Another week of having to think on your feet, for it’s a week of disruption and dissonance. With the opposition between Uranus and Mercury-Venus coming up to a T-square with Pluto, some of you will feel out of your comfort zone this week, like you’re playing musical chairs or appearing in an episode of Wife Swap. With people on holiday, and displaced cats in catteries, you could experience the following scenarios: temps arriving in offices with no one to show them the ropes, holidaymakers arriving in cottages without instruction manuals, and meat-eaters finding themselves under a vegan regime (read Jonathon Porritt’s blog for August). Issues of dependency and abandonment are rife. Fret not, It’s all designed to make you more spiritually flexible for the New Age. You could start Sunday (24th) with some country ramble, yoga or meditation to put you on a wholesome plane, pondering futures building an ecologically sustainable lifestyle or looking at forthcoming college courses along those lines. You can feel the climate change in the air, and as such you need to plan for a new year style regime change soon (academic or religion-wise) incorporating maybe some more ethical features. Thursday (28th) brings to a head the first challenging aspect of this week, in the shape of Mercury square Pluto. Did you set your terms earlier in the week? If so you’ll be less confused or thrown by this aspect which asks you for decisions and choices based on your core beliefs. If you got clear on those earlier in the week then you’ll know exactly what to think, say and do in the now. For Friday (29th) picture Bryan Ferry (whose planets cluster round the cusp of Virgo and Libra) slinking into a room, and you’ll get the sense of Mercury going into Libra. This would bring more pleasure into work routines and more harmony into conversations were it not for the major aspect of the day Venus square Pluto which overshadows it and counteracts the usual suave style of Mercury in Libra. Mercury will have to wait a little longer in order for his smooth operations to take effect, but it will be monitoring how to achieve things in the background, perhaps even crooning, while we grapple with the heart issues that Venus squaring Pluto brings up. Don’t say anything in relationship that you will regret, but conversely don’t fail to say anything you meant to. My advice would be to put on an Ella Fitzgerald CD…she had a double dose of heart with Sun conjunct Venus in Taurus and could sing her heart, empowered by a favourable sextile of Pluto to that conjunction. Therefore she was able to express Venus-Pluto in a healthy way and the dilemmas of the human heart. Saturday (30th) afternoon UK time sees Venus follow Mercury into Libra, and with such a strong Libran line-up it’s time to sing along. Can’t sing won’t sing? Allow the inner child full rein in the art studio instead. The week will have been a long inner journey (how else could you process such aspects?) but in the evening a quiet New Moon steals in at 7 degrees Virgo, reminding us of ecological promises we made, and encouraging us to renew our vows, hopes and wishes.

The main forces of the day, both the inspirational and the challenging, may have taken place while you were sleeping or during the night’s revels. Venus trining Jupiter early on encourages social get-togethers, reunions and celebrations. There will have been a bitter-sweet flavour to last night’s eclipse though, with Mars squaring Pluto which releases long-smouldering resentments and in some cases leads to physical confrontation. The positive way of looking at it is that energy is released, and freed, to be recycled. If you are in a group situation, be aware of and responsible about what you are contributing to its harmonies and tensions. Tomorrow (18th) Mercury trines Jupiter, so yesterday’s tussles may have paid off with an expanded awareness, a broadening of horizons, and a sense of freedom and enlightenment. On Tuesday (19th) Mars leaves Virgo and arrives in Libra, so it’s a good day to put the finishing touches to projects started at the beginning of July, and to turn your energies to relationships and how peace can be achieved. Use the struggle for peace in your own relationships as a metaphor for peace between nations, then turn back and forth in your understanding of both. For Mars will be in Libra until early October, and it is the positioning of the diplomat who understands both war and peace, who sits on the fence and sees both sides of the story. Thursday (21st) is the most weightily constructive day with Sun trine Pluto, Mercury conjunct Venus and Moon trine Sun. If it’s your birthday, you’ll be greatly honoured by this planetary line-up. Words will take on an eternal meaning today, and diplomats and politicians will enjoy the gift of the gab. It is a good day for articulating what is in your deepest subconscious, for putting words to music, for that heart-to-heart you have longed for with a dear one, and for balance between inner male and female. The Sun enters Virgo on Friday (22nd) – leave behind the pleasure-seeking of Leo, there’s a job to be done now during the Sun’s passage through Virgo! What is the service which is being asked of you now? Relish the task, and put your best energies forward. Saturday (23rd) will show you the obstacles to your plan or task so that you know the complexity of what you are dealing with, for Uranus opposes Mercury and Venus on that day. Uranus opposes Mercury at breakfast, and controversial words could be spoken at the breakfast table over unusual combinations of leftovers from the night before. Mid-afternoon Uranus opposes Venus, so unusual feelings could be allowed to surface and given expression over tea and cake. Make sure the cake is a completely new, never-before tried recipe with flavours and ingredients such as to impress John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Give it the wow factor. You need to distract the judges today and even raise a smile on their faces. For on Saturday, all your fine words and plans could temporarily go out the window, as you learn to think on your feet and provide solutions from the infinity of your intuition. Got a problem? Find the solution that’s twinned with it.

Do you have trouble choosing what to wear in the morning? Then look no further this week, and tune into the astro-colours of each day. I have often noticed that two or more people in my office turn up spontaneously wearing the same colour on a particular day, which turns out to resonate with the Moon’s sign. So this week I am offering a guide to your wardrobe based on the aspects for this week. Today, healing indigo can safely channel the energy of Mars square Pluto. If you are more inclined towards pastels, then use powder blue, though it may be too gentle and miss the mark. Monday (18th) wear turquoise to fan the flames of the Mercury-Jupiter celebration of communication. Mars in Libra on Tuesday (19th) intensifies the bluer end of the turquoise so deepen the colour. On Wednesday (20th) the Moon is in Aries and you’ll also need to rebalance after all the indigo, turquoise and blue, so red is the colour. Combine gold and indigo for Thursday (21st) to honour the Sun’s last rays of Leo combined with the deepest insights of Pluto. The Sun’s entry into the first degree of Virgo on Friday (22nd) highlights the shades of olive green if you are working on a practical level, or lime green if you are working on more ethereal tasks or beginning spiritual projects. And Saturday (23rd) brings the opposition between Uranus and Mercury/Venus – just slop out in your casual gear, because anything goes. Or if you would like to work with the karmic healing aspect of the current conjunction of North Node and Chiron, the alchemical colours of silver and gold could be most useful. As for me, I’m almost permanently operating in pink ‘n turquoise at the moment, right down to the scrunchie! The motto: “I wear what I am”

At the last eclipse, I found myself kissing the Blarney stone…it remains to be seen whether it’s had any effect on my blogging! It is a good time though to assess the events of the last eclipse on Friday 1st August because the next eclipse later at the end of this week will see the culmination or denouement of those events. In between, we have been processing the 08-08-08 gate, glued or not to the Olympics. The number 8 seems to correlate with the planet Saturn, so maybe this period of time between the eclipses is a foundation stone for something in your life, a new foundation of sorts. There’s a lot going on…the star we are in alignment with this week is Mirak (or Merak) in Ursa Major. Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld say of this: “This is a shift away from domination and the concentration of power in the hands of those who would abuse it.” With Chiron conjunct the True North Node now and the Sun conjunct the South Node in Leo, it’s an important time to reassess power within and without. They go on to say: “If the context is shifted from one of power to dominate into power to create, power to invite, and power to free, then this deeper awareness in a person of who they are and their connection to God and other people is enhanced.” Mercury goes into Virgo this morning, which signals the totem animals of Bee and Ant to come in and start some productive work towards new goals. It suggests that maybe some of the leaders (Leos) can go back to the shop floor and help with the groundwork, and assist the project from that level. Venus conjuncts Saturn at 9 degrees Virgo on Wednesday (13th), time to put heart into your work, combine love and duty, and commit in some way. Paradoxically, it can also be a time when you are required to let go of aspects of a relationship that don’t work, and accept the things that you cannot change. Venus and Saturn are not an easy mix, but if you are focussing on the care of the elderly, focus on the softening pink of love rather than the inexorable greying of hair. Breakfast or commute-time on Friday morning (15th) brings Sun opposite Neptune, so there will be a mist over the proceedings. Note that Mercury the weather planet was opposite Neptune at the start of the Olympics, and you couldn’t fail to notice the smog. As Friday is close to the Full Moon and eclipse, there may be a haze of confusion in relation to the climax about to take place. There may be underhand methods of gaining ground in power play and competition, in jostlings for position, for instance. Early evening however Mercury conjoins Saturn, which is a good aspect for detectives sniffing out any deceptions. Saturday is the final day of the blog week, and the Full Moon in Aquarius and Lunar Eclipse takes place at 21:16 Hrs (UK time). Try to approach this outcome with a positive attitude, and look for the treasure within each situation. With a lurking square between Mars and Pluto (balancing your inner victim and victimizer), it’s the best way to clear the collective astral smog.

How does the new landscape look? Last week held its challenges, but these also brought new solutions, as we raise our game. Relationships may have deepened, for Tuesday (5th) brings the establishment of a new level of understanding between you and your loved ones with the peak of a trine between Venus and Pluto. Venus at the end of Leo signifies spiritual love, and Pluto at the end of Sagittarius signifies a deeper understanding of life – a great combination. New connections may be forged and existing ones strengthened. Enjoy this level of love, for on Wednesday (6th) morning Venus enters Virgo and will carry out a different agenda. Venus in Virgo supports good taste in food, art, and friendships. Standards in all of these will be scrutinized and analysed and sifted until they pass the test. Gordon Ramsey, Damian Hirst and Spice Girls watch out! Try to get to grips with this one early in the day, for at tea-time (in the UK) there are TWO oppositions within two minutes of each other! First to ruffle our feathers is Mars opposite Uranus, which can be incident-prone: time to get out of Gordon’s kitchen now! The second is Mercury opposite Neptune, which can make you fall asleep on the job, or on the way home. With Uranus and Neptune playing up, there may be some strange weather conditions. The events of Wednesday could give food for thought, with unusual phenomena. Phew! We end the week (on Saturday 9th) on a helpful aspect as Mercury trines Pluto. If you found the Venus-Pluto trine constructive emotionally, you’ll build on that with the profound benefits that Mercury-Pluto will bring, but translated to the mental realm: deep conversation, soul-knowing, and important journeyings. Make an effort to visit someone you haven’t seen for some while or who has been living an isolated existence, and link souls.

The working week (Monday 28th) begins with Venus conjunct the South Node at 19 degrees Leo. If your focus is on your workplace, you may discover the karmic connections which have brought you to your office. If you are in holiday mode, your holiday destination may have past-life resonances or karma to clear in a gentle and harmonious way. If you are voluntarily on a permanent retreat lifestyle, then you may discover inner cosmic connections. You’ll begin to sense that useful items this week could be antennae, a tuning fork, a steering wheel and a compass. On the evening of Tuesday 29th (UK time) a conjunction between Sun and Mercury at 7 degrees of Leo crystallizes the mental qualities of your inner lion or lioness in what are still the early days of the Leo month. Some of you found it hard to rouse your inner lion(ess) last week, perhaps you had put it away for a whole year. Tuesday is another chance to bring out your fun-loving streak and reveal your inner light. It’s also a suitable time to meditate on your alignment with your authentic self, so that you are absolutely right on for the total solar eclipse in Leo later in the week. Eclipses usually are turning points in people’s lives, and you want to be sure that you are coming from source and know where you are going. Leo is the sign for leadership, and if you’re in that role, it’s a chance to focus on the true path, so that you will not be misleading anyone. With his Mercury and Sun in the relevant sector of Leo, it will be a crucial eclipse for Barack Obama. Along with the rest of us, he needs to search his soul that he is taking the right direction now, but especially so given his potential responsibility. So with our inner compass set to true, Thursday afternoon and early evening builds up to Friday’s eclipse. Firstly on Thursday (31st) afternoon Venus opposes Neptune, another chance to test out your route. Will Friday’s planned route be a red herring, or truly a direction which serves you and those around you? The combination of Venus and Neptune could test whether you are in illusion about your intended path, and especially in terms of who you are able to put your trust into – are your expectations of someone fair for instance? Welcome the test, as it will help to show you the truth. Look for inner confirmation, rather than picking a card at random. The next event, early evening on Thursday, is the Moon’s entry into Leo joining three other planets. This is an opportunity to test the emotional waters and feel whether you have set the emotional tone right. Finally, on Friday (1st August) in the morning, the eclipse arrives. Hope it’s a good journey for you, and you find yourself in the right place in the cosmos and in your psyche.

If last week had you in Whale mode, this week will have you in Lion mode. For the inner lion or lioness is right now waiting in the wings (the later degrees of the sign of Cancer) for his or her grand entrance into Leo on Tuesday (22nd). What preparations are going on in your life at the moment, waiting to be unveiled? Are you perhaps re-decorating, ready for a housewarming or officewarming on Tuesday? Are you auditioning for your next pantomime? Are you putting the finishing touches to a portrait in oils? There is sure to be a sense of panache and a flourish about what is shown and demonstrated and unveiled on Tuesday, with the Sun going into Leo. And later on that day, there is a trine between Mercury and Uranus in water signs. This is a change of mood, and focus, from the earlier events of the day. It’s a reprise of the Whale, so the holographic consciousness you perfected last week will stand you in good stead. That means spectacular breakthroughs, inventions and discoveries, original systems of thought. Remember to visualize your sonic plume…There’s enough there that day to dine out on all week, and leftovers from Tuesday are needed to bridge the gap until the next set of aspects which don’t arrive until Saturday (26th). If you enjoyed Tuesday, Saturday is a replay of sorts, because again we have a planet entering Leo (in this case Mercury) and then later in the day another trine (in this case between Mars and Jupiter). This week is about having a second chance to build on or perfect what you have achieved. Mercury entering Leo brings the head (or mane) count to three: Sun, Venus and Mercury all in this hedonistic sign. Even if you don’t have an ounce of Leo in your birth chart, you could get caught up in the carnival atmosphere. And finally, the riotous trine of two fire planets Mars and Jupiter living it up on a Saturday night! Could be a fling to remember, when you are involved in demanding new work routines later in the year.

As we start the week, our collective Sun is aligned with one of the Heavenly Twins, Pollux. He is the half which represents the right-side intuitive brain and the processing of inspiration. Bernadette Brady in her book on the Fixed Stars points out that we need to use both twins together (i.e. incorporate Castor the logical one too), and that is part of the process which brings inspiration into practical use. Make the whale your animal totem this week. As Chris Griscom says: “Whales have exactly the same brain as we, except seven times larger. They have made the catapultic leap into holographic thought. Whereas we are caught in our linearity, they use sound as the medium of holographic consciousness and are thus able to digest immense quantities of information simultaneously.” Mull over that today, and there’ll be plenty of opportunity tomorrow (Monday 14th) to utilize and put into practice your holographic thought, for the planets of the higher (Uranus) and lower mind (Mercury) are both splendidly aspected. If you live in the UK the morning delivers a sextile between Mercury and Saturn, so if you have made plans they should hold firm. If you live in the US you may receive a plan in your dream life. If you live in the Orient, you’ll be implementing the plan at the end of the day, and if down in Oz you’ll leave it till the laid-back afternoon to work itself out, no sweat. That’s the more left-brain (Castor) side of the bargain. The afternoon (UK time) brings a flash of intuition, electrifying and maybe out of the blue from a trine between Sun and Uranus. If you’re the creative kind and on a spiritual path striving to be so, you could conceive the bigger picture now. That’s the right-brain (Pollux) side of the bargain. Tuesday (15th) evening gets the action going with Mercury sextile Mars. This favours combining physical energy with logical thought, or “energy follows thought” as the saying goes. You can follow through on Monday’s ideas and foundations. In these heady energies you may also sense the impending Full Moon tension coming up to Friday (18th). This Full Moon is in Capricorn, opposing the Sun in Cancer. If it is your birthday that day, it is a fine balancing act between reason and emotion which you might just be able to pull off. Unlike the heavier connotations of last month’s Full Moon, this one leaves you (and us) free to manage only your own emotions and be less likely to get caught up in group shenanigans. Saturday (19th) ends the week with a not unpleasant opposition: that of Mercury and Jupiter. You might have to travel to fulfil its brief, or broaden your mind, but it shouldn’t cause too much havoc. If you are inconvenienced by a travel detour for instance, something you encounter along the way will cause you to appreciate the silver lining. If you’re caught in a rainstorm, you’ll anticipate the rainbow. It’s a reasonable mindset on which to end the week.

This week is looking good, in relation to some we have had lately. And today is looking especially good, with two trines going on. Sometimes trines don’t work for you if they catch your chart at an awkward angle. But these two trines catch each other at an awkward angle, so if one of them catches you awkwardly, you will probably benefit from the other! The critical degrees to get excited about are 22-23 of the signs, if you have anything placed there. The trines in question are Mercury trine Neptune, and Venus trine Uranus. The first occurs late morning in the UK, and brings ideal conditions for mediumship, channelling or mystical practices. The second aspect occurs at tea-time, and provides ideal conditions for Self-Help Groups, especially those with a musical or artistic focus. With Venus still in Cancer, there is a maternal feel to inter-group relations. If you have not already set up such a group, text out the invitations now and be sure to include at least one Aquarian, as they know what the purpose of group energy is for. If you are going out, make it an unusual venue or a different diner. You could meet interesting new people, and raise a glass or an eyebrow. If you’re having a night in with your guides, they may club together to provide new information about relating, or introduce you to a new guide. Well all that sounds like a healing basis to start the week, and enthusiasm may build towards Wednesday (9th) when the morning brings an energy burst of Sun opposite Jupiter. Try restraining the Leos and Sagittarians that day – they will be metaphorically bouncing up and down on a trampoline. It will be down to the Virgoans and Capricorns of this world to encourage them to come down to earth for some reality checks. Virgoans, especially those born at the end of August, could have a special role to play this week in arbitrating arguments, bringing fire signs down to earth, and reminding everyone there is a job to do on the planet. Thursday (10th) is the best day to observe this role, because Mercury (ruler of Virgo) opposes Pluto, Mars conjoins Saturn at 5 degrees Virgo, and Mercury also changes signs. Normally quiet Virgoans could be driven in desperation or frustration to become more forceful and vehement in their opinions that day on the subjects they really care about. Listen to them, for their thoughts about pollution and the environment come from integrity, and they may hold the key to solutions or ethical practices. They will be extra intense, and have a sense of urgency about their mission. Warning to Leos and Sagittarians: get off the trampoline now, as the Virgoans need to dismantle and recycle it. Mercury, as mentioned, changes signs on Thursday, commuting from Gemini to Cancer. The purely mental analytical approach of Gemini and Virgo will give way to the more sensitive outlook which brings into account other people’s feelings. OK, the Virgoan may allow one more bounce on the trampoline out of compassion for the firesign egos, before getting to grips with the job. The final astrological event of the week is set for tea-time on Saturday (12th) with the entry of Venus into Leo. Leos will be happy to get of the trampoline for the sake of a new (or old) love interest, or narcissism. Sagittarians will carry on trampolining in their mind. For other signs, the compassionate focus of Venus in Cancer can give way to Leonine adoration especially towards children (the prodigal one may return), and creativity will capture the essence of beauty. For goodness sake though, pay some attention to that Leo, and mirror back the self-love.

People are sensing a momentum of energy at the moment, and maybe wondering why. It’s the gathering of forces towards Monday’s (30th) Mars trine Pluto. This can be felt and experienced on all sorts of levels, and inwardly and outwardly. On an extreme physical level, it can be the meeting of conflicting forces, not exactly peacefully but fairly constructively. It’s not exactly peace, but the realization in meeting that conflict is futile which may stop the warmongering in its tracks, and could act as a basis for future peace or negotiation. Psychologically, it can mean the release of instinctual forces, energies from the id or subsconscious, which come up for airing. If you are going about your life purposefully, it may give you a chance to launch a pet project with gusto. If preoccupied with an intense relationship, passion may be on the cards. Even a trine between Mars and Pluto needs caution, however, so remember to practise safety checks and safe texts. This really is the event of the coming week, so I have sketched out a rough guide in a separate blog. Tuesday (1st July) sees Mars change signs and mood. Perhaps satiated by its recent expression of energy and going out of Leo like a Lion, it now comes into Virgo like a lamb. You could really feel the energy change quite markedly on Tuesday afternoon, and the difference may almost feel like a vacuum or absence of energy. Mars in Virgo has a live-and-let-live philosophy: quietly going about its business and even serene in this, if scores have been fairly settled on Monday, objectives accomplished, no offence meant or taken. It’s a helpful atmosphere to nurture Thursday’s (3rd) New Moon in Cancer, where hearth and home are the centrepiece of existence and there is a need to touch base. Despite a Venus-Jupiter opposition on the same day, there is a good chance of achieving some of this cosy security, for Venus and Jupiter are fairly friendly and more likely to bring out gentle teasing, humour and playfulness with each other than the earlier double act. Saturday (5th) winds up the week with a square between Mercury and Uranus. Travellers could indeed get wound up, and communication end up as gobbledegook. Don’t try any telepathy experiments, they would just bring mixed messages and your antennae could be picking up interference from planet Zog. Do try new mind maps by all means, but keep your existing circuits until you have tested them out thoroughly and are sure of your ground. Just going to google to see if there really is a planet Zog…