Image by Johannes Plenio
Horoscope: August 12 - 18, 2019
Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.
Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. For Eastern Time, add 3 hours. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.
TUE: Sun sesquiquadrate Chiron, Venus sesquiquadrate Chiron, Mercury sesquiquadrate Neptune, Sun conjunct Venus, Venus quincunx Pluto, Sun quincunx Pluto
THU: Full Moon 5:29 a.m. PDT, Mercury trine Chiron
FRI: Mercury square Uranus, Venus trine Eris
SAT: Sun trine Eris, Mars sesquiquadrate Saturn, Mars enters Virgo
WHAT A POWERFUL WEEK we've just completed! Although many of the planetary events we've been working with are now in our rear view mirror, their energies will continue to play out over the coming week.
Last Thursday, I spoke with Elsie Kerns in a Facebook "BeLive" about all that's been going on--Jupiter and Uranus stationary, Jupiter conjunct the Great Attractor, and Sirius emerging from behind the Sun. The video of our 20-minute conversation is available at the end of this article I hope you find the information helpful.
IN PARTICULAR, we continue to work with the heightened influence of both Jupiter and Uranus this week. Jupiter is the great magnifying glass, making everything feel much larger in our experience--our highs and our lows, our successes and our perceived failures. Currently in Sagittarius, Jupiter is also activating strong polarities of opinion and belief, bringing those differences to the courtroom and the congress.
At the same time, reactionary Uranus is stirring up our impatience with the status quo. Restlessness is increased, and we feel the strong need to rebel against that which is holding us back, individually and collectively. With Uranus in Taurus, that unsettled feeling is expressed through nature and the environment, adding to our sense of overall instability.
Together, Jupiter and Uranus have the capacity to move us into the future--but it is not a measured, step-by-step process. At times, it can feel more like a catapult has been released, which can cause moments of anxiety, especially if we are attached to the forms that have been in place.
TUESDAY of this week looks like a bit of a "crunch" day, due to several planetary aspects in effect. The Sun and Venus, which have been traveling hand-in-hand for a few weeks now, are exactly aligned on Tuesday. This indicates an opportunity for a new beginning in the Venus-ruled areas of relationships, values, the arts, and financial investments. New bonds are being forged at this time, ones that will affect our reality for the foreseeable future.
However, at the time of their alignment, the Sun and Venus are also exactly sesquiquadrate Chiron and quincunx Pluto. The Chiron aspect means there's still some healing that needs to occur before the new relationship or investment can be formalized; Pluto's involvement indicates that we will benefit from looking more deeply at the unconscious fears that may be motivating our choices at this time.
THE FULL MOON on Thursday occurs at 5:29 a.m. PDT (12:29 p.m. GMT), when the Moon is at 22°24? of Aquarius. This Full Moon, being opposite the Sun and Venus in Leo, energizes the emotional need for our unique perspective to be appreciated and honored by others.
With Vesta at 22°38? of Taurus, a fixed T-square is formed at the time of the lunation. Fixed T-squares can challenge our values, asking us to consider our attachment to a certain perspective. We may not have all the flexibility that is ideal, especially when it comes to respecting another person's opinion. As such, we can be drawn into a battle of wills.
In the positive, this configuration can bestow strength and determination in the face of obstacles, driven by a deep desire to create long-term stability. At the same time, we must maintain a certain level of detachment so that the pressure of strong desire does not determine our well-being.
ADDING MORE FUEL to the fire of this lunation, the Full Moon is aligned with the fixed star Beta Gruis. The location of this star is at the very heart of the Crane constellation. In his book, The Magic of the Stars, Roderick Kidston writes that:
"Beta Gruis is a very strong star, giving above all high spiritual strength, but other kinds of strength, too: an inner fire, passionate and ardent, sometimes very determined, and even willful. The more primitive expression of this star is closed off and self-centered."
THIS SELF-CENTERED SIDE of Beta Gruis reinforces what we've already discussed about the fixed T-square, adding another caution flag to the week ahead. However, those of us with spiritual inclinations will be inspired to read what else Mr. Kidston has to say:
"The ability to access higher realms, or to have a kind of direct line to Divine Grace, is apparent with Beta Gruis, too. Those who are attuned to "the Heart of the Crane" are able to demonstrate a deep integrity with whatever they pursue ... There is a strong evolutionary push, a desire to express the best and to help as many and as much as possible. [This star] gives a gift of Grace--how well you use it (or lose it!) is up to you. Great gifts bring great responsibilities ... but for those who are willing to do some work on themselves, and especially for those willing to do something worthwhile for others as well, Beta Gruis is both a true, strong friend, and an open channel to the Divine."
Just think, if we were all to tap into these nobler qualities of Beta Gruis!--the energies that enable us to see beyond personal gratification, to be open and available to Divine inspiration, and to align with the higher purpose in our lives ... We could truly become, together, an even more powerful force for positive change.
CHALLENGING US to be open to new perspectives and insights, Mercury is square Uranus on Friday. This aspect represents times in which the conscious, logical mind (Mercury) is thrown off-track by surprising events or by information from the higher mind. This can manifest through situations that we would normally associate with Mercury retrograde--unexpected detours, forgetfulness, impatience--but if we pause and breathe in the midst of our frustration, we can open to the potentials that traveling down a new road can bring.
Some of that annoyance is also due to the hard Mars-Saturn aspect that occurs on Saturday. This is a bit like having the brake and gas pedals both engaged at the same time--we may experience a lot of false starts, and wonder if we'll ever make it beyond the block we're currently driving.
BUT ERIS--our oft-misunderstood dwarf planet--actually comes to the rescue this time! Both the Sun and Venus are trine Eris late in the week, so we can avail ourselves of the courage, brazenness, and independent action associated with Eris in more creative and productive ways than usual.
I leave you with a list of the positive effects of Eris, provided by astrologer Philip Sedgwick, to inspire you as you work with the potent energies of the coming week:
"Liberation from addictions to success or status, clear priorities regarding matters of love and money, finally getting that you can't take it with you and applying full resourcefulness, recognition of the potency of your energy and life force, personal sense of emergence, and a clear sense of the sacred marriages: spirit to body, self to Creator, and between soulful companions."
*****
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your personal relationships and values are a strong theme for the year ahead, Leo. You have an opportunity not only for a new beginning, but also for a deeper healing of certain issues that have undermined your self-confidence. Insights into your own motivations and unconscious patterns are more available to you now, if you are willing to gaze within. Once you do, and have released the old fears and resentments, you are able to access great courage and to harness your innate capacity to create joy and personal fulfillment in your life. (Solar Return Sun conjunct Venus, sequiquadrate Chiron, quincunx Pluto, trine Eris)
For previous weeks of the Astrological Journal, click here.
Video: Pam Younghans talks about the Great Attractor, Yod and Evolution!
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About the Author
Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail
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