August 2015: Jupiter into Virgo!

We begin the month of August (or end July) with a full moon at 8 degrees of Aquarius, peaking at 6:42 A.M., EST on July 31.  Aquarius rules the 11th house of groups, friends and organizations and its here many of us will be focused.

This moon opposes Mercury, and Mercury rules young people, communication, travel and vehicles to name a few. Communication may become overly excitable, or argumentative, or prone to over reacting and this is something to be aware of. Travel and transport could come into focus and there could be issues here at this time.

Aquarius can be an explosive moon as it is ruled by Saturn and Uranus, and there may be somewhat of an electric/restless feeling in the air.  Those most affected by this moon will have early to mid degree Sun in Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio or Taurus or other planets at 7-15 degrees. This will have quite an effect on those born from 1944-1947 (Donald Trump, for instance 7-14-1946) as this moon will oppose their Pluto. Pluto deals with deep seated issues that can include sex, death, and all forms of change and transformation, as well as hidden issues that come to the surface.

Aquarius (Uranus) is typically the sign associated with the desire for freedom, change, revolutions and coups.

Venus also re-enters Leo on July 31, where it will continue its retrograde and will remain in this sign until October.

Saturn turns stationary direct on August 2, at 1:53 A.M., EST, and this is an important planetary change every year. Many projects that have been hold will start to move forward, but this may not occur until after Jupiter moves away from its square to Saturn.

Many will experience endings and changes of some type as this powerful square completes. It is not all bad, and for some will bring much needed change, but for others there could be a feeling of restriction in some area of your life, depending on what else is there. Jupiter square Saturn has been called 'the chronicler of the ages' and can coincide with important financial matters, endings and beginnings and many types of change depending on where it falls in your personal chart.

Saturn direct is a far better time to start a new business or begin an important new project. Issues connected with taxes, debt, security in general along with other people's money will become easier to deal with as Saturn turns direct. 

August 2, Mercury trines Uranus and this is positive for expanding your viewpoint, learning and communication.

August 3-7 Jupiter squares Saturn, and this is exact.

August 4, Venus conjuncts Jupiter and this is typically positive for love and social activities, but these two planets square Saturn, and as Venus is retrograde this can be a time of endings, in some cases, or at least a time to re-access your love life and social life.

August 5-6 Venus (and Jupiter) are in an exact square to Saturn. You may put the brakes on something in your life. Money can be affected, slowed down, or in some way be altered. Venus square Saturn transits are not typically good for social activities or love. If your relationship is unaffected by this, then consider the bond to be strong. When I think of love with a Venus-Saturn transit I think of the type of love that relates to 'till death do us part.' Not especially flashy, but able to withstand the many pressures of life and continue on. Some relationships will end at this time, but if so, it was time and there will be something better ahead. Venus squared Jupiter on July 14. If this affected you at that time, (or the few days before or after) it will probably affect you again, or the same situation may be re-visited again.

August 6, Mars trines Saturn and this is positive for practical work and accomplishment, but  Mercury conjuncts Venus so Mercury (and Venus) are square Saturn, setting off the Jupiter-Saturn square.  This will limit our ideas and communication or it could seem restrictive and negative in terms of communication. Best to wait for another day for important discussions.

August 7, Mercury conjuncts Jupiter so this is a more expansive day for communication, ideas and travel and basically more optimistic. Also, at 3:15 P.M., EST, Mercury changes signs and enters Virgo, one of the signs it has rulership over. Mercury her can be pickier or more critical, but it is more detailed and our communication will follow suit. After all, the devil is in the details.

August 8, Mars enters Leo. Mars rules men and our actions and while in this sign actions will be flashier. While Mars in Cancer was (overly) emotional, Mars in Leo can be arrogant and pushy. Leo is the natural ruler of the fifth house of love affairs and entertainment, so many of us will be focused here for this part of the summer. 

As Mars, the Sun and Venus are in Leo we are now in the Leo season and the hottest part of summer! Three planets in Leo remind me of a beach party, and I hope you will get a chance to have some fun during this time. Summer is short at best.

August 11, Jupiter enters Virgo. Jupiter shows us where our luck is and Jupiter changing signs is a very big deal! Wherever Jupiter transits it expands bother personally and collectively. Jupiter last transited this sign August 28, 2003-September 24, 2004.

Jupiter transits each sign for about a year, and takes 12 years to work its way through the zodiac. Jupiter in Virgo is considered at its detriment which means it is weaker and to receive gain we must work continually at what we wish to accomplish.

Virgo is the natural ruler of the sixth house of work and health. Gains can be made here, and on some level the job market could benefit. Astrologer Mitch Lewis writes, " While it was traveling through Leo there was an increase in many issues ruled by that fire sign. For example, Leo rules the stage, and Broadway shows have had one of their best years in history. But expansion isn’t only about money and profits. Jupiter’s true magic takes place within the individual or the collective consciousness. It’s the ability to see how things fit into the bigger picture, and offers us ways to continue the expansion and inclusiveness our biggest planet represents. What will it do during its one year journey through Virgo? We may see growth in the book business as more attention is directed towards the written word. Because Virgo has much to do with details and the smallest of things, and Jupiter is all about the bigness of everything it encounters, we should see increases in how we deal with the smallest facets in our society. More attention will be paid to protecting things like our identities, which has become a nightmare as more and more hackers break into computers and businesses. In the past year there have been horrific identity thefts in Staples, Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the U.S. government, and even baseball teams. Our banking system is terribly outdated, and we have finally begun to implement credit and debit cards with chips that help prevent copying. We’re only about five years behind the European community in this manner. This is an example of how we will see more expansion in dealing with the little details. There will be many more. "

For many, Jupiter in this sign can be a time of starting new health regimes. Working out and losing weight may be something you wish to do, and this is the year to do it. With work and health as areas that we can expand, Jupiter in this sign will be practical and prone toward getting down to the nitty gritty of accomplishment.

Jupiter in this sign of course, will be a great boon to those born under the sign Virgo, as well as all Earth signs, Cancer and Scorpio. Jupiter only transits your sign once every 12 years, so make the most of it, Virgo!

August 12, Mercury opposes Neptune and this is a transit prone to miscommunication, misunderstandings and not seeing things clearly. Lies may even be floating around. This can be a discouraging day, and also be careful with travel and transportation.

August 13, the Sun trines Uranus and this is a positive transit and a day you might try something new for business or pleasure.

August 14, a New Moon occurs at 21 degrees of Leo, peaking at 10: 53 A.M., EST. Leo rules the fifth house of children, friends and love affairs and now is the time for fun. This Moon conjuncts Venus, putting a focus on love and our social lives, but Venus is retrograde, and this can be a wild card. This is a perfect time for connecting with friends from the past. Enjoy!

August 15, the Sun conjuncts Venus and this is a positive day for love and social activities. As Venus is retrograde, this day could have another wild card. Mercury trines Pluto and communication may take on deeper meaning.

August 19, Venus trines Uranus, and this can be a day to do something different. Love and social activities are favored, and if this hits your chart just right, you could meet someone new.

August 21, the Sun squares Saturn. This can be a negative day in the world and in our lives. We may feel stifled, but have a lot of discipline. Situations may end, and seem restricted and somewhat negative.

August 23, the Sun enters Virgo for the next 29 days. Virgo is a mutable sign and this is the time of summer the weather begins to change in some places. We may start to focus more on work.

August 26, Mercury sextiles Saturn and this is a good day for serious conversations. The Sun conjuncts Jupiter and this is positive and optimistic, and the only issue is that things may get blown out of proportion.

August 27, Mercury enters Libra. Communication will become more balanced, and less critical. Our significant others may be on our mind more.

August 29, a Full Moon occurs at 6 degrees of Pisces. This is a significant moon, as it conjuncts Neptune. Moon-Neptune aspects can signify vivid dreams, increases in alcohol and substance abuse, confusion, lack of clarity, psychic perceptions, compassion and spiritual and religious interests. It is also prone toward deception and self deception.

 It squares Saturn creating a somewhat depressive mood, or a focus on responsibilities as opposed to fun. It also opposes Jupiter and the Sun, blowing things out of proportion, and as every full moon does, it opposes the Sun making things overly emotional. We may see water related weather conditions.

August 31, the Sun opposes Neptune. This is another day where clarity may not rule the day, and there is a tendency toward deception on many levels. Many will have vivid dreams.

Jupiter square Saturn: Paddling upstream: love, money and the things you value (Venus, Jupiter and Saturn)

Jupiter will square Saturn, and this transit will be exact August 3-6. The effects of this powerful transit however will be felt much sooner (even as this blog is posted) and after.

This transit might be compared to trying to paddling a canoe upstream or trying to drive with the brakes on. While Jupiter is the planet of expansion, Saturn represents restriction and delays, and this is a collision of these two principals.

Money issues may come to the surface, or depending on what is in your chart you may feel the restriction coming from some other area of life. For some, relationships may end at this time, but only if they are not working out already. Any relationship can be affected but if the partnership is basically sound it should withstand the stress.

Many things may slow down during this time, or you may lack inner conviction, or your timing can be off.  It is important to consider these factors. You could be dealing with situations and people from the past.

This transit can represent legal, financial and business problems,  and there could be a lack of support, especially if this aspects your personal chart. There could be issues with higher education, moral issues, or indifference. Frustration may build up to the point where something has to give and change occurs at this point. You may have to limit spending on entertainment.

For some this might represent a culmination of business affairs of some type, but Saturn can delay, and restrict.  There could be added responsibilities and pressures in your job during this period, or you could make some kind of change in your job or work. If your chart supports it, this could co-inside with a long awaited change, as it is not all negative.

Saturn and Jupiter came within orb of each other last September-October but the transit never became exact. 

As Saturn is in Scorpio this shows conflict with finances and taxes, sex, and other people's money,  and Jupiter in Leo shows issues around friends, love affairs or children, entertainment and fun, either directly or indirectly. Some people may withdraw socially, from responsibilities, or in some other way.

Venus conjuncts Jupiter, exact August 4-6, and the two most beneficial planets (Jupiter and Venus), square (Saturn) the planet of restriction, amping up the energy even more.  This will be a time when we re-access our loves lives, social lives and money situations and many will discover something is lacking. 

Venus-Saturn can create feelings of loss, loneliness, aloofness, or a desire to break from an unhappy situation. With complex transits like this sometimes we can experience epiphanies about whether or not our needs are being met in these areas. But again, other areas of your life can be affected as well, depending on where this square falls in your personal chart.

Venus squared Saturn July 13-15, but (Venus) had not yet turned retrograde. If you recall this aspect affecting you at this time, it will likely do so again with the added energies of Jupiter. Endings of all types can occur, financial shortages, breakups and in extreme cases you may hear of total endings  of all kinds. Venus will also square Saturn again at 1 degree Virgo/Sagittarius on October 9-10.

Venusretrogrades July 25, at 0 Virgo then moves back into Leo on August 1. Saturn turns direct  August 2, another very important planetary movement,  and this will be a powerful planetary clash as Venus moves back into Leo and Saturn turns direct.

This transit (Jupiter square Saturn) is exact August of this year and will occur again March 19-26, 2016 (Jupiter/Saturn 16 degrees of Virgo, Sagittarius) and like the August square,  Venus will be prominent again in this configuration, creating a T-square at 16 degrees of Pisces on March 25-26. (A T-square involves the energies of all three planets, and Venus shows us that once again we will see a theme that involves love and money, among other things.

As in our personal lives this transit will play out in the world as well.

Jupiter-Saturn is one of the ten Major planetary cycles. This cycle goes from conjunction to conjunction, and the last cycle began in May of 2000, in Taurus, the natural ruler of the second house of earned income, possessions and money.  Since that time we have seen massive changes in the financial world. In June of 2006, it was in a square to Saturn at 9 degrees, Scorpio/Leo and at this time many analysts were pointing to a bubble in the housing market that would become the crash of 2008. Another square occurred in October of that year at 23 degrees. In 2011, (March) Jupiter opposed Saturn at 14 Libra-Aries, and it was at this point that Greece was feeling the debt crisis and the International Monetary Fund was  signing off billions of Euros to Ireland Portugal and  Italy. Greece has just agreed to extreme austerity measures once again on the eve of the Jupiter-Saturn square of 2015, driven by Germany, and this situation will be played out between now and when the next conjunction occurs in 2020, when we will begin this cycle again in Capricorn.

The Jupiter-Saturn cycle has been considered of greatest importance in shaping history and these two planets have been called the 'chronocrators of the ages.' Nicholas Champion wrote, "There cycle can be considered the ground base of human development, which makes the interaction between perception of human ideas, potentialities, possibilities and their manifestation in the concrete material world. As noted under the interpretation of the conjunction this pair has a great deal to do with the development and evolution of social structures and a sense of corporate national identity. Barbault makes a compelling case for the dominance of this cycle in the unfoldment of European history so that each phase of this cycle appears to mark out a relatively clear pattern of development year after year."

Case in point to the above is the recent and continuing financial turmoil in Greece.

This transit brings change in the world and some of it can be very positive. On the eve of this powerful square we have seen the normalization of relations and raising of the US flag once again in Cuba, which the US has had no relations with for nearly 50 years!  This will be the start of great change.

Many important events will occur during this cycle and we will see major clashes between political parties, the potential of violence  around the globe, and issues that can concern women. As Jupiter will square Algol (considered the most malicious of fixed stars terrorist situations are likely.  All in all many situations will be re-accessed that include foreign relations, laws, and finances.There will likely be clashes with those who disagree with current government policies.

What lies underneath comes to the surface

We have several intense transits the week of July 12, and for some there will be major shake ups and changes, especially the cardinal signs with planets (in the natal chart) at 16-21 degrees.  The cardinal signs are Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn.

 If you do not have planets in your own chart at these degrees you will be affected as we all will, but to a lesser degree.

 If these transits aspect your personal chart you have a cardinal planet at 13-15 degrees or 19-21 degrees, in which case you have Uranus conjunct, square or in opposition to your planet or Pluto conjunct square or in an opposition to something and these are major transits that bring major change in your life.

The energies of these transits will be felt both before and after the exact date.

Let's start with the first transit-Sun square Uranus- exact on July 12 at 20 Cancer/Aries. Sun square Uranus transits can coincide with a change of plans, a change of mind, and unexpected events that disrupt your current situation or day. Uranus is about freedom and breaking away from things, even people. It is an erratic influence, sometimes shocking.  Uranus transits seem surprising but they often are the end result of situations that have needed to change for a long time. Be flexible during this time as rigidity in attitudes can be shaken up. Uranus is all about freedom-yours or someone else's.

In the world Uranus rules aircraft and weather. It is likely we will see situations involving one or both and this can be explosive.

Venus squares Saturn July 14. Venus rules love, money, beauty and values. This may not be a good day for love or your social life, and some relationships may end, or encounter turbulence. This transit is in effect until July 17 when it moves into Virgo for two weeks (and may still have an affect then). August 1, Venus retrogrades back into Leo and this will re-occur the first week of August. This time, it conjuncts Jupiter and both of the most beneficial  planets will be in a square to Saturn. This is very powerful both times, and will end some relationships and situations and will affect finances as well. There could be a downturn in many areas if this aspects your personal chart.

Mercury conjuncts Mars and Mercury and Mars oppose Pluto July 15. This day will be a doozy! Mercury conjucnt Mars is argument prone, and you or others may be vying to express your opinion, and conversation can turn harsh or emotional as both signs are in Cancer. Mercury rules vehicles, travel, young people, pets and communication so look for issues here. This is a transit to be very careful on while driving and this one is exact July 16.

Mercury opposing Pluto has to do with propaganda and trying to convince someone of something or the other way around. It is argument prone and obsessive. It can be hard to let go of a single minded thought on this day and things are often revealed.

Mars opposing Pluto will bring out the bullies and egos and this is also argument prone, obsessive and volatile. Mars/Pluto can in some cases signify danger, so avoid being alone in bad situations. The issues may arise over jealousy, sex, home life or work. Ultimately Pluto may bring some kind of transformation, but a situation could also end or change forever. This is not a good day for important matters or conversations.

The New Moon falls at 23 degrees of Cancer at 9:24 P.M., EST. Cancer is the most emotional of signs and rules the 4th house of home, family and personal foundation.  As it opposes Pluto, this energy will be intense, and if there are issues at stake they will come out over this period, hence the title of this blog. Things can get overly intense and emotional. Change is possible, but difficult. A light hearted approach will be needed on this day.

Cancer rules the home, homeland and patriotism. What is patriotic to you may not be the same to me or anyone else. For example, in South Carolina some felt the Confederate flag was a symbol of patriotism and others felt just the opposite.

Cancer rules the home land, and there are many homelands on this earth. As it opposes Pluto there will be conflict in the world and those who try and oppress others and force their ideas. Mercury-Pluto rules the media. It also rules young people, and we could see accidents. There will be issues concerning nuclear weapons, energy or situations. And as always with Mars-Pluto we will see police or military action. Change is possible but it's a dangerous, volatile and intense week in the world.