August brings extremes on the cosmic front. It all started with the Total Solar Eclipse at 9-10 degrees Leo on August 1st. Eclipses always involve the karmic chart points, the Nodes, our soul compass points. At the Solar Eclipse on the 1st, the South Node was in Leo as well as the Sun and Moon. Both the Eclipse and South Node energy brought the challenge of releasing and letting go of attachments that no longer resonate. In this case, the zodiac sign, Leo, lets us know that the attachments could be to do with any of the following:
false self-images that are styled from how we think we should present ourselves, not who we truly are
beliefs that others are better than us or more worthy of abundance than us
limited ideas of abundance (e.g. following the myth that wealth equals owning more and more things)
thinking that we are not talented or not creative (everyone is creative – everyone has a Sun in their chart to inspire creativity)
being caught up in the ‘fun’, ‘party’, ‘be positive all the time’ myth rather than simply being how we are in each moment
feeling guilty about showing our beauty or shining in the spotlight when we achieve something special
Essentially at the Solar Eclipse the cosmos amped up the challenge for us to release inauthentic ways of being so that there’s space to bring in new exciting creative adventures that our soul selves have got planned. We’re more likely to get a better sense of what these soul plans are after the Partial Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Aquarius on the 17th. The Lunar Eclipse happens in Aquarius and activates the North Node in Aquarius. The zodiac sign that the North Node is in shines the light on the best path forward.
Many of us are changing career direction during this eclipse month. If a job no longer holds joy for us it can be very hard to stay there. The aim is to let go of old career or creative endeavours that have lost their spark and to follow the new passions that are burning within us. Some of us will stay in the same careers but do them differently. The North Node in Aquarius calls out loud and clear that our creative and career efforts are best put towards goals that nourish all of humanity, not just some of humanity. Here in Australia the quality of life is, generally speaking, much richer than the quality of life in many other countries, especially developing or war-torn countries. Here it’s as if we live like kings and queens when we compare ourselves to other areas of the world. August’s Eclipses call us to consider how we can make small differences to improve the quality of life for the whole globe.
We don’t all have to charge off and volunteer for aid agencies abroad! (Yet we might know someone who currently feels called to do just that.) An example: If our passion is to create the best hairstyles each day for our clients, we might find ourselves creating knockout styles that help individuals express their joy and confidence while also stocking salon products that are as chemical-free as possible so that our personal bodies and the earth’s body don’t experience toxic overload.
August’s eclipses are about creativity, joy and fun with a conscience. Under these energies it’s likely to be harder and harder for those who dominate others to succeed. The old style of rulership is changing so that everyone has access to life’s pleasures and everyone has a chance to feel they ‘own’ or ‘rule’ their own bodies, minds, hearts and souls. The North Node in Aquarius asks us to downsize but not to polarise to the other extreme and feel we are lacking. ‘Fair distribution of wealth for all’ may as well be the catch phrase of this Leo-Aquarius Eclipse month. Yet we must still express our individual selves because the precious spark of creativity within each of us holds the key to bringing change to the world. Not boring old ‘everyone must be the same or have the same’ type of change, but the fun, passion and excitement of difference while also allowing for everyone to feel entitled, valued and full with life.
As if the Eclipses are not enough, we also have some heavy-duty planetary alignments involving Mars and Venus. Although Mars and Venus are travelling out of sync with each other this month, each of them makes some major hits with transpersonal planetary energies. This makes relating to others highly spontaneous, changeable, erratic, confusing and magical all at once! Many of us are packing our bags to follow the beats of our own Leo-Aquarius drums. This is bringing endings in relationships, households, workplaces, creative groups – anything at all where we are connected with others could come to an end this month if it is no longer resonating with our heart-truth.
Between 1 and 12 August, Mars makes a dramatic opposing alignment with Uranus. Basically Mars is the masculine energy that urges us to do what we want. When in contact with Uranus, it’s very hard to not become a bit ‘me, me, me’. If we ourselves don’t get all over-entitled and think the world has been created just for us, we are likely to be affected by others who do! It’s extremely hard to stay patient when Mars and Uranus team up. They bring all kinds of sudden change. I’ve especially noticed this while driving from A to B in my daily rounds. Mars is about how we assert ourselves and move around, so cars or transport come under Mars’s auspices. This week every time I’ve tried to do a simple trip from one suburb to the next, I’ve had the most bizarre events play out – pedestrians walking slowly in front of my car, or cars charging out of side streets so that I’ve had to slam on the brakes; police road blocks appearing out of nowhere bringing on extended detours; conversely I’ve also had completely free roads that are normally jam-packed where I’ve been able to sail ahead wondering where on earth all the traffic has gone.
My car travels are obviously small examples of a much larger energy at play. Watch for sudden outbreaks or anger and selfishness – you might need to stand up for yourself out of the blue. People fly off the handle and walk out of relationships under this type of energy. Fortunately, Venus follows along behind Mars to help repair some of the damage. From 1 to 5 August, Venus aligns with Neptune helping all of us download a larger than usual dose of compassion for our fellow beings. We are reminded that we are all one, and that what one person does is something that we too are capable of, or have been capable of, in a past life, for example.
Actually, a quick aside on past lives… this Eclipse month compels us to tie up karmic loose ends from past lives. If we have completed what we’ve needed to complete we will no longer need to remain in certain relationships or situations. Completions are happening on many levels and some of us are exhausted from whatever our soul-selves are getting up to during sleep hours. Don’t be surprised if you have some whacky dreams – much karmic residue is being completed on the soul plane.
Back to Mars and Venus… In the second half of the month Mars makes a challenging alignment to Pluto, the birth-death-rebirth planet. This creates strong intensity in intimate situations. On the positive front, it could bring on some passionate romance, yet on the negative side of things, it could bring violence or abuse situations to a head. Again, fortunately Venus follows in Mars’s footsteps. From 21-26 August, this planet of connectedness and relationship makes an alignment to Uranus so that we can be liberated from difficult circumstances. And from 27 to 31 August she squares Pluto. Whatever has been transformed this month, receives some softness and healing from Venus, the love goddess, in these last few days of August.
Right in the middle week of this Eclipse season, is the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Eclipses generally play out on a world scale, so it will be interesting to see how the energies of ‘winning’, ‘glory’ and national pride (Leo) play out this month, especially after the 17th when the Aquarius eclipse comes into play. Hopefully we’ll see role-modelled for us the possibilities of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius when all people on earth are treated as valuable and equal.
Wishing you some clear roads ahead after the confusion has cleared!