The Daily Astrological Currents by Week

Weekly Summary: JULY 25 - AUGUST 1

"LOVE of others is the appreciation of one's self.
MAY your egotism be so gigantic that you comprise mankind in your self-sympathy."

— Mina Loy

Mercury emerges from the shadow of the last retrograde period (June 18 - July 12) at the beginning of this week. With Mercury in Cancer, we look for reliable information to establish our emotional security. Indeed, information begins to flow this week but we may not have a broad enough perspective or enough emotional detachment to fully process and make use of the information we find. Mercury's oppositions to Jupiter and Pluto demands a balanced perspective and broad awareness. However, complications and distractions abound. Venus makes another square to Neptune, provoking another round of wild expectations and over-optimism which are not actually supported by the information that we gain access to this week. As well, Mercury makes another square to Mars is Aries, fomenting significant impatience when answers aren't clear and quickly available. As well, relationships are strained by the quincunxes of Venus to Jupiter and Pluto. We would very much like to find some established traditions and structures upon which we can rely. Intuitively, we may recognize that tradition is not actually where we will find security. Outmoded belief structures will keep us spinning with confusion if we cannot set such beliefs aside and look at the available information with detached awareness. The Sun's trine to Chiron, which is forming all week, serves as an antidote to much of this week's impatience and emotional uncertainty. We must be willing to recognize that every individual plays a unique role. We cannot control the role of others, only play our own role with impeccable responsibility. In essence, this comes down to brave self-respect which honors both the importance of our individual role as well as the intuitive insights we sense as we view our situations and circumstances.

Sunday's atmosphere is tense and activating. Impatience and distraction keep us off balance. Intuition can help to makes some sense of the noise and recognize what truly needs our attention. Mercury squares Mars on Monday, stirring up impatience and disrupting our attempts to focus our attention productively. Activity goes behind the scenes on Tuesday. We pull back from any head on assault and look for space to undertake an in-depth review of our plans and strategies. Direct activity picks up again on Wednesday in an optimistic atmosphere. Grounding is required in order to effectively make use of the newly available information. Relationships are stressed on Thursday. We need allies to convey the messages we need to deliver but knowing who to trust is the challenge. Trust and self-respect are inextricably linked. The Sun trines Chiron on Friday and helps us look for ways to unwind past mistakes and wrong turns in order to find a more productive path forward. Our sense of direction is challenged on Saturday. Although we may be look towards traditions of the past for security, we won't find any satisfaction there. Next Monday's Full Moon (8:58 AM PDT 11° Aquarius/Leo) will inject some surprising, unexpected shifts in our awareness and understanding.

Sunday July 26, 2020

Mercury emerges from the shadow of the last retrograde period today. The opportunities for stability and self-direction may be easily missed in this tense, activating atmosphere. We may find ourselves filled with impatience or wrapped up tight in a myriad of distractions. However, there is powerful intuition available to help us make sense of the 'noise' while showing us how to focus on what is most important. The Moon's squares to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn have our emotions running a gauntlet of conflicting impulses. Nonetheless, Saturn continues to anchor the burst of awareness produced by last Monday's New Moon. Responsibility and methodical execution will take us through this roller coaster with the possibility of extremely productive progress.

Monday July 27, 2020

Mercury forms a square to Mars today, keeping us stirred up and challenging our focus. We reach the 1st quarter lunar phase and are likely to feel some sense that momentum is building. Venus has returned to square Neptune and we are extremely prone to wild over-optimism and inflated expectations. However, today's Scorpio Moon demands a far more controlled emotional response. There is certainly a need for more caution and consideration than what we may see around us. We may hear something like an inner alarm going off but the challenge is to convey our concerns to others. The Moon's opposition to Uranus may have us questioning ourselves unnecessarily and we are especially aware that the presentation of any concerns may be more important than the validity of our facts.

Tuesday July 28, 2020

With any luck at all, we will find a broader perspective today. We are likely to see a significant pull back — allowing time for the past few days activity to unwind (or perhaps unravel). This is not to say that activity will actually slow down. There is a tendency to look for ways to work behind the scenes or otherwise quiet the noise enough to undertake an in-depth review of our plans and strategies. The challenge is to stay engaged without the expectation that we can use our feeble will power to control the outcome. The recognition that everyone has a role — a part to play — is extremely powerful here, allowing us to stay detached enough to recognize that we, as individuals, can only play our own part. Our judgements about the roles that others must play are especially ineffectual here.

Wednesday July 29, 2020

The Moon's arrival in Sagittarius may stir a renewed sense of activity and optimism. Even so, grounding is required to actually make any progress or use today's energy productively. As Mercury moves away from the shadow of the last retrograde period (June 18 - July 12) and approaches oppositions to the Capricorn stellium, we can finally begin to gain access to the information that we have been seeking. However, perspective and understanding may be lacking, leaving us feeling less and less secure as more information is revealed. There is an endless stream of tempting distractions to cope with today, which can only be arranged and filtered by philosophical understanding and broad awareness. Outmoded belief structures and wild over-optimism will only keep us spinning in confusion.

Thursday July 30, 2020

We may be required to take some kind of 'leap of faith' by trusting others to carry or receive messages that we can't find a way to handle on our own. Mercury opposes Jupiter today, challenging us to find a balanced, philosophical perspective. Personal relationships are stressed by a Venus-Pluto quincunx. Venus is further stressed by the Moon's opposition. Ultimately, the lesson is to learn how to trust and rely on the understanding and perspective of others. By establishing our own sense of personal self-respect, we will find ourselves better situated to understand who to trust — and how much to trust them. The Moon goes VOC late this afternoon at 5:07 PM PDT.

Friday July 31, 2020

Our trust in others may offer promising results today under the Sun's trine to Chiron. We are still looking for ways to unwind past mistakes or correct a wrong turn that was taken in haste. Today's challenges can trigger further progress in understanding the way to correct those wrong turns and find a more productive path forward. Trust is crucial to our interactions with others. New information coming to light today will eventually lead us to better insight, understanding, and a broader perspective. Although the wild expectations and over-optimism may have waned, we may not have found anything practical, tangible, and reliable to replace them with. Faith is required to move forward despite the lack of clarity about exactly where we are headed.

Saturday August 01, 2020

Our sense of direction may be severely challenged today. Next Monday's Aquarius Full Moon (8:58 AM PDT 11° Aquarius/Leo), tightly square Uranus, will produce some unexpected breakthroughs in awareness. However, it is nearly impossible to see from here how such breakthroughs will shift our awareness and expand our perspective enough to break free of the uncertainty we feel today. The raw materials are certainly available to be seen — but may not be understood in terms of the value they can provide. Once again, faith is crucial to moving forward. What may be most striking for many of us is how our intuition is directing us away from established tradition even though we are intellectually and emotionally geared to seek security through those very traditions, especially under today's Capricorn Moon. The Moon's square to Mars in Aries brings significant impatience when quick answers are not forthcoming.

Weekly Summary: AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other."

— Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities

Although we may begin the week with heightened energy and clear recognition of the heightened stakes produced by last Monday's Full Moon (8:58 AM PDT 11° Aquarius/Leo), by midweek we begin to feel the slowdown of the waning lunar cycle. However, even as the slowdown may have us feeling stuck, there are still waves of stirred up energy and strong imperatives that don't seem to have anywhere to go. There is a significant potential for frustration and residual feelings of hostility that we may be dealing with for some time, now that Mars has begun to slow down to turn retrograde next month. There will be significant challenges to relationships if we aren't making the kind of progress that we want to make since there is a tendency to blame others for slowing us down or standing in our way. It is important to open the lines of communication and continue to articulate and share our vision with others. We may actually find that those who we've blamed for slowing us down or standing in our way can become allies once we've begun to open a dialog and share our insights and our vision. The key is communication. We tend to rely far more on the force of our personal will than on our ability to convey our message to others. When we learn to work collaboratively we may even recognize entirely new opportunities for progress. Even as the lunar cycle wanes this week, we encounter the first of three Mars-Pluto squares on Wednesday. The strong, impulsive, and possibly reckless drive for action stirred by Mars in Aries is challenged by Pluto in Capricorn which seeks nothing less than complete, structural transformation. The impulsiveness of Mars is stirred up but will ultimately be channeled through Pluto's power. The Mars-Pluto square will be followed up by a Mars-Saturn square. The progress may seem slowed this week (and in coming weeks) but the stakes are very high and the demands for structural changes require masterful strategies and methodical collaborative efforts. Our individual will power may get us to 'the table' but the broad waves of change can only be channeled by collaborative, cooperative efforts.

There is a strong sense of independence on Sunday but we are also geared towards sharing our knowledge and insights with others. Underlying insecurities come out in surprising ways. Some may be held back with indecision on Monday, especially because the stakes seem so high. Rebellious independence is pushing us to take action but no matter how forceful our efforts, changes will only occur slowly. We may feel stirred up on the inside on Tuesday but there is an unmistakable sense that a slowdown is occurring, possibly making us feel rather stuck. We should be careful not to blame others who we think are simply standing in our way. Lines of communication are easier to open on Wednesday. We can recognize potential allies in those who we may have blamed for slowing us down. There are more slowdowns and stumbles on Thursday as our ability to communicate begins to breakdown and our message splinters. Communication issues on Friday have us prone to exaggeration in a effort to keep a dialog open. We aren't inclined to venture too far out of our comfort zone. There is some potential for feelings of disappointment on Saturday. Perhaps we feel we should have made more progress or gathered more support from others.

Sunday August 09, 2020

Independent action is today's driving force. However, there is an important emphasis on creating and sharing a legacy of knowledge and accomplishment that keeps us focused on building valuable connections to others, despite the independent tendencies. Emotions are running high. Underlying insecurities are likely to come out in surprising and unexpected ways. Today's imperatives may be seen within the context of a sincere desire to establish some kind of lasting mark — "I was here and I mattered!" Communicating or teaching what we have discovered, recognized, or created is also a part of this imperative. The Moon is VOC this afternoon from 12:49 PM PDT until 6:27 PM PDT. When the Moon arrives in Taurus, our determination increases but the imperatives soften.

Monday August 10, 2020

Some of us may be overcome with indecision today but mainly because it feels as though the stake are so incredibly high. There is a powerfully determined streak of adventuresome rebelliousness that is fearlessly seeking to break new ground. Imagination and intuition is well supported and offers important clues if we can maintain our poise and composure. Mars is approaching the first of three potent squares to Pluto, encouraging us to forge ahead on plans for our Brave New World. However, passion and optimism is not enough. Sensitivity, planning, and masterful strategies are needed to even begin to make forward progress. The challenge is to recognize that, while progress may be lasting, it will not be quick.

Tuesday August 11, 2020

Although our internal energy and sense of imperative may continue to be stirred up, today represents the beginning of a slowdown. Unfortunately, this may only increase frustration levels. We reach the 3rd quarter of the lunar cycle and the waning Moon is likely to begin to have us feeling somehow stuck. In today's atmosphere, we may find that the frustration comes through in our dealings with others, especially if we are prone to blaming others for holding us back in some way. The desire to break free of restraints may have us looking for ways to break free of other people, leading to strains in our relationships. It is especially important here to take personal responsibility for our frustrations and not put too much pressure or place too much blame on those around us.

Wednesday August 12, 2020

The Moon arrives in Gemini this morning at 6:45 AM PDT after a brief overnight VOC period. Yesterday's intensity seems to have lifted and we may need to do some 'fence mending' in a recognition that those who we have blamed for holding us back could actually be important allies. Today's focus is on opening — or reopening — lines of communication. Tonight's Mars-Pluto square raises the stakes incredibly high but we should remember that this is the first of three Mars-Pluto squares so we'll be 'chewing' on these issue for most of the rest of the year. Our work today is focused on communicating our vision of how we see ourselves moving forward.

Thursday August 13, 2020

We are prone to slowdowns and stumbles today. We may continue to apply rhetorical flourishes in order to communicate our vision and make our case today. However, there is likely to be some self-doubt or uncertainty creeping in. We don't seem to be able to polish up our rough edges or keep our 'sharp elbows' tucked in. Our discomfort is not easy to obscure and is likely to weaken our position. Nonetheless, under this waning Moon, there are still plenty of opportunities to discover new 'angles' and alternatives to pursue that will bring us opportunities to establish a tangible framework for our vision. Just because it doesn't seem to be coming together — or coming out right today — we shouldn't lose hope.

Friday August 14, 2020

The Moon is VOC for much of the day today, from 4:19 AM PDT until 4:35 PM PDT. Our efforts to communicate effectively breaks down and leaves us prone to exaggeration, rather than articulating any sort of practical vision. We aren't inclined to venture far outside of our comfort zone or work on building alliances. Today's 'pull-back' is almost certainly temporary and we will gain a new impetus once we reach next Tuesday's New Moon (7:41 PM PDT 26° Leo) which is quincunx Saturn. There will be more stabilizing ideas for structure once we gain the new impetus from the New Moon.

Saturday August 15, 2020

Uranus turns retrograde today, joining Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Neptune, and Chiron. Uranus retrograde in Taurus will lead us to reflect on the values that have already begun to crumble and further explore how those values have created our current circumstances. Under today's Cancer Moon, we are especially sensitive to those changing values and we are looking for something to stabilize our feelings. Frustration and residual hostility is particularly uncomfortable in this atmosphere but not easily expressed or processed. We may feel some sense of disappointment today — the sense that the pieces aren't falling into place the way we wanted or hoped.