August Monthly Astro-Update

Written by Kirti Zhu – Evolutionary Astrologer

Welcome to August, my Star Sisters & Brothers!

We have the Celtic holiday of Lammas/Lughnasad starting us off this month on August 2nd , representing one of the magical cross-quarter days of the year, marking a turn in the seasons for us here on Mama Earth (Imbolc, Beltane and Samhain being the other three seasonal holidays celebrated by the Celts). Lammas represents a bountiful time of harvest, and also marks the end of summertime here in the Northern Hemisphere. Traditionally, the Celtic people would use this time to start or renew contracts, as well as have “trial marriages” with one another, where coupling could occur without long-term commitment (if the couple enjoyed each other and wanted to stay committed by the time Lammas came around the following year, they could, or they could part ways without judgment by society). Gifts were exchanged to show sincerity in contractual agreements being made during this time, as well.

Creating an altar to honor this magical day of bounty is one way of celebrating this day and giving gifts to your loved ones & new business partnerships is another! Nature’s offerings such as flowers (especially sunflowers), grains & breads, herbs & fruits that are local to your area, are all beautiful ways of celebrating the deity Lugh (pronounced LOO): placing these items ideally on the Western face of your altar, due to its association with this season (in the Medicine Wheel found in indigenous cultures around the world, the direction of the West represents endings & reaping what we have sown in a life cycle). This is where the name Lughnasad comes from, in the Irish Celtic tradition (Lugh is known by many names across the Celtic United Kingdom, and all of them associate the deity with being a trickster & savior, as well!). Lugh is also the god of crafts & carpentry, judgment, fighting and poetry.

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(Source: Dani Rhys from SymbolSage – https://symbolsage.com/what-is-lammas/ HYPERLINK “https://symbolsage.com/what-is-lammas/)”)

I find it interesting that the celebration of a trickster deity is happening just days before Mercury (also a trickster god!) goes retrograde on Sunday, August 4th at 9:56pm PST: the same day the New Moon in Leo peaks in the wee hours of the morning (more to come in the New Moon in Leo forecast soon!), and just after Venus moves into Virgo at 7:23pm PST that very same day. We all know what they say about Mercury Rx: don’t start new relationships, don’t sign new contracts or start new projects, etc. However, Mercury retrograde times are wonderful times to take revenue of where you have been and where you are going, so do take this time to truly reflect on your relationships, your work, your energy and where you are spending it! The more you can take time out to journal and/or sit in nature with yourself, to take this time to fine-tune the details of your life, the better off you will be when Mercury goes direct on Wednesday, August 28th at 2:14pm PST. Remember to keep an eye out for Wednesday, August 14th when Mercury retrogrades back into Leo at 5:15pm PST, as those final days of the retrograde will be showing you the old roads you have walked and ways you can walk those roads in a new & more supportive way (or, perhaps it will show you the way to create a new road for you to trek, once Mercury starts moving forward again at the end of this month!).

Venus moving into Virgo represents a time for us to be discerning with what and with whom we spend our time & energy on, which feels in alignment with this Mercury retrograde: time to slow our roll, so to speak, and refine our values to match the relationships we are surrounding ourselves with, as well as take a good hard look at our financial situation (perhaps making some adjustments in our personal lives to feel more supported in the material realm). Remember to set your intentions carefully during this Venus in Virgo/Mercury Rx time period over the coming weeks, and you will be rewarded for your due diligence towards the end of this month, when Venus moves into Libra on Thursday, August 29th at 6:23am PST, calling us out of the hard-work vibes of Virgo into the graceful & beauty-focused vibes of Libra!

We’ve got the Full Moon in Aquarius coming up later this month on Monday, August 19 th which I will write more about later! I will say now, however, that the Full Moon in August will be a potentially wild (if not rocky!) time for some, depending on where you have the late degrees of the fixed signs (Leo/Aquarius, Taurus/Scorpio) in your chart. More to come on that lunar cycle later this month, stay tuned!

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Sun moving into Virgo on Thursday, August 22 nd at 7:55am PST. Virgo Season is a time to take what we have created in Leo Season and REFINE it: discernment is one of the key words to the archetype of Virgo, along with the high-destiny characteristics of good judgment, being of service to others and self-development. What have you created recently that you would like to spend more time & energy on “perfecting” in your life? Whatever this looks like for you, remember to be gentle with yourself, too, as there is no such thing as “perfect” in this world, despite how Virgo feels about that statement! Like Voltaire said long ago, “Perfect is the Enemy of the Good,” and no truer words could have been written for Virgo’s eyes to read and ears to hear! Blessings on your Journey through the Stars, may this month be a fruitful one for You!

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Curious where these cosmic alignments are landing for you, and how to work with these divine energies in your natal chart? Book a Reading Today!

Ariel Marth – Evolutionary Astrologer

OR her sister!

Kirti Zhu – Evolutionary Astrologer