The Sweet Spot in the Middle
Love is easy, but relationships take work. That’s the message of the Venus/Saturn opposition (Aug. 19, 2024, 1:29 am PDT). This is certainly true of relationships based on love, but those centered on shared values or money (also ruled by Venus) also require ongoing effort.
An opposition is an aspect that gives us the opportunity to stand on either side and get a clearer view of the other. We may stand in Venus and observe how Saturn enriches our relationships with stability and commitment – or that it sometimes seems like a wet blanket that says “no” to everything. And we may stand in Saturn and appreciate how Venus’ beauty, grace, and pleasure make life worth living – or dismiss its contributions as frivolous. The sweet spot lies in the middle, where Venus and Saturn meet at a nexus of committed love, well-compensated work, pleasure and discipline.
The Back of the Closet
From time to time, we get a little bored with ourselves – tired of facing, each day, our same old quirks and hang-ups, the same face looking back at us in the mirror. I’m not talking about a full-on crisis. No one in this scenario is leaving their spouse and buying a red convertible. It’s more like one of those crummy Monday mornings when you’re starting another work week and would love to be someone else, anywhere else, doing something completely different.
The alarm goes off. You shower, drink your morning coffee, brush your teeth, and pad off to your closet to find something to wear. Ugh – you hate all of your clothes! Or rather…. Your hand lingers over a weird little number in the back of the closet. You bought it a few years ago on a whim and instantly regretted it. It’s a little bit odd, a strange color, daring. It’s not your usual kind of thing at all – and that’s absolutely perfect. You put it on, check your reflection in the mirror, and smile. And then you head off to work with an extra spring in your step.
The Sun’s square to Uranus (Aug. 19, 2024, 9:45 am PDT) goes by in a flash. Its influence lasts no more than a day or two. But that’s long enough to feel a rush of boredom, dissatisfaction, and the intense desire to be someone else, or at least a different version of ourselves. What’s in the back of your closet? Use this day to change things up and reinvent something about yourself.
The Lightning Bolt
While the Full Moon flickers incandescently in Aquarius (Aug. 19, 2024, 11:26 am PDT), the Sun is in Leo – the sign that rules the heart, both medically and metaphorically, pumping life-giving blood, love, and creative zeal into the body of humanity. It’s the sign of the artist, the writer, the performer.
Where do you find your inspiration? On the face of it, it seems like a question only for artists. What could possibly be creative, we wonder, about getting the kids ready for school or finishing a boring monthly report for work? But is creativity confined to weekend watercolor workshops and writing seminars? Do we have to be Frida Kahlo to be considered an artist?
No – we just have to be truly ourselves. Somewhere inside you is a divine flame of creativity that flares up when you’re excited about a project – a family website, a new color scheme for the dining room, or a custom bookshelf in your workshop. Sometimes the creativity rises slowly, like an errant spark from a dormant, smoldering campfire; other times it’s a lightning bolt of inspiration that awakens the creative flame.
Aquarius represents the element of the fresh and unexpected that, like lightning, keeps life exciting – circulating your creative ideas and returning the life-giving blood of inspiration straight to your heart. It can be intimidating to share your creations with the world; what if you’re rejected? But the Leo/Aquarius ideal is a balance between the personal vision of the individual and the shared vision of the collective; like the heart and the circulatory system, each is essential to the vitality of the other.
At this Aquarius Full Moon, a lightning bolt of inspiration is headed your way. Just as an artist occasionally receives unfavorable reviews, not all of the feedback you receive for your efforts will be positive. But even negative feedback, however uncomfortable, can be useful – it lets you know that either you haven’t been true to your vision, or you’re hanging out with the wrong crowd. Adjust accordingly – and keep your creative heart pumping.
Pedal to the Metal
Also on this overcrowded Full Moon day, Jupiter and Saturn come together in the first of three square aspects (Aug. 19, 2024, 2:46 pm PDT; the other two are on Dec. 24, 2024, and June 15, 2025).
Imagine you’re a teenager getting a driving lesson from your dad. You take off with a great squeal of the tires, both feet pressed down hard on the gas pedal, while the whole time your dad yells at you to slow down. Pretty quickly, you’re hollering at one another.
The Jupiter-Saturn cycle seeks regulation of expansion, symbolized by Jupiter, and contraction, which is symbolized by Saturn. When the two come together in a square, that effort at regulation can bring raised voices. And because this is the first of three aspects such aspects, this one marks the beginning of an extended process.
Over the next 10 months, your Jupiter side (look to the Gemini house in your chart) is expanding your horizons, delighted at the feeling of the wind in your hair, ready for a change of scenery. But your Saturn side (in the Pisces house) is terrified that unless you slow down, someone is likely to get hurt. See if you can try to make both sides listen to each other.
How We Make the Offering
Like the Roman virgins charged with tending the sacred flames of Vesta, Virgo’s job description includes duty, ritual, and devotion. As the Sun enters this sign of sacred service (Aug. 22, 2024, 7:55 am PDT), it initiates a season of renewed dedication to whatever we value most.
What is our devotional offering to the world? It’s less about anything we do, specifically, and more about the way we do it. We see Virgo’s spirit in those quiet acts we perform regularly to maintain order. Watering the plants. Washing the dishes. Caring for the animals. Doing the laundry.
If those seem like small things, imagine you’ve found yourself in a place that’s dirty, decrepit, and cluttered, where animals forage for food, dirty laundry and dirty dishes are piled high, and everything smells bad.
Just try to live an orderly life in disorderly surroundings. See how well you’ll eat if no one tends the crops. Try to survive the coming winter without Vesta’s sacred flame.
Try to live in a world without Virgo, and you’ll see that neglecting the small things turns out to be a very big thing indeed.
Challenges in Love
There’s a certain kind of person who thrives on interpersonal drama. They pick fights with their partner at parties; enjoy the challenge of stealing another person’s spouse; distrust the moment in a relationship when they have begun to feel a little bit comfortable. Such a person seems to mistake disruption for passion.
That sort of dynamic is one potential face of Venus’ square to Mars (Aug. 22, 2024, 8:20 pm PDT). It’s an aspect of conflict, whether in a relationship or within oneself, specifically between a craving for peace and quiet and a desire for movement and chatter. Whether you naturally gravitate toward one side or the other, the work of the square aspect is to find a way to combine them. The huge potential advantage of this aspect is a chance to wake up to conflict and, in resolving it, to grow closer and more passionate than ever.
Use Your Words
When she was very young, a tiny relative of mine was prone to the occasional temper tantrum, especially when she was overtired. As little kids are apt to do in such situations, she’d yell and stamp her feet, until her mother firmly insisted, “Use your words.”
Mars, the planet of temper tantrums (among other things) is moving through Gemini, the sign of words, as it sextiles Mercury this week (Aug. 23, 2024, 9:30 pm PDT) now. Mostly, this transit can be a lot of fun. But just like a little kid who gets tired, frustrated, or hangry from too much playing and running around, our tempers might get the better of us from time to time.
That’s when it’s time to “use your words.” As rational Mercury sextiles Mars, call for a time out. Grab a juice box or a snack, find a cool spot, and try to engage your brain to think or talk through whatever has set you off – instead of stomping your feet and yelling.
Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
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