing to try anything, except perhaps making commitments in relationships. Yet both planets are in earth signs. Instead of taking risks you may want to be more cautious than usual. You only want to take calculated risks. Calculated risks are those where you know if things don’t quite go as planned, you’re all right with that. Also, when Mars forms a trine to Uranus sometimes it means that you just want to experience a day where you make no plans, form no commitments, and totally go with the flow.
When Mercury forms the quincunx to Chiron retrograde events of the day confirm that you don’t really have that much control about circumstances today. And understanding this becomes more important because Mercury forming a quincunx to Chiron retrograde is part of a Mercury triad sequence that occurs because Mercury will be turning retrograde on August 23rd. This is a day where going with the flow can actually be a healing experience. You may not understand how going with the flow is a healing experience today. But, when this aspect occurs on August 30th with Mercury in retrograde motion and again on September 27th when Mercury is once again direct, you’ll realize that by going with the flow certain details which could have sabotaged your efforts today needed to clear up on their own before you could proceed. And, by September 27th, those details will clear up.
By the time Venus retrograde forms a sextile to Ceres you realize that by going with the flow you experienced some new adventures. You took on activities which were true to your needs. You put yourself into situations which were beneficial. You found ways to receive recognition from others while remaining true to yourself.
You feel as if you’re on a seesaw, a child’s play equipment, going up in one direct and falling down in another direct when Ceres forms an opposition to Chiron retrograde on August 20th. Ceres represents doing whatever is necessary to stay safe. It’s taking care of others. It’s making certain that your needs are met. Chiron, especially in retrograde motion and in the sign of Aries, can represent where you injure yourself by moving too quickly and trying to force matters.
Basically, Ceres represents that part of you where you need to move with deliberation and calculate every step. You want to win, especially when it comes to your relationships with authority figures. But you may get sloppy when Chiron retrograde is in the sign of Aries. You may just rush into situations without considering the consequences. This can get you in trouble. The reason that I use the analogy of a child’s seesaw is that when you go up to push matters to their maximum point, you also need to know when to fall down so you can recalibrate your efforts and achieve you maximum success.
August 22nd can be a day for drifting as well as a day of confusion as both Venus retrograde in Leo forms a square to Jupiter and Mars in Virgo forms an opposition to Neptune retrograde. When Venus retrograde forms the square to Jupiter, there’s a tendency to create grandiose plans. You are so optimistic about succeeding that you don’t consider all the consequences. You also don’t consider the costs of implementing the plan or the time commitment involved with the plan. If you want to succeed, you need to take consequences into consideration.
Mars moving into an opposition with Neptune retrograde doesn’t improve the situation. You don’t have all the facts. Other people may be trying to engage you in activities which are harmful. You need to pull back and observe rather than participate. Don’t make any major decision unless you have no choice. And, if you have to make major decisions today, try to have an escape clause where you can make changes to your decisions at a later date if you need to.
Before Mercury in Virgo turns retrograde on August 23rd, the Sun enters the sign of Virgo. With the Sun in Virgo, you want to pay attention to the details in your life. You don’t want to miss any opportunities. You’re willing to put energy into the work you do. You’re willing to do what it takes.
Later in the day, Mercury in Virgo turns retrograde. It will be retrograde until September 14, 2023. Sometimes when Mercury is retrograde in the sign of Virgo, you don’t feel like concentrating on all the details. Things just seem to slip up. At other times, matters that weren’t addressed before suddenly become more important. It’s as if those details that you missed surface again and, if not taken care of during this retrograde period, just seem to prevent you from moving forward with your life. Also, don’t be at all surprised if you find paperwork that you thought was missing.
There’s this sense of comfort that occurs on August 24th when Mars forms a trine to Pluto retrograde. You feel in harmony with your needs. You have this deep understanding of what is important to you. You know how to create a plan with realistic milestones. You have the energy to focus on your plan. If you need to let go of anything that stands in your way, it’s easy to do that. There’s no such thing as obstacles today.
When Mars enters the sign of Libra you feel a little bit off. Mars isn’t comfortable in the sign of Libra, it’s detriment. Mars likes to initiate action. Mars likes to experience life on its own terms. But, when Mars is in Libra you find that you don’t want to do anything alone. You want to be involved with other people. It’s hard being alone.
Another interesting thing about Libra. Many people think that Libra doesn’t like to fight. Rather, they feel as if all Libra wants to do is compromise. But, when Mars is in Libra you’ll fight for situations that you feel are unfair. You don’t like seeing people being abused. You want people to be treated well.
Uranus turns retrograde on August 28th and will remain retrograde until January 27, 2024. When Uranus is retrograde energy can slow down. While unexpected things still happen, they don’t seem quite as abrupt. They seem almost to occur in slow motion.
During the time period Uranus is retrograde you may want to review actions that you took earlier in the year that seemed a bit out of character. Perhaps you felt that it was important to make changes in your life. Or, perhaps you wanted to redecorate something in a way that wasn’t your style. Now you may look at that and ask yourself why you ever did that. You may even find yourself reverting back to your more conservative nature. You definitely don’t like to do anything too outrageous at this time.
When Ceres forms the quincunx to Uranus retrograde on August 29th, you need to be careful, especially in your home. It’s possible that you may have an accident because you’re not paying attention. Or, you may feel frustrated that other people aren’t willing to listen to your needs or give you help when you ask for it.
Instead, this is a better day for looking at your personal space and deciding whether you want to make changes. While this isn’t a day to implement any design changes in your personal space, it is a great day to sit down and make notes about changes that you would like. While you may not come up with final concepts, this can be a very creative day because new ideas just float up from your subconscious mind.
Before the full Moon occurs, Mercury retrograde forms the second quincunx to Chiron retrograde in this Mercury triad sequence. The first time this aspect occurred in this sequence was on August 16th when Mercury was direct.
When this aspect occurred for the first time on August 16th other astrological events, such as a new Moon, also occurred. At that time, especially since Mercury is in the sign of Virgo right now, you wanted to have control over your life. You also wanted to experience new adventures in life. Yet, with Mercury forming the quincunx to Chiron retrograde at that time, you realized that you couldn’t control everything and that it may have been better to just make no plans or commitments and go with the flow of the day.
Now with Mercury retrograde forming the quincunx to Chiron retrograde and the second full Moon of the month occurring a few hours later, you once again realize that you can’t control everything in life. If you try to do that, you could possibly cause more frustration and pain in your life than if you just let go and live a bit. You also remember how going with the flow on August 16th actually became a healing experience…the same healing experience you’re feeling today. Again, you may not have all the details you need to understand the importance of this healing experience, but you will on September 27th when this Mercury triad sequence occurs for the third time with Mercury in direct motion.
The second full Moon which occurs at the end of August is called a Black Moon by some astrologers. The reason? Unknown for me. But I find it a very apt term in this case. With the Sun in Virgo and the Moon in Pisces, you may feel as if you have to delve into the unknown to understand what you already know: It’s time to let go and release the negative out of your life. True, with the Sun in Virgo you tend to take on responsibilities, especially when it comes to other people. And, with the Moon in Pisces you want everything to be perfect (even more so than when either the Sun or Moon are in Virgo). Yet, when there is a full Moon with the Sun in Virgo and the Moon in Pisces, the main lesson is to let go of situations or people in your life that expect you to take care of their needs to the point of not taking care of yourself. This is the time to release commitments which don’t support your well-being and your ability to live honestly and fully, as you want, not as others tell you to live.
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