August Horoscopes: The Lion Ensnared

What does life look like when I refuse to chase the bouncing ball?

Alchemical Green Lion Devouring the Sun

In Aesop’s fable of the lion and the mouse, we find the former incredulous and the latter assured. Caught by the hungry lion, the mouse asks that his life be spared for one day he will help the lion in his time of need. How could this ever be? the king wonders. Soon-after the lion is trapped in a hunter’s snare, helpless until his tiny ally chews through ropes to set him free. This month, with the Sun in glorious Leo and inner planets Mercury and Venus in Virgo, we are reminded to heed the meek and the many. Delicate gestures save us in difficult times. Aesop, a figure enslaved and disabled, knows better than most that salvation often comes from unexpected sources – our small, our young, our ill, our differently abled, our impoverished, our cast aside. Take care to learn this lesson before the wheel of fortune demands it.

August opens with fated energy as the Sun, Moon, and Mars all make aspects to the lunar nodes of destiny on the first. Venus squares Uranus on the second and welcomes chaos on behalf of the downtrodden, especially women and children.

When the New Moon in Leo faces Pluto on the fourth, a monarch butterfly unfurls from the depths of the underworld. Mercury’s retrograde (8/5-8/28) begins the next day and setbacks are inevitable – eddies in the grand river - but they are not to be cursed. This Mercury is a bicycled lover, backtracking to find a golden ring dropped along a dirt path. Some things are too precious to leave in the dust.

Be prepared for moodiness, irritability, and hunger when the moon makes aspects with challenging bodies starting on the seventh. These feelings crest on the fourteenth when defiant Mars aligns with Jupiter and squares Saturn. Zeus rails against time, law, and tradition as he casts thunderbolts indiscriminately, his supply never-ending.

The Mercury cazimi on the 18th invites brief clarity, though the Full Moon in Aquarius peaks the next day in clashing fury. This moon makes an exact square with its ruler Uranus, just as Venus squares Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Eris has thrown the golden apple and it’s an all-out celestial brawl. Amidst pointing fingers, clawing, and spittle, ask yourself – what does life look like when I refuse to chase the bouncing ball?

Tension seems to dissipate briefly as the Sun enters Virgo on the 22nd, Mercury stations direct on the 28th, and Venus returns home to Libra on the 29th. The ride is wild and not without purpose. Trust the process.

— August Horoscopes —

Leo

You are born of fire - acclimated, but not immune. Prevent full combustion as you keep alight. Yes, it’s true, the sun that burns the tongue may soothe the throat, but the belly pushed too far will one day become a volcano.

Virgo

You are the fine filament that makes the bulb glow. Rethink your individuality and value your aesthetic contributions. Subtle changes are powerful and unspoken.

 Libra

This full moon brings a high tide to your creative pools. Let your starfish and anemones be replenished by this swell. Your dedication to siren’s vision will always be rewarded.

Scorpio

Oh honey, these lunations have you stuck between the past and future in hyper vivid effect. Anxiety and rumination are man-made drugs, just as addictive as the rest. Detox by breathing deeply into all four axes.

Sagittarius

The Leo new moon is your dark portal of belief. Let whatever bothers you most light the way towards a new mode of existence. Enter the tunnel and flip that coin from night to day.

Capricorn

Luna is a filter and nothing without substance will pass through. What truly matters to you, clasped hands, cordial environments, endless devotion, being understood? Let everything else fall by the wayside.

Aquarius

The Full Moon and Pluto in your sign break open a long-tightened shell. Crack the cosmic pistachio and rummage its insides, licking up the salt and debris. Let the drama of your transition catch you by surprise.

Pisces

Themes of service and sacrifice may have you yielding to a higher power. Endings are a blessing, as long as you don’t fully dissolve into the ether. Choice is the paradox that keeps us alive.

Aries

Dream of your Utopia and the people and systems who can make it real. There are modes of mass connection, digital subway lines that invite your participation. Be within the colony. Be the colony.

Taurus

The full moon brings lunacy to your drive for achievement. Grow feral for your dreams and howl at the glow of your potential. Rest suspended between climbs - your row of summits is never-ending.

Gemini

The Leo new moon has you poised for spoken magic. Your recitations are prone to come alive - incant scripts of glory and truth. A psalm is what you make it.

Cancer

Debt was once meant to unite two families in relationship, cloth wrapped over hands joined in ceremony. Examine your ties of owing: cherish the blessed unions and free yourself from malefic binds.