Adjustment Season

and Strength/Fortitude/Lust

Hey folks, I'm sorry for being a couple of days late getting this forecast out—I was food-poisoned this weekend, but all is well now.

Anyway - we’re now in the beginning stages of the remarkably crazy August astro-weather which will culminate around our Full Moon, which I spoke about in my last Substack. This Full Moon happens at the same time as the year-defining Jupiter-Saturn square, which became precise within five degrees over the past week and was triggered by Mars moving closer to Jupiter, also this past week. The most obvious, external correlations to this are the conflict in the Middle East ramping up and the global stock market losing multiple trillion dollars of valuation in a day, but I’ve also seen this correspond to heightened tension, friction, and the feeling of pending crises in the personal lives of many clients I’ve seen recently. 

Mercury has also stationed retrograde, which might be for the best, given how much other crazy stuff is going on. If Mercury were moving at an extra fast clip right now, things might be even more dizzying - instead, Mercury is throwing a lot of hiccups and speed bumps in our way - and we’d do well to heed them. At the moment, Mercury is in Virgo, emphasizing a re-thinking of the functional necessities of life, but Mercury will soon re-enter Leo, helping us recalibrate our vital sense of self and brave engagement with life. This Rx will reach its midpoint the same day as the Full Moon, which will also occur in a T-Square with Uranus, so there are likely some shakeups and upgrades in store for the stories we’re telling about ourselves and the bright, starry figures in our lives. 

The New Moon we had on Sunday took place in the Jupiter-ruled Decan (ten-degree slice) of Leo, which highlights the way in which particular personalities are like guiding lights in our stories about the universe. Amidst the Jupiter-Saturn square and Mars’ thorny conjunction with Jupiter, these Jupiterian figures might very well be struggling. In general, things are starting to feel much more stressful, hectic, and less buoyant - and that may create a sense of deflation, disappointment, or even a fall from grace. In the context of the Jupiter-ruled New Moon, though, there can be renewals, resurgences, or new impulses in the direction of a more sturdy, resilient connection to these guiding lights. I’ve recently had dreams involving people who were inspiring to my younger self and have enjoyed giving more attention to teachers and pathways of study which I had forgotten or under-valued.

I’ve also gotten a lot of value from meditating on the Strength card from the Tarot, which is given the attribution of Leo. It’s interesting to me that this card is sometimes also called “Fortitude” and in other decks, “Lust.” There’s something beautiful about this Lion figure being tamed by this Angelic figure and the simple magic of the infinity halo. In other decks, the woman rides the lion, which is also a classical representation of the goddess Durga. I also see a connection between these figures and the Egyptian goddess Sekmet, who has the head of a Lioness and is strikingly both a goddess of war and healing.

Feeling this vital, physical, nearly animalian energy can be particularly helpful in navigating the rest of the month, because it’s undoubtedly the hardest stretch of the year - save, perhaps, the couple of weeks around the solar eclipse in April. Amidst the clanging of the outer planets, the Sun, being in his rulership in Leo, is one clear, supportive bright spot. The full spectrum of the Sun’s medicine—from ravishing festive feasts to noble, creative endeavors and the simple pleasure of soaking up sunlight—can create momentum to carry us through the chaos and bullshit and put everything in perspective. The Sun is the center of the solar system, and honoring the solar force should definitely sometimes come before everything else we can deify. Through Mercury’s retrograde thru Leo, which starts just a bit before the Full Moon, we can deepen our connection to this essential, life-giving force.

As always, let me know if I can be of personal support to you through a reading. 

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