August Horoscopes

Astrology of August
Current Configurations
Past Months

Aries	Libra
Taurus	Scorpio
Gemini	Sagittarius
Cancer	Capricorn
Leo	Aquarius
Virgo	Pisces

August 2010

Current Astrology

	The Sun is in Aries
	The Quarter Moon is in CancerThe First Quarter Moon is in Cancer: All day
	Next Mercury Retrograde Apr 21 - May 14

August Horoscopes

by Henry Seltzer

The Astrology of August again features Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn and Pluto, plus a new Mercury retrograde period that begins in the last third of the month. Now that Saturn has entered Libra, the collection of power-house planets in Cardinal signs is complete. This is not counting Neptune, always the odd man out in any case. Neptune remains in Aquarius until next spring, when it enters the Mutable sign of Pisces, but the others are in Cardinal signs now: Pluto in the early degrees of Capricorn, squared by Saturn in the first degree of Libra, and also squared by Uranus and Jupiter in early Aries. This perfect storm of influences presage a good dose of tension, trouble and resulting transformation, since planet earth is of the vibration of "Harmony Through Conflict," meaning that we don't start to make major changes in ourselves until it is absolutely necessary.

This alignment is short-lived. By the middle of September first Uranus and then Jupiter will have retrograded back into Pisces. Saturn will have moved deeper into Libra and so out of the most intense phase of its opposition to Uranus although remaining within orb for another year or so. The Pluto-Uranus square is just coming into bloom, with many exact hits yet to come, the soonest taking place about two years hence, in June of 2012. This all translates into further transformation for the American scene and for each one of us personally in the years ahead, but without the violent polarization that we see now in the political landscape, and that might reach its peak this summer and early fall.

What does it mean that the pace for change, already so intense, continues unabated into the present monthly timeframe? Only that we are made even more aware of the necessity for radical transformation in our own lives, and in the life of the society around us. Surely most are beginning to recognize that our current ways cannot go on much longer without incurring a grave risk of losing everything. And this applies equally to our individual decisions also. It takes a community of concerned individuals to make social change a reality. Greater changes within each of our individual lives are also more than possible as we confront and begin to more closely examine the results of unchecked ego, and of unalloyed knee-jerk reaction to early conditioning applied over the long term.

In this regard, the New Moon of Monday, August 9th, is especially powerful, since it makes strong aspects to both ends of the Uranus-Pluto square and to Venus and Mars as well. Venus and Mars are moving toward a conjunction in Venus' own sign of Libra that coincides with the beginning of the Mercury retrograde period on Friday, August 20th. Mercury retrogrades until September 12th with shadow period lasting another two weeks. Finally, the Pisces Full Moon of August 24th is dramatic. The Sun and Moon in the early degrees of Virgo and Pisces trigger the Cardinal T-square once again.

All in all these are fractious times, fraught with uncertainty and yet alive with hope as well. One thing is certain: we cannot go on living the same way we have in the past. The next phase is coming for us, ready or not, and we need to make the best of it. And after all, what a brilliant idea it is – one whose time has finally come – to exchange a hopeful future for a dysfunctional past.