Astrological update for the week of August 15-22, 2022
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What is the Uranus station? Every planet appears to travel retrograde at some time or another – the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are retrograde for about half the year. Saturn and Jupiter turn retrograde about once a year. Mars turns retrograde about every two years, Venus about every eighteen months, and Mercury about every three months. Obviously planets don’t really travel retrograde, but geocentric astrology observes the motion of the planets from Earth and we interpret the symbolism of this motion.
These cycles of normal movement alternating with retrogrades are like the ebb and flow of the ocean, and once we learn to let go to the flow of retrograde cycles they feel as natural as standing in the waves. When planets are in their normal orbital speed they are doing business as usual, and when their motion appears to be retrograde they are operating at a more personal level, and sometimes inspiring us to go back to review patterns of the past.
When a planet appears to change direction it will seem to stand still, remaining at the same degree of a sign for a period of days, weeks or sometimes even months. On August 24th, Uranus will turn retrograde at nearly 19 degrees of Taurus and will travel less than a degree until October, meaning the influence of Uranus to awaken and challenge our existing paradigms will be at its most powerful. Uranus has been within a degree of that point since June.
Those of us (me!) who have planets between about 15 and 23 degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius) will be most affected as Uranus forces us to break out of situations or ideations which no longer work for us. Fixed sign people struggle with change, and Uranus IS the changemaker.
While the Uranian influence will be most potent for people with planets in those degrees, it will also have a more generally powerful effect to stimulate new ideas and innovation and a drive towards individual expression.
Mars enters Gemini August 20. When Mars is in Gemini everything is interesting! There are so many things to learn, so many people to talk to. We don’t get too hung up on the small things when Mars is in Gemini but it can also be difficult to focus on just one thing.
Mars will be in Gemini for much longer than the usual couple of months because Mars will turn retrograde in October and backtrack through Gemini before finally moving into Cancer in March of 2023. This is a nice long time to be curious and to explore as many new things in possible, and if we are the type of people who tend to be stuck this influence can help us to break out of a rut.
The Virgo influence. Gemini’s ruler Mercury (mind, information, communication) is in its other sign of rulership (Virgo) until August 25th so for these five days Mercury is a dominant force in the astrological energies. This is an excellent time for writers and any kind of information processing as Mercury in Virgo can help us to wrangle the details into a form that makes sense. Though Mercury will leave Virgo on the 25th, the New Moon in Virgo on August 27th will help to keep some order.
Remember the Saturn/Uranus square of last year? In my 2022 forecast I warned that last year’s challenging square from Saturn (control) to Uranus (liberation) would tighten between August and October of this year, and here we are. The unrest and social upheaval at work last year is evident everywhere – in the U.S. of course with the Pluto return, but we can see signs of this all over the world.
I believe and preach to anyone who will listen that the Universe is always striving for balance, and when the world is out of balance there will be a reaction. We see this in our personal lives when planetary activity forces changes that we later see were really for the best, and the same is true on a global scale although it is very difficult to witness the trauma and destruction that occurs in the meantime.
The 20s are a decade of change. Every outer planet will change signs over the next few years, a harbinger of great transition. Pluto will enter Aquarius in 2023, and in 2025 Uranus will enter Gemini and Neptune will enter Aries. The happy thing about all of these planetary ingresses is that the three outer planets will be in harmonious alignments to each other which will hopefully bring some ease into the transition processes. This will be a rebirth of some kind, and it is difficult to predict how these changes will unfold.
A quick look at the week ahead (dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, please adjust for your locality.)
Monday August 15. The week begins with the Moon newly in Aries, firing up the engines for action and inspiration. A harmonious aspect is building from Mercury to Uranus, inspiring creative thinking and new ideas. (Moon conjunct Jupiter 6:59 am, trine Ceres 10:32 am, conjunct Chiron 9 pm)
Tuesday August 16. Monday and Tuesday are energized with the potential for excitement, and Tuesday those energies flow freely until the afternoon when a challenging lunar aspect to Pluto could cause some disruption for a few hours. Just breathe, and by 10:22 pm when the Moon moves into Taurus there will be greater peace and equanimity. (Moon sextile Saturn 7:13 am, trine Sun 10:47 am, Mercury trine Uranus 1:46 pm, Moon square Pluto 4:18 pm.)
Wednesday August 17. Today we have mild lunar aspects under the Taurus Moon, and a sweet trine from Venus to Jupiter is building which will culminate on Thursday to smooth over any wrinkles or stressful difficulties for a day or two. (Moon square Venus 11:53 am, square Ceres 7:40 pm)
Thursday August 18. The Venus/Jupiter trine culminates early this morning, and some tension may sneak in mid-day when the Taurus Moon activates Saturn and Uranus. We want something different, but the road is blocked and frustration could result. By afternoon this will dissipate though and creative flow returns by evening. (Venus trine Jupiter 4:02 am, Moon conjunct Uranus 10:19 am, square Saturn 3:33 pm, trine Mercury 3:37 pm, sextile Neptune 9:48 pm)
Friday August 19. Lunar aspects create alternating friction and harmony in the wee hours of the morning, and around 7 am a Moon/Mars conjunction could cause some frustration for a brief time. The Moon will move into Gemini at 8:06 am and harmonize with Jupiter later in the day for a burst of positive thinking and an energized mind. (Moon square Sun 12:36 am, trine Pluto 1:31 am, conjunct Mars 7:05 am, Gemini Moon sextile Jupiter 11:51 pm)
Saturday August 20. Mars enters Gemini at 3:56 am, followed by harmonious lunar aspects. Saturday is mostly free from obstruction except for a stressful Mercury/Neptune aspect that begins to build to culminate early on Sunday. Mercury is in Virgo where details are important, but Neptune is the siren call of mystery and magic, urging us to forget the details and choose inspiration instead. (Moon sextile Venus 5:08 am, sextile Ceres 8:56 am, sextile Chiron 4:07 pm)
Sunday August 21. The Mercury/Neptune aspect culminates at 3:40 am.
Mercury aspects last only a couple of days but for now we may find ourselves pulled in a million different directions since there are many lunar aspects on Saturday as well before the Moon enters Cancer at 8:29 pm. (Moon trine Saturn 3:03 am, Mercury opposite Neptune 3:40 am, Moon square Neptune 9:46 am, Moon square Mercury 10:28 am, Moon sextile Sun 6:06 pm).
My advice for the week is to have a plan or a vision for what you’d like to see happen this week. This is generally a good idea, but with all of this Gemini and Mercury stimulation we could be overwhelmed with ideas and pulled in many directions at once.
Hope you have a wonderful week! ❤️
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