(Editor's Note: While this article deals with one month in particular, its insights apply to our lives in general and is useful reading at any time.)
August 2014: The month begins with a Grand Trine in Water formed by Venus, Chiron and Saturn, coupled with a square between Jupiter and Mars. There’s a risk of over-doing things emotionally here. We may enter the month with sensitivities running high and an internal dialogue which goes something like this:
‘If I don’t achieve all my goals by the end of this month there’s no hope so it’s time to pull out the stops and let nothing stand in my way, no matter how tough it gets’.
At one level it’s an admirable inner dialogue. Commitment and sheer resolve can take us far in this world. But right now it’s wise to take such inner dictates with a pinch of salt and remember that ultimately it’s the universe, not us, who’s in charge of proceedings and to hold rigid expectations of ourselves, other people or life itself, can be a recipe for disappointment and frustration. So be sure to ease off a bit if this particular monologue is playing in your mind as August begins and remember, there’s a whole new month ahead and, quite frankly, anything could happen!
First Week of August: Sensitivity & Inner Drive
The first week is characterised by this combination of sensitivity and inner drive which could turn us into something of a martyr if we let it, but come 4th August Neptune begins to lend a helping hand reminding us that sometimes the best progress is made when we take our foot off the accelerator and allow momentum to take us forward for a bit. We don’t always have to be driving hard and fast, no matter what our inner critic says about our progress to date. This is a test!
Do we trust life enough to get us where we need to be (even if it’s not where we think we should end up!) or do we still believe we know better and should be drawing the map and planning the journey moment by moment? If we use the first week of August to answer this question honestly, we will be prepared for the Super Moon on 10th which may reveal to us where we need to accept rather than change, and release rather than cling on.
The Difference Between Pushing The River & Going With The Flow
Prior to this, beginning on 7th August and continuing through to the other side of the Full Moon, we have the opportunity to embrace the wisdom of knowing the difference between pushing the river and going with the flow. The former may be tempting right now but the latter is most definitely what’s called for!
It doesn’t mean we have to resign ourselves to an undesirable and unattractive fate, nor does it mean that we can’t take action to further our goals, but it does mean that when we are meeting obstacles over and over, banging our head against an invisible brick wall which seems to imprison us, the quicker we can take heed and ease off the better. And never has this been more important to grasp than now.
These brick walls are there for a reason and it’s not to smash them down without a second thought! They serve to remind us there are foundations still to be built in the form of skills to acquire, wisdom to develop, or good old fashioned information we still need to discover, before we can move forward in the right direction.
Super Moon of August 10th: Aligning Ourselves With The Forces of This Universe
Which brings us to the Aquarius Full Moon on 10th August. This is THE Super Moon of 2014 and one to be respected! Yes, I know other Moons have been designated ‘Super’ this year, but not by me! THIS is the Super Moon to take note of.
With the Sun within one degree of Black Moon Lilith, this Moon reminds us that without aligning ourselves with the forces of this universe which are far greater and more powerful than our tiny human minds could ever conceive, we cannot achieve what needs to be achieved in order for the Aquarian Age to be delivered safely and intact.
Astrological Ages are ginormous things. Each lasts for a couple of thousand years or so and there is much debate over what actually constitutes the beginning of a new one. However, whatever your view on that, one thing we can all agree is that the next one is the Age of Aquarius and nothing is more important now than raising our own awareness in order to meet it from a place of deep wisdom and insight. And it’s never too early to start that kind of project!
Opportunity to Commit to Change & Release Old Energy
I’ll be writing more about this Moon when the time comes, but suffice to say that it offers a wonderful opportunity to commit to change and release the energy of old habits, fears and conditions which have stopped us from doing so up to now. We don’t have to do it all in one go over night though! The energies of this Moon strengthen our commitment and staying power to keep us on track. They’re not destined to make it all happen in the blink of an eye.
As we form the commitment to a new and more authentic life this Moon may well reveal to us aspects of our current circumstances which cannot be released but instead must be embraced, accepted and loved for what they are in order for our search for truth to be fulfilled. It comes not as a magic wand but as a whole new tool box which we can open up to discover that extra strength we needed, that deeper insight which ensures our understanding, that extra information needed to complete the puzzle. Insights, information, people and experiences which come to us with this moon are influential and we would be wise not to overlook them!
And as long as we don’t, a sextile between the Sun and the Moon’s North Node the week following the Super Moon allows us to make the most of its potential. It will take a willingness to embrace a new point of view, one born of the fresh perspective illuminated by the Full Moon in Aquarius. The proximity of this aspect to the Full Moon will require rapid adjustment from us, but the quicker we can make it, discarding how we previously viewed things in favour of our new perceptions, the more we will reap the benefits of this much needed adjustment.
Some may inevitably struggle with this shift, and it may be those we expected to go with the flow that struggle the most (including ourselves!). But ultimately this time supports us in releasing stubborn ways and, frankly, immature demands that life does what we want, in favour of a more sound recognition that life may have designs upon us not yet understood and what we perceive as limitation and bad luck may actually be the very portal through which we must travel in order to realise them.
The Final Two Weeks of The Month: Two Apparently Contradictory Forces At Work
The final two weeks of the month provide numerous opportunities to explore what making these shifts means for us in our everyday life. They speak of two apparently contradictory forces at work which, by their very nature, will require that we step up, with all our courage and resolve, to do things differently and fulfil the potential of both.
One, born of an alliance between Uranus, Chiron and Saturn which has been around since June, continues to orient us towards the healing necessary to embrace ever deeper and more authentic truths, and the other, born of an alliance between Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune, demands that we face the challenge this poses to our ego which is inclined only to embrace the truths which suit us and make us feel better about ourselves and in control of life.
At this time control is not something we have. At least, not in the way our egos would like to have it! This is a time of purging and release, and what we are releasing may be painful in its passing. We may prefer to cling on because we are identified with the very thing which must be let go. In such a moment we are faced with the impact of ego against the infinite backdrop of the Divine which requires total trust.
Penetrating The Truth of Our Beliefs & Personal Dogmas
This month we are called to penetrate the truth of our beliefs and personal dogmas, no matter how ‘right’ they have felt or how many other people share them. We cannot enter the Aquarian Age encumbered by beliefs which weigh us down and limit our potential. And even the most apparently ‘spiritual’ and contemporary ones can do this if we have adopted them for the placation of our ego.
Ultimately beliefs, dogma, models of evolution, labels that we apply to ourselves and others…. none of these are necessary in the burgeoning age, which requires only that we are present in the moment, connected with all of life as it swirls around and through us, and acting in honour of the greater good. At one level this is infinitely simple, and yet at another so deeply complex our minds will never grasp it no matter how hard they try.
New Moon on August 25th: Doing Things In A Different Way
On 25th August the Moon is new in the 3rd degree of Virgo, a degree connected to the angelic realms. No matter how you perceive of angels: as a physical reality, a metaphor or a fairytale, this Moon speaks of protection and support available to each and every one of us. This month is intense and many may encounter moments of challenge and even crisis within it. But this Moon comes as a balm to soothe heavy hearts or weary souls. It reminds us that we are not alone, no matter how isolated we may feel. That life itself courses through us, connecting us with everything throughout the cosmos and beyond. This New Moon invites us to experience this fact, no matter how successfully our minds may be telling us all is lost and we are forever forsaken.
Coinciding with a conjunction between Mars and Saturn in Scorpio it may well be a time of pressure, power games and what may feel like defeat and hopelessness, but in fact it is a time in which we can choose to gather up our courage and do things in a different way. Neither give in to the negativity nor turn from and deny it. But instead look it in the eye, whatever it is, and know that if we exist in the same world as this, we have a responsibility for it and are called upon by the cosmos to carry that responsibility with integrity and honour.
We cannot separate ourselves from the pain of this world and nor should we. We are moving into the Aquarian Age of community and sister/brotherhood, in which injustice for one is injustice for all. This is a very different discourse to that of the Piscean Age in which saviours and victims need to find each other to live out their roles.
Creating A Whole New Way of Living: Being Neither Saviors or Victims
By the end of this month we can come to the recognition we can all be saviours and victims, to ourselves and each other. Or we can choose to be neither and create a whole new way of living. The playing field is levelling and we can choose our part to play. But we must choose well and with deep consideration of the global consciousness from which we draw and to which we contribute every day.
We must come to recognise that if we consider ourselves special we render others less so. If we see ourselves as powerless we give power over to others. If we believe only the positive deserves our attention we are denying the experience of all those who suffer day in day out. And if we call only on others to do their bit and own up, we are denying or own part in both the potential for positive change and the maintenance of a dysfunctional and destructive status quo.
August 2014 is an intense month for sure. Many will need support, compassion and understanding to come through it facing the right direction. But we can do it, all of us, if we set the commitment at the start of the month to do so. A commitment to truth without dogma, compassion without pity, and eyes so wide open we can no longer entertain anything but the deepest truth which will reveal itself on a moment by moment basis if we prepare ourselves to receive. If we do all that, we can get through and come out the other end thriving, not just surviving, and more awake than ever before.
For more information about these and other astrological events as they happen throughout the month, become an Awakenings Subscriber to receive regular astrology updates.
*subtitles by InnerSelf
This article was originally published
on astro-awakenings.co.uk
About the Author
Sarah Varcas is an Intuitive Astrologer, committed to decoding wisdom messages and applying this wisdom to the experience of our everyday lives with all their challenges, rewards, twists and turns, revealing the bigger picture to assist all of us in navigating the road ahead. She is deeply committed to the notion that 'we are all in this together', and can often be found reading her own words to remind herself what she should be working on today! Her own spiritual path has been very eclectic, spanning Buddhism and contemplative Christianity alongside many other diverse teachings and practices. Sarah also offers an online (via email) Tuition and Coaching in Intuitive Astrology course. You can find out more about Sarah and her work at www.astro-awakenings.co.uk.
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