Life Goes On
Like many married couples, my husband and I spend a good amount of time each day in discussions about what to have for dinner. On a recent day late in Mercury’s retrograde period, negotiations opened with a delicious homemade vegan “neatloaf”. It called for ricotta cheese, so we stopped by the grocery store, but accidentally picked up cottage cheese instead. Back at home, we came up with a substitute, but then couldn’t find the neatloaf recipe. We swerved to pasta Pomodoro, but found we were out of our favorite pasta for the recipe. Finally, we landed on an orzo dish we like, but just as we started preparations, the water filtration pump began screaming for attention.
You get the idea. Classic Mercury retrograde stuff – wrong ingredients, lost papers, technological malfunctions. Three times each year, for several weeks at a time, Mercury’s retrograde periods are mostly minor, but usually aggravating.
This week, Mercury stations direct (Aug. 11, 2025, 12:30 am PDT, 4º14’ Leo), concluding its latest retrograde period. As it wakes up and begins to move forward along its path, perhaps the recipe will turn up. If not, we’ve stocked the pantry with angel hair pasta for the Pomodoro. The water filtration pump seems to have regained its composure. And for now, life goes on.
Order and Chaos
Life seems to function most interestingly with a balance of order and chaos, conformity and anarchy, form and dysfunction. When Saturn, the rulemaker, makes major aspects to Uranus, the rulebreaker, they describe a process of bringing those qualities into useful alignment.
The second of three sextiles between transiting Saturn and Uranus arrives this week (Aug. 11, 2025, 8:33 pm PDT, 1º12’ Aries-Gemini). And throughout this series of aspects (the first was on April 4, 2025, and the last is on Jan. 19, 2026), the heavens and earth reflect an opportunity to integrate these qualities, and produce advancements that depend on both structure (Saturn) and innovation (Uranus).
Saturn and Uranus most recently formed sextiles in 1996 and 1997, a period of exciting technological advancements (Uranus is closely associated with technology; Saturn with the corporations that develop it) like the first smartphone, the Nokia Communicator; the first commercial internet browser; the introduction of Hotmail; the launch of Google and eBay; the creation of Wi-Fi.
This time around, the big news so far is AI – what it will mean for our daily lives, our employment? How will we respond? How about you? Are you a Saturn-Uranus type who likes to jump on the moving train of technology at full speed, or who would prefer to let the train slow down and glide into the station before you adopt something new?
Slice it Thinner
My friends took me to dinner for my birthday, and we all ate ourselves silly. Afterward, we adjourned to the Kent household to enjoy my neighbor’s amazing birthday carrot cake. We cut the slices exactly as thickly as we wanted, which, as it turned out, was more than we should have, and I suffered the rest of the evening from carrot cake hangover/indigestion.
If Venus symbolizes the things we like (and that cake is my favorite), Venus’ conjunction to Jupiter (Aug. 11, 2025, 10:30 pm PDT, 14º03’ Cancer) can serve up way more of it than is good for us. The Sabian symbol for this conjunction sums it up perfectly: 15 Cancer, Group who have overeaten and enjoyed it.
To which I might add, “…until they didn’t.” Too much of a good thing can quickly turn into something not so great at all. So, at this conjunction, don’t be afraid to enjoy what comes your way. Just slice the cake a little thinner.
High Alert
Mercury sextiles Mars twice this week. This planetary combo packs a big punch of chattiness and busyness, blending Mercury in Leo’s dramatic presentation with Mars’ drive and energy. To experience this aspect twice within a few days is uncommon; in this case, it’s due to a quirk of Mercury moving slowly after it stations direct, then catching up with Mars twice as it speeds up. But two of these aspects in one week gives extra oomph to a combination that normally isn’t very influential, and it puts our minds on high alert and working overtime to generate big, bold ideas.
The first sextile (Aug. 14, 2025, 7:05 pm PDT, 5º05’ Leo and Libra) takes place against a Taurus Moon. Yield to Taurus’ leisurely pace by grabbing a couple of your better ideas and throwing them into Mars’ oven to bake. By the second sextile (Aug. 17, 10:33 pm PDT, 7º04’ Leo and Libra), they’ll be ready to come out of the oven, and then you can decide which of them deserves your complete attention and energy moving forward.
A Girl’s Gotta Eat
I’ll say this for my mother: she was unfailingly supportive of my dreams. When I begged for a guitar, she scrounged up the money and ferried me over to White Front department store to buy a cheap little 6-string acoustic. When I was determined to win the weekly talent contest at a local country-western club, she took me every Tuesday night until I succeeded. She believed in my singing and music and helped me in every way.
But she was also a Taurus with the Moon in Virgo who had grown up on a farm during the Depression. She knew that dreams don’t always come true, and a girl’s gotta eat. So, she insisted that I take secretarial courses in high school, and those typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping skills paid the rent throughout my 20s. They’ve also proven invaluable in my astrology career.
This week’s Taurus Last Quarter Moon (Aug. 15, 2025, 10:12 pm PDT, 23º36’ Taurus and Leo) is the last critical phase in the July 24 Leo New Moon cycle. If we’ve worked diligently and patiently, and developed skills to support our survival, this phase can bring creative rewards.
The Sun in Leo is well past the New Moon’s shadowy, slightly desperate opposition with Pluto, when efforts to indulge in our creative pursuits may have felt blocked and futile. But a few weeks later, we’re ready to stretch out and celebrate our gifts. Now that we’re more confident in our survival skills, our strength, confidence, and creative zeal are returning – as surely as the Sun peeks over the horizon each morning.
Writing and images © 2012-2025 by April Elliott Kent
