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Astrology Forecast for August, 2011 by Tom Lescher
The year of 2011 will be remembered as the year of the “Liberation of the Self.” While this may sound wonderful, the actual nitty gritty process of identifying and cutting the cords, knots, and chains (many self-created), that have held us bound is not fun. Looking at the broader picture we may see 2010 as us becoming aware of both what we needed/desired and/or what was missing, in our lives. Now 2011comes along and it is time to slash and burn and make room for the creation of that which we identified and wish to now create. 2012, then, will include the process of binding together that which has been torn asunder in a new, “heightened”, shall we say ecstatic, state. We could say that in 2010 we watched a new dance from the sidelines and perhaps tried a step or two of it for a brief time (tripping up now and then). In 2011 we have to go off alone with a teacher or two and learn the steps to the dance so we don’t trip up like we did in 2010. Finally, in 2012 we will have the opportunity to get back out on that dance floor and strut our stuff (provided of course that we learned our steps)!
If we then narrow down our dance experience to that of just 2011 we will see that the beginning of this year was the time to begin our lessons, meet new teachers (partners perhaps), break up and go off alone to “get it” ourselves on a deeper level. It was time to step up and step out, raise our hand and say “Yeah! Pick Me, I’m Ready for something NEW!” As the spring rolled into summer we got picked, and now is the time to stand up, deal with the fear, the embarrassment, the insecurity, and everything that comes up as we stand alone trying to “Dance, Partner, DANCE!”
It may at times be difficult to remember that this is a “fun” experience, this learning how to dance and then doing it! Some may like a basketball game as a better example…. But one way or the other the idea is that we need to make a determined effort to grow, train, discipline, or evolve ourselves INWARDLY in order to participate in our relationships, dances, or games at a higher, more liberating and exciting level. You simply can’t participate in the major league unless you know your “stuff”. In other words, you can’t experience the power, the intensity, the ecstasy, or the nectar of the flower without learning how to fly like a bee first. And the process of learning can be a grueling, painful, lonely, and frustrating experience.
So now we come to the particular month of August. This is a particularly irregular month with spikes of highs and lows, pressure points and pleasure zones. The month begins with Mercury going retrograde (2-26) and Mars going into Cancer on the 3rd. Herein lies the rub….. Mars is fire, heat, passion, and desire while Cancer is sensitive, introverted, and seeking emotional security. When you put these two together, which we have all month…. It spells out the need for each of us to fight for our emotional needs, to stand for ourselves, perhaps by ourselves, cut the cords that have nourished, supported, or in other ways held us up in the past, and become big boys and girls (ouch!). And, if that wasn’t enough, we need to do this ourselves without any help, and not even “knowing” (in a logical, rational way that we can explain) if we should! No mom or dad there telling us anymore, and if they are it’s probably time to talk back to them!
I say this because particularly the 8-10th and again the 23-26th are intense time periods when we will need to act (perhaps quickly) to preserve, secure, or defend/liberate ourselves and we will need to TRUST ourselves, our instincts, our intuitions, and our bodies, in order to take the right steps down the right course toward a future as yet unseen. We must be autonomous, stand alone, and learn our own unique part (identity) in order to play the specific role designed especially for us before we were born. To suppress, deny, or avoid change at these times is miss an important opportunity and to perhaps remain on the sidelines of the future all-star game kicking yourself for caving into fear and panic. These will be times to take decisive action to preserve your integrity, perhaps protect yourself from harm, and on the positive side, begin taking the first few steps of the dance and feeling the power of love/life course through those veins!
Now let us look to all the support (heavenly that is) coming to our aid and rescue, inspiring and inviting us forward with the promise of great fun in the process as well as the “endgame”. We have the Sun moving through Leo, hand in hand with Venus all the way, and joined from the 13-20th by Mercury for a threesome. Leo is “ruled” by the Sun, the Core, the Center, the Source of our vitality, power, and life force. It stands behind us and within us, ever encouraging us to be true to ourselves, to laugh at the game of life, to rise above the petty concerns to our rightful throne of King and Queen, sovereign and dignified. At the very least these days will bring a calm within the storm and at best a dramatic performance of what we have been practicing all year!
Underlining the need to individualize, make our own choices, and break away from “the pack” this month is Mercury retrograde (2-26). This indicates a time when we need to think (Mercury) independently (retrograde) for ourselves (Leo). When a planet goes retrograde it is in a powerful state of individualizing, which prompts revelation, reflection, rebellion, revolution, renunciation, redo, restructure, rebuild….. the list goes on and on. The important point to remember is that when we review our situation we take into account the new info, the new perspective, and the personal, inward revelations that are ever possible with inner work, monitoring and self-observation.
There is a shift in the energy after the 23rd with the 24th being a high peak period of change for the month (after the 9/10th!). The Sun transitions into Virgo, and along with Venus is opposite Neptune/Chiron. All this fire and water that has been steaming up the windows all month begins to have healing effects like a hot yoga class. It may take some blood, sweat, and tears, but you will be more flexible, strong, and in your body than you were before you took the class! Take some time to breathe, relax, and integrate some of the charges/changes that have required such strong will, determination, and fortitude through these days of self-definition.
In the end, our lives are what we have made of them. The choices that we make, the love we withhold or share, the connections we make and break all serve to weave the tapestry that is US when we die. To not make a choice is to make an unconscious choice, to not love or connect is to not weave our thread into the larger tapestry of humanity. This month is an opportune time to dye your thread the exact color that you want, put it through the needle and begin weaving the masterpiece you wish your life to be. While you may stick yourself a few times, bleed, cuss, and swear, it is important to move on, carry on, carry forward to experience the sweetness, the love, and the honor of a dance well done, a game well played, a tapestry unlike any other completely and beautifully YOU.
Powerful days of change (and they CAN be POWERFUL!) are: 3, 9-10, 13, 21, 24-25, 30th
