Hello, star-gazers! What a week! Did anyone else get a slight shock or rude awakening from the Triple Conjunction planets? If you did, drop a comment below — I’m always interested in knowing how transits play out for those who care to share!
If I had to pick two Tarot cards to represent the week, it would be the Seven of Cups reversed and The Tower.
This week is all about shattering our illusions and encountering conflicts and frustrations.
The full moon is not — I repeat, not — favourable for any rituals or intention-setting; it’s definitely a lay-low and let-it-pass energy that, at best, could bring a karmic release in the areas of our charts ruled by Scorpio.
But, before we do a deep dive into August 11th’s big lunation, let’s do a day-by-day of the major transits for the week ahead.
AUGUST 7
Today, Venus trines retrograde Neptune and Mars squares retrograde Saturn. I’m not digging either of these, though the Venus trine is definitely the lighter transit.
First off, retrograde Neptune in Pisces in the last degrees of the sign is doing some difficult housekeeping. Its energy can be most like the Seven of Cups reversed as Neptune’s retrograde movement can shatter illusions.
The area that transiting Neptune falls in your natal chart will cover the topics of its difficult internal housekeeping. If retrograde Neptune is transiting your:
First or seventh houses: it’s about you, your marriage or business relationships;
Sixth or tenth houses: matters concerning your work or career trajectory, and possibly health-related issues in the sixth;
Fifth house: your romantic relationships, children, entrepreneurial or creative ventures;
Third and ninth houses: academic aspirations, online endeavours, or relationships with siblings and extended family;
Eleventh house: it’s about the people you associate with, such as mentors, community and social groups, and friends;
Fourth house: home and family;
Second and eighth houses: your finances; and
Twelfth house: your mental and psychological well-being.
While outer planet retrogrades aren’t too bad generally, having so many big planets retrograde — including Pluto and Saturn and Uranus later this month — can really amp up our angstiness.
Neptune’s retrograde motion can also cause us to internalize fears and anxieties relating to the specific topical area that Neptune is transiting in our charts, and with Pluto’s compulsive influence in aspect — as well as the influence of that Triple Conjunction in a fairly wide orb — this can electrify and darken Neptune’s feelings of defeat, disillusionment and disappointment.
Don’t forget that Neptune has been in this house for over a decade, so this transit is part of a much larger storyline for all of us. Part of that story has included some major highs, hopes and big dreams in this area of life, but this transit tests the foundations on which those dreams were built, and, for some of us, those foundations might already have come crashing down.
During this transit, you may also feel more tempted to escape whatever challenging emotions you’re feeling through your typical methods of self-medication. This feeling may have started around the time that Neptune stationed retrograde back in late June. It’s going to take a lot of discipline during transits that ping Neptune to resist the urge to give into that self-medication impulse.
On the positive side, the trine from Venus could bring a bit of creative inspiration for a personal project, since the energies of retrograde Neptune are more inwardly focused. However, this aspect can also magnify our sometimes illusory ideas about what Venus represents in our charts — often financial matters, romantic relationships, relationships with the women in our lives, or, for all those Libra and Taurus risings out there, some aspect of yourself, your capabilities or self-confidence.
With Venus being in Cancer, there’s also an undercurrent of nostalgia here, or a desire to get to a metaphorical “home” that Neptune retrograde is saying “no” to, so, while I don’t think it’ll be a rocky transit, it may be one that either sees you making one last fake-smile push to hold onto the illusion, or experience an ah-ha moment of how to move forward in this area of your life when Neptune stations direct in December.
The other transit taking place today is Mars’ square with Saturn. When two malefics meet up in the sky, expect friction!
This can be another area of angst and escalated fear, since Saturn often makes us feel poorly equipped to excel in the area of life that Mars wants us to push forward in.
Although separating from the triple conjunction, Mars is still within that three-degree orb of influence, so you can expect some of my earlier comments on managing the Triple Conjunction energies to stand. (Not sure what those are? Make sure to read my Triple Conjunction forecast and survival guide for tips to hold you in good stead for the balance of the month!)
With Mars moving into the exact square with retrograde Saturn, this could feel like any sudden creative energy or idea that you might have had in and around the triple conjunction grinds to a halt from a barrier that Saturn in Aquarius has put up.
Alternatively, retrograde Saturn may just be the little voice inside your head reminding you that you’re not smart enough, not successful enough and not resourceful enough to make your ideas a reality.
As Saturn is in the overcoming position, you will want to avoid allowing it to get the upper hand, so you’ll need to work especially hard at disciplining the nay-saying voice or the actual voices of nay-sayers in your life as represented by Saturn.
AUGUST 9
On Tuesday, another transit that I’m not really digging is Venus’ opposition to retrograde Pluto.
Pluto can be a planet of obsession, compulsion, control, manipulation, secrets, and dark depths and, in already stern and difficult Capricorn, the cold dryness of Saturn’s domicile makes Pluto’s manipulations more austere and calculating. There’s also a hardness to Pluto here that makes its energies especially hurtful.
Venus in Cancer is still in that homey sign of nostalgia, relationships, home and family, security, and our longing to belong, so be careful under this opposition that you don’t happen to have someone take advantage of that Venusian vulnerability. Our subconscious desire for all these things could lead us to be more susceptible to being snatched into Pluto’s chthonic grip, so those embarking on new romantic relationships may need to be especially on their guard during this transit since a potential paramour may exploit this vulnerability.
Alternatively, the signature of hidden secrets coming to light is always a possibility with Pluto. Pluto abhors lies, so this could be a transit where things that you thought were buried begin to surface in either your romantic relationships, or in friendships with close female friends or maternal figures in your life.
Both Pluto and Venus have associations with wealth and finances, so this could also be a transit of obsessive and detrimental spending, or a sudden loss of some sort, since Pluto also rules crimes.
Another peculiar event we could see with this transit is a sewer (Pluto) backing up in your homes and damaging personal belongings (Venus), so take extra care with your more valued possessions at this time and don’t avoid any repairs around the home.
AUGUST 11
Thursday is a busy day astrologically.
Venus moves into Leo where the sun is in its rulership, so this is going to be a fairly good time for the part of your chart that Leo rules.
Venus can bring a harmonizing influence, some positive relationships, and creative inspiration for manifestation in this topical area.
This will be a high point of the week, with this area of your life lighting up in a positive way for the next little while.
The more challenging aspects today are the Sun’s square to Uranus and Mars’ sextile with retrograde Neptune.
Let’s tackle the Sun first, since this is a crunchy transit that can see Uranian disruptions in your life.
Check the area of your chart that Taurus rules to get a flavour of the topics that this house might bring in, but generally expect some Taurean-esque disruptions. For instance, if Leo rules your tenth, then its aspect with Uranus could bring about unexpected conflict related to it in your business relationships. If Leo rules your fifth, then you might expect some unanticipated conflict with children over money matters.
Given that Uranus is still configured in a tight orb with North Node, which the Sun squared the day before, the magnitude of this disruption can be much larger than expected, so be careful not to make mountains out of mole hills if you can.
Then, Mars’ sextile with retrograde Neptune should be a gentler aspect, but again one that may see you still experience some frustrations.
Mars is the planet of doing and, when watery, dispersive Neptune gets in the mix, some of the energetic focus of Mars is zapped. With the retrograde quality of Neptune, Mars may butt up against some old wounds, or alternatively, some peculiarly disempowered feelings. Already battling nay-saying Saturn earlier in this week, Mars may have a tough time getting anything done if it hits a Neptune that’s in woe-is-me mode.
On the flipside, be careful that you don’t get an overinflated sense of your capacity for helping others in some sort of self-righteous savior notion. Given the pressure that Venus may be placing on relationships in that trine to Neptune earlier in the week, Mars can take on the frustrations of thinking that it has given far more than it has ever gotten.
And finally, late on August 11, we have the Aquarius full moon forming a conjunction with Saturn and squaring the North and South Nodes and Uranus.
Now, I really dislike this full moon, so if you’re planning any particular rituals for it, skip it, in my view. The conjunction with retrograde Saturn is a big no-no for any rituals, since you always want a moon unafflicted by malefics, and Saturn being retrograde will further impair any forward momentum. Moreover, Saturn is a planet of lack and austerity, and its potentially internalizing quality of fear could just make whatever you’re planning go horribly awry.
The squares with the Nodes and Uranus also make for an unpredictable outcome. Any aspect to Uranus can be unstable, since the energy is predominantly malefic, so I hesitate to suggest that this is some brilliant transit for creative insights.
On the bright side, the square to the South Node could be challenging, but it could also offer a much-needed release in the area of your life ruled by Scorpio.
So, that’s all I’ve got for you this week. In the YouTube version of this forecast, you can catch a news headline recap of the Triple Conjunction, taking a peek at how the forecasted energies played out last week, so be sure to visit my channel!
If you found any of this helpful, don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe! Come back next Sunday for another week-ahead forecast.
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I’m on Instagram @theeclecticoccultista and on YouTube under the same channel title.
*DISCLAIMER: All astrological forecasts are for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Any decisions that you might make as a result of reading this or any other astrological blog entry are YOURS ALONE and the creator of this blog will not be held responsible! For any legal issues, see a lawyer; for medical ones, consult a physician. None of the information in this blog constitutes actionable advice from a licensed professional. Once again, this forecast is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
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