Today is Monday, Aug. 22, 2011. A few hours before this post went up at midnight Eastern time, Venus and the Moon changed signs, both jumping onto the mutable cross — Venus ingressed Virgo and the Moon entered Gemini. These changes remind us that the Sun is about to enter Virgo in a few days. There is a plenty happening this week, a diversity of factors that otherwise might be ordinary but when taken together present a situation that is worth navigating carefully.
A mentally-driven, analytical Moon-Venus square colors the day’s energy, which I would translate to: put your needs into words, and don’t be too picky about having them met. Be happy to meet responsive people who are willing to empathize with you. Notice when someone is not responsive. Moon-Venus squares are famous for their challenges with receiving, and for pushing away what’s offered to us. Therefore, receive and be grateful; or guide others gently in the art of doing so, if it’s something you’re already good at.
We might be tempted to play the ‘feelings versus thoughts’ game — claiming that one thing is more important, or more valid or comprises the proper approach to intuition, but this aspect puts them in the same approximate place. Ideas can lead you deeper, if you feel them for what they are. It’s not always necessary to emote, which is different than to feel (which means to sensate inwardly). One particular aspect that’s been brewing for weeks and peaks this week cautions against doing too much outward emoting. That would be the Mars-Saturn square, which builds through most of the week. Mars in Cancer meets Saturn in Libra at a right angle, which could feel like the clash of the cultures (or a conflict of needs) in relationship. That said, empathy does not mean giving away your power. You may feel a kind of emotional stress that suggests you really need to be free of something. Once again, be willing to empathize as best you can, including with yourself, and remember what you feel as this aspect builds to a peak Thursday.
This could be an angry aspect, but it doesn’t need to be. Squares present events that remind us to take action. Especially with Mars involved, they remind us to honor our desires despite what limitations we may perceive.
Other aspects this week present a sequence of meaningful, interesting transitions. We’re now at the very end of the Sun’s cycle through Leo. As the Sun moves toward its transition to Virgo Tuesday morning, you might feel that cycle draw to a close. The Sun makes aspects in its last moments in the prior sign — there’s an opposition to the hypothetical point Transpluto, and an opposition to Neptune.