The watch spring unwinds

There are four different astrological events in the last few days of August that change the growing atmosphere of tension. It’s as though a watch has been wound up, and the unwinding spring can now tick the clock in a measured way. In order of timing, the four events are: 1. the Uranus/Pluto almost-square has been slowly separating throughout August; 2. Mars passed its square to Saturn 25 August; 3. Mercury stopped being retrograde 26 August; and 4. Jupiter starts its 4 months retrograde movement 30 August, one day after this New Moon.

Pluto squared by Uranus is the big aspect that has been growing over the last few years, and will be exact next Summer. It’s an important aspect because they are distant planets, appearing to us to move very slowly round the Zodiac, and therefore making aspects to each other very rarely. So it’s about attitudes and interactions changing for the whole of humanity. The principle in this case is ‘sudden upheavals that force transformation in lifestyle by revealing how things really are’ - in the Middle Eastern countries, the state of our financial foundation, and so on. This is the background that our personal lives reflect, and against which they are happening - interesting times!

Mars squaring Saturn (the run up to 25 August) is felt more personally than Pluto square Uranus. With Mars in Cancer and Saturn in Libra, it’s been about the effect our emotionally energetic actions have on the harmony of the situations we find ourselves in. We do not step so safely, if our consciousness is involved in how we are feeling emotionally, or what we will do when we get where we’re going. We may have found resentments and hurts rising up into previously contented relationships - almost like unconsciously looking for a fight or something to whinge about, looking absolutely justified at the time. On the world stage there is the unfolding revolution in Libya, riots and looting throughout the UK, America admitting to the financial state of their affairs, and so on.

Mercury retrograde from 3 to 26 August will have added to Cancer Mars’s emotional harking back to old hurts. Although, as most of that time Mercury was in Leo, we may also have felt that we should be having a good time and choosing to ignore the stuff that was trying to rise up. This could indeed have increased the likelihood of accidents or illness as, when something going on inside is ignored, it shows itself through the physical body.

Venus and Sun moved from Leo to Virgo on 21 and 23 August, shifting the atmosphere into a calmer, more pragmatic approach. And, with the above aspects fading away by the New Moon on 29 August, it’s as though we can breathe again and relate more responsively to our surroundings.

Jupiter retrogrades (30 August) and what a wonderful moment for this to happen! Every year, we feel growth slow down for the 4 months this lasts, but this year we could really do with a space to take stock. I have no idea what will be happening in the world during this next four months, but at least this next month we are likely to find it easier to settle with what we have and organise ourselves in useful, fruitful ways - especially from 9 September when Mercury joins Sun and Venus in Virgo. Jupiter will be retrograde all the way back to the beginning of Taurus, until 25 December when it begins its sweep through to the end of Taurus in June 2012, so this calming down gives us plenty of time to get grounded and ready for 2012, and all that the next winding-up may bring.

Virgo - and the bigger picture of this New Moon chart

I find myself only at the end of this letter remembering to focus on Virgo herself - a shy, self-contained sign, prepared to almost forget itself in the pursuit of creating a world that works for all our benefit. I say ‘almost’ because Virgo is well-aware of its limitations and desires, and tends to take care of those first - after all, we are much more help to others if we are healthy and have eaten and slept well first, and also know when to stop and let others do the next bit. Just as with every other sign, we all need Virgo in the Zodiac of our inner world. (And I think I’ve written this letter in a rather Virgo’an style - which can be a bit dry! The vlog via my website’s Green Button puts it all a better way round, I think.)

I wonder if it’s also Virgo’an to start with all the detail and get to the bigger picture at the end? The main thing that struck me when I first looked at this chart is the grand trine from the New Moon and Venus to Pluto and Jupiter, in all the Earth signs. This is what makes me feel that it will be a good and productive month, where we stop dashing about, and really take stock of what may work and what definitely doesn’t. It’s where the forward dash into the unknown stops, and we check where it has brought us. This is likely to make more sense from 9 September onwards (due to Mercury in Virgo - in this chart it’s not connecting to the rest). But with Venus so close to the Sun/Moon, the whole of the next month is blessed with a desire to make things better for others as well as ourselves - which always opens up future possibilities.