WEEK OF AUGUST 26, 2019

JON KOKO – KARESANSUI

 

Out of perfection nothing can be made.
Every process involves breaking something up.
Joseph Campbell

And just like that, Virgo season is here, and this is definitely one of the most grounding time of the year when we can see the results and the reasons of the past. Not only do we have a stellium in Virgo (stellium: 4 or more planets in the same sign), the New Moon on Friday August 30th is positively supported by Uranus in Taurus. It is a time of traction and implementation for what is being birthed in your life. The new structures that are emerging on the horizon are starting to make sense and you can begin to see the tangible manifestations of your long held visions, the birth of a new awareness, a new reality.

The wish you whispered half consciously under your breath while sleeping is surrounding you. The faint light that guided you through the storm is now your illumination. There is a clarity about the events in your life and a reason for everything. Nothing is perfect but you might be able to accept that all the imperfect decisions has led you exactly where you are.

Witness your powers of manifestation for better or for worst.

Pixelated wood sculptures by Hsu Tung Han

Until the new moon in Virgo on Friday, we stand in the liminal darkness of the waning Moon, the dark of the Moon. Slowdown your pace, reflect, contemplate, clean, cleanse, purge, stretch, create space for the wisdom to enter, collect the strength from the Earth, lay low.

Monday: Moon in Cancer
Tuesday: Moon in Cancer – Moon enters Leo at 21:23 NDT
Wednesday: Moon in Leo
Thursday: Moon in Leo – Moon enters Virgo at 21:27 NDT
Friday: New Moon in Virgo 8:07am NDT
Saturday: Moon in Virgo – Moon enters Libra at 20:37 NDT
Sunday: Moon in Libra

The New Moon in Virgo takes place on Friday August 30th at 8:07am NDT/6:37am EDT. The New Moon signals the beginning of the work, a time of creation and implementation, of ”to-do” lists, of tangibility and manifestation, a time of taking advantage of the resources available to you, utilizing your space and body properly and efficiently. All the small actions that leads to the whole, it’s happening now. Your breath, the way you chew your food, your digestion, your posture. The superfluous will seem extra superfluous while you find a purpose for everything. Each little things in their place, there is a place for everything, and no space wasted.

The New Moon is linked to the revolutionary ways in which you approach the ordinary. Set your intentions, but don’t set them to high as to be discouraged. Plant your intentions in the realm of the possible, the tangible, the practical, something that will yield a satisfactory result down the road, every step counts, every action has meaning.

Wood sculpture by Yoshitoshi Kanemaki

“Your thoughts, become your words;
your words, become actions;
your actions, become habits;
your habits, become your character;
your character,  becomes your destiny.”

GROW• GLOW• SHIMMER: NEW MOON IN LEO

Bruce Pennington, 1973

 

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The month of July ends with a New Moon in Leo which will be exact at 23:12 EDT on July 31st. A few minutes later, Mercury stations direct in Cancer after being retrograde since the 7th of July. The New Moon in Leo and Mercury direct initiates us into the month of August, on the other side of eclipse season and in the bright light of the Sun who is at home in the sign of Leo.

→ Look to where the New Moon in Leo is taking place in your birth chart to understand where the focus is  for this upcoming lunation. The Full Moon in Aquarius on August 14 will see a culmination in the opposite house to where Leo sits and you can expect the next few weeks to highlight both the Leo and Aquarius house topics in your chart.

After a month of gestation, we enter a period of rationality and brilliance which will allow us to study in clear daylight, the pearls of wisdom that were birthed in the eclipses shadows. The intuitive epiphanies regarding certain roadblocks and detours inherited from the past, and the revelations contained in our personal biographies can now be observed with a certain lucid detachment as a fresh chapter emerges on the horizon. The page is blank, the fruits are ripped, and fresh intentions are being initiated with the conviction that we really do deserve the best of the best.

Honour and pride is on the menu in the first half of August. Leo season is a time of courage and conviction, of stepping up to the plate and having the guts of embodying your role with confidence. Now is a time for recognizing your accomplishments, your worth, and to show up with your best face on, trusting that you know exactly how its done.

Shimmering sparkles arising from the light – hypnotizing with a fiery glow – a magnetizing charisma containing the warmth of love and attraction. Thirsty, the seeker extends a hand towards the object of power –  hoping to catch its radiance and become a God.

Jupiter stations direct in Sagittarius on August 11, after being retrograde since mid-April and this should help boost our confidence level. On the same day, Mercury enters Leo setting the ego ablaze as Uranus turn retrograde in Taurus until next eclipse season in January 2020.

Micheal Heizer

 

The Full Moon in Aquarius takes place on August 14, just as Venus in Leo reaches her superior conjunction moving behind the Sun. This marks the time when Venus transition from the morning to evening sky. Venus will be visible as a bright evening “star” in the sky after sunset in September and October 2019.

The Full Moon in Aquarius brings a culmination in regards to our own needs and desires versus the desires of the whole. Certain people might be accused of selfishness during this time as we try to reconcile our values with the values of others. Venusian matters will certainly be on our mind in mid-August and a division could be felt in regards to the practical versus the superfluous. We might feel more indulgent and deserving and this could create some friction with others who are also trying to get their piece of cake. Brash and dramatic displays of superiority are also possible as egos collide; even if you know best, you might not be heard in the cacophony of roars. 

Mars enters Virgo on August 18, followed by Venus on August 21st, and the Sun on August 23rd. The second half of the month will contain a lot more planets in Earth elements bringing pragmatism to our ambitions, and practical steps to reach our goals. The heated passions being felt in the first weeks of August will find proper outlets by the end of the month as we slowly come back down to Earth with the gifts of Fire. The last week of August sees a Mars/Venus conjunction in Virgo supported by a trine to Uranus; you will know exactly what to do and how to do it.

Love and passion, passion and beauty, beauty and lust, lust and novelty, novelty and pleasure, pleasure and discovery, discovery and freedom, freedom and connection, connection and soul.

The New Moon in Virgo takes place early on August 30th at 6 degrees of Virgo signalling fresh momentum in the part of your chart where Virgo is located. This should be a fantastic lunation to organize and take care of details that were ignored in the last few months. Delineating a schedule or a plan for your goals should help relieve some of the anxiety. It could feel like a lot needs to be done and September promises to be a good month to get on track. Organization will be high on the priority list and a clear action-plan will support your efforts towards reaching your objectives. The New Moon in Virgo trining Uranus, carries the promise of self-sufficiency born out of efforts.

 

 

 

Sun in Virgo: Boldness & Patience

The Sun is now at 0º Virgo in a conjunction with the fixed star Regulus (The heart of the Lion). This interesting part of the zodiac is often associated with The Sphinx; the meeting of the lion with the maiden.

We are on the other side of the much-anticipated and powerful Solar Eclipse/New Moon at 28º Leo. It will take a few weeks before we assimilate and understand what this means for us on a personal scale but also for the world we live in.

We are being pushed towards bold new beginnings but with Mercury retrograde in Virgo until September 5th our ambitious goals will need careful and deliberate planning. With the Sun in Virgo for the next month, we must bow down to the earth and the natural rhythms of nature. A shift has occurred but it will take time before it becomes visible and we must tend to the ordinary in order to bring about the extraordinary.

Mercury goes direct on September 5th at 28º of Leo; the degree of the Solar Eclipse/New Moon in Leo. By then, we should gain greater clarity and have a pretty good idea of where we are heading.

MERCURY RETROGRADE: Ordinary & Extraordinary

Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary
-Blaise Pascal

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Mercury retrograde always brings some form of revision either willingly or imposed on us by unforeseen circumstances. There is no reason to hop on the Mercury-Retro-Freak-Out-Train as this occurs approximately 3 times a year.

Mercury will be retrograde in the sign of Virgo and then Leo from August 12th to September 5th, 2017.

One of the striking aspect of this particular retrograde is the Mercury/Neptune opposition mere days before the beginning of the retrograde.

This means that the week leading up to the retrograde is somewhat foggy or tinted by wishful thinking and clarity is already lost. There could be confusion between facts and fiction. It could be that a situation is not seen for what it is and we are getting lost in glamorous thinking. Venus is also trine to Neptune and the Sun is in Leo after all!

Mercury/Neptune is not a terrible aspect in itself but decision making might not be anchored in reality. If you know this already, work it to your advantage and take into account that your perception will shift considerably by the time this retrograde is all said and done.

The Full Moon in Aquarius on August 7th was the first of 2 Eclipses happening this month and this also has to be taken into account. The liminal space between Eclipses can be thought of as a transitional period. Often the time surrounding Eclipses bring unforeseen circumstances which shake the foundations in our lives. Events pushes us to take a leap of faith or break with the old ways. Sometimes these events are forced upon us and the path we were until then walking on vanishes aligning us on a totally new and unforeseen trajectory.

Mercury retrogrades are best spent re-evaluating, sorting out, and revising what is already in place. Mercury retrogrades are not so great for launching major new projects and ideas. Since this retrograde begins in the Mercury ruled sign of Virgo, there is no better time to get down to the nitty-gritty details of your life and put them in order. Mercury will retrograde back into the sign of Leo on August 31st. The subject of self-esteem, pride, the desire for recognition, following one’s heart, dreams and passions will all be added to the mix.

*If the eclipses are already bringing major changes in your life, embrace them and apply a good strategy to insure your success.

Here are a few more tips to help you navigate the upcoming retrograde in Virgo & Leo:

☿-Don’t sweat the small stuff: Virgos can be hyper critical and self-loathing since they have such unreachable high standards for themselves. Give yourself a break and pay attention to your internal dialogues; keep it positive and guilt free.

☿-Sweat the small stuff: Mercury retrograde in Virgo is a great time to revise and organize. A great time to tackle all the menial jobs that you have been putting off. Paper work, writing, editing and organizing could really put you ahead of the game. Re-evaluate the processes in your life and find solutions that will help you be more efficient.

☿-Find activities that help alleviate anxiety: Over-thinking and the endless quest for perfection is a modern diseases. Step-away from it all with activities that help you disconnect from the over-achieving mind. Go pet a goat.

☿-Find healing

☿-Be easy on yourself: You are where you are suppose to be. Trust the process.

☿-Get in touch with your procrastination: The more you put things off the tighter the grip will get. Maybe your to-do list is to big? What can you do to alleviate the pressure?

☿-With Mercury going back into the sign of Leo, issues of pride and self-esteem could come up. Following our heart is always a work in progress. Practice asking for what you need directly and without shame. Allow your heart’s desires to express themselves in a healthy way.

☿-Understand that success is a state of mind.

☿-Do not let your pride get in the way of the hard work needed to succeed.

☿-If you know your chart, look at where Virgo and Pisces are located. Do you have important planets or is your Ascendant in Virgo or Pisces? Perhaps some organizing is called for in those areas of your life.

☿-Since this Mercury retrograde is weaved in with the 2 eclipses in August, look at where Leo and Aquarius fall in your chart. Do you have any important planets or is your Ascendant either in Leo or Aquarius? Events surrounding the next two months will bring opportunities to break away from an old way of being. This could be subtle or dramatic depending on your natal dispositons.

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                              Jack Kerouac (Virgo rising and Moon in Virgo) on Self-Loathing
                                                          

“The rucksack sits hopefully in a strewn mess of bottles all empty, empty poorboys of white port, butts, junk, horror … ‘One fast move or I’m gone,’ I realize, gone the way of the last three years of drunken hopelessness which is a physical and spiritual and metaphysical hopelessness you can’t learn in school no matter how many books on existentialism or pessimism you read, or how many jugs of vision-producing Ayahuasca you drink, or Mescaline take, or Peyote goop up with – that feeling when you wake up with the delirium tremens, with the fear of eerie death dripping from your ears like those special heavy cobwebs spiders weave in the hot countries, the feeling of being a bentback mudman monster groaning underground in hot steaming mud pulling a long hot burden nowhere, the feeling of standing ankle deep in hot boiled pork blood, ugh, of being up to your waist in a giant pan of greasy brown dishwater not a trace of suds left in it – the face of yourself you see in the mirror with its expression of unbearable anguish so haggard and awful with sorrow you can’t even cry for a thing so ugly, so lost, no connection whatever with early perfection, and therefore nothing to connect with tears or anything.”

 

 

 

SUN AT 0º OF VIRGO – TO SHINE AND TO SERVE

Art by Chie Yoshii

The Sun just crossed from Leo to Virgo and is now conjunct the star Regulus (The heart of the Lion). This interesting part of the zodiac is often associated with The Sphinx. The meeting of the lion with the maiden. In more ancient systems these two are thought to have been one sign.

The Sphinx is a symbol of the co-joined male and female energies and the hermaphrodite stage of consciousness. When the ego power and personal desires meet humility, purity and healing power.

Relinquishing the loud voices of personal ambitions to bow down to the earth, the processes of nature and receive initiation into her secrets.