Cosmic Weather Report August 2020
By Catie Cadge
Welcome to the Santa Cruz Cosmic Weather Report – Evolutionary Astrology of the moment, your moment in time, our collective moment of change! August begins with the Full Moon in Aquarius at 11˚46’ on Monday morning, the 3rd, at 8:58 am, PDT. She looks large and beautiful in her waxing glory the night before, Sunday evening. Just prior to reaching exact opposition with the Sun in Leo, Moon will form a square with Uranus in Taurus, 10 degrees.
A fast-moving event, this lunar time may offer us some flashes of sudden insight. How have our values shifted? How can we better use our resources in support of our true self-expression and our Aquarian needs for individuation? Look to see what houses the Moon and Sun will grace and where the much longer transit of Uranus is moving in your own birthchart.
Remember how, back in March, we were asked to ponder the meme: “The Earth has sent us all to our rooms to think about what we have done?” Well, now the cosmos sets the stage for making potentially new, radical and innovative plans, while gradually putting them into action, with patience and endurance. We can eventually reach our goals when wintertime rolls around and hopefully Covid-19 restrictions lift. I can’t help but think of the lyrics of Bob Dylan, “There’s a slow, slow train coming up around the bend.”
When the Moon is Full, Mars in Aries at 19˚22’ forms a square, 90˚, with Jupiter, now retrograde, at 19˚50’ Capricorn, giving us some insights into the late summer season and what we can expect moving into fall. Jupiter, the gaseous giant, often tends to expand and open us up to growth and opportunity – though opportunity may not always seem “good.” Recently Jupiter, when conjunct with Pluto, contributed to surges in Covid-19 cases. In mid-May, Jupiter shifted retrograde and has been traveling back through late Capricorn. Jupiter is not comfortable in the sign of Capricorn, where the planet is considered in its fall. Jupiter is about rolling the dice, taking chances, jumping in with enthusiasm, whereas Capricorn prefers a slow, methodical approach, utilizing careful strategy and sustained effort.
In August, we have a celestial symphony of planetary aspects present to help and challenge us to work through this bizarre reality of Covid-19 isolation and what may feel like ongoing inertia into true change and new opportunity. With Mars in Aries, a strong placement for the planet, the mood of the moment feels like a need to take action, to jump ahead into our plans, our dreams. Some may feel a desire for full-steam ahead! But, somehow, we also manage to drive with the brakes on, or so it seems. Pushing forward with our plans requires a steady, patient mindset, with some strategy, some reworking and some rebuilding.
Mid-August, Mars in Aries forms a square with the planet Pluto in Capricorn at 23˚05’, exact August 13. Tensions may flare and anger or violence is possible at this time. On a personal level, use the time productively by approaching the square as “rocket fuel” for evolutionary change.
Mid-September, Jupiter stations direct at 17˚24’. Meanwhile Mars turns retrograde September 9th at 28˚09’ Aries, the two are almost 10 degrees apart then. But they dance together, moving direct and retrograde, back into another square by mid-October. Such an intriguing balancing act of push and pull, planning and grasping, while sometimes thwarted and blocked! Secret is to contemplate where and how to move forward with grace, right intention, and perhaps to pray for patience and have hope in what we can eventually build, something built to last.
From the beginning of July through early November, Jupiter in Capricorn is in a sextile, 60˚, aspect with Neptune, 18-20˚ Pisces. What a supportive time to visualize political and societal change, work toward a new dream and a collective healing for America as we prepare for the November election. Sextiles provide opportunity, but require work. Neptune in Pisces, a long transit that started back in 2011 and that will last until January, 2026, can be a time characterized by escapism and widespread epidemics and disease, but it is also a time of spiritual reawakening. Jupiter and Pluto together in Capricorn strive to tear down old structures of oppression and patriarchal dominance and help us to imagine and re-create a better country in support of true democracy for all. How do you play a role in this unfolding revolution? Look to see where 17˚ to 20˚ Capricorn and Pisces fall in your birthchart. For some, Jupiter and Neptune may be ushering in more personal change and growth.
Let’s enjoy the inspirations and insights of an Aquarius August Full Moon! And embrace the hope, willpower and “slow, slow train a coming” action of Jupiter and Mars and the dreamy visions of Neptune!
Catie Cadge is an evolutionary astrologist in Santa Cruz.
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