Tapping the Magic of August

The August 2005 Forecast

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Past forecasts

Mercury, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are retrograde.

Mercury Rx opposes Neptune (2nd of 3)	16°23' Leo/Aquarius	August 2
New Moon	12°48' Leo	August 4
Mercury Rx sextiles Jupiter (2nd of 3)	14°00' Leo/Libra	August 5
Venus quincunxes Neptune	10°20' Virgo/Aquarius	August 5
Mercury Rx and the Sun conjoin (start of new Mercury cycle)	13°40' Leo	August 5
Venus quincunxes the North Node	16°50' Virgo/Aries	August 5
Sun sextiles Jupiter	14°08' Leo/Libra	August 6
Sun opposes Neptune	16°12' Leo/Aquarius	August 8
Venus squares Pluto	21°58' Virgo/Sagittarius	August 8
Mercury Rx quincunxes Uranus (2nd of 3)	9°28' Leo/Pisces	August 13
Mercury Rx squares Mars (2nd of 3)	9°26' Leo/Pisces	August 13
Mars sextiles Uranus	18°18' Taurus/Pisces	August 14
Sun trines Pluto	21°55' Leo/Sagittarius	August 14
Mercury returns to forward motion (stationary direct)	8°59' Leo	August 15
Venus trines Chiron	29°11' Virgo/Capricorn	August 16
Venus enters Libra	0°00' Libra	August 16
Jupiter trines Neptune (3rd of 3)	15°57' Libra/Aquarius	August 17
Mercury quincunxes Uranus (3rd of 3)	9°21' Leo/Pisces	August 17
Jupiter conjoins South Node (moving eclipse point)	16°09' Libra	August 18
Leo Full Moon	28°47' Cancer/Capricorn	August 21
Venus sextiles Saturn	4°31' Libra/Leo	August 20
Venus quincunxes Uranus	9°04' Libra/Pisces	August 24
Mercury squares Mars (3rd of 3)	14°26' Leo/Pisces	August 25
Mercury opposes Neptune (3rd of 3)	15°44' Leo/Aquarius	August 26
Mercury sextiles Jupiter (3rd of 3)	17°46' Leo/Libra	August 27
Mars squares Neptune	15°41' Taurus/Aquarius	August 28
Venus conjoins the South Node	15°33' Libra	August 30
Venus trines Neptune	15°38' Libra/Aquarius	August 30
Mercury trines Pluto	21°50' Leo/Sagittarius	August 30
Venus quincunxes Mars (1st of 3)	16°53' Libra/Taurus	August 31
Sun opposes Uranus	8°47' Virgo/Pisces	August 31

All dates are based on Pacific Time.

Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging

Blue-shaded events are part of the same harmonious pattern.

Red-shaded events are part of the same challenging pattern.

Events in bold are more significant.

Last week Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist officially endorsed stem-cell research beyond the narrow parameters set by President Bush. He said that useful tissues were being thrown away that could be used to overcome diseases like Alzheimer’s. Although this is surely one of his first campaign statements for the 2008 presidential election, it is also a sign that Saturn has left Cancer and entered Leo. Social issues — or the social repercussions of any issue — are very much more in the spotlight than before. This is an example of the “shape of things to come” that I talked about in last month’s forecast. As a plethora of planets make contact with Saturn (Moon, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Chiron), we get a vivid glimpse of what Saturn will bring to use, one that is still unfolding in August. Just as national and international events reflect these planetary processes, we can see them in our own lives.

I also spoke last month about the fact that the planets are aligning themselves in the fixed signs, which are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Saturn entered Leo on July 15^th. Mars entered Taurus on July 28^th, where it will retrograde (turn backward) on October 1^st prolonging its stay in this sign from the usual 6 weeks to 6½ months. Neptune has been in Aquarius since 1998 and is now in the mid-degrees. Jupiter will enter Scorpio on October 25^th, where it will remain for 13 months. Add to these long-term factors the Sun, Mercury, and Venus, which visit one of these signs in a dancing cluster once every three months; and the Moon, which visits the fixed signs once a week; and we get a roller-coaster ride of peaks and troughs in dealing with the fixed force of the universe. You can see this pattern forming in Chart B.

The Three Universal Forces

When the planets are in fixed signs, they carry the stabilizing force, one of three universal energetic expressions — initiating, stabilizing, and integrating. These forces permeate the energetic field(s) we inhabit in the fourth harmonic. Each of these forces requires a different type of response from us in order for us to stay in balance with it. When one of them prevails (which is nearly always the case), it brings out the flaws in the ways we are dealing with that particular force. As the stabilizing force becomes predominant in the planetary expressions, we will get to see how well we are working with the stabilizing influences in our lives.

Fixed Patterns You’ve Known and Loved

Now, as you may expect, this is not the first time we’ve had to deal with a planetary conglomerate of this nature. The last time a fixed emphasis occurred was June 1998–April 2001. Previous to that, there was one from late 1991 through 1993. If you handled those time periods in your life well, you are likely to do as well this time around. If there was room for improvement then, you’ll get to see how far you’ve come in your growth since the last time the same areas in your birth chart were triggered. By understanding more about how the stabilizing force works and how to work with it, you will maximize your benefits during this time.

Understanding the Stabilizing Force

We respond to forces. They permeate us from the great inner space that we hold within our true self, and they come from outside of us in the form of the environmental influences we encounter. In fact, you could say that we are like sponges that become saturated with the energies of the moment, floating a soup of universal forces whose ingredients vary from day to day.

Because the fixed, stabilizing force wants to keep things in one place, we tend, when this energy prevails, to want to keep things as they are. This energy may prevail in our constitution because it dominates our birth chart, or it may prevail as a temporary factor as indicated by the positions of the planets in the heavens. When it dominates our birth chart, we are likely to have a life-long story about how this force works for us, even though we are not always able to understand how story and force are linked. As a birth influence, it is more deeply rooted in our being, and we may have more difficulty when the heavens match these energies (true of any “real-time” to birth chart match).

When we feel the urge to stabilize, we often mistake that for keeping things the same. We can think that what is familiar is what is best or most secure. So we try to hold on to what we have, which can result in clinging to the past — past ideas, past structures, past relationships. We may try to hold on to a job that we are bored with and exerts a daily deadening tyranny on our lives. We may stick with an outworn relationship that needs to change form in order to induce vitalizing growth in ourself and the other(s) to whom we are tied. We may imagine the horrible things that could occur when we step out of this comfort zone.

However, true stability is based on flexibility. As engineers now know, it is the flexible building that remains standing after an earthquake. Rigid forms become brittle when change is trying to happen. We are reminded of this by the fact that Scorpio is one of the fixed signs, yet its energy is the essence of change itself. It in a sense reminds the other fixed signs that it is only through a fluid response to life’s demands that they can remain truly stable. Stable and unchanging are not the same thing. Change is the source of life and creativity — without change, we stagnate and die.

Tapping the Magic of the Stabilizing Force

To get the most out of the coming two years, but especially the next 12 months, you can work on minimizing your resistance. An attitude of openness is a prerequisite of change. Rather than feeling like you want to keep things the same, think of how they can be better. Assert your energies in the direction of change that you want. The simplest way to do this is to set your intention for the things you wish to create now, because we are in a magic period. Until August 15^th, Mercury is retrograde. When it is retrograde, as with all the retrograde planets, it is speaking more loudly and clearly than it does in daily life. It gives us the power to induce magic in our world if we can listen to its voice. Sometimes, when it makes challenging contacts to the planets of the time, Mercury retrograde brings us messages of what we need to fix — obstacles we need to remove — in order to get closer to the gods of Mount Olympus and harness their energies. Other times, it makes more harmonious contacts and affords us more direct, positive self-empowerment; this is one of those times.

The Technical Side

Technically, this is because Mercury never leaves its sextile to Jupiter, the planet with which it is most like and with which it is most important for it to harmonize. When Mercury and Jupiter are in harmony, there are four two-hour periods every (24-hour) day that will bring positive results to actions taken during those times. Even though you may have heard to avoid taking action during Mercury retrograde, this is based on a misunderstanding of how retrogrades work. From the most ancient times, astrologers have noted that, when initiating activity, a retrograde planet changes the timing of a result but not the effect of it. It could delay the result, but it could also hasten it. This is where the magic comes in, because it makes it easier to tap Divine Right Timing in your affairs. To see how the positive energies look this month, see Chart A at the beginning of the forecast. This chart contains a grand trine (triangle) in fire providing activation and vitality, plus a mystic rectangle providing ease of restructuring based on new perspectives. All this is thrust in a new direction because of the involvement of the Moon’s North Node in the grand trine pattern.

Maintaining the Magic

The Mercury-Jupiter magic ends on September 4^th, but of course other magics live on, most importantly the magic of your focus and intention. To continue your magickal relationship with the stabilizing force, be aware of your openness versus resistance level. When you go into resistance, you are saying “no” to the universe and blocking the forces of change that you want to set in motion. Change is the creative force of the universe, from which all life, fulfillment, and abundance flow. It’s also important to watch our language. Rather than saying, “I don’t have enough ______,” say “I haven’t had enough _____ to this point.” Or better yet, say, “I set my intention to have an abundance of ______ from here on out.” Put all your less-fortunate experiences in the past tense and reframe your present and future in terms of positives.

A Glimpse Ahead

Mars is making tracks through Taurus now, where it will retrograde on October 1^st. It enters its retrograde shadow on August 11^th. Starting then, we will benefit by keeping track of what happens in your life, particularly with respect to the areas of your chart inhabited by transiting Mars and ruled by Mars (where Aries and Scorpio lie). For instance, if Taurus is in your 3^rd house, Mars is traveling there now. This indicates a time to emphasize communications and outreach, as well as a time to reform your attitude and ways of thinking. It will impact your philosophy (9^th house, where Scorpio is) and your finances, possessions, and self-esteem (2^nd house, where Aries is). The key here is to set the direction of your life for what you want to experience during the retrograde and beyond. More on prepping for and using Mars’s retrograde in the September’s forecast.

For now, enjoy your time closer to the spirit world as Mercury brings Leo’s gold to us all.