Quote of the week

“The world is stranger than we can suppose.”

― Terrence McKenna

The immersive quality of Pluto trining Mercury (23 August) and opposing the Moon (24 August) shows a destabilising quality to start this week. Angst and heightened emotions early this week could  see your anxiety levels intensifying especially around your fears of the unknown, so make sure you plan and prepare for some nervous system management. Paranoia and the lack of foresight could be the symptoms shown from these early transits. Running away from any hard truths will be counter-productive, especially with Uranus stationing retrograde the next day which will force you to be genuine to the core. It’s a good time to confront any bubbling issues beneath the surface to release some pressure, as opposed to locking things down which could cause a potential explosion. This is not a week to hide, but one to stand confidently in your own truth.

If this requires a reset or reprogramming of your mind, then Uranus Stationing Retrograde, which holds a big part of this week’s dynamics, could be the key. Happening on 24 August, this station of Uranus has probably been felt for the past couple of weeks in some way. If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve done something out of character, strange or unconventional to what you’re normally accustomed to, then you’ve probably been experiencing the wyrd ways of Uranus. It wants nothing more for you than to be untethered and authentic, and will send liberating sparks of motivation for you to break free from anything that represents oppression, fear or control – emotionally, physically or spiritually. 

Have you felt these Uranian sparks fly through you lately? Might you have stepped out of your comfort zone to do something you never thought you could do? Have there been unexpected shifts that could have shocked the system in some way? Are you feeling more rebellious and dissident? These are the voices of Uranus speaking and they will be loud and clear this week especially around the topics related to the 18 degree mark of Taurus, so check to see where this falls in your natal chart.

For reference, my go-to avatar for Uranus is the character, Kramer, from the sitcom, Seinfeld. Bursting through the door with crazy thoughts and ideas that somehow turn out to be quite valid, Kramer is detached and unaffected by much as he blazes his own path of (in)sanity. Although Kramer is a ball of nervous energy (with electrocuted hairstyle to match), there’s an inner contentment and independence about him as though he’s operating in his own time-space continuum. As much as he is disruptive to those in conventional time and space, he is also as free as a king in his own sovereign domain. Expect the unexpected when Uranus calls this week, just as you would anticipate a Kramer sliding through your door with an outburst. 

Does 18 degree Taurus ring a bell? This is the point where the triple conjunction of Mars/Uranus/North Node occurred in the first week of August. While Uranus hasn’t left this degree, it will be moving back over the exact point of the conjunction. Something about that week leading up to 2 August will be revisited when Uranus stations this week.  Watch out for unexpected twists, sudden shocks and reversals, breakdowns, breakthroughs and liberating impulses related to this. 

New developments from the first week of August could emerge, especially when Venus squares Uranus (27 August) introducing themes of relationships, values, desires, finances and resources into the mix. There’s a coldness and detachment when Venus and Uranus meet in this high tension way so depending on what your need for connection is, you could find this either liberating or isolating. Know that Uranus is ultimately advocating for your independence and autonomy, so if isolation is weighing you down, it could be worthwhile investigating the freedoms you could indulge in. On the other hand, the tension between Venus and Uranus could bring about a sudden reset in relationships (all kinds of interpersonal relations) as well, so if important issues were raised in the past month, this could be a time of levelling up. If issues have been festering between you and someone else, this week could potentially see them surface. It’s up to you to take the liberating path to guide the relationship towards greater equality.

Echoing the reset theme is the New Moon in Virgo (27 August) and the arrival of Mercury into Libra (25 August) while making its Maximum Evening Elongation (27 August). There’s something about this reset that symbolises a pull downwards, not forwards, as if you’re intentionally seeking to deepen your roots. This could look like a pull towards hands-on, practical application of loftier ideals, stepping into a personal praxis and a need for tangible outcomes as suggested by the New Moon in Virgo. The sign of Virgo offers the clever merging of head and hands and we often see the symbolism of craftsmen/women, artisans, growers and tradespeople in this area, especially with its ruler Mercury, ruling the hands and the logical mind. Make time this week to honour your soma – your body as distinct from your soul, mind or psyche. Work on bringing down your cerebral ideas into forms of earthly matter through your hands (aka praxis, application, implementation)

The downward pull suggested by Mercury’s Maximum Elongation occurs because this is the phase where Mercury will change directions and slow down, preparing to head underworld. At these gates, you could feel a shift to reset your internal resources such as your coping mechanisms, resilience, self-regulation, emotions, psychological wellbeing and the like. There could be a desire to explore these areas in more depth, which could pull you away from the more external social side of life. The change of direction sees Mercury moving towards the Sun, where it was moving away from the Sun until now. Hence, the messenger is shapeshifting to its psychopomp epithet and heading inwards towards the Self (Sun). So if you’re feeling less than social or maybe favouring activities of the creative, irrational mind, this could be why.

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See you next Sunday for the next installment of planetary news.

Shu xx