Astrological Forecast for August 17 to August 23, 2006

by Ellen Zucker

The night falls noticeably earlier and the weather moderates. Big fat tomatoes glow in their red, red skins. Fragrant aromas rise from our garden and the fruit stands laden with colorful ripened fruits and vegetables. Bite into a peach and the juice runs down your chin.

It is still quite warm during the day. And we still wear our shorts and sandals and steal away to the swimming hole when we can. But the hot, hot hundred degree temperatures are a thing of the past. We take a deep breath and look around.

This week the Sun takes its last bow in the Leo spotlight. On Wednesday, the energy shifts as the Sun and Moon join Mars in down-to-earth, refined Virgo.

We are in the waning days of summer. We turn our at-tention to the fruits of our harvest. If we have planted well, our fruit is juicy and sweet.

Even a cursory reading of headlines reminds us that this has been a very hot, tense summer season. For some of us, those whose charts were touched closely by the challenging aspects, the tension has played out in our personal lives. Big time.

As this week begins, transiting Sun makes an easy trine aspect to Pluto. We can begin to assimilate the changes that has taken place over the past few weeks.

The longer-term aspects that have been dogging us in the past months function as background noise. But as Mercury moves through the middle degrees of Leo, it touches some of the celestial heavy hitters: Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune.

Mercury's passage brings up thought and discussion about how we value and apportion our resources and adjust our expectations to a more realistic level.

These issues won't be resolved now. Their resolution requires continuing effort as indicated by the transits' long-term duration.

But the last quarter of the lunar cycle is a time for cleaning up and tying up loose ends.

Look back at the activities you started in the last week of July and the first week of August. If these are short-term, they are probably winding down. If not, use this week's energy to complete the process.

When the Sun and Moon enter Virgo on Wednesday, situations and people loosen up and become more flexible.

To understand how Virgo energy works and how to utilize it to your best advantage, read my bonus article.

August 17
Today is a changeable day with moon in Gemini. There is a roller coaster feeling as the moon makes many different aspects. Nonetheless, the Sun makes a nice flowing trine to Pluto. We can maintain our focus on the larger issues that count.

August 18
It's a good day to take off and start the weekend early. The moon is void during the entire workday. So it's not as if anything of consequence will get accomplished today ... unless you count gossip. Lots of gossip.

August 19
The day flows easily as the moon makes a nice trine to Jupiter in the mid-afternoon. Tonight we perk up with Moon trine electric Uranus. Get out and have fun!

August 20
Some things are not as large as they look and others look small and are quite large. Hold back from making judgments until the picture is clear and don't be hesitant to ask for evidence.

The Saturn/Neptune opposition's energy is triggered today and tomorrow as Mercury conjoins Saturn today and Neptune tomorrow. The key? Strive for a realistic picture. It is not as gloomy as it first appears, but neither will it all go away in a wash of rainbows.

August 21
It's Monday and back to the workweek. But with Mercury opposition Neptune, this is a good day to keep your wallet away from the snake oil salesmen who abound. It's not a bad idea to refrain from signing contracts also. With Moon in Leo, our egos can make us feel that we know more than we do.

But what a great day to read and write poetry - or a thick juicy novel.

August 22
With Venus square Jupiter today, things appear rosy indeed. But Jupiter makes it easy to overdo. Late tonight, the energy shifts as Sun enters Virgo and we begin to come down to earth.

August 23
This day has two parts. It begins with a void moon in Leo. But we don't get down to business until mid-afternoon when the moon enters Virgo (2:08 pm) and conjoins the Sun (3:10 pm EDT) launching the Virgo lunar cycle.

We move ahead with renewed focus.

© 2006 Ellen M. Zucker