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Boots Hart Astrological Overview Boots Hart provides an overview and synthesis of the major energies, transits and key dates for the month as a whole.

by Boots Hart

In the wake of July's solar eclipse, August continues a trend of reflection and internal change which in time leads to better ways of living and doing…even if there's some kicking, screaming and escape attempts which occur along the way.

Like every August, this one starts with the Sun moving into Leo's emotional 2nd decan (degrees 10-19), which is saying rather a lot. Leo is a pretty self-directed (some would say self-concerned) sign under any circumstances, but when the Sun is in Leo's second decan, desire soars and there's a definite emphasis on wanting things our own way. Against this, there's also a lot of useful optimism and creative spirit—if we can just harness them to good use—or good times, depending!

With Mercury and Venus both starting the month in Virgo, there's much thinking, conversing and sorting things out—not that conclusions and necessities revealed will always tickle our fancy. Yet be aware—some of the ideas aren't the actual issue. Under some other circumstance or in another moment you might be all for it. It's just at the moment…having to care about things rubs us the wrong way early on in August. If it's our idea, great. If it's something someone else is saying needs doing, not so great.

And yet there are those really pesky facts to contend with.

In the end we're going to have to think about and deal with at least a few items we hadn't planned on dealing with, and since Mercury entered the shadow of its upcoming retrograde on July 31, this is merely the start of a process. The good news is that what is (or goes) on the table now is pretty much the priority. The bad news is that the priority may annoy the tar out of you even if you know it's useful and in your own long-term interest.

Let's just put it this way: there's a bit of the "terrible two's" in all of us as the month starts out. Give us fun and we'll run with it! Give us homework and we'll sulk.

With Mars and Saturn now both in Libra, we're aware of consequences, repercussions and impressions we make/have made on others. How inconvenient it sometimes is not to be in charge of our world! Fortunately, Mars in Libra lowers the ego drive just enough that you well may be able to fix and better things—especially if you use the Leo Sun to be creatively magnanimous. Yes, it'll take a little (Virgo Mercury/Venus ) effort, but most of us are going to see that making a bit of an inventive effort is a far better choice than risking a giant fracas made theoretically possible by Jupiter/Uranus sitting right there across the zodiac in Aries. Oppositions (such as Aries/Libra) can strengthen alliances and allow us to "get hold of both ends of the problem"…or they can produce confrontation, rejection and alienation—which is most likely to happen if you hunker down and insist on having things your own way.

And yet…all we want can be ours this month IF we use our ideas as a base of operations into which we integrate the most potent needs and aims of others!

As if to inspire us to lighten up, the months starts with Jupiter (retrograde in Aries) squaring Pluto (retrograde in Capricorn) on August 3 (August 2 if you live in the Pacific region). Jupiter retrograde is about internal growth, which in people-parlance is all about realizations. And since Jupiter is in Aries, those realizations are about your Self. The third piece here is Jupiter being strongly opposed by Mars and Saturn—a sure and feisty signal that what you're realizing is how you affect others, or how you need to grow or become more effective in how you affect others. The clue here is that we cannot be just the Jupiter/Aries "all about me" person—we must take others into account. If not, our reputation, reception and opportunities are going to suffer.

But wait! It's not that simple. Squares represent challenges, and there's a square to this me/them thing coming from Pluto, which is retrograde in early Capricorn. So the issue is very much about how the world sees you, and the greater issue is highly external. Think life, lifestyle and world(ly) needs. The way squares work, if you let go of the "I want" thing and embrace/integrate your greater needs, you win. If you cling to being right or your individual "right" to do things your own way, you lose.

And remember—this is a challenged posed by planets in retrograde. So the real issues (and thus the solutions) are internal. Making an effort now to consider all the facts and adopt a more progressive view can pay off big-time, but not until next January/February (when Jupiter returns to this position).

Fortunately, some of the instinct to sulk and/or resist dissipates as Venus enters Libra on August 7 (August 6 for those in the Americas or Pacific time zones). This transit promotes negotiations and understandings. And it can really pay off—again, particularly down the line. For those who hop to it, the first couple of days of Venus in Libra (always a good time to make positive overtures) lays groundwork for new agreements as a New Moon occurs at 17 Leo on August 10 (August 9 in the Americas and Pacific region).

And yet…all is not perfect: occurring in a degree known for sheer stubbornness (not to mention vulgarity, threats and a need for detailed planning), that this New Moon occurs with Niobe (pride), Drakonia (the player or "a play" being made), Nemesis (warnings) and Atlantis (being caused to give up something cherished) suggests that events of the moment may be stressful—if not downright problematic if you insist on clinging to some egotistical POV. And even if you're willing to start anew or switch up the dynamics, someone/something else may be acting all sticky. If so, be careful as what can get seeded now is a simmering resentment and possible need for vengeance—which at the moment may be all too easy to miss.

That "deadly pride" (Niobe) is part of this lunation tells us that all one can do is "repent" and weather assaults. With Niobe and Drakonia at 20 and 21 Leo respectively, there's also some sort of public (3rd decanate) quality to the situation. Also, since we are talking about a "darkened" New Moon and not a highlighting or spotlighting Full Moon, there's a whole "behind the scenes" quality here. Or behind one's back. Or out of sight. That's like as not the reason you may miss something.

And again, please remember: this is a global transit. So this is happening not just in your life but in everybody's life and in the life of nations, corporations and the general world environment. We are all in this separately and together. Evidently the problem is all about those who don't get the "together" part.

Some of this activity may turn up as Uranus retrogrades back into Pisces on August 14 (August 13 in the Americas and Pacific region). As Uranus backs into Pisces it will immediately conjunct fixed star Scheat, activating Scheat's notorious "bad public reception" quality. Want an example? As Uranus first rolled forward over Scheat earlier this year (in the days after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion), all BP's corner-cutting and underestimations of the oil spill came to light. Another good example: Galileo's natal Jupiter was conjunct Scheat. Remember what happened when he announced that Earth orbits around the Sun and not vice-versa? That's right—he got arrested.

So Scheat tends to manifest in some rather grand and gloriously negative public reactions. Will this be about you? Something you've done? Something you've said? Some truth you're trying to avoid? That rather depends on where 29 Pisces (Scheat's position) falls in your chart. But let's just say that truth is the best way to go. This may be a moment when that something/someone stirred up at the New Moon makes a move. Or gets exposed. Then again, it may be a first act of repercussion or consequence from some stance taken at the lunation.

As a final point of contemplation here, Niobe reaches 29 Leo and the position of another fixed star (Regulus) on September 1 (August 30 in the Americas and Pacific region). Why is that important? Because Regulus represents an interdiction against vengeance. So whatever happens, it's ill-advised to be the vengeance-wreaker, lest your come-uppance be highly expensive and rather swift in coming.

Having gotten distracted, let's get back to the original point of the August drama: letting go of personal fixations (or fixations on things personal) in favor of growth which in time will lead to something better. And considering we may need a reminder, retrograde the Aries Jupiter opposing the Libra Saturn on August 16 is just right to fit that role.

Jupiter/Saturn being all about "building the world" (or "my world"), the transiting opposition from Aries (me, my life) to Libra (the world and people I interact with) earns focus by presenting you with something you need to (re)consider in order to make your world more functional, peaceful and happy. With Jupiter being the faster-moving planet in this pair, the message is to think about what you can do which would enhance the process. That may be about actually doing something. Then again, it may be that a change in attitude will just help things along. This doesn't have to be hard, it's just something to be aware of and act on from the inside out.

And yet…maybe it's not so easy! There's temptation afoot (or other places). Yet with Vesta (service) sitting just apart from Saturn, the way forward is through doing something useful or being of service—against which Jupiter's association with Lust (heavy-duty fixations) may be tugging you a-plenty. Pay attention and think the thing through. Not repeating recent errors in different formats is definitely the best course to take. Not the easiest…granted. But the best? Probably, yes.

That all this happens under the shadow of an incoming Mercury retrograde doesn't help either; the days just prior to a retrograde often fill us with a feeling of "urgency" for reasons we can't quite define. With Mercury having moved into Virgo's more emotional degrees on August 5 (and given how Virgo emotionalism ranges from helpful concern to worry to criticism to really neurotic behavior), this all intensifies our days as Mercury moves towards its 19 Virgo station-retrograde on August 20.

And lest you miss the point, 19 is the last of Virgo's emotional 2nd decanate degrees. So call this emotionally urgent in a "screaming tea kettle" sort of way.

Granting how all stations get a two-day leeway (giving this one an effective span from August 18 through the August 22) what else do we know about this station? Well, we know Mercury's "turnaround" is colored by Atropos (endings) and Kleopatra (reigning intelligence) on the pragmatic Virgo side and House (feeling at home) and Mnemosyne (memories) on the yearning, wistful, fantasy oriented Pisces side. Sounds like a recipe for totally heartfelt tugs-of-war to me. Which way will you go—or should you go? That depends on the overarching Jupiter/Saturn question: what is it you need to do in order to not be so all about yourself and be more about the person that everybody appreciates?

Since Mercury goes retrograde for three weeks at a time, this marks the period in which we work through something. We think about it, we look into it, we straighten things out and fix things…We talk stuff over with others, we catch up with things we've been lax about…and we even wait. Maybe we're waiting for someone to get back to us, or for something which enables us to make our next move...whatever it is, we mentally go through a "stepping back" because we either can't move ahead just yet, don't know how (or where) to, or we plain haven't come to any decision about something.

And again—remember, Mercury retrograde is a global transit. Your being held up may be because the next person hasn't made up their mind. And they haven't made up their mind because something else is on that mind. Or maybe something else has caught up with them and now needs prioritizing.

Whatever goes on, this retrograde is going to ultimately be at least partially marked by the Libra Saturn squaring retrograde Pluto in Capricorn on August 21… a bit of the old "back to that challenge thing" with Saturn symbolizing a posing of need against Pluto retrograde arguing what you would either rather do or how you would rather be doing the necessary. Yet with Saturn making this square from atop supermassive black hole M87, there's a chance that if you just go with the process, odd even strange and possibly wonderful things may come out of it (as Saturn emerges from the black hole). There's an inexorable quality to black holes which astrologer Alex Miller refers to as an "alternative reality" … and this one suggests echoes of things which first surfaced as rough concepts way back in early May, as part of (and obviously during) the "breakdown phase" leading into the recent 19 Cancer solar eclipse.

And that we know this is a development and that there is potential if you allow yourself to think and work through the process? That we know because of that number: nineteen. Mercury's station at 19 Virgo is in a perfect sextile to the eclipse's 19 Cancer, telling us that these weeks of retrograde are part of the eclipse's "unfolding" process. So while any event which occurs during a planetary station may be a "turning point," this one would seem to be rife with portent. And opportunity: sextiles represent opportunities. You must avail yourself of them, but at least they're there!

But there may be a cost involved. Directly after the Sun enters Virgo on August 23 (August 22 in the Americas and Pacific basin) it encounters Orcus (consequences) and Sphinx (implacable standings)—beyond which lies Bali (good times). This is a recipe for having to own up to what you've done or said or chosen replete with having to answer questions—maybe in your head and maybe in some confrontation with others. But if you will do that without blowing off like some errant rocket, good things happen afterwards.Sounds sort of like being told to eat cosmic veggies before you get your just desserts, don't you think?

A situational highlighting all about what it takes to deal realistically then reveals itself in or to all of us as on August 24 a Full Moon occurs at 1 Pisces. With wise Athena and royal star Fomalhaut at hand, the 1 Pisces tale of adaptability and ability to care for the human "Self" really brings out the difference between our (Fomalhaut) dreams, and what works in reality. If you've done well of late, you'll pass through a feeling time. If you have been fooling yourself or denigrating others, expect to cry tears enough to fill some ocean—and not just for what you've done, but also because you realize the difference between fantasy and reality.

Along with the longing and the visions must come the recognition that we are not angels or devils, we are people. We make mistakes and we need to be able to not just let go of a dream or an illusion, but own whatever has come of our being so delightfully childlike if dismally childish.

And so it goes.

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