Transit Forecast August 2020

Thy Finger, Not My Finger

The Astrological Transit Report for August 2020

We are now in the 8th month of 2020. Almost two-thirds of the way through and I have to tell you I am getting a bit demoralized by having to point out the discomfort and uneasiness we are experiencing month after month in 2020. As I have said in recent forecasts, we have a long way to go before we get to the grand finale’ of 2020, which occurs in November and December. By January 2021 we will have triggered a multi-generational shift in planetary consciousness, the likes of which have not been seen on this planet since the late 1100s and early 1200s. That was the last time we had Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions happening in the Air signs. This is the period in our history wherein the knowledge from the East spread round the world and it lasted up until the early 14oos. No doubt, over the next few centuries as these conjunctions continue to occur in Air signs, we will see knowledge spread once again, this time throughout the galaxy.

It is important to realize that often, as these 20 year Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions shift elements every few hundred years, we see what I call a “seed” conjunction, wherein the Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions dip their toes into the coming element and then go back for the last time into the element that is ending, as happened in 1980 when the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction made an exploratory visit to the air signs and then went back into the earth element in 2000 where it had been since 1842 (if you include the exploratory “seed” conjunction in Earth signs at that time we are looking at 1802). If you look to the inventions and discoveries of the 1980s and 90s you will see where we are headed these next two centuries. A thorough study of the inventions and conventions of the 2000s and 2010s will show you what we are finalizing and transcending of the last 200 years. It is fascinating to look at our recent history this way. And it gives me great hope and excitement to think that over the next 150 years or so we are going to visit the stars…and their inhabitants, or they us. Either way our story will get out into the Galaxy. I trust the concept of manifest destiny will recede with the recession of the Earth element conjunctions. With the Air conjunctions now firmly in place as of the Winter Solstice in December, I look forward to knowledge no longer playing second fiddle to materialism.

The beginning ten days and the last 10 days of August are dominated by opposition and square aspects, which signal a need to be forceful and determined - to stand our ground and to be ready for resistance to our ideas and goals. We will encounter plenty of push-back regardless if our ideas and efforts are just. Squares and oppositions always test our resolve. They force us to modify our approaches and to focus on the goals. In the first 10 days of the month there is not a single trine or sextile from the inner planets, those aspects that give us opportunity and luck and easy conclusions, so the trickiest days of August are the first few days. The LAST 10 days of August still have plenty of squares and oppositions although from the 25th through the 29th we see four nice trine aspects in a row so the end of the month will bring us some satisfaction and resolution in our favor.

The part of the month that I am most excited about is the middle part from about the 11th through the 19th. And what makes me most excited about this period of time is the culmination of a series of eight YOD aspect patterns. A Yod aspect pattern, which in astrological parlance, is called “the Finger of God”, is considered a strong motivator for the triggering and releasing of higher spiritual knowledge and action. It is comprised of three planets making three aspects amongst them and consists of two 150-degree angles and one 60-degree angle that end up looking like an isosceles triangle. If you have a Yod aspect pattern in your natal chart you are constantly motivated to find the highest integration of the three planets involved. If we experience Yod patterns by transit, like we do this month, everyone gets a big boost toward a higher form of wisdom and clarity of action. It is as if God comes down and touches you on the shoulder, or in the third eye, or just pokes you down your life’s path. (Michelangelo eat your heart out.) We are suddenly bestowed with a clarity and knowingness of what needs to be done and why.

I will not get into the intricacies of the mathematical constructs of a YOD aspect pattern too deeply. Suffice it to say there is a focal planet in every Yod pattern that acts as the targeting mechanism and the other two planets act as the facilitators and power generators. In August these Yod patterns have the Sun and Mercury as the targeting planets, giving us extreme clarity and understanding of our individual purpose and direction. The power generators in August are the outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto, giving us a high morally and socially transformational impetus. In other words, August is where we realize what we, AS INDIVIDUALS, must do in order to change those parts of our society that are dead or dying on the vine. It is associated quite often with a fated quality or fated path. Instinctively we usually knew this was where we were headed. When the Yod is triggered we jump headlong into the fray. Where we come out the other side depends on our individual destinies, which are seen by how these Yod aspect patterns integrate into our own natal charts. [Sidebar-I have been working on a lecture that I will be giving toward the end of the year that revolves around how one tells ones fate from ones destiny as seen through ones astrology chart and the Yod aspect patterns are one of the foundational keys to understanding this difference.]

So, the presence of these Yod aspect patterns in August give me hope and a determination that I am not going to let the discomfort and uneasiness of this month get me down. This is one of those months, within one of those years, that we can not sit on our asses and just hope that someone else does the work for us. This is one of those times, in one of our many lifetimes, wherein we have some work to do.

Fortunately we do have the extra impetus of Mars in it’s ruling sign of Aries all month, and throughout the rest of the year too, so with Mars squaring the power players of 2020, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto throughout August, we better stock up on courage and determination, look fear right in the eye and raise a cosmic battle cry. It is a month to stand your ground at minimum. Better yet, it is the first of three forays into the “occupied” lands, a time to start taking back those things that we have lost since January that we DO NOT want to lose. This is a major reversal of the main message for 2020 – the letting go of those things that have died or do not contribute to the vitality of humanity. In August, we see a turning of the tide and a small but concerted effort to maintain and nurture those things that we WANT to bring into the next two generations. The principles and processes that are WORTH saving and protecting for the sons and daughters of the next seven generations.

And yet I still have to add the caveat “Tardius Ire”, go slowly. In August we are only seeing the first of three waves of Mars squares to Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. The second and third wave are in October and January of 2021 respectively. If you burn out too fast before the end of this year you will be doing no one any favors.

If you read the traditional texts on astrology you will see definitions for Mars square Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto as times wherein we must pay attention to our safety and our aggressiveness. Those who have anger issues are the ones who really can cause a lot of damage. If you read between the lines of many of these same texts you will see the opportunity to break through self and societal limiting factors, an ability to achieve great advancement and opportunity…as long as you make an effort. Mars does not work by sitting around and talking about things. Mars takes the bull by the horns, or more accurately, to twist a proverb to my meaning, Mars lets go of the Lions’ tail and takes the Dog by the head.

There is going to be plenty of activity in August especially coming from our President as the Sun and Mercury conjuncts his Pluto and Mars in the 12th house and cross his Ascendant. It may seem like he is self-destructing in the process, although I have to tell you, when I look at the transits to both Bidens and Trumps charts, once Mars crosses his Ascendant at the end of August, Trump has got the upper hand right up until the week before the elections. This makes Biden’s pick for VP even more critical than I had suspected. This race needs to be about Trump and the Democratic VP not Trump and Biden. And I will say it again, that VP pick needs to be Warren if he expects to win. Rice’s chart is nice, although when you compare her chart to the US, there are not a lot of connections, but for her North Node in Gemini activating the US Mars in the 7th and her Mercury on the US Ascendant. This could be VP material although it is not Presidential material. It leans much more toward what she has already been known for doing for the US. Promo.

Harris has some wonderfully optimistic transits over the next half year, and she will be rising to the top in 23’ and 24’. I just am wary when I see a persons Saturn on the US Moon. Usually doesn’t turn out well for the people. It is a type of “I’ll save you from the bogey man” strongman attitude, which would go over well with the need for Biden to get the law enforcement vote although my take on her chart sees her more as Attorney General. Besides, Biden has California, he needs to look at the hometown advantage in a VP pick.

Val Demings has transiting Neptune over her Sun, so she doesn’t really know who she is and what she is becoming these next few years, and her Moon on the US North Node is better off for Demings than it is for the US. Tammy Duckworth has the same birthday as Demings, only a year apart. Duckworth has her Mars conjunct the US Pluto which accounts for her military service and sacrifice. She would probably be more comfortable as Secretary of Defense, although her Uranus on the US North Node would drastically alter the direction of the US and not necessarily in a good way.

I still like Warrens NINE conjunctions of her planets to the US planets. This would be Presidential at its strongest. She is one who could take this country and really shake things up. And again, I must stress, this is nothing about their politics or policies, race or religion. This is strictly an analysis of their birth charts compared to the US chart.

One of the big lessons and opportunities in August stem from transiting Mercury forming oppositions to Pluto and Saturn the first week of the month, Jupiter the third week of the month, and Neptune the last week of the month. The downside is the inability to walk in another person’s shoes so to speak. It is THEIR fault, not mine. Projection as an art form. The upside is what I would call perspective. Seeing past our projections and really acknowledging the “otherness” in those who raise our hackles and hopes. Walk a mile in their shoes. Better yet, get inside their heads and look out at yourself from their eyes. Oppositions inherently bring up issues along the Ascendant/Descendant, First and Seventh house axis. This is the axis of identity. The Ascendant, First House, and the Eastern side of this axis, emboldens us to be ourselves, with distinct individualities and personalities. Whatever your Sun sign, the Ascendant shows what you want to become. The Descendant, Seventh House, Western side of the chart, which is OPPOSITE the Ascendant, brings into our lives those characteristics and traits that we do not want to be. I don’t do that, THEY do it. Other people do/did that, not I.

It is a fundamental reality of this universe that the opposition, the Yin and the Yang, the Light and the Dark, holds sway. That is why life on this Earth has two strands of DNA at the moment. Conjunctions, the conjoining of two planets, bring cohesiveness and metamorphosis. The opposition aspect, the half-way point, if you will, always 180 degrees from the conjunction, or halfway around the cycle, is one of those magical times in Astrology. It is the stillness at the end of the outbreath. Before we begin to draw breath in again. When we are farthest away from home, outside of ourselves. On its negative side, especially when it is Mercury making the oppositions, we see blame and deceit and deception. It is the communication and Information that is used to oppose one another. And it has a tendency to hyper-inflate the issues and information. Ideas and items that are way outside our wheelhouses. How could they??? It will be the kind of things that cause us to gasp and short circuit the natural rhythm of the breath cycle. We lose the serenity and timelessness of the oppositional stillness. This is where the black magician works.

On its positive side, four oppositions from Mercury in August portends the awareness of the importance of all those “others” out there. We see the need to acknowledge the power they have in our lives. And we can see where we can work together, the Yin IN the Yang, and vice versa. Blame becomes banter. Deceit become derivation. Deception becomes demonstration. The power of mediation, moderation, adjudication and even application are strong. The positive potential for August, most notably the second half, gives us clarity and perspective AND the awareness of how to address the issues that come to the fore.

Another interesting and somewhat poignant lesson in August is that Venus is also opposing Jupiter and Pluto, during the last week of month and will then oppose Saturn the first week of September during the Pisces Full Moon. With Venus pretty much taking the baton from Mercury as August ends, the shift is from information and understanding to seduction and acquisition. On the negative side we see the keeping up with the Jones mentality. Coveting thy neighbor and their possessions. Reparations. Jealousy. Obsessive desires and demands. Why don’t I have what you have? It is a grass is always greener sentiment. We no longer want to step into another’s shoes, we want to OWN the shoes. And in this case, with Venus oppositions, it is very much an issue of being careful what you ask for.

The positive power of Venus oppositions is in the irritation involved. Venus doesn’t like irritation in any form. We will see what we have to do in late August, to make space in our lives, for receiving and having the things we desire. More money? Yea, that will start showing up near months end. More love and luxury? That too is in the wind, as long as you address it in those around you. We must find value in not only what we want, but also in what THEY want. The key to Venus oppositions is in getting everyone what they want. It is in the giving that we receive as August turns to September.

Here's the catch. In August, it is that pesky and downright dangerous Mars, barreling through Aries like he rules the world, that is the fly in the ointment. The mosquito bite, the stinging bee. And with a total of thirteen squares to and from Mars by the time we get to inauguration day, we are going to need a lot of cosmic calamine lotion to ease the pain. Oh, and don’t get me started about that Mars, Uranus conjunction right on Inauguration Day in January. Hold on to your constitutions, folks. Whomever becomes King of our Hill is going to be bloodied and broken. The Queen is the one we need to be looking at in this election for it is she we will be looking to in 2021.

And for a little historical perspective, the last time Mars spent this much time in Aries was the second half of 1988. The US, USSR, France, and China were all testing Nuclear bombs like crazy. Terrorists were crashing planes and taking out passengers on cruise ships and people were blowing themselves up on New York subways. Animal rights activists were blowing up Department stores and anti-abortion rallies were attracting record numbers of participants. Ocean oil platforms blew up. Geraldo was exposing devil worshippers on TV and getting his nose broken by skinheads. Reagan was president with G.H.W. Bush winning the presidential election. Activists at MIT launched the first computer virus over the internet targeting the Pentagon, and the labs and universities involved in the Star Wars Strategic Defense initiative. The US launched its first nuclear powered battle satellite as did Israel for intelligence (yeah right!). The US downed an Iranian civilian jetliner and in true Mars symbolic fashion even the Space Needle in Seattle burst into flames. World records were being broken left and right. Howard Stern hit the airwaves for the first time and get this, Donald J. Trump charged Mike Tyson 2 million dollars for a 4-month advisory role. You get the picture?

So, Mars is squaring Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn in August, on the 3rd/4th, the 12th/13th, and the 24th. It is the first of three such sets of squares due to the Mars retrogradation cycle this Fall, with the second and third sets occurring in October and January. The first set is always where we bite off more than we can chew, the second set is wherein we adjust our bite, and the third set going into inauguration day is when we get the best bite for our buck. This month we must face a flurry of in our face and over the top actions. We will feel discouragement and disillusionment, irritation, and anger. Egos will be flaring, temperatures high. COVID or no COVID. Conflict and confrontation will be hard to ignore. This is the negative face of Mars and unfortunately often requires immediate triage. From a purely mundane level we will want to have our first aid kits and our to-go evacuation bags ready and able. There is a swiftness to Mars that can be difficult to take.

On a more positive side, Mars squares bring us to the point of action instead of reaction, determination instead of destruction. There is courage and a daring-do about the thirteen squares of Mars these next few months. Be sure to eat your Wheaties. Just cool it on the Red Bull and maybe stock up on the Valerian root and Chamomile tea. Trust me. Adrenalin is not going to be in short supply. Common sense, maybe.

I assume most of you have noticed how much less sleep we are getting now. Another by-product of Mars in Aries, an exception most likely made for you Taurus rising types out there. The trick is to apply all this adrenalin and testosterone to a specific cause and not spray everyone and everything in your vicinities with your vicissitudes and vituperations. Think like a Samurai. Sting like a bee. And I do not mean a honeybee. Once will not be enough. And as I have been saying all year, we need to save some for year’s end. I would highly recommend for your quarantine reading lists the book, “Lead Kindly Light”. A biography of Mahatma Gandhi who had natal Mars, conjunct Venus in the feminine Mars-ruled sign of Scorpio, opposing natal Jupiter and Pluto and squaring his natal Moon. Now this guy had to learn about Mars. He did… and he changed the world in the process. Get on board folks or get to the rear of the bus. (Fun fact – Rosa Parks had Mars rising, conjunct the Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn, opposite Neptune)

There is work to be done in August. Be part of the change or sit on the sidelines, just don’t get in the way. More in the September Forecast.