Here is the Ask the Astrologers Weekly Astro Forecast for the week of August 28, 2016 – September 3, 2016:
This week’s highlights include a New Moon Solar Eclipse, Venus moving into Libra, Mercury turning retrograde and a T-square involving the Sun, Saturn and Neptune.
We start the week on Sunday with a Moon / Pluto opposition and Venus at the midpoint of Mercury and Jupiter. This combination intensifies emotional reactions, especially the more uncomfortable emotions, like jealousy, mistrust and even paranoia.
It’s a relatively fleeting aspect, which may be overshadowed by the much more pleasant Mercury / Venus / Jupiter configuration. During this time, you want to focus on favorable interactions with others and try to leave any any intrusive thoughts or suspicions by the wayside.
On Monday, Mars squares the North and South Nodes, an aspect that is known in classical astrology as “at the bendings.” This aspect is known for creating crisis, with emphasis on the concept of fate. As Mars represents energy, action and drive, this can be a high energy transit that manifests as t that translates as combative or explosive energies.
It can manifest with people (arguments or even violence) or events (such as volatile weather and Earth changes). Fortunately there’s also a Mercury / Venus conjunction on Monday as well. This is a much more conciliatory transit, especially since Mercury is exalted in Virgo, even if Venus is in its fall there.
Venus / Mercury aspects are all about harmonious interactions with others. This combination is known for being friendly and sociable. It’s more interested in getting along than it is anything else. As such it’s a good time for connecting with loved ones and getting out and socializing with others.
On Tuesday, Venus enters Libra just as Mercury goes stationary retrograde. Starting with Venus, as Libra’s natural ruler, we can assume that it’s happiest and most comfortable there (along with Taurus, the sign it co-rules, and Pisces, the sign of its exaltation).
Venus in Libra is all about peace, love and understanding. It’s about compromising and accommodating the needs of others in order to preserve harmony and balance in our lives. This extends to relationships of course, as Venus is the “love” planet and Libra is the relationship and partnership sign.
Moving onto the Mercury retrograde: We all know that Mercury-ruled things go a little haywire. Communications tend to run amok, plans get turned on their head, communications devices (computers, electronics, cell-phones, etc) and written communications (emails, texts, letters, etc.) get lost or misconstrued. It’s not a good time to sign contracts or legal documents and not a good time to purchase Mercury-ruled items (automobiles, televisions, computers and so on).
The good news is that the world really does keep on turning when Mercury goes retrograde. People do fall in love, get married, have babies, win lotteries. In other words, the “unexpected” is not always such a bad thing. So expect the unexpected, and be on the lookout for a few curveballs to be thrown your way — as well as some unanticipated gifts and surprises — over the next few weeks.
Although the Mercury retrograde cycle only last around 3 weeks, Mercury will have been in Virgo for almost 10 weeks before it moves into Libra. This is because the retrograde occurs on the last degree and retrogrades back to the middle of Virgo before it turns around and goes direct.
On Wednesday, the asteroid Ceres goes retrograde at 5° Taurus 32. As Ceres is associated with nurturing others and tending to those who may need a little extra help along the way, this retrograde cycle may be more about taking care of your own needs than it is about taking care of others.
We have a New Moon Solar Eclipse on Thursday, at 9° Virgo 21. As New Moons always represent new beginnings and opportunities to start new, this one — in Virgo — brings opportunities to be of service to others. It prompts you to look at what improvements you can make in your own life and what your contributions are to the world at large.
The Sabian Symbol for this degree is: “Two heads looking out and beyond the shadows.” This symbol refers to the opportunity to look at things from a different viewpoint, allowing us to step out from the shadows of confusion and uncertainty toward clarity and perspective.
This degree also squares last week’s Mars/ Saturn/ Antares conjunction at 9° Sagittarius, which can re-ignite some of the more tumultuous Mars/ Saturn in Sag tension we’ve been experiencing in recent months (politics, religion, racial tensions and again Earth changes).
As Solar Eclipses are all about bringing whatever has been hidden or repressed back into the light, we can expect to see some uncomfortable truths exposed during this time — in our own lives and in the world around us.
Fortunately there are some positive aspects at the end of the week, with Mercury and Jupiter coming back together on Friday, a recurrence of the same aspect last week — only this time Mercury is retrograde. It will repeat again in a few weeks (once Mercury starts moving forward again), but for now see it as a chance to go back, review and revise the things that you may have glossed over in the past.
Also on Friday, the Sun moves in to square Saturn and oppose Neptune, which forms a t-square with Neptune at the apex. This aspect may have you feeling like the Universe is raining on your parade, at least temporarily. It can signify a sense of feeling trapped or prohibited from accomplishing your goals.
The Saturn at the apex in this configuration represents limitations, obstacles and restrictions which may see you feeling like “what’s the use” with one roadblock after another standing in your way. Although the opposition to Neptune can increase that sense of futility, it can also see you clearing away the cobwebs and making a decision to start “facing the facts.” This is the best use of Saturn at the apex of any t-square: looking reality in the eye and making an informed decision based on practical and realistic conclusions.
We end the week with a Moon/ Venus conjunction in Libra on Saturday. This is generally a very harmonious and accommodating conjunction. While Venus is briefly occulted by the Moon, this aspect can see you winding down the weekend on a more pleasant note, giving you time to prepare for another very active week ahead.
That’s it for this week, see you next Sunday!
Here is this week’s astro calendar; click on it to view it full-sized.
Weekly Astro Forecast —
August 28, 2016 – September 3, 2016
By
Thinking about learning Astrology? I highly recommend Stephen Arroyo’s Chart Interpretation Handbook and Demetra George’s Astrology for Yourself.
Don’t forget to check out more Weekly Astro Forecasts and our Monthly Horoscopes too!
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