Stellar Insights: August 20 - 26, 2018
Photo by Samuel Zeller via Unplash
With messenger Mercury now direct, communication and connections may feel like they have some traction. All the reviewing we’ve done in the past three weeks related to how we approach gathering and sharing information may be yielding fruit, and we could find ourselves starting to share more clarified ideas with others. We may also find ourselves with access to facts and figures this week that were previously not accessible.
All the while, it may not feel like the time to fully propel ourselves into action, with our newfound insights. After all, Mars is in the last week of its current retrograde cycle, set to shift forward next Monday (August 27).
Invoke patience this week. As much as you may want to spring forward, continue instilling stillness in how you orient. Move slowly as you traverse through space and also see if you can take the time to continue to reflect upon what you have learned in the past two months in the realm of Mars-inspired lessons: what energizes you and what depletes your energy; how and where to direct your aim; what it is that you truly desire and why; what galvanizes the fighting spirit within you and what do you do when you connect to that flame; and how you handle frustrations and relate to your anger. Key in on which of these arenas were hot for you this season, going back over these themes and what understanding emerged within them for you since June.
I do really feel like taking the time to gather this understanding this week will pay off in spades. Once Mars moves direct, we can take these insights and integrate them into a holistic orientation that will help us to feel that we are supported by a stronger foundation as we pursue what ignites and enlivens us.
The Sun shifts signs this week, moving from heart-centered Leo to methodical Virgo early August 23. Until then, see if you can soak up the play, joy, and creativity that Leo radiates. As this lights you up, not only may the experience feel enlivening but may also serve as seeds that you can plant and harvest during Virgo Season (August 23 – September 22). Over this time, you can take the artistic inspirations you’ve gathered in the last little while, and by applying organizational principles, give practical expressions to crafted new forms of beauty. (I’ll be posting more on Virgo inspirations in the coming week, when I share my Stellar Beauty monthly colab with Devin Jones as well as my new AstroBotanica colab with floral designer Alexandra Abuza; these will be featured in next week's Elixir email).
The Pisces Full Moon offers its illuminating rays on Sunday, lighting up our awareness when it comes to healing, being of service, and how to integrate the practical and imaginative. As this Sun and Moon are anchored by both Saturn and Uranus, it seems like this lunation can help us to invoke innovation as a means for giving shape to something that we’ve been working on. Remembering that rules and guidelines can actually be supportive of freedom, rather than antagonistic to it, feels important. If you’d like more on the Full Moon, including wellness tips, you can see my further reflections here.
With the Venus/Pluto Square arriving Sunday, we may also find ourselves turning our attention to what and who we love, examining these in more probing ways. If volcanic feelings of jealousy or envy arise, before letting these erupt onto the entire terrain of your orientation, sit with the feelings and see from where they may stem and what they are highlighting; doing so may allow for some beautiful healing. Additionally, it's a time when we may find ourselves immersed in the topic of money, values, and richness; taking a deeper look at how measure your worth--notably your self-worth--may unearth hidden treasures of insights.
To come back to something that I shared earlier (itself a very retrograde notion), remember too that as we approach and move through the weekend that Mars is really slow (as it sets to shift directions) and therefore its archetypes may be especially conspicuous. And given that Mars is in Capricorn, the flavor of what we perceive may be colored by this sign. As such, we may notice more prominently themes of warriors; battling government or business officials; the patriarchy; disciplined approaches to readying for action/movement; sharp objects; heightened economic activity; the galvanization of blueprints; and fights involving standards, principles and/or the rule of law. While many of these are collectively oriented experiences, some may be invoked personally; therefore, be diligent when you’re having experiences related to speed, fire, objects that can cut, and asserting ones will, just so that you don’t find yourself connected to ignited Mars energy in ways that could not as favorable as others.
Astrological Highlights
August 23
* Sun enters Virgo
August 25
* Sun/Uranus Trine
* Sun/Saturn Trine
August 26
* Pisces Full Moon
* Venus/Pluto Square
Dates noted reflect Eastern Daylight Time