This Month is a Time For a Healthy Reality Check
Welcome to the Monthly Astrology Snapshot for the next lunar month beginning at the new moon in Leo happening August 16th. This contains:
Overview of the Major Astrological Transits for the lunar month including a deep dive into the New Moon & Full Moon Themes.
Join my Patreon Community (starting at only $8 AUD) for a deeper exploration of these themes, horoscopes, bespoke rituals based on the more esoteric meaning of each lunation to help you harness the power of the cycles!
NEW MOON AT 23° of LEO
Los Angeles: Aug 16th @ 2:38am
Edmonton: Aug 16th @ 3:38am
New York: Aug 16th @ 5:38am
London: Aug 16th @ 10:38am
Berlin: Aug 16th @ 11:38am
Delhi: Aug 16th @ 3:08pm
Bali: Aug 16th @ 5:38pm
Brisbane: Aug 16th @ 7:38pm
Sydney: Aug 16th @ 7:38pm
FULL MOON AT 7° of PISCES
Los Angeles: Aug 30th @ 6:35pm
Edmonton: Aug 30th @ 7:35pm
New York: Aug 30th @ 9:45pm
London: Aug 31st @ 2:35am
Berlin: Aug 31st @ 3:35am
Delhi: Aug 31st @ 7:05am
Bali: Aug 31st @ 9:35am
Brisbane: Aug 31st @ 11:35am
Sydney: Aug 31st @ 11:35am
This lunar month has the general vibe of getting real. This can feel heavy, but it can also bring great results if you embrace the energy!
We are in the last weeks of Summer for people in the Northern Hemisphere and winter for us down here in the Southern Hemisphere. This can be a weird time of the year where we all feel a bit out of sorts and this lunar month has the feeling of being strange both for the time of year, but also because of the strong retrograde patterns at play. Retrogrades are typically a time of pulling back and turning within. You can feel the pace change and you are invited to shift the focus from the external world to your internal world as a way to reset your life and make sure everything is on track.
We begin this lunar month with the new moon in Leo conjunct retrograde Venus. This new moon feels like a point in time for you to recognise what has been shifting and healing especially with regard to your interpersonal relationships. I really feel beautiful healing wants to happen but the key to the healing is that you must really take responsibility and step out, look honestly at your end of the bargain, think clearly and communicate with precision and deep consideration.
Don’t be surprised if it feels as though you’re walking through glue at times this lunar month. With Venus retrograde, Saturn and Neptune still retrograde in Pisces and Mercury and Jupiter turning retrograde this lunar month, we aren’t meant to be going fast right now. In fact, the most productive thing you can do over the coming weeks is to get super clear on what matters most to you and to align your actions and behaviours with what you discover as you shift your focus internally.
This lunar month has the feeling that the more honest and realistic you are, the more you will activate the potential for some powerful realisations and psychological breakthroughs!
There’s a general sense that well considered conversations, thinking and approaches will be rewarded over the coming weeks. But try not to rush anything as the retrograde patterns are to be honoured as a time of tuning in and responding with respect to the right timing of any important interactions. There’s a right time for everything and it really takes practice to be able to feel into this. When an important conversation or negotiation is timed well, the results will be multiplied!
Honesty and well considered, well timed communication will be rewarded this lunar month.
Once we get to the full moon in Pisces many planets are still retrograde which will only amplify the energies of this full moon. In fact, Saturn will be conjunct the full moon activating the Sun-Saturn opposition (see below). This is another moment where the more you can see what is really going on within and without, the more you will evolve and grow in your life, love and finances.
This Pisces full moon will be your moment to clear away what is blocking the obvious steps you know you need to take to evolve. Be clear and realistic and take measured steps. The steps don’t need to be major but they do need to be precise and you will see that this will build over time especially because you have thought it through and you can see exactly which step to take and the best direction to go in to get to your goal. Watch where you’re going as you move towards the goal.
Major Transits for the Lunar Month
(i) MERCURY RETROGRADE IN VIRGO
Aug 23rd/24th - Sep 14th/15th - Precise, well thought out communication.
Mercury retrogrades have become some of my favourite cycles as I always get the sense of it being the perfect time to pull back from the constant grabs at our attention and the consequential overload of communication, social media and the seemingly never ending connecting with people and social networks.
With this Mercury retrograde cycle coinciding with the current Venus retrograde, you are invited to pull back from the noise. The week from August 23rd to September 3rd is a time of deep introspection especially with regard to your relationships and your relationship communication (especially as Jupiter will station retrograde September 3rd see below).
This is a time to look at your side of the story and to take responsibility for how you are communicating with the ones closest to you. People can’t actually read our minds and in these times of fast and short communication, it’s easy to forget the power of stopping and really taking the time to help people understand what you are saying, thinking and feeling.
Mercury in Virgo is looking at the details and Mars will still be in Virgo as this retrograde begins acting as a sharp knife of precision. Virgo is focused on bringing life into more harmonious patterns and with Mercury retrograde, Sun and Mars all in this sign, this can be a time of really zooming in on the details and addressing what is out of harmony in your life.
The negative manifestation of this can be seeing too much of what is wrong and this is when Virgo becomes hyper critical. Seeing the problems through the lens of fear only brings about a negative view. With Saturn opposing all of this, you are invited to get clear and to take on what you are recognising as data and information that is there to support you in a course correction and realigning your life to principles and values that you know are important.
(ii) SATURN-SUN OPPOSITION
August 27th (active a few days either side) - Getting real.
Remember, Saturn is still retrograde in Pisces until November 4th this year and is on a journey of unravelling myths, spells, and deception. This is a process of unwinding old structures that no longer serve you and the collective.
Once Saturn moves into this opposition to the Sun in Virgo, the theme of seeing clearly and getting a strong idea of what is not working in your life will be amplified. However, I would recommend waiting for Venus and Mercury to be moving direct to resolve what you are recognising needs to shift and heal if you can. Especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships. But if your life can’t wait, I strongly recommend taking time to deeply consider what you wish to communicate as it will be better received this way.
(iii) VENUS TURNS DIRECT
September 3rd - The Goddess ascending from the underworld.
Venus is associated with the feminine principle - the Goddess. Venus turning direct can be seen as the Goddess rising up out of the underworld transformed into a new version of herself, a new Goddess! This is because she was the evening star and then she went through her 40 days and nights of not being visible (in the underworld) only to reappear again but as the morning star! There has been so many wonderful stories woven around this cycle throughout history.
This current Venus retrograde season has brought people back into our lives for healing, has been supporting us to see another way of being in our relationships, and has been showing us where we can awaken to more love as well as helping us to get clear on what is true in our heart!
What has this Venus retrograde taught you? What has been reorganised in your life? Remember, this Venus cycle is connected to the last Venus retrograde cycle in Leo 8 years ago. Have you evolved a part of your relationship, wealth and joy stories since then?
When you get to the new moon in Leo August 16th (2 weeks before Venus turns direct), much of what this transit is stirring in your life will be clearer. This new moon happening just 5 degrees away from Venus is not a coincidence. This is a wonderful point in time to sit and reflect on what has been coming up and to work with setting intentions that are more precise as they are based on the information that is coming through.
(iv) JUPITER RETROGRADE CYCLE BEGINS
September 4th/5th - Spiritual wisdom is within.
As Jupiter stations retrograde, this great planet will be in a lovely trine to Mercury retrograde. The really great thing about this is that this wonderful combo can help you to see both the details and the context. There is just so much energy this lunar month pushing you to turn your attention inwards, but Jupiter will help you to see the bigger meaning in it all.
Jupiter is about your dharma (your purpose and way forwards) and when Jupiter is retrograde, you may feel a stronger connection to your inner wisdom and spirituality. Embrace this wholeheartedly as this may support you in seeing the bigger picture and context so that you can keep doing the work of getting clear and real about what’s really going on. This cycle might inspire you to take the steps you need to take with great faith and optimism amongst all of the reality checks!
Major Lunar Themes
(i) NEW MOON IN LEO
August 16th everywhere in the world.
This new moon is coming in as a wonderful energy to support something that has been stirred up by Venus being retrograde in Leo as Venus will be only 5 degrees from this new moon! This means that our Venus stories will be the hot topic of this lunation.
This would be a wonderful time to sit in the dark of the new moon and to observe what has been coming up, what is leaving your life and what is rearranging especially in the areas associated with Venus such as love, finances, joy and everything that makes being a human pleasurable.
Or maybe you’ve had some big healing happening with the Venus retrograde? If so, this new moon is offering you a point in time to sit and feel into the new directions that are wanting to emerge in your life and to set new intentions to nourish what is healing in positive ways.
You can begin a new path at this new moon.
New moons are always a time of wiping the slate clear and starting over. Harness this energy. Boost your life in positive ways. Our minds are way more powerful than we realise and if you are paying attention and really watching where you are going, then you will be able to harness the time of the new moon new cycle and give your strongest intentions a huge boost!
It’s important to point out that Uranus will be trine Venus at this new moon. Uranus is all about powerful insights that lead to break throughs. This can happen in an instant. Uranus is associated with lightening which is symbolic of those moments where you have the flash of insight and everything has changed irrevocably forever!
With so much energy pushing you to turn your attention inwards with all of the retrogrades, you may find that this new moon is a time of ‘aha’ moments and seeing things so clearly that you know exactly what needs to happen in your life, your relationships and maybe even with your finances.
Embrace the energy of this new moon and activate something special about your life and your intentions.
What wants to begin growing in the areas that have been healing? This new moon is very spiritual and if you’re one for ritual then this would be a potent time to sit in ceremony and feel deeply into what you would like to grow, evolve and heal in your life.
This is also a powerful time to feel what is really true in your heart. I don’t mean your ego-desire-mind, I mean your wise heart. Again, life is inviting you to get real. The more you embrace this reality check, the more you can get in touch with what is actually in your true heart. Plant a seed there this new moon.
To know what this new moon means for you personally check out my horoscopes in my Patreon Community.
(ii) FULL MOON IN PISCES
August 30th/31st depending where you are in the world.
This full moon will be conjunct Saturn. I actually like this energy as Saturn can bring a sense of feeling grounded and a reality check to your life.
We’ve been journeying with some heavy retrograde energy in Pisces over recent months. This can really give a sense of being lost and confused in the fog, but, fortunately this full moon has the potential to help us to land and ground and get some clarity.
There may be some big realisations culminating after the new moon in Leo and with regard to whatever has been stirred up by the Venus retrograde. You may be having some powerful insights into your relationship dynamics and how they can improve.
With all of the retrograde energy, you’ve probably realised it’s more effective to not focus only on others but to also turn the inquiry inwards and to be honest about your contribution.
Life is complex not complicated and when things are going weird in our relationships it’s usually due to things that are deeper than the story and the stuff we actually argue about.
This full moon may activate a desire to want to truly understand and to genuinely try to work out what is actually going on underneath all the stories and confusion.
Sit with the energy of this full moon to allow yourself to be with the complexity of human nature and life on Earth. From this understanding it is easy to forgive as you see that things aren’t always as they seem and underneath all of the drama and stories is a deep truth and the truth is always, always, always love.
Let go of the hurt at this full moon, you don’t need to carry it any more.
It’s just holding everything back. Instead, embrace the power of Pisces the ruler of enormous compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love.
To know what this full moon means for you personally check out my horoscopes in my Patreon Community.
In Summary:
Take care out there and try to embrace the retrograde cycles. See it as a time to nourish your inner world and to reflect on what is important. We aren’t made to always be connecting and communicating and sometimes we just need space to drop in and integrate. This is a month where your big breakthroughs may come from realisations that can only happen by doing the inner work… embrace this!
With love always,
Paula x
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