YOUR COSMIC HOROSCOPE

 August 2014 (Virgo New Moon)

ARIES/ARIES RISING

Whether it’s your physical health or your mental stability, it’s time to clean up the act a bit and get into some routine that is actually working to keep you healthy. Yet, no conventional practice is going to cut it. The Neptune effect means you must consider the rich alternatives in exercise and healing available to you. Whether it is the inclusion of yoga into your fitness regime, or some ayurvedic medicine to help with that ailment – the emphasis now is to introduce a holistic approach to your self-maintenance program. And woe to your well-being should you choose to ignore or neglect this now. Great forces are acting upon you, grinding your energetic system as a way of curtailing your apparent nervous restlessness. If you do not find some way of dissipating this, a way that is mindful of the balance to your energetic flow, a beautiful agreement from you to your Self to nurture your mind, body and spirit, then blockages in the overall flow of the body’s vital life force could manifest as uncomfortable health symptoms. Embrace your health and do it with strong resolve to maintain this all-year-round – not just as a whacky fad that you will abandon in a couple of weeks. Unlike your domestic household, this is not something that could cope with the occasional spring clean.

Also a word about your work. Unless you are working to help others restore some overall balance in their lives, you may feel like you are being undermined or cheated somehow. Avoid misunderstandings by analysing all the evidence before you come to some conclusion about what is really occurring, regardless of how strong your hunches are. Control that  infamous tendency to storm into impulsive actions for it may lead you to an undesirable setback in the “employment stakes” where sometimes “sorry” just won’t cut it.

TAURUS/TAURUS RISING

There is enough insight and wisdom among your friends and (perhaps online) community to inspire you  to take a magic carpet ride into the vast unknown areas of your subconscious. You will draw much from these subliminal sources, and they will inspire you with a brand new confidence that may be exactly what you need to face this month. This will give you the courage to face off with someone, deal with the inevitable, and let you promptly switch your true attention to any special venture that is all about letting your hair down and having a little joy in your life (finally).

Yet don’t get too excited. Any contacts of the ‘love fling’ kind will only serve as a dreamy escape to the drudgery of your current  mundane existence, and though quite ideal and somewhat inspiring, they may not really serve much practical use to you in the long term. See them for what they are.  Simply an escape.

A way out. And spoiling yourself right now is somehow necessary – if only just to spite all the cacophony, drama and displeasure that you have been placed under from that person in your life who was supposed to be watching your back. Talk about a slap in the face! Avoid any nasty incidents with them right now by shirking any confrontations. Best way to do this is to not take anything personally. Just remember – what others think about you is simply that – their business not yours. Don’t accept.

Just like returning a gift that you have not opened, if you do not claim any nasty criticism it returns back to its source. Let them deal with it. Just focus on having some fun. You deserve it.

GEMINI/GEMINI RISING

Since it’s really hard to work out exactly where you’re heading in life right now you turn your attention inwards this month and assess your home and private matters. There is always a bit of tidying to do around the place, no matter how fastidious you may naturally be in your domestic custodial artistry. Something about the whole process of maturity is happening to you right now, regardless of your age, it is as if a summer heat has beaten upon your every morsel and you are ripening and coming ready for the harvest. Immerse yourself into the wonderment of being lost into a dream, and do not worry about tomorrow.  Let those harsh and bitter critics melt away into their own insidious juices.

Sometimes it is as important to be diligent in forgetting as in remembering, otherwise the whole exercise of living becomes one  of  pedantry, not culture.

CANCER/CANCER RISING

The busy thoughts that are ingrained in your subcranium are given a good zhoozh this month as you increase your overall mental mobility, as well as your mobility around your local hood.

But far from being your usual homie and hanging with the gang, you are enticed to explore the mysterious and the sublime by expanding your thoughts into the spiritual and metaphysical realms. Whilst this may come in handy with inspiring your imagination and your creative writing processes, be aware that there are also elements out there which you may find misleading.

This month be sure that what you do question what it is you hear before accepting it as truth. For it is not that you don’t want to believe in certain possibilities, it is that you are culpable of ignoring your higher self – that voice above you that knows always what the best direction is for you.

You are not foolish  but sometimes you doubt your own intuition. Exercise some degree of skepticism to everything you hear – that is the wisest way.  Ultimately your mind must chose to listen to your own inner guide. Others are simply there to point you in the right direction, not tell you how to live your life.

LEO/LEO RISING

As the Sun moves out of Leo we can safely say you have had a nice old top-up of those revitalising golden rays. Now feeling quite fulfilled with self-esteem and pride, you just know that you can be the wonderful creature that you always knew you could. No shaking you there.

In fact, with Venus and Jupiter still hovering over your anointed head you are still beaming with a glow of wonderness, and though you certainly may have had challenge or two to your magnificence, you are assured that what you got is gold.

And you intend to cash it in somehow.

Just beware that you do not flutter your well-earned resources and your time away too easily by squandering your generosity upon folly ventures and dodgy investments right now.

You are discovering your ability to spiritually merge with others, it is an amazing gift that works well with your new-found rapid-fire cognition of how things can work together. Yet you must definitely stay mindful not to abuse these for your own egotistical means. Spiritual power and keen observation are otherworldly charms and must be harnessed for higher purpose, not necessarily to make you rich, or popular or to get laid, or whatever else it is that pumps up your tires.

Yes you will have all those things, and much more. But first you must learn to use these responsibly, sparingly, and most humbly. You are amazing, there’s no doubt. But only in that you are able to get over yourself being amazing all the time. Remember, the self-conscious  displayof your own amazingness can quickly sound like the deafening feedback loop we hear when holding a microphone too close to the sound monitor.

VIRGO/VIRGO RISING

So distant and unrealistic may be the hope of holding a committed relationship right now that you are either forced to abandon all hope or you will continue to kid yourself that you can live the dream in spite of all the warning signs (you know… those little red flags you keep picking up after that ‘dreamboat’).

So long as you make every effort to run that extra mile every time just to appease that other person you can keep this thing alive. In some parallel universe. In the nether-regions of your fantasy world.

It’s a good thing that you’re a Virgoan and you don’t mind

• ceaselessly doing things for others
• being largely alone for most of it
• complimenting yourself on what an excellent job you’re doing in the relationship

Speaking of Virgo, the emphasis this month is on you. So if you can bear the thought of not worrying about anyone else for a change then this is a very good time to have a good look at yourself.

Perhaps a close look in the mirror is a good place to start. When was the last time you really took time to consider your look, perhaps the hair, or your outfit? Is your image really promoting everything that you could be?. Reinvent yourself. Spice it up a bit…. no wonder others are seeming vague, and uninspired, losing interest too quickly… you probably just lost touch with the image you’re putting out there.

You would be surprised how much things will change for you  if you took care of a few superficial things about yourself.

 Do it with love for yourself. Not of yourself.

LIBRA/LIBRA RISING

Sometimes the best strategy is to disappear completely. And though you may be used to the creepy feeling of being undermined by those in your workplace, it is your vague perception of how you operate that leaves much room for criticism behind your back and in ways you cannot control.

This month it’s better just to slip away and take a little holiday. Better if you make it one of those self-pampering expeditions near the lake, or a spiritual retreat where you can fast and integrate some healthier foods into your system.

You are so sensitive right now, so vulnerable to so much – your body has been going through a total regeneration and times like this it is best to just withdraw from all the toxic influences and give yourself that break away that you really need for your own healing and purification.

August 27 - Moon conjunct Mercury in Virgo.

Head rules the heart/heart rules the head.

“What should I be feeling about this?” asks the brain. – Not the brain’s job to decide.

Heart responds with a totally awkward attempt to say something intelligent. – Not what hearts are for

…Descent into pedantry.

When the moon gets mental, like in Virgo, or Gemini, or in contact to Mercury, (or both in today’s case)  it means the head hijacks the heart. Our emotional reaction to the immediate environment (what the heart serves to do) becomes an intellectualised process. Our reactions seem contrived and somewhat awkward, uncomfortable because everything little subtlety is analysed and requires to be processed either into verbal description or some other some  manual process (like cleaning, tidying, sorting – busy busy).

If this is you today, spare a thought for those who are like this every day. And love them for being so useful!

SCORPIO/SCORPIO RISING

When you come to face the utmost test of your abilities it is a time to rise to the occasion. You may feel battered and worn by all the slings and arrows that outrageous fate may fling your way, but there is no wayyou will cede or surrender. Not now, not ever. There is never time to quit. You begin to emerge from the slow and meticulous reconstruction of yourself with a renewed resolve that you will face this world directly head-on.

The time is now to make a strike, because what is needed is new reality. A new sense of what tomorrow will look like. A new hope.

Your shrewd pragmatic style is fused with a controlled anger that only you can malleably craft into a force which will now makes its impact on the world – not for today but as the kernel of hope for tomorrow. And whilst you know your efforts now may not be easy, be assured that the rewards to you will be suitably rewarded.

Whilst the world may not quite like to be disturbed from its deep slumber, it must realise that it is time to awaken. And just as you are prepared to allow light into your own darkness, you must be mindful always not to cast that darkness unto others, but help them come out of their own.

Use this time now to focus on the needs of this mother earth. There is only one economy. It is the law of nature. Tending to this is the only hope for mankind.

August 27 - Moon conjunct Mercury in Virgo.

Head rules the heart/heart rules the head.

“What should I be feeling about this?” asks the brain. – Not the brain’s job to decide.

Heart responds with a totally awkward attempt to say something intelligent. – Not what hearts are for

…Descent into pedantry.

When the moon gets mental, like in Virgo, or Gemini, or in contact to Mercury, (or both in today’s case)  it means the head hijacks the heart. Our emotional reaction to the immediate environment (what the heart serves to do) becomes an intellectualised process. Our reactions seem contrived and somewhat awkward, uncomfortable because everything little subtlety is analysed and requires to be processed either into verbal description or some other some  manual process (like cleaning, tidying, sorting – busy busy).

If this is you today, spare a thought for those who are like this every day. And love them for being so useful!

SAGITTARIUS/SAGITTARIUS RISING

A time of great intellectual grasp is dawning for you as the great lord Jupiter combines nicely with the insightful Uranus to flash you with all the cognizance and wisdom you might have desired. Apply this now to teach and guide others to express their own uniqueness. Be consistent and avoid making promises you may just break.

Do not worry about the growing drift away from your family and all things past. If you find yourself  just yearning for your home make note that it is time to accept the old adage “home is where the heart is”. Make a conscious effort now to leave the creature comforts behind for they will draw you into a sea of self-delusion and mysterious, self-indulgent revelry.

This month is about taking hold and aiming your arrows forward. Shoot straight towards the sky, projecting yourself into the most public sphere. It is the moment when you must avoid the doldrums and melancholia of moping about the house and get out there, get busy and get real about doing what it takes to make yourself a household name.

You know you have the trajectory to become a superstar.

CAPRICORN/CAPRICORN RISING

You are usually a composed and conscientiously calm sort of person, yet the influence of Uranus aligning upon the moon’s nodal axis is doing strange things to your overall temper and temperament. You are more frequently inclined to fits of uncontrollable behaviour lately, unplanned outbursts, perhaps borne from years of pent up anger and frustration. You find yourself questioning these, if only in your most personal thoughts. If you sense something is not right, ask why this might be occurring.

The reality is dawning. Great power and its associated responsibilities seem to bring great pressures. And though you are quite masterful at keeping these at bay with your great skills of self-oppression, suppression, even depression, there are some days… moments in those days, where even the slightest shift in the tectonic plates that hold all the fury at bay erupt in ways that are difficult to manage.

This month brings a renewed opportunity to understand that there is greater meaning to your life. As a chief holder of the status quo, you find that this is not bringing you the satisfaction that you deeply need. It is time to reach further and explore some meaning behind it all. Naturally you seem to find a practical purpose in life, so we don’t expect you to go barefoot, seeking answers in some remote ashram (and why not?).

But the challenge on you now is to put all your efforts into some perspective and allow your mind the courtesy of understanding that there is some meaning to your everyday struggles. This could be very healing.

AQUARIUS/AQUARIUS RISING

Whilst the effects of the Mars/Saturn conjunction have somehow put a dampener on your personal life, they have also made things in your career world seem as though you are travelling through a time decelerator. Such a screetchingly halting time can seem difficult but let’s look at things this way – how else can someone as irreverent as yourself ever come to respect that sometimes you need to slow down and pay some.

Respect that is.

R_E_SP_ECT.

That stuff you’re always championing for all those sisters (and the brothers, the elderlies and homeless, the homies and the homos, the blind and and and ohhh…)

[What the hell is that astrologer talking about??]

Well. There’s a time and place where you must cede to the inevitable. That although you have a point about equality for all, and perhaps the value of democracy is an ideal state of social existence, that being equal does not necessarily mean being the same.

Men are not the same as women. They are equal in the rights, yes, but essentially they have different functions. Sure occasionally there are some behavioural ambiguities there, and that’s ok. But if we were all the same this world would not be.

And every other place. Bosses are not the same as workers. They are equal. But they are not the same. Their contribution is different. Children are not the same as adults. Well… you get the drift…

You need to learn to accept now that some functions are different to others. They need to be. And whilst we are all equal in our rights as free citizens of this planet, we all have a very special difference between us. All of us. We are each unique and special. Each of us wishes to shine in our our individual right.

But you knew that, of course.

This is the respect I’m talking about. And that is where it ends.

So if you see somebody acting precious (and with Jupiter in Leo there’ll be plenty about), try to give them a chance to shine.

PISCES/PISCES RISING

As you continue to be the ferryman of this world for delivering all things divine into the mundane, you seem to spark the attention of those who are simply breathtaken by all the magical little insights and breakthroughs that you offer. Needless to say, some folks become easily dazzled, some find you positively inspiring, and some just find you curiously unusual and weird. But for the most part, if you are coming from a constructive, healing place you are going to attract others who could lose themselves in what you do for them.

Seems like a pretty winning little charm you have there. I hope you are becoming more aware of the potential uses, and the possible abuses of having such special gift.

The way the world is at the moment calls for major doses of what you have to share. That special ability to show full, indiscriminate compassion, perceptive love, and humane understanding to quench those thirsting for a clue of how to get through the excruciating agony that this world sometimes throws our way.

Only you seem to be able toclearly discern that even though things can be painful, there is always some relief in store. Only you are truly fearless when it comes to facing that interminable struggle that to many seem so harsh and insufferable. Because somehow, you have been through it all yourself. And you know, that even with just a single loving embrace that you can absorb and totally dissolve the deepest pain of others – whether they are known to you or they are complete strangers.