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Art & Astrology: August 4th, 2024 – New Moon in Leo

| Madame Ximon
Flame-coloured flower stalks are seen up-close in the lower right corner of the image, with the blurred forms of plants and stones of a similar colour in a shadowed garden in the background.
“Fire Garden” – photo manipulation by Madame Ximon

The Astrological Weather

Today’s New Moon in Leo is accompanied by Venus’ ingress into Virgo , on the same day that Virgo’s ruler Mercury stations retrograde in Virgo. Now our instincts and our consciousness both encourage us to express our creativity and vitality, and to set intentions for greater self-acceptance in the coming weeks. What will it take for us to show up and shine each day, to radiate warmth and enthusiasm that others can’t help but reflect back to us?

As Venus enters Virgo, she is at the tip of a Yod configuration from Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Aquarius, a combination that puts pressure on our relationships and our sense of self-worth as we respond to the larger forces in our lives that are beyond our control. Venus in Virgo helps us to connect on a practical level, viewing love and beauty as acts of service and paths to personal growth. Neptune and Pluto in their ongoing sextile have joined forces with an eye toward transforming our big picture vision, showing us what patterns of thought and feeling need to be transformed on both societal and global levels. This configuration reminds us that the personal is political, and we cannot hope to bring about a better world if our relationships with ourselves and our loved ones are ailing.

Mercury’s station retrograde in Virgo is within a degree of a trine to Hygeia in Venus-ruled Taurus, continuing the emphasis on creating the necessary conditions for healing that reverberate from our personal circumstances outword through our interpersonal connections. Mercury’s retrograde starting in their home sign of Virgo and heading back into Leo offers us a time of introspection about our habits and how they do or do not support our self-worth. This retrograde season reminds us that we are the authors of our own lives, regardless of whatever settings or situations we may find ourselves in, and we have the power to make the little adjustments that can yield great rewards over time, if we are willing to invest our love and attention.

Mercury retrograde is all too often looked upon as an inconvenience or source of aggravation. But this retrograde starts on a note of kindness and asks that we sustain it. Mercury will conjoin Venus in a few days to reinforce our awareness of how our relationships with ourselves and others are affected by the Mercurial processes in our lives, especially our internal narratives and external communication. Venus’ association with worth extends to our financial health and our relationship with our resources, which are also influenced by the Mercurial topics of information management, commerce, travel, and technology, and all can benefit from both Virgoan attention to detail and Leonine confidence.

The New Moon that kicks off this Mercury retrograde trines the Lunar North Node in Aries, reinforcing the sense that this is a fateful moment in our lives, and what we review and adjust in the coming weeks can have a significant long-term impact on how we pursue our life’s purpose. The world needs what we each have to offer – our ideas, our creations, our stories, our loving hearts. Now we just need to recognize that, and step forward with a generous spirit.

Resources

For information on the original art that accompanies this post and further information on the astrological weather, please visit my Patreon page. All of my patrons get weekly transit reports to help flesh out what is going on in the skies, for as little as $1 per month. If you are interested in exploring further in your astrological reading and gaining greater insight into the transits colouring our lives, join here!

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