by Silvianne K. Delmars | Aug 24, 2024 |
This week’s astro update begins with an effervescent newly out-of-bounds last quarter Moon in Gemini on August 26 and ends with the Virgo New Moon on September 2. Here are the highlights (all times in PDT).
Monday, August 26
The Last Quarter Moon is exact 2:26 am at 03 Gemini 38, squaring the Sun in Virgo. The Moon also goes out of bounds today, with unpredictable Uranus not far away in late degrees of Taurus, underscoring the volatility of these tumultuous times and urging us to adopt a new and boldly different perspective.
This is the last stage of the lunation that began on August 4 with the Leo New Moon and reached its culmination with last week’s visionary Aquarius Full Moon. Time to go within and contemplate this month’s challenges and triumphs as we harvest the insights we have gleaned.
How has our connection to our deepest self-love been tested or enhanced? What renewed sense of vision, small or large, has been revealed? How does it want to be nurtured and protected through the coming New Moon incubation? Vesta, still within three degrees of the Sun in Virgo, issues an invitation to deeply sacred, ceremonial focus, designed to foster and enhance this month’s accelerated visions of what is possible, both personally and collectively.
Tuesday, August 27
Over the next two mornings, the waning gibbous Moon will pass by Jupiter and Mars, with red Aldebaran and the beautiful Pleiades also nearby. It’s definitely worth the effort to catch the show in the very early hours before dawn. The Moon-Jupiter conjunction is exact 4:50 am at 18 Gemini 28.
Venus in Virgo will trine invisible Uranus in Taurus today, exact just after midnight. This is a timing that supports our full sacred feminine embodiment, as the currents of Virgo’s dedicated service to the sacred patterning flow in harmony with Taurus’ ability to experience deep pleasure. A great time to create yummy, voluptuous ceremony dedicated to Earth healing and renewal.
Have you been able to spot Venus yet in the evening twilight, low on the western horizon just after the Sun sets? Leo Overstory synodic cycle Venus is still traversing the root chakra on her ascent journey. Tune in for guidance in connecting to your own deepest sense of grounding. What will it take for you to feel truly safe in the world? And how can you help make that happen? The answers are to be found within.
Wednesday, August 28
Mercury turns direct this afternoon at 21 Leo 24, marking the beginning of a whole new 109-day synodic cycle. The planet of communication is diving headlong into its current exploration of how we communicate via means of this fiery, intuitive sign, so steeped in creative expression and personal truth. Mercury is in its morning star Apollo phase, just now emerging in the early morning sky, very close to the eastern horizon.
The Moon reaches its extreme out-of-bounds north position today, rising and setting far north of the Sun’s path.
Venus in Virgo is opposed by Neptune in Pisces, exact today in the early afternoon. The Sacred Feminine archetype, steeped in her dedication to the sacred work, is being infused with new wisdom, which can come in the form of visionary clarity or worldly confusion. In either case, the intent is to open ourselves to previously unknown inspirations.
Thursday, August 29
Today and tomorrow the waning crescent Moon will be passing by Castor and Pollux, the dominant stars in the Twin Constellation. Look for them in the early morning eastern sky, just before dawn. Procyon, the bright star in Canis Minor, will also be nearby, towards the horizon.
Venus enters Libra this morning, inviting us to contemplate the need for fostering healthy relationships at all levels, supported by a trine to deep change agent Pluto in Aquarius an hour later. Are our relationships, including the one with ourselves, off course in these challenging times – and how might we bring more balance?
Friday, August 30
Chiming in with the relationship theme mentioned above, Juno, the asteroid goddess of sacred partnership, meets up with the South Node this evening in diplomatic Libra. A supportive timing for seeking guidance as we let go of old stories that keep us from creating healthy boundaries, freeing us to express our true selves and to create more effective and balanced relationship with others.
Saturday, August 31
The crescent Moon in Leo moves back in bounds today. And Uranus in Taurus is preparing to turn retrograde at 27 Taurus 15 tomorrow morning, joining Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto in the current line-up of planets in apparent backward motion. We, too, are being asked to slow down, to go deep rather than wide. There is an imperative, coming from our souls, demanding clear-eyed self-assessment. Are our intentions and actions in congruence with our deepest values? This question has never been so crucial, as we strive to effectively navigate the chaotic shifts at this time of cosmic instability – as well as accelerated opportunity.
Sunday, September 1
The waning Moon, having entered into the three-day New Moon window, activates Mercury in Leo this morning. Even if not visible, you can tune in to this intuitive messenger, asking for wisdom from your own truest heart space, and for the courage to follow wherever it may lead.
Later today, retrograde Pluto re-enters Capricorn one final time, where it will linger over the last intense degree of this archetypal sign of structure and limits. It will station direct on October 11, and then move irrevocably forward, finally leaving Capricorn and entering Aquarius on November 20, where it will be for the next 19-20 years. This cosmic timing asks us to stop and consider the massive changes this planet of composting and deep, structural transformation has wrought in our world since 2008, when it first entered earthy Capricorn, upending the old, worn out, dysfunctional operating manual of a dying paradigm. This is Pluto’s job, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for those left in the wake of its inexorable path.
Time to take stock and summon our spiritual will to consciously and willingly release the last tattered remnants of the old reality, as we prepare for the equally paradigm-shifting – and uncomfortable – transformations ahead of us. As the great transformer Pluto prepares to launch its ponderous sojourn through airy Aquarius, archetype of expanded consciousness, it is important that we allow ourselves to feel what is truly at stake.
Will the decades ahead bring on an unprecedented shift in consciousness, expanding exponentially our current definitions of what it means to be human, centered in the wisdom of our cosmic hearts? Or will we continue to allow ourselves to be led blindly down the dead-end path towards an irredeemably unhuman future, completely devoid of life or heart? The choice is up to each one of us, and our actions over the next few months and years will be crucial.
Monday, September 2
This Leo lunation ends as the Moon and Sun come together at 11 Virgo 04 at 6:56 pm this evening. Time to pick up the treasured insights from our journey through the Leo mysteries of radical creativity, sourced in deep self-love, and bring them along on our very different passage through the Virgo sacred mysteries over this coming month.
There are voices, calling to you from the mysterious depths of a secret forest, whispering intimations of a sacred calling. Can you overcome your fears, and become still enough, to tune them in more clearly? Can you show up, undaunted, steady, and true, following the guidance system of Earth frequencies, as you walk the path of soul, in selfless service to Great Mystery? This is the task that beckons to us this month.
Mars in Gemini squares Neptune in Pisces a few hours later, deepening the Virgo emphasis on service to the sacred. Mars in Gemini urges us to act on the crazy wisdom of our inner muse, as we navigate the distortions of watery Neptunian visions. There is a fine line between confusion and revelation, and this timing forces us to explore the boundaries in search of an innovative way forward.
As Mercury in Virgo forms a supportive trine to Uranus in Taurus, this is an especially potent timing for receiving guidance and setting our New Moon intentions. What is your soul’s innermost desire? The womb of the Virgo dark moon still point is expectantly awaiting your answer.