AstroForecast August 2002

by Lance Rodriguez

August begins with the majestic Sun traveling through its own ruled sign of Leo. This is the height of summer and strong identification with creativity, confidence, risk-taking, authority, playfulness, entertainment, recreation, and children is emphasized with this Solar passage in regal Leo. Negative expressions of Leo are arrogance, false pride, melodrama, stubbornness, dictatorial and authoritarian behaviors, boastfulness and self-absorption. The angel of the month of August is Hamaliel and the Leo angel is Verchiel.

August 1st is the celebration of Lammas in the pagan calendar and this date is also an astrological Cross-Quarter Day. On this day Jupiter enters the sign of Leo at 12:20pm launching a yearlong journey through Leo that will also have harmonious influences for fellow fire signs Aries and Sagittarius. All forms of growth, expansion, progress and advancement will be particularly felt by these three fire signs of the zodiac. Aquarius, Taurus and Scorpio have challenges of temptations for excess, exaggerations, overboard tendencies and overextension. An inharmonious aspect is immediately made between Jupiter and Pluto that can indicate legal matters or litigation involving politicians can erupt. An opposition of the Sun with Neptune on this day as well could potentially point to past connections involving the petrochemical industries that will be some form of litigation involving a politician.

Friday the 2nd is an inharmonious aspect involving Venus, the personal planet of relationships, values and finances with Saturn the stern taskmaster. Communications breakdowns due to reticence, aloof behaviors and the cold shoulder can run rough shod over partners. Frivolous expenditures will come under tough scrutiny. Remember "Love is a game where two people end up winning" Eva Gabor. A harmonious aspect between Saturn and Mercury the following day Saturday the 3rd can help bring realistic planning and a desire to increase efforts in communications.

Inharmonious aspects involving Venus and Mercury with Uranus on the 4th tend to make some individuals very volatile about personal freedom and independence. Criticism will not be taken lightly on this Sunday. Some teenagers experience angst about unforeseen developments that temporarily create shock.

A potent harmonious aspect occurs Monday the 5th involving Mars and Pluto that is excellent for harnessing strong drives to bring about reform, renewal or regeneration. Those individuals that really want to address new health regimens, whether diet or exercise, can do very well with this potent aspect. The military can make enormous strides in regards to technological innovations and intelligence gathering.

Tuesday the 6th at 4:51am is the entrance of fleet-footed Mercury into its own ruled sign of Virgo for the next approximate two weeks. This ingress of Mercury in Virgo is excellent for meticulous analysis, evaluation and assessment of quality of life themes especially those concerning work and health. Virgo is a productive earth sign that desires to implement and apply whatever it analyzes, evaluates and assesses so that a goal is manifested through changes the individual can embrace. The following Arabic Proverb best describes this Virgo industriousness: "Ten minutes of planning can save you hours of squandered time". Do be careful of criticism and perfectionism as this sign can be anally retentive when in its negative expression.

This same Tuesday is the ecliptic shift of Venus symbolizing a shift in all personal relationships, personal finances and personal values. Focused attention on the financial markets will be important to observe. Biotechnology stocks may be important to scrutinize as some are at an incredible bargain or some will soon rise in value.

Wednesday the 7th at 4:09am is the entrance of lovely Venus into its own ruled sign of Libra for an approximate 28-day journey emphasizing balance in all relationships, consensus building, fairness, justice, equal give and take, diplomacy and mediation. This ingress of Venus into Libra coupled with a harmonious aspect of the Sun with Pluto potentializes the ability of individuals to identify with a strong urge for sharing, merging, bonding and creating deep ties of intimacy.

The annual New Moon in Leo occurs Thursday the 8th at 2:15pm symbolizing the new beginnings/new initiatives of this lunar phase. Launch new orientations to accessing inner radiance and illumination, confidence to take on new risks and gambles, creativity, vitality, expressing joy, having fun with past times and hobbies, recreation and vacation, romance (it really is a state-of-mind that the individual can cultivate by romancing life daily as life will in turn romance the individual with greater passion for life), and children as the repository of future mankind. Angel Neciel is this lunation's celestial helper if you want to invoke. Keywords associated with this lunation are outmoded power and control structures are gradually being broken down. A new level of evolution is being introduced that salvages the spirit of the law. Astro*Carto*Graphy Map lines for this lunation specifically target the following cities: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Aspen Colorado, Casper Wyoming, Mazatlan Mexico, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Oslo and the far western tip of Africa.

Venus and Jupiter exchange harmonious contacts with one another the same day of the Leo New Moon that is excellent for marriages, business partnerships and favorable legal outcomes. Children also derive pleasure or provide it to parents. This is also an excellent aspect for the giving of gifts.

A conjunction involving the Sun with Mars occurs Saturday the 10th that symbolizes a "seeding" period of these two fiery planets. Strong identification of assertive/aggressive actions come to the fore sometimes without due consideration or second thoughts that may be somewhat too impulsive or impetuous. Strong defensive posturing also takes place. The opposition of these two planets occurs August 28, 2003 so these two dates may have some correspondence to one another.

A Perigee Moon (closest approach of the Moon to Earth) occurs on this same Saturday that can symbolize strong intense emotions come easily to the conscious surface. Temporary procrastination aggravates the delicate balance involving partners. A partner has a choice to acquiesce to overdue discipline or collapse under chaos.

Monday the 12th is an ecliptic shift of the Moon indicating changes with meteorological, seismic and volcanic activities. This ecliptic shift of the Moon has concerns with the clarification and defining of new strategies to identify and the spearheading of new action for future development. Is confusion or uncertainty clouding a true focus?

Thursday the 15th witnesses an inharmonious aspect of Mercury with Pluto that can stimulate negative communications that involve the arousal of suspicions, betrayal, undermining behaviors, espionage, control, manipulation and deep-rooted rage and anger. Siblings can get caught up with coercion and intimidation. Heinous crimes grab attention of the media.

A harmonious contact between Venus and Neptune symbolizes the idealization of partnerships and peace being exalted to new levels of understanding on Friday the 16th. New trends in the arts begin to filter down throughout society. Humanitarian and charitable acts are appealing to the multitudes. Romance has a certain transcendent "feel" to it.

Sunday the 18th Mercury has an inharmonious aspect with the Solar Eclipse chart of June 10, 2002. Tensions involving communications, negotiations or exchanges come to the fore. Here are some brief quotes from the June AstroForecast that are relevant to this Mercury contact: "Communications dynamics in partnerships are strongly emphasized whether communications breakdowns or breakthroughs will be witnessed. Pluto, Saturn and the Lunar Nodes are importantly aligned with this lunation so karmic themes/issues that allow the opportunity to bring about transformation are highlighted. Bridges and tunnels grab attention as security risks. The Astro*Carto*Graphy Map of this eclipse highly emphasizes New Delhi, India and Islamabad, Pakistan in Asia. The entire eastern seaboard of the United States is also strongly emphasized as well. In the Americas Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba and the Bahamas and surrounding islands are also significant."

Monday the 19th witnesses two aspects the Sun has with Saturn and then Uranus. The first is a harmonious contact the Sun has with Saturn that symbolizes strong perseverance and discipline to overcome whatever obstacles confronts any individual. The second is an inharmonious contact involving the opposition of Uranus that can bring about sudden reversals, disruption or cataclysms. Air, rail and traffic accidents rise above the usual statistics.

Tuesday the 20th Mercury has an inharmonious contact to the Solar Eclipse chart of December 14, 2001. The executive branch of government and its leaders experiences communicative tensions. A brief quote from the December 2001 AstroForecast is provided that may offer clues: "The following geographical areas are sensitized to this Solar Eclipse: Alaska, Maine, Brazil, Australia, New Guinea - Papua and the Hawaiian Islands. Three other geographical areas that are indirectly connected to this Eclipse are Karachi Pakistan, Kabul Afghanistan and Tashkent Uzbekistan. Keywords associated with this lunation and Eclipse are immigration themes/issues come to the fore. Care must be taken in regards to surrendering what's real in pursuit of what may be false. Venture on a journey of inner discovery that accesses the spirit of joy and freedom without limitations based on fear. A soaring eagle touches the face of God."

Wednesday the 21st is the first of three harmonious contacts that Saturn has with the planet Uranus. The harmonious contact of these two planets with one another could be the vanguard signal of the telecommunications industries finally hitting rock bottom therefore a turnaround will be witnessed especially with two more future dates of harmony between these planets. Due to retrogradation December 16, 2002 will be another harmonious aspect between Saturn and Uranus and then through direct motion June 24, 2003 will be the final harmonious contact of these two planets. Technology stocks in general can begin to witness improvement. Progress and consolidation in these fields will fare very well especially around these dates. The following United States cities are emphasized in the Astro*Carto*Graphy Map of this Saturn - Uranus aspect: Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin Texas, Denver, Tucson, Phoenix and Salt Lake City to name a few.

A rare second annual Full Moon in Aquarius (the previous Aquarius Full Moon was July 24, 2002) occurs Thursday the 22nd at 5:29pm symbolizing the release/completion phase of the Moon. Issues involving mental cruelty or perversity, extreme emotional detachment, rebelliousness, Teflon behaviors (nothing-will-stick-to- me!) and aloofness are emphasized for release. Let go of stubbornness, ineffective rebelliousness, extreme emotional detachment, anti-social behaviors and the out-in-left-field syndromes. Aziel is this lunation's celestial angel to invoke for assistance. The Astro*Carto*Graphy Map for this lunation emphasizes the Hawaiian Islands, the entire middle section of the continent of Africa, Eastern Europe especially the following capital cities: Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest and in particular Warsaw. The following Baltic cities are also included: Vilnius Lithuania, Riga Latvia and Tallinn Estonia. Uranus is the planet that rules the sign of Aquarius and what will be interesting to note is when Uranus reaches this same degree of this Aquarius Full Moon 2002 next year. In other words what may constellate on this August Full Moon may have ramifications with the following dates in 2003: March 4th, September 25th and December 23rd. Keywords associated with this lunation are suspend ephemeral visions so that freedom and autonomy are thoroughly integrated. Cultivate unconditional respect and reverence for universal brotherhood and sisterhood in the now, here present moment. "We hope that the world will not narrow into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood" Lyndon Baines Johnson.

On this day of this rare second Aquarius Full Moon in 2002 there is a powerful alignment of Pluto with the Lunar Nodes. In ancient astrology the Nodes symbolized fate and destiny with a strong connection to the past as well as the future. Pluto conjunct the South Node can symbolize strong past karmic connections that are in a process of intense reform and upheaval but encounter strong resistance due to intense feelings to remain attached to the past. Pluto's opposition to the North Node symbolizes the definition and clarification of new paradigms of thoughts that inaugurate renewal and rebirth of diverse forms of communications, negotiations and dialogue. The most important development would be the practical applications of true commitment and trust to all these new diverse communications, negotiations and dialogue. "Every day we have, each one of us, some opportunity of transformation" Jane Bugalow. The Astro*Carto*Graphy Map of this Pluto alignment involves the following geographic areas and cities: Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Western Australia, Borneo, Malaysia, Caracas Venezuela, La Paz Bolivia, Puerto Rico, the Northeastern United States, Cairo, Jerusalem, Central Africa, Cyprus and Turkey to name a few.

Friday the 23rd at 2:17am is the annual ingress of the Sun into the sign of meticulous Virgo launching a 30-day journey in this sign that symbolizes work, health, improvement, quality of life themes, fastidiousness, hygiene, service, and changes that improve day-to-day life. Negative associations Virgo can get caught up in are criticism, perfectionism, nagging, browbeating, hypochondriac behaviors, extreme micro-management, faultfinding, and hairsplitting. The angel associated with Virgo is Hamaliel.

Saturday the 24th is an inharmonious exchange between Mars and Uranus that can play havoc with transportation disasters, violent rebellions or civil unrest, explosions, mechanical breakdowns, testy hardheadedness and engineering accidents. Mars and Uranus were last conjunct one another last November 26, 2001 so these two dates may have some link to each other. An aggravating strain of a computer virus can also be unleashed. A time period of one week before and one week after this date will be particularly important to watch in regards to this inharmonious aspect of Mars with Uranus. The consolation of all this is that Mars has a harmonious aspect to Saturn that will quickly have authorities responding to whatever crisis is sprung.

Mercury significantly makes some impact over this same weekend with an ecliptic shift occurring on Saturday that symbolizes important shifts involving changes to all commerce, trade, negotiations, contracts, information, news services, cable systems, internet and data. An important focus will be education especially concerns for teachers' salaries and benefits as well as the physical facilities of schools. On Sunday Mercury reaches its Pre-Shadow Point referring to the degree point Mercury holds that will be witnessed again October 6, 2002 due to the later retrogradation of Mercury in the month of September. Keywords associated with this Mercury Pre-Shadow Point are surrender guesses and conjectures in favor of common sense. Here is a process of emptying out the unnecessary, stripping everything to its true inner essence and allowing the "visible world" to vanish in the face of a mystical mystery. The Earth accelerates to new vibrational levels and it is time we all make adjustments. "It is much better to have common sense without an education than to have an education without common sense" Elbert Hubbard.

Monday the 26th at 6:01am is the direct station of Pluto after months of being retrograde since late March 2002. Pluto is at the middle degree of Sagittarius that will be significant for individuals especially those born in mid-Sagittarius, mid-Gemini, mid-Virgo and mid-Pisces. Individuals born in mid-Aries and mid-Leo will more than likely experience vast, transformative positive changes in their lives now. Last December 1, 2001 was when Pluto held this same degree and here is an excerpt from the December 2001 AstroForecast: "Keywords associated with this degree position Pluto holds are a tidal wave of changes looms on the horizon. The anticipation of these changes can be either exhilarating or discomforting. The future beckons with infinite potential or fear undermines with the force of a great tsunami." This degree of Pluto in Sagittarius is the same degree of the Sagittarius Full Moon of June 2001. Here is a quote from the June 2001 AstroForecast: "A quote by Lin-Chi may help with this lunation: "Thinking brings us to the foot of the mountain; faith brings us to the top". Keywords for this lunation are all human beings deserve full participation in society without the hindrances of bias, prejudice and exclusion. Whatever the cosmic poker dealer hands the cards to the individual it is important for the individual to grasp and recognize opportunities and strategies for the future. Fortify tolerance in regards to differing viewpoints and perspectives. Be there for someone when it really counts." The mold is cast in regards to corporate ethics and recent religious sexual criminal scandals.

The second monthly ecliptic shift of the Moon indicating changes with meteorological, seismic and a volcanic activity occurs on this same Monday. High strung nervous tension and insomnia afflicts certain individuals with this lunar ecliptic shift. Along with this lunar ecliptic shift is the Apogee Moon (farthest distance of the Moon to Earth) that symbolizes the ability to cultivate healthy emotional detachment, objectivity and impartiality. Concerns of this Apogee Moon involve the ability to bring healing to issues of self-criticism and anally retentive behaviors.

Monday the 26th at 4:10pm is the ingress of Mercury into the sign of Libra for an extended stay in this sign more than the usual 14-day period due to its retrogradation in mid-September 2002. Mercury trains its analytical eye on bringing greater balance through communications and discussions in all relationships. Here is a symbolic need for the better informing of one self by being able to listen to both sides of any story. Any mental decisions will be prolonged as to curry all the necessary data to make an informed decision. Patience is required to understand this process. Some individuals may vacillate and want to wait for the proverbial other shoe to drop first before making any decisions. Maintain your composure and wit with this behavior. Mercury in Libra is best described by the following Arabic Proverb: "The best of all possible negotiations is the one in which both sides are content".

Mars enters the fastidious sign of Virgo on Thursday August 29th at 9:38am for an approximate 45-day journey. Besides the aforementioned Virgo themes/issues Mars in this sign can also manifest problems with insects, especially attacks by killer bees or fire ants. Cyber/physical viruses can also present headaches during this Virgo sojourn. Pesticides can be accidentally released that pose threats to water reservoirs and the saturation of crops to be harvested. Budgetary debates become heated and military expenditures come under detailed scrutiny.

"It is the stars as not known to science that I would know,
the stars which the lonely traveler knows."

Henry David Thoreau