August 16th ~ 23rd

You shall ask

What good are dead leaves

And I will tell you

They nourish the sore earth.

You shall ask

What reason is there for winter

And I will tell you

To bring about new leaves.

You shall ask

Why are the leaves so green

And I will tell you

Because they are rich with life

You shall ask

Why must summer end

And I will tell you

So that the leaves can die.

~ Nancy Wood

In Astrology each sign has an element, and each sign also has a mode. Many are familiar with the elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water, which follow one another seamlessly through the zodiac. Perhaps less familiar are the modes. The modes set the western tropical zodiac according to the seasons. Each season begins with a Cardinal Sign: Aries for Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere; Cancer for Summer in the North; Libra for Autumn and Capricorn for the first day of Winter in the North and Summer in the South. The Fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, fall in the middle of the seasons, and are when we have our cross-quarter Solar Holidays, such as Halloween or Lughnasadh. Then there are the very aptly named Mutable signs. These are the signs of transition, of change, of fluid movement from one season to the next. 

In the mutable signs we are at the tale end of the season, but already anticipating the next season to come. Here in the Northern United States we open our beaches and pools on Memorial Day, on May 31st. It is still Spring, but this date has become the inaugural day for Summer holidays even before they begin. School is let out, vacations begin, and the transition to Summer has begun, even though we are still in Springtime. So it is with Gemini. 

Now we are winding down the Summer days. In many parts of the country children have already returned to school, packing up their Summer mementos, purchasing new school uniforms and clothes, satchels and books, and are already to begin their new year. Here in New York, schools don’t usually open until after Labor Day which is the 1st Monday of September. Which is still technically Summer. However Labor Day seems to launch Autumn in this neck of the woods. So it is with the mutable sign of Virgo that we say goodbye to the dog days of Summer, as we anticipate the Autumn days ahead, with all of its falling leaves, final harvests, and getting back to business. 

And indeed with Virgo, you do get this feeling of getting back to work: organizing, creating a plan, reestablishing routines that may have been interrupted over the previous months. We are not yet officially even in Virgo till the 23rd of August. However this week Mars and Venus will lead the vanguard, entering  Virgo even before the Sun and Mercury. Mars enters Virgo on Sunday, followed by Venus on Wednesday. But as we start the week we still have this stellium of planets: Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars, all in fiery and playful Leo. And then the transition begins, as each of them moves into Virgo, one by one. Take advantage of your last days of Leo: play, laugh, joyfully bask in the last rays of the powerful Sun (if you are here in the North, anyways); and make the most of this time. For later, we are going to be finding ourselves quite busy, and having to reorganize our daily schedules and our lives. 

Venus continues to be combust this week, traveling under the rays of the Sun. On the day that they were exact (Wednesday) there was a huge drop in the stock market, with warnings of an impending recession. Uranus is in Taurus ($) after all, and just stationed on the 11th. Nonetheless with Venus in the heart of the Sun we come to terms with those people, things, places, experiences that are heart centered as well. What brings you happiness, contentment, peace and love? And how can you have more of that in your life? We may not be rich in our bank accounts, but we deserve to be rich in our hearts.

For next week’s horoscopes, click below:

HOROSCOPES