Luxuriate only until lunchtime today while Mercury remains in Leo, then when it reaches Virgo it’s pure service, whatever service means to you: whether it’s serving behind the bar, serving your aromatherapy clients (on a Sunday? You’re working too hard) or serving humanity. If you are a Virgoan, you’ll be in your element, polishing the silver. Early evening brings a trine between the Sun and Pluto. If you are preparing psychological ground for something important, such as an emotional healing journey, it will be a good time to meditate and pack your tools: crystals, inspirational listening and reading, and your special earth healing costume. If your healing ground is going to be in the home vicinity this week, then shift some furniture with the help of your feng-shui guides. Just make sure the neighbours aren’t watching, as they already think of you as some New Age cliché (I am of course speaking for myself only). The real work begins on Tuesday (21st) with the conjunction of the Sun and Saturn at the end of Leo. It’s a chance to firm up the foundations or even admire the finished project of something built up over the last two or so years while Saturn has been in that sign, especially if you are a Leo. You do want to see the results of all that hard work, but at times the sheer struggle may have conditioned you to see only the stumbling blocks ahead of you. Tuesday may still be problematic, but you can start to see what you have achieved and the beauty and meaning of the original grand design and the overall plan. That goes for you other signs watching too, but maybe less so. You may have watched the brave lions in your life or may have had your own Saturn-in-Leo demons to face – bravo to everyone! You can at least buy the bottle of champagne even if you haven’t yet got the bottle to drink it or acknowledge the strength you’ve shown. Thursday (23rd) lunchtime the Sun enters Virgo, and we are all starting to feel autumnal even though it is still summer – you know that feeling. Obsessive-compulsives just put down that silver for a minute, you’ve done enough for today. There’s a quiet peaceful side to Virgo which you can access, in contrast to the drivenness. Just lie down now, start to relax and take it easy…We have a month of the Sun in Virgo, and you need to start as you mean to go on. By afternoon tea time you’ll be frantic anyway, trust me, so relax now…put on the snooze button (at work? Just hope no one notices your head on the desk)…You’ll come to with a start late afternoon/early evening as Mars opposes Jupiter pulling your enthusiasms and desires as far as they will stretch. You’ll feel restless, but some of you will be able to rise above this opposition and make something incredibly creative out of this tension (I am thinking about the virtual banquets we dream about). In the early hours of Saturday (25th) Mercury squares Jupiter and everything will be over-the-top: the traffic jam you are caught in on the way home, the quantity of bargain books you are buying in Borders, the shed-load of washing you have accumulated (add your own examples). And that’s just the start of the day…next Mercury squares Mars and if more than one person is irritable that just makes for an indigestible lunch, especially if you are in the Big Brother house. And by the evening, when Venus opposes Neptune the earlier irritability will have been mulled and turned into a gently simmering paranoia, the only antidote for which is for everyone to centre in their heart chakra. Now where did I pack my rose quartz…?

“When you receive your nourishment from light, an energy or a force, or whatever you like to call it, flows into you; it is simply present when you need it. How much comes in depends on how much you use; this is like a law of nature.”

If there’s one day in the year which inspires a holiday mood it’s the New Moon in Leo today, so have a barbecue and let your hair down, bearing in mind the health and safety issues involved. There’s the firework entertainment of the Perseids meteor shower tonight, so wishing on those is an experiment I will leave to the intrepid explorers amongst you. For the more lily-livered souls, look after yourselves, because tomorrow evening holds an aspect cocktail of double doubt and despondency. The Sun opposes Neptune forcing you to see through the illusions of life (but not before you have experienced the illusion). As if that were not enough, Saturn conjuncts Venus, so having seen through the illusion you are not wild about the reality picture, but the gift is the reality which you need to learn to love. Love yourself. That’s the gift and the reality. Put your heart and soul into it. More challenge arrives on Tuesday (14th) with Neptune opposing Mercury: this is the analysis of the illusion the day after. This is the attempt to make sense of the seemingly nonsensical. You can put it into a poem, because poems don’t have to make sense. I am thinking by now I should be slapping a health and safety sticker on this week’s aspects, but – soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It’s always darkest before the dawn…Wednesday (15th) can deliver us from all that doubt and confusion, can see rewards for all the struggles for comprehension brought on by Neptune earlier in the week. Venus trines Pluto and solid achievements can be forged in relationships. Yes you might have been feeling the aloneness of the human condition earlier in the week, but now you might feel the connectedness too. And there is the icing on the cake of crystal clarity with the Sun conjunct Mercury to contrast with the earlier illusions. Rewards of the heart and mind. And now we’re on a roll nearly till the end of the week, with two more helpful aspects on Friday (17th): Mercury conjunct Venus for starters, good for catching up in friendship, diplomacy if you’re a global player or literary flow if you are an aspiring writer. Then Mercury trine Pluto: deep sharing in friendship, long-range implications if you are a diplomat, and in-depth psychology if you are the novelist. Saturday morning (18th) yields a sigh of contentment and satisfaction through the Sun’s conjunction with Venus: there should be a space for emotional healing, and it’s also lavish for artistic creativity. That just leaves a dose of reality again for Saturday afternoon with Mercury conjunct Saturn reminding you of the transience of transits. You’ve experienced everything this week – time to write your novel.

You have all day to practise your Saturn trine Pluto exercises for tomorrow, as there are no other aspects to distract you. If you haven’t even made a start, please read Steps 1 and 2 to get into the groove. Tomorrow’s event may produce a moment of truth, and put the last couple of years into perspective. Don’t miss it! Tuesday (7th) morning brings an opposition between Chiron and the Sun. Group healing is called for, so find the solution to the crisis, then demand a group hug, saying “Well done, everybody!” Jupiter is stationary on Tuesday, so the crisis may centre around the Sagittarian who may be superglued to the office chair, or hopefully something less dramatic. These Sagittarians can become victims of their own pranks, you know. Tuesday could also be tricky later on, when you are back home from the office even, with a late night square between Venus and Mars. At best this could be a romantic misunderstanding in the manner of the French farce. At worst…? Well, do resist the temptation to gossip, as gossip can be fatal. Venus re-enters Leo on Thursday (9th) retrograding from Virgo. Another chance to glam-up as a break from the Cinderella rags you’ve been wearing lately. In fact, you’ve got until October before the panto rehearsals re-start in earnest. Seriously though, if you’ve been having issues with ex-partners, it’s the retrograde motion of Venus which will require heart-searching for several more weeks. Also on the menu for Thursday is Mercury trine Jupiter, which is pure gold for communication: with your ex, with your holiday tour operator, or even on your mobile on the train (just ignore the tut-tuts from the other commuters). And the rest of the week? There’s a New Moon coming, so start your wish list early.

Previously: Have you identified the forces of Saturn and Pluto as they are working in your life now? (see Step 1) Now you need to bring them both into harmony inwardly: the need for control and the need for psychological truth. Sense where they may be incompatible, and ask your Soul how they can be combined in a constructive way. Then explore how they can be brought together in harmony within the two areas in which they are currently working in your life. If you have not worked that out, then just work with the two principles. Balance the two together and see if there are any structures in your life which are emerging to fulfil the hopes and plans you have around these issues. The whole thing may crystallize and merge in your mind. If that doesn’t happen immediately, let it simmer until Monday’s aspect occurs. Is there any action or idea you need to put into place before then to help the process along? It’s a chance to make your life work, but there will be others. Project forward to what you may be doing at 10.35 a.m. (UK time) on Monday 6 August. As you tune in, you may see the huge pattern of your life and how it intersects with this event. The following quote by Howard Sasportas, though not quite in context, may be relevant for some: “When transiting Pluto aspects Saturn, a force is set into operation which challenges the boundaries, limitations, and inhibitions we have imposed on ourselves.”

As you read this you may already be under the spell of Mercury trine Uranus which occurred in the early hours of this morning. Have you planned anything exciting for today? Be assured it will turn out to be exciting. If you haven’t planned anything exciting, the excitement may turn out to be all in your head, virtual worlds and telepathy having free rein today in the mental realms. If you are feeling any emotional uneasiness, then that is probably down to the upcoming Full Moon, which is exact in the early hours of tomorrow (30th) morning. The Moon itself will be in Aquarius, so the emotion will be group-driven, while the Sun is in Leo the sign of the individual. This is the polarity which needs to be balanced now. It brings to mind the phrase by Theodore Roszak: “The needs of the planet are the needs of the person”, though your own immediate group will do for working this one out. Mars squares Saturn on Tuesday (31st) which could bring about some hard bargaining, but hopefully you have enough finesse and sensitivity to contribute to the most satisfactory outcome for all concerned. What you need to avoid is being drawn into the victim-victimizer loop. If there’s one day in which the Sun is most likely to shine, that’s Thursday (2nd): Jupiter trines the Sun in Leo that day, and that’s as much of a long-range weather forecast you’ll get from me this week (I’m wondering if I should do a separate blog on the astrological weather patterns, but on second thoughts…I don’t think I could do better than the Meteorological Office). The Sun-Jupiter trine isn’t only about the weather, in fact it’s mostly about you allowing the Sun to shine into two areas of your life, one of them having a creative connection and the other having an application which expands your mind. If you’re on holiday, then this could be one of your highlights. If you’re at home, it’s good for landscaping the garden. If you’re in the office (doesn’t everyone work in an office?) you might find ways of improving working conditions, employee relations, and more organized practices. And there’s more! Friday (3rd) brings a snappy sextile between Mercury and Mars, so if you’re on holiday the surfing will be cool, in the garden all those weeds will be out in no time, and in the office those excel spreadsheets will ensure maximum efficiency. On Saturday (4th) Mercury joins the Sun in Leo so there is more chance that the weather will tow the official August line.

Previously…”a call to start working with the potential of the Saturn-Pluto trine…as it connects Leo and Sagittarius it also connects two areas of your life and you can enhance the effect of the mutual support of these two planets.” Your handy guide to 6 August: First identify which two areas of your life Saturn and Pluto have been operating in during the last couple of years. The Saturn area is one in which you have had to streamline and make cuts. The Pluto area is one in which you have had to dig deep psychologically. Astrology by numbers: If you know your Ascendant, then you can count to see which houses are involved, bearing in mind that Saturn will be at 26 degrees Leo and Pluto at 26 degrees Sagittarius and there are 30 degrees to a house and a sign. Now assess what you and the Universe have been working towards in those two areas, and start to evaluate how they could come together in a positive way, in perhaps a new structure, with your conscious intention and with the help of cosmic forces which help the divine plan unfold. Coming next week – Step 2: When you have had a chance to identify the two areas and digest what is required, you can work more closely with the psycho-spiritual orientation which will enable a new foundation for your life, or for the planet if you are working on a bigger canvas.

If it’s all been too much lately, what with needless worrying about the fate of Harry Potter, then it’s a good day to hibernate today. The TV images of underwater towns and villages in the UK will be swimming in and out of your dreams and meditations, and you need to rest and digest…and wonder how it connects with the healing of the earth last Tuesday. The Sun enters Leo tomorrow (23rd), its home resort, and somewhere in the world the Sun must be shining even if it’s not through your office or conservatory window. The focus for the day is our relationship with that warmth: to find it, inside or outside, literal or metaphorical. We do need to draw benefit from the Sun’s rays, without fear or guilt. Fear and guilt could be components of Tuesday’s (24th) Mars square Neptune, an aspect which may be partly responsible for those TV images of underwater towns and villages…Incidentally, someone said I made last week sound too exciting, so I am going for blander this week (how am I doing?). Mars square Neptune is not necessarily bland, but more insidious, like water seeping everywhere, pollution under the surface, and political scandals bubbling away. They are things you may not necessarily see, but will certainly suspect. So if you need to take any remedial action, uncover the real truth first. Venus goes stationary on Friday (27th) in early Virgo, just as you were coming to love your new glamorous mission of saving the environment. You will see it’s now one step back for the time being, perhaps taking a more subservient role – you might need to play Mrs. Mop rather than Mrs. Bucket until Venus returns to that position…hang on in there, your true identity and life purpose is waiting in the wings.

Reality beckons as I work on a dossier on the astrological factors behind depression, but how I loved to hear about the many ways people created the space for the healing of the earth on Tuesday. At ancient temples, meadows and lavender fields, communing with sacred mystical poets, in solitude in candlelit homes…Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t recommend walking a spiral on Parker’s Piece in the rain, but it was very meaningful: to think of all that love and goodwill interpenetrating the earth, air, fire and water. Some of us too have felt that there has been a subtle shift since that time, enabling us to make decisions we hadn’t dreamt possible before, and whispers from the Cosmos of choice and co-creation. It was backed up by the sextile of Mars and Uranus last night (“Could that have been divine design?” asked Felicity), bringing anticipation to fever pitch over the launch of the last Harry Potter book!

The week begins and ends with a Mars aspect, so it’s Mars week. Time to dust down your Inner Warrior costume if it doesn’t get out much, and see if it needs pressing, mending or embroidering. Monday’s square between Mars and Chiron recommends we do that, because if we are not conscious of how we are using our Mars energy we can cause havoc. So tomorrow (16th) could bring a healing crisis, triggering the need for such a review. Why not get in ahead, and start now. Sit on your deckchair on the beach (wearing your rainhat), reading “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman. I must confess I have never read it, but love the title and quote it often. Now you’ll need the Eco-Warrior within for Tuesday (17th), in order to join in the Fire the Grid attempt to heal the damage we have caused to the Earth. I am assuming you will do it, because why wouldn’t you? In case you have spent the last week on another planet, read Shelley Yates’ account on the web of her miraculous escape from drowning and her son’s miraculous revival, reasons enough. I will be on Parker’s Piece in Cambridge, wearing my carnation and waving my banner, and then healing for all I’m worth at 11:11 GMT, that’s 12:11 Cambridge-time. Mars is in Taurus right now, so that helps to channel energy into the earth. The Moon will be conjunct Venus at that time, so there may be a gentle shift to reverse the tide of thoughtlessness. Wednesday would be a good day to conduct a further re-evaluation of your Inner Warrior. How was Tuesday for you? What have you learned about your Mars energy so far this week, how can you refine it, and what might you need to change to get the best out of Friday’s (20th) Mars sextile Uranus? There’s an aura of excitement about this aspect, and an electrical energy in the air (thunderstorms often occur when Mars connects with Uranus). Things to do: Celebrate life; Plan a surprise for someone; Go out of your comfort zone; Conduct a telepathy experiment; Feel the fear and do it anyway (another book I haven’t read but like the title of). Friday night is not a night for couch potatoes.