Commonsense Almanac By Ben Commons | August 2024
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” -May Sarton
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Tips for almanac use: All the aspects can be felt in advance. It is good policy to view these as due dates for various energies and prepare accordingly for your context. It’s akin to bringing an umbrella with you when rain is expected, but it also helps us to not take the weather personally. When we proactively manifest these symbols then the world doesn’t have to do it for us. Choose to be con(with)-siderate(the stars). Reach out to me for personal explorations of these times.
August already! Well, after so much external trippiness in July, August has a much more internalist theme going on, especially for the early parts of the month; getting deep into our issues, stories, grievances, etc. Hopefully we’ll be streamlining all sorts of these along with our physical bodies and lives. Then we move towards connecting with others, despite and on-top of all the self-reflection and the surfacing of old personal mythology. What does that mean? We’ll see, but it’s definitely going to be all sorts of a lot for certain people while appearing strangely mellow to those whose charts aren’t very involved. All in all, it could be most productive if we dance through the mind-field with acuity.
Venus squares Uranus on Friday the 2nd at 5:27 am pacific. This finds us itching for wild fun and exuberant unfurling. Now is the time to release the built-up tension, preferably towards enjoyment, dancing, and harmonizing. Try something way out of the ordinary, even if it’s just food, music, or entertainment. Let’s not take our dissatisfaction out on others. Shake it ‘til you make it.
The New Moon is at 12 degrees Leo on Sunday the 4th at 4:13 am pacific. This lunation is a tapestry of contradictions. Yes, we should be renewing our intentions around personal growth and joy, and following our hearts with ever more gusto for learning and renewed buoyancy. But there’s also themes of deep release, issues around fears and boundaries, letting go of old stories and rewriting those scripts, cleaning out our closets, and so much more. Let’s do what we can and ritual up to maximize the cosmic plan. Simple is sweet.
Venus moves into Virgo on Sunday the 4th at 7:23 pm pacific, until August 29th. This is a time to streamline our worlds. Organize the pantry, clean-out the refrigerator, go through the closet, and lighten your load. Improvement is the goal, in our spaces and our relationships, but this usually requires doing tough tasks of maintenance. Find the Zen all around.
Mercury stations retrograde on Sunday the 4th at 9:56 pm pacific. This starts us on another episode of ‘rewrite the script.’ The first section of this rewind will focus on all our relationships and issues of equitability; energy expenditure versus receipts. Are we giving or taking too much? Later it becomes more self-centered and related to our internal happiness levels. Let us love everybody in the now.
The Sun sextiles Jupiter on Wednesday the 7th at 6:37 am pacific. This is ripe with potentiality, but could also be over-eager. Optimism is helpful when used constructively, but we should still be mindful of what is realistic. The ideal would be to hold the high vision without making it an expectation. Aim high, but don’t hold your breath.
Mercury conjoins Venus on Wednesday the 7th at 8:12 pm pacific, prompting us to reaffirm our appreciation of all the people and all the little things that keep us going. Share that you care to those who are there for you. Avoid criticism that is not constructive. Appreciate the effort but always seek more improvement. Bring peace to the mind.
Mars conjoins Jupiter on Wednesday the 14th at 8:22 am pacific, firing up the rocket engines for lift-off. Now is the time to let the energy flow freely and with confidence, but make sure the trajectory is worth the fuel. Emotionality could easily cloud our judgement, or prompt us into haste. We should allow for things to unfold according to right timing, with good people in proper places. Be bold, wisely.
Mercury moves into Leo on Wednesday the 14th at 5:16pm pacific, until September 8th. This shifts the emphasis from managing and helping our functional worlds back to clearing the clutter from our happiness. What mental narratives prevent us from peaceful enjoyment of our lives? What brain habits keep us from listening to our heart? Set aside what we thought we knew.
Mars squares Saturn on Thursday the 15th at 10:30 pm pacific, contradicting yesterday’s super gusto. This demands a recalibration of our efforts, an increase in patience, a removal of blame fantasies, and a firm grasp on maturity. There is a temptation to give up, give in, pass the buck, and more. Let’s try steady determination to learn as we go.
Mercury squares Uranus on Sunday the 18th at 2:47 am pacific, tempting us to say the wild thing in less-than-ideal directions. We do need mental stimulus to keep ourselves from jumping out of our skin, but best to do it safely. It’s a balancing act of letting our peculiarities stretch and breathe without alienating people we value. We are all feeling this, so don’t take things too personally.
Mercury conjoins the Sun on Sunday the 18th at 6:58 pm pacific, opening the door for us to more fully embrace and integrate what makes us unique. Our interests often get so specific that we can feel isolated and even spurned by others. Instead of taking a reactionary stance, let us solidify what common ground is shared while fully accommodating our adventures in idiosyncrasy. Let your fun fly.
Venus squares Jupiter on Sunday the 18th at 10:53 pm pacific, suggesting we make some adjustments, but it’s complicated. Central to this conundrum is clarity in communication; are we expecting things without discussion? Are we helping people help us and trying to figure out how to give them the same? Discuss what you like, want, need, expect, etc. Sometimes magic requires spelling things out.
Venus opposes Saturn on Monday the 19th at 1:30 am pacific, pushing us to take stock of our trials, tribulations, and progress. We could easily indulge in judgement of ourself and others and the lack of adequate progress and growth. This may be appropriate, but it’s usually more productive to acknowledge and coach towards greater accomplishments. Patience gets us there with trust.
The Sun squares Uranus on Monday the 19th at 9:45 am pacific, shaking it all up once again. The idea is to breakthrough outdated self-identities and into a fresher take on our older selves. What does that mean? If we’re not in a constant and consistent state of self-renewal than stagnation takes over. Be true to the always new you.
The Full Moon is at 27 degrees Aquarius on Monday the 19th at 11:26 am pacific. It’s a complicated lunation, no doubt. There are themes of being massively faithful to our individual quirks, while needing to be part of the greater community, and to somehow grow those as collectives without impinging on anyone. The danger is towards extremism and isolationism instead of strengthening the shared territory, goals, and connections. Creativity is key to communion.
Jupiter squares Saturn on Monday the 19th at 2:46 pm pacific. Discussing this dynamic could fill pages; it’s big! The simplest way to think of it is the struggle between our hopes and expectations versus the tough truth of reality. Contemplate the battle between easy and difficult and how to balance everything between. Do we allow things to happen smoothly, or are we avoiding the heavy lifting? One thing is certain, we should be releasing outdated storylines, justification narratives, and what-could-have-been fantasies. Imagine what could become through luck and effort mixed, but work with what is.
Venus squares Mars on Thursday the 22nd at 8:20 pm pacific, giving us space to clear the air and release tension with our people. It’s the old balance game between niceness—a limited resource, and assertion. We have to be bold enough to ask for what we want, politely, if we want to actually get it. Playing too nice, or playing too rough can bring us to points like this where a new balance needs to be calibrated. Let us play fair.
Mercury sextiles Mars on Friday the 23rd at 9:31 pm pacific, asking us to further voice our desires in situations. What will the waiter bring if we never put in an order? Once again, it’s about asserting ourselves without trying to make up for lost time with an explosive release. Use breathing techniques and awareness of dangers within and without. Be poised, not pissed.
Venus trines Uranus on Tuesday the 27th at 12:24 am pacific, facilitating a thinning of our pickiness. We all get caught up on details, technicalities, and minor faults. Now is our chance to simply be nicer towards the inherent imperfections of this bizarre existence. Life was never meant to be some idealized piece of art. We are still animals, no matter how well dressed.
Venus opposes Neptune on Wednesday the 28th at 1:25 pm pacific, taking existential acceptance to the next threshold. The fantasies on film are nice, but being in a body, and fumbling towards connection with others is a messy business. It’s easy to look at the past through rose-colored glasses and imagine that we enjoyed ourselves more. But the goal should be to conjure those ideals as much as possible into the eternal now. Don’t dream it, be it.
Mercury stations direct on Wednesday the 28th at 2:14 pm pacific, letting us off the train to hitch a ride towards resolution central. This moment is about letting the under-brain work its magic by not thinking it over yet again. Let us contemplate what we have learned recently without trying to find logical answers for it all, especially where none would exist. Contemplate a quieter you.
Venus moves into Libra on Thursday the 29th at 6:23 am pacific, until September 22nd. It’s time to reconnect with the world. We’ve all been wrapped up in our personal mythologies and could use a breather of straight-forward connection to others. Get out and socialize and re-establish friendships and communication threads. Cultivate common ground.
Venus trines Pluto on Thursday the 29th at 7:32 am pacific, frothing yet more quandaries into the light. We want the deep connection, but we must move past the unspoken tensions in our relationships, not dive too quickly into the depths, and stay respectful. It’s a delicate dance of accommodating all sides to every story, while not hiding your truth. Appreciate the contradictions.
So, yeah, August, what have you done to us and our worlds? Hopefully we’re all more surrounded by the lightness of being after getting through some slogs of things we would have rather ignored. Life is always a million different balancing acts; like the one between work and play which was heavily featured this month. Ideally, we have become more respectful in our play, and more buoyant in our work. Either way, let us stay ready and practice the naïve excitement of youth, despite appearances.
Ben Commons
ASTROLOGER | Ben has been studying astrology since 1994 and started doing readings professionally in 2002. He is also a practicing Reiki master, and works with stones for healing. He uses astrology as a strategic tool and calls himself an Astro-strategist..
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