The Aquarius Full Moon always challenges us to heroic efforts as we reconcile the tension between our longing for a brighter future for our community and our immediate desires for personal power. This year that tension comes with 2 weeks of shocking conflict in mid-August. Check the end of this report for an exact list of dates or just expect August 12th to 24th to be a bit crazy.
Mercury, retrograde since August 5th, muddles our thoughts more dramatically as it moves backward into Leo on August 14th. Because of Mercury moving back and forth during this Retrograde season, we have a triple dose of shocking news from Mercury squaring Uranus. The first one occurred on July 21st when Biden dropped out of the race. The second happens on August 18th with old information bringing the shocks as Mercury is retrograde when it happens. The third one comes on September 7th with Uranus retrograde instead of Mercury bringing old rebellions to the forefront. On August 18th, we’ll get a quick break from the Mercury Cazimi, when Mercury Rx meets the Sun, giving us insight into the shocking circumstances surrounding this week coming from both the Sun and Mercury Rx squaring Uranus. Hold onto those awarenesses on August 19th when the Full Moon also squares Uranus bringing emotional struggles from these unprecedented events.
T-squares, when 2 planets oppose each other while squaring a third planet, bring complicated conflicts. The opposition between the urges represented by each opposing planet polarize our desires. With both opposing planets also squaring a third planet, it is like having a tug of war during a hurricane. When a 4th planet is near any of the 3 planets of a T-square, it intensifies either the tug of war or the hurricane. In August we have 2 different T-squares going on and both have 4 planets involved. With a T-square between the Sun and Mercury Rx in Leo opposing the Moon in Aquarius while both square Uranus in Taurus, the fixed signs will feel the first conflict the most. Mercury Rx joins the Sun’s tug of war with the Full Moon pitting our sense of self and muddled communication against our emotional desires. Thankfully, the Sun and Moon are moving fast enough that this conflict lasts only a few days. The mutable signs will struggle with a different T-square as the tug of war between Saturn in Pisces and Venus in Virgo undergoes heavier hurricane winds as Mars meets Jupiter in Gemini. These are slower moving planets so their conflict will last over a week.
In May, Jupiter started a year long travel through Gemini which increased publications and builds conversation. At its weakest in Gemini, Jupiter fails to offer its usual luck and win / win attitude, making the impact of its meeting with Mars more about big celebrations for the winners than the usual just resolution Jupiter prefers. Jupiter and Mars conjunctions bring out the hero in us, this one looks to bring out the need for a hero. Expect a peak for exaggerated verbal fights, bravado and hostile hypocrisy. Saturn’s usual reality check has been missing as it travels through dreamy Pisces with fantastical Neptune. Thankfully, Neptune is far enough away from Saturn that it provides distant support rather than entering the tug of war on Saturn’s team. When Venus in precise Virgo opposes Saturn, those dreams become unpleasant, fostering dystopian fantasies and melancholy nostalgia. Because those opposing planets are both squaring Mars and Jupiter, the bravado and hypocrisy feed the dystopian fantasies and increase our need for a hero who will do the disciplined work that Saturn demands for a better future.
While the whole world experiences the energy of transits, when the planets connect with something in the natal chart, we feel it more. That natal chart can be for a person, an organization as well as for a country. For the chart used for the birth of the United States, August’s Full Moon returns the Moon and Mars to near their natal placements which makes both of the T squares affecting the Moon and Mars more intense for the USA.
In a country’s chart, the Moon represents the general population. Because we have an Aquarius Moon in the 3rd House our community feels deeply about communications around technology and the future. We love to create innovative projects and have a tendency to be infatuated with progress and social causes. All of those things will be highlighted during the Full Moon and be even weirder as well as more shocking and rebellious when the Moon squares Uranus. Unprecedented Uranus has been roughly square to our country’s natal Moon for years already. With Uranus barely moving as it prepares to go retrograde on September 1st, the impact is transit is strengthened and lasts longer.
Mars represents not only the military and athletes of a country but also how the people approach conflict and competition. With Mars in Gemini in the 7th House, America fights with words especially around partnerships and people we see as other. We also have a tendency towards hypocrisy or talking out of both sides of our face as Gemini is a twin sign. We are changing how we approach conflict for the next two years with Mars returning to the same degree as the USA’s natal Mars. Right now with Jupiter joining Mars, fights will get bigger but the speed and growth will repeatedly crash into Saturn’s limits and become unpleasant with a square to Venus.
With the swirling contradictions in mid-August unavoidable, remember that not everyone will experience these transits with the same intensity. It’s always a good idea to slow down when things aren’t clear and get enough self-care so you can be your best. Take breaks from social media when the country’s transits become too much. Celebrate the heros and your own heroic actions that arise during this challenging 2 weeks and remember it is only 2 weeks. Come September, this will fade and we’ll be focusing on new areas that offer challenge and success.
- Aug 14 ~ Mercury Rx enters Leo
- Aug 14 ~ Mars conjunct Jupiter in Gemini
- Aug 16 ~ Mars in Gemini squares Saturn Rx in Pisces
- Aug 18 ~ Mercury Rx Cazimi in Leo squares Uranus
- Aug 19 ~ Aquarius Full Moon squares Uranus in Taurus
- Aug 19 ~ Venus in Virgo squares Jupiter and opposes Saturn Rx in Pisces
- Aug 19 ~ Jupiter in Gemini squares Saturn Rx in Pisces
- Aug 22 ~ Venus in Virgo squares Mars in Gemini
- Sep 1 ~ Uranus turns Retrograde in Taurus