1 - 18 August: The Eclipses

We’re into Eclipse season again when the lights in the sky go off temporarily forcing us to see things afresh once illumination is back. Today is a Total Eclipse of the Sun; August 16th is a Lunar Full Moon Eclipse. This current Eclipse season has five eclipses happening in Aquarius and Leo between now and next August. Today’s huge and symbolic Total Eclipse is happening in the sign of Leo the roaring Pussy Cat of the skies which is in fact ruled by our Sun. [World leaders, bosses, and prima donnas beware.] It’s A New Moon so make a New Moon wishlist to last a year, tuck it away somewhere safe and have a read on August 6th next year. Make it positive “I will exercise 4 times a week,” not “I’ll try to exercise 4 times a week when there's nothing good on the telly,” and make it challenging and true. Horoscopes today take you from here to the 18th August ie the other side of the Lunar Eclipse and this cosmic light fantastic. See you then for metaphysical Pimms on the ethereal lawn of destiny xx

Aries
Eclipse Gazette: Your zoomy purpose between now and next August, haring one, is to sort your wash once and for all vis creative ting, kiddiwinks, and squeezes deciding which are relevant and part of your stampeding future and which are irrelevant old dreams that should have been consigned to the bin already. Astrobabble has been properly yawping at you from the other side of this screen for the past three months about these very topics – thanks to the recent travels of the poysonal planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars through this very zone. You’ve been thinking and talking, haven’t you, but now decision time has arrived. The Total Solar eclipse is upon you. There is no exit. Between now and February next year it’s time to pick a lane regarding children, creative plans and/or lovers and to pick one you can stick to. The Eclipses in Aquarius on 16 August, 26 January, and 6 August next year suggest that certain friends or dreams will need to leave you to make way for others. Let go. The future’s calling. Who are you to deny it?
General Cosmic Wash: Don’t make any decisions 1, 7, 15 August. Your head’s under water and you won’t sell yourself as good as you should. Irritations at work will start to abate from the 7th as Venus and then Mercury head into your office. It’s time to start loving what you do on the 9 – 5. Watch boss figures get smiley wid you 13th and 15th of the month. On the 17th Mars your ruler squares up to power-packing Pluto. Work or health issues are scuppering plans abroad or the rocket marked My Future and you’re mad as a badger.

Taurus
Eclipse Gazette: The butler of the eclipses is doing his light switch thang in your fourth house of home and family and your tenth house of “Me! Pick me!” in the coming 12 months. As a luxuriating child of the Universe you’re at your happiest lazing on scatter cushions before your own hearth while being fed grapes by a bonnie character. The Eclipses which fall smack dab in the front room of Bovine Towers mean that old fears that you shouldn’t spruce / move / co-habit won’t be heard above the sound of drills, hammering, or papers being signed. Between now and the 9th of Feb next year getting your home right for who you are now, even if it means leaving a comfort zone to move on, is a key priority. If you don’t make the changes yourself, the Universe will make them for you. Mmhm. True. Across the skies in the boardroom of your career plans it’s time to re-evaluate ‘Success’. Neptune has been clouding your vision of the Bigger Better You for the past eight years and you’ve been feeling your way in the dark and likely spreading yourself too thinly (metaphorically speaking. You can stand away from the butter. That’s not what Astrobabble was inferring). Between now and next August you will let go of two old patterns (or take two attempts to let go of one) so that the New Vision of Who You Are in the World, which presents itself in late January, will lead you onto a shiny new path where you’ll dance by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon; where you’ll dance by the light of the moon. Finally and profoundly, the 4th house represents Mother and the 10th Father. Old familial patterns that are no longer valid are on their way out. Wave them bye bye with a cheery, “Seeya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!” Could it be that family members can’t hit your buzzers any more…?
General Cosmic Wash: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Don’t believe a word you hear on 1, 7, 15 August regarding home and family life. Neptune’s got your ears (or their tongue) and you’re being too idealistic for your own good. Your love life gets a shake up from the 7th. Venus and then Mercury make their way in to your house of children, squeezes, and creative ting and then hook up to Saturn, the planet of Commitment, on the 13th and 15th respectively. Then on the 17th Venus hooks up with Jupiter the planet of luck in your 9th house of future horizons... But there's something in the way. A purging looks set 16th – 18th August when Mars picks a bunfight with Pluto. It’s time to chuck a feisty lover/irksome force in a creative venture/ jumpy old habit of yours out of the moving car window so you can head off to shiny horizons unburdened by tosspots.

Gemini
Eclipse Gazette: The giant shebang in your wash, Airy, concerns siblings, your community, out-of-town journeys, and most importantly talky talky. The Solar Eclipse falls deliciously close to your ruler Mercury and the urge to spout like a pierced water butt may be irresistible. Perhaps take a leaf out of Debbi Kempton Smith’s tome… “Secrets from A Stargazer’s Notebook,” and wait one, two, three days after an eclipse before taking action. By then the light of the New Moon will start to appear and you’ll be spouting with a modicum of purpose. The eclipses during the next 12 months fall across your 3rd and 9th houses closing chapters and opening doors on study, foreign or long-term plans, legal dealings, and the ways you interact with bros and sisses, and Importantly - how you talk, think, and sell yourself. August 1st sez you can no longer speak like a mouse and you know it! August 16th says that a pipedream concerning the future won’t hold water. Let it go. A new dream will come by the end of January.
General Cosmic Wash: Watch what you say 1, 7, 15 August. It won’t ring true and you likely don’t have the plan to back it up if someone calls your bluff. Mercury and Venus are heading into your zone of home and family from August 7th. It’s time to tawk, entertain, and do up your Mudhut. Watch the 13th and 15th for gorgeous news of future commitments vis home and family when Saturn joins the tea party. Rows look likely between 16th – 18th as Mars chucks a paddy at Pluto. Home and family and your love life collide and it looks messy.

Cancer
Eclipse Gazette: Ruled by the Moon as you are, Crabsticks, eclipses can send you running for cover quicker than a quick thing at the Olympics. Friday’s Total Eclipse of the Sun falls in your second house of possessions-and-what-they-mean-to-you; then August 16th’s Lunar Eclipse falls in your 8th house of sex, death, and taxes ie Letting Go. Eclipse Survival Guide for House 2: Being a sign that makes its financial decisions based on how you feel the eclipses are going to be unsettling. They key lesson to draw from these door-closing door-opening times may be to find ways to become more emotionally detached from money and perhaps just a little more practical and ‘grounded’ about it. Intuition and gut feeling is Good. Worrying yourself into a box of antacids is Bad. Eclipse Survival Guide for House 8: The Eighth house is the house of letting go, recognising and shovelling out bad habits, and being open to the limitless. The prospect of being free, unclothed, and open to all possibilities may be daunting to a creature that covers itself in its house wherever it goes. However of all the houses the Eighth offers the greatest chance for transformation. Freedom from the known comin’ atya, Crabsticks. Feel the frisson!
General Cosmic Wash: Watch your pocket book, read the small print on financial dealings, and don’t trust the guy selling the gold watch for $5 on the 1, 7, 15 August. You’re comfort shopping and you’ll kick yourself later. (And you should know better at your age.) You do need to sign off on financial dealings though. Do so before the 11th. Short journeys, news from bros and sis, and general catch ups with those who love you as you are come round more often from 7 August as Venus and Mercury leave your bank vault and head into your zone of every day living. Watch your temper 16th – 18th with work colleagues or doctors. Your impatience and their feelings of superiority will not make happy bedfellows.

Leo
Eclipse Gazette: So it’s your Sun and it’s getting blocked from your upturned apple cheeks by the Moon. What can it all mean? How can you shine without it? Today’s Total Solar Eclipse in your first house of You, Yourself, and You is an ‘ahem’ from the cosmos reminding you that now is the time to step it up, to gain a greater awareness of who you are and how you operate in the world. For the next 12 months the Eclipses strike in your first and seventh houses – ie You and then Those Closest To You (both bizniz and squeezy in nature). It was Krishnamurti who said we learn nothing about ourselves when not in relationship. In other words, we need others to act as mirrors so we can see ourselves with greater awareness. It’s eclipse time. Your attitude about yourself is going to change, the old you being left behind. As a consequence the mirrors you choose to look into are going to change too (watch August 16th Full Moon). That can mean people leaving your life to make way for others. But that is the purpose of the cosmos; to help us evolve into the best ray of light we can be. And down here on earth, us mortal creatures need you to be the brightest sparkliest Pussy Cat you can be too. You show us what confidence and poise is and we love you for it. So throw off the dust sheets in your soul and Shine, Pussy Cat, Shine!
General Cosmic Wash: 1, 7, 15 August don’t tell porkie pies and don’t believe them. Money is coming under the spotlight from August 7th as Venus and then Mercury move into your Bank Vault. Time to ask for that raise. Watch the weekend of 16 – 18th for mixed money news. A lover or creative plan is going to hit you hard financially and cause some stress and yet the bonus, loan, or winning lottery ticket you’ve been waiting for lands around the same time.

Virgo
It’s been a frustrating few years, Virgo. The Eclipse season has been hitting you right between the eyes and just when you thought you’d had enough, Blam! Here they come again – this time setting off small bombs in your 12th house of Meep! and your 6th house of work and medicine cabinets. It’s no secret that our inner emotional state manifests into good health or aches and pains (The Healing Power of Illness by Dethlefsen shows da way!). And it's no secret that our inner attitude about ourselves can take us from apprentice to managing director in the office through self-belief and confident motivation. These eclipses are pushing you into a new frame of mind where you have the chance to see how your fears and old attitudes (12th house) need to be kicked into touch so shedding light on (a) existing or potential health problems and (b) self-inflicted career stagnation/disappointment (6th house). It won’t necessarily be pretty but focussing on why you’re being pushed one way and why certain doors are closing can bring you greater stamina and resilience than you ever thought possible. Make yourself a wishlist that includes wild career aspirations. As Nelson Mandela said, it is not failure we fear but success. Be free from fear by being free from self-criticism. And aim for the Moon!
General Cosmic Wash: You’ll flabbergast yourself with your own impotence 1, 7, and 15th of August. Neptune has you believing the worst so make like Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil and wait a day before making decisions or opening your ears. Venus and Mercury come love ya baby from August 7th hooking up to Saturn, the planet of Commitment on the 13th and 15th. The resolve you’ve been waiting for is in da house. Watch your temper around the time of the Lunar Eclipse 16th – 18th August. Some news vis home or family which equates to a power struggle of sorts will properly pique your ego. There’s good news at the same time too though. A lover or creative venture is really making you smiley.

Libra
These are quirky, karmic, interesting times, Scales. A Solar Eclipse in your 11th house of friends and wishes means that a friendship or wish suddenly takes on a new hue - and you suddenly sense the full force of what it means to your future – or suddenly recognise that it's already reached its BBE-date. The dark/ light emphasis can mean that an old friend or forgotten dream reappears at this time and their meaning in your life may have a new and more significant hue than before. On August 16th the first of the Lunar eclipses in Aquarius brings a culmination to some aspect of children, creative ventures or love affairs. The way things have been, and the energy you’ve been putting in / not putting in to one or more of these areas, is unsustainable. Between now and August 6th next year you can expect your wishes, friendships, lovers, creative ventures, and role with children to be more streamlined, more purposeful and forward-looking. There may be a parting of the ways but it’s only so that you find the right balance for the new you.
General Cosmic Wash: Friends and lovers may let you down 1, 7, 15 August. Maybe the plans were too vague and easily misunderstood or maybe those friends and lovers need kicking into touch? It’s time for down time from August 7th when Venus and then Mercury move into your 12th house of “There’s something in the woodshed.” You may be inclined to paranoia / behaving like a doormat. Watch 13th and 15th for clear signs of self-sabotaging habits you need to kick to the kerb. Watch your temper Sun 17th – you’re feeling vulnerable but blowing your stack is like handing over your power with a gift tag and box of chocolates. Wait until the 20th when Mars is fighting your corner.

Scorpio
The eclipses over the next 12 months fall along an axis linking your 10th house of “Raa! I is de best!” and your 4th house of home and family. This means that aspects of these two areas must fall by the wayside so that new avenues can open up for you to embrace. Today’s Total Solar Eclipse brings a lightning bolt to your confidence out in the career zone of life, as if you close your eyes and draw a deep and nervous breath – and then suddenly pitch like someone who has pitched like a pro for years. And the crowd goes wiiiiiiiiild! It’s time, Scorp. You’re catching up with yourself at last. Meanwhile across the skies in your fourth house of your Mudhut, a Full Moon eclipse lands August 16th. A chapter is ending to do with home and family ties and emotional as it is, letting go allows for something new to present itself. A New Vision of home and family lands Kaboom! in late January. Finally and profoundly the 4th house represents Mother and the 10th Father. Old familial patterns that are no longer valid are on their way out. Wave them bye bye with a cheery, “Seeya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!” Could it be that family members can’t hit your buzzers any more…?
General Cosmic Wash: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Don’t believe a word you hear on 1, 7, 15 August regarding career. Neptune’s got your ears (or their tongue) and you’re being too idealistic for your own good. Your friendships and wishes get a shake up from the 7th as Venus and then Mercury move in to your 11th house and hook up to Saturn, the planet of Commitment, on the 13th and 15th respectively. Networks, friendships, and wishes made now are linked to your shiny future. One caveat, a dream may be more expensive than you’d planned and you could find yourself going into meltdown. Stand away from the blowtorch. It’s only the Universe’s way of drawing your attention to your piggy bank.

Sagittarius
For you Archer, the eclipse pattern between now and next August links your 3rd and 9th houses. This means siblings, your community, out-of-town journeys, the way you talky talky - are linked to study, foreign or long-term plans, and legal dealings. By this time next year the eclipses will have ushered in new directions and/or fresh perspectives on one or more of these areas. First up, today’s Solar Eclipse falls in your 9th house and plans for study, future horizons, or foreign shores get a great big cosmic shot in the arm. By August 16th, the Full Moon in your house of bros and sisses, talky, and everyday life means that it’s time to say goodbye to old patterns that aren’t working anymore and are simply getting in the way of your personal evolution. Literally this axis can see you or one of your siblings moving away or even abroad, the distance being the ‘thing’ that helps you re-evaluate yourself from a new perspective.
General Cosmic Wash: Watch what you say 1, 7, 15 August. It won’t ring true and you likely don’t have the plan to back it up if someone calls your bluff. Mercury and Venus are heading into your zone of “Up and at ‘em!” from August 7th. It’s time to shine at the boardroom table – especially on the 13th and 15th when Saturn da bossman says he likey you muchy. Rows look likely between 16th – 18th as Mars chucks a paddy at Pluto. Just because the bossman likey you, don’t get too big for your britches. Humility may be in short supply around now, but you’d do well do try and find some.

Capricorn
Eclipse Gazette: Goats always get there in the end so the challenges that arise with this new eclipse season are nothing for you to shake your bell at in fear, dear Billy. For the next 12 months the eclipses cut across your 2nd and 8th houses; more precisely possessions and what-they-mean-to-you; and sex, death, and taxes ie Letting Go. This deep, dark 8th House gets a Total Eclipse today. It’s a time for letting go, recognising and shovelling out bad habits, and being open to the limitless. This is the house that offers the greatest chance for transformation. Scared of sex - mhmm no more! Denying a deep, dark truth? No yewcan't no! Old habits stopping you from dropping a dead weight? Letgoalready! The Eclipses here in the 8th house bring you the impetus to turn that negative habit on its head and let better things in. Freedom from the known comin’ atya! Feel the frisson!! Your second house of earned income has been plagued by Neptune for the past eight years. This signifies an over-something towards money – either an addiction to it or a lack of attention to it. Money is an energy and it can fizzle out or implode like any other. The coming Full Moon Eclipse here on the 16th (and further eclipses on the 26th January and 6 August next year) bring your 2nd house into a mini meltdown; it's time to become aware of the Neptunian energies and a reality check on why you are over – or under- emphasising your relationship to possessions and, more importantly, lettuce.
General Cosmic Wash: Watch your pocket book, read the small print on financial dealings, and don’t trust the guy selling the gold watch for $5 on the 1, 7, 15 August. You’re ignoring the warning signs and you’ll kick yourself later. Plans for holidays, foreign or long-term romances, and news from abroad abound from the 7th as Venus and Mercury enter your 9th house. Watch your temper 16th – 18th in these same areas. Your sense of impotence and inability to control the outcome of someone else’s agenda may have you spitting feathers. But why? Controlling someone else’s agenda renders them a doormat – and where’s the sport in that, Capricorn!?

Aquarius
Eclipse Gazette: The forthcoming eclipse spectaculars are happyhapps in your first house of You, Yourself, and You and your 7th house of one-to-ones in a biziniz and/or squeezy nature. Pinging mightily as they do between Lunar Eclipse (culmination) and Solar Eclipse (new starts) it’s obvious as the nose on your face that this is a time for closing some doors and opening others. It was Krishnamurti who said we learn nothing about ourselves when not in relationship. In other words, we need others to act as mirrors so we can see ourselves with greater awareness. But how, why, what, and when and who? Today’s Total Solar Eclipse in your 7th house of others has you waking up as if out of a dream to see a new shiny take on a significant other in your life, a new way forward you hadn’t perceived before. Following on the heels of this awakening, a Full Moon on August 16th in your first house of You, Yourself, and You says it’s time to wise up. And yet… for eight years you’ve been labouring under a Neptunian fog, finding it almost impossible to distinguish yourself from the crowd. This Lunar Eclipse, right up close to Neptune, is going to feel pr-ii-tt-ee weird like you’re in a film and detached from reality – as if you don’t even exist. But you do – and on January 26th the Solar Eclipse is yours, baby. This long-awaited shot to the arm is the time to step it up, to gain a greater awareness of who you are and how you operate in the world.. The February and August 09 Eclipses will help you eradicate old habits and fusty people that are blocking your view to the Future.
General Cosmic Wash: 1, 7, 15 August don’t tell porkie pies and don’t believe what lovers and bizniz partners tell you. It’s poppycock and you have no grip on reality, Dougal. Sex, death, and taxes come under the spotlight from August 7th as Venus and then Mercury move into your 8th house of transformation. Passion and money are suddenly top of your list. Cross words with friends come Monday 18th. It’s a control issue, a power struggle – be clear what it is you’re being asked to give away before you strike. Could it be for your betterment?

Pisces
The Eclipse season is on a delicate axis for you Fish – falling between your 12th house of “Meep! They’re out to get me!” and your sixth house of health and work. Eclipses are all about propelling us into the future, beyond the fears that have held us back. You’ve just come through two years of Eclipses in your 1st and 7th houses of You! And Your Significant Others! And here they come again but this time shedding light on your most secret fears and your work and health zones. To repeat what Astrobabble has said to Virgo - It’s no secret that our emotional well being has a huge impact on our health and that attitude and confident motivation can take us from apprentice to managing director in the office. These eclipses are pushing you into a new frame of mind where you have the chance to see how your fears and old attitudes (12th house) need to be kicked into touch so (a) shedding light on existing or potential health problems and (b) illuminating how you are causing your own career stagnation/disappointment (6th house). It won’t necessarily be pretty but focussing on why you’re being pushed one way and why certain doors are closing can bring you greater stamina and resilience than you every thought possible. Be free from fear of shining brightly. Be free from fear of standing out from the crowd. It's time to aim for the Sun (while wearing suitable glasses)!
General Cosmic Wash: You’ll flabbergast yourself with your own impotence 1, 7, and 15th of August. Neptune has you believing the worst in others so make like Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil and wait a day before making decisions or opening your ears. Venus and Mercury head into your 7th house of significant others on August 7th hooking up to Saturn, the planet of Commitment on the 13th and 15th. The commitment you’ve been waiting for is coming. Watch your temper around the time of the Lunar Eclipse 16th – 18th August. Some news vis lovers or bizniz partners which equates to a power struggle about who is ‘better’ than who arises. Watch that ego of yours flare like a, ahem, flare.