Almanac – August '10

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
-Carl Rogers

Tips for almanac use: All the aspects can be felt in advance of the date of occurrence. It is good policy to view these as due dates for various energies and prepare accordingly for one’s context. Some slower interactions can be felt a month in advance, so it’s wise to read ahead and ritual up.

When we proactively manifest these symbols then the world doesn’t have to do it for us.

August is a little strange as an anti-climax of sorts. It starts off wild and wooly and builds and then things just kind of fizzle on down. Maybe it’s that these things have been brewing for so long that it’s ultimately hard to live up to the psychological hype that is such a strong human tendency. If this is as bad as it gets, have we been over-revving our engines? Can we be comfortable with things going decently if we’ve been preparing for worse? Do we turn this into hyper-vigilance against ourselves in response or can we actually respect existence and relax?

Jupiter squares Pluto on the 3^rd, plunging us deeper into old complexes and belief patterns. By now, most of the issues at play should be readily visible, so the initial shock of realization has hopefully worn off. However, we should still be pushing deeper into the abyss or the world will probably do it for us. A calm approach to awe-inducing possibilities is a good strategy.

Mars opposes Jupiter and squares Pluto, also on the 3^rd. This is quite a trigger; bringing many things to, at least, an energetic head. This is an extremely volatile and cathartic mix and is best processed as internally as possible. Clarifying and distilling what we really want, Now, versus what we have wanted is a main focus.

Venus moves into Libra on the 6^th, bringing all our relationships into the dynamic. This is asking us to connect and share with people we respect. We are generally being asked to work through our own stuff, but it does not mean we can’t ask for help or find solace in the warmth of companionship of every valuable kind.

Venus opposes Uranus on the 7^th, bringing unpredictability and the lack of guarantees up to the fore. We can view this as an exciting and thrilling facet of existence or we can react in ways that ultimately deprive us of enjoyment in life. To react or to cooperate? That is the question.

Venus conjoins Saturn on the 8^th, highlighting the other side of the equation– stability and monotony. It is still largely up to us to choose our response: We could indulge in fear of what is beyond our control (almost everything), or we can focus on trusting in something far beyond and deep within us.

Venus opposes Jupiter on the 9^th, asking us for faith and buoyancy in the midst of challenges and heaviness. Since faith is tough these days, trusting in the easy and the good is more practical, but still difficult. It’s often easier to accept confirmation of things happening when they are intense, which often means that they are also difficult. Accepting the good is more complicated, especially when it’s in sharp contrast to scarier things.

The New Moon in Leo on the 9^th is an important one. It is urging us to enthrone ourselves as the center of our universes, while knowing that this is the same for everyone. Our lives are meant to teach us how to fully be ourselves; the reflections are not always direct but there is always something for us. The trick is to work with this while not taking things too personally or confusing our literal self-centeredness as special to us alone. In other words; play your own game, but know that others will be doing exactly the same, or at least they should.

Venus squares Pluto, also on the 9^th. This will bring up lack-of-fulfillment issues and tempt us to blame them on external things or people. But peace is an ever-present and universal offering and it is ours to seize. That doesn’t mean it will be easily attained, but working towards peace is ultimately more productive then facilitating it’s opposite.

Uranus moves back into Pisces on the 13^th, starting to scale down the period of peak intensity we’ve been experiencing since late July. Now we begin to go back inside to gestate and incubate the burgeoning newness. So much has been introduced lately, or was forced into awareness, that now we need time and space and contemplative energy to figure out how we really feel about it all. It’s tricky though, because we are being asked to let brew the newness, while also being called to boil down the old, so that only the best stays with us.

Jupiter opposes Saturn on the 16^th. This offers us the chance to integrate some enormous polarizations and paradoxes or to pick sides. We should somehow make room for paradoxical truths and counter-intuitive conundrums. In other words, embrace the complexity of reality. This usually involves getting the mind out of the way, along with its inherent programming and predispositions. Retrain the consciousness towards the center with judgment-free self-correction.

The Sun opposes Neptune on the 20^th, pushing us away from attachment and hyper-identification with our lives. Normally these are rooted in a desire to know what is to come before its time, so we can always start by surrendering this futuristic bent and wiggle our way back to the present, whence the future flows.

Venus conjoins Mars on the 20^th, after chasing him down for awhile. This begins a long and winding dance between what we want and how we act versus what we are attracting and/or would really like. We should work towards honesty and clarity in all our relationships and interactions. And we should definitely keep working on owning our mythologies and adjusting where needed instead of trying to drag others into complexes that existed long before they were around.

Mercury stations retrograde on the 20^th, asking us to start re-cycling the recent happenings to make sure we’re doing what we can to learn efficiently from everything while not being too tough or demanding on ourselves. Don’t over-think and focus on improvements more than ‘fixes.’

Saturn squares Pluto on the 21^st. This is an extraordinarily difficult combination that will push us all to let go of things or get sucked down with them. These planets really don’t care too much about the frailties of the ego and are known to plow through resistance quite destructively. All we can really do is work with them now, or pay a heavy price and then still have to work with them eventually. Even though this powerful energy relates to the foundations, structure and form of everything, for our intents and purposes it’s still as simple as ‘change or be changed.’ Oh, and don’t look down (while crossing a perilous bridge to the soul).

The Sun moves into Virgo on the 22^nd, initiating an intense season of self-adjustment and streamlining. It is wise to leave room for human frailties and figure out a way to work with them and not against them. The steady grind of self-work is generally the way.

The Full Moon is in early Pisces on the 24^th. This full moon marks the end of this summer’s astrological bonanza. Hopefully it will anchor us to a more peaceful place; involved yet distinct from the world surrounding us. If the waters are still tossing us about, then it’s now time to dig deeper and find the inner calm to balance the storm outside. Either way, we can all relax a little bit and focus more on integration.

The Sun trines Pluto on the 25^th, enabling deeper release of unrealistic expectations and measuring sticks. Above all, make peace with your inner persecutor rather than projecting it onto others.

August should really demonstrate how resilient we are, but it’s tricky. We’ve actually made more progress than was supposed. But when this is confirmed to us through a lack of disaster, we are then challenged by the lack of climax; challenged to support and acknowledge our efforts when the reward does not automatically feel rewarding. Even trickier is that most good things in life are relatively anti-climactic when compared with the shock value and glandular/brain surges that come with the unforeseen challenges in life. If inner peace is the reward; can we be as excited for it as we are by averting various catastrophes? Are peace and intensity necessarily contradictory?