We are now in the last week of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games taking place in Brazil from Aug. 5 to 21. Even if it is not the most controversial Olympics ever, it must certainly qualify as a finalist. Nonetheless, it would seem to be a good thing that the Olympics is accurately reflecting our time.

You even might go so far as to say that the Rio Olympics are actually the ‘real’ Olympics. That’s because, in all probability, there is nothing currently going on in Brazil that isn’t also happening where you reside.

The original ideal of the modern Olympics as an amateur competition is an artifact of the past. Similarly, pristine and problem-free competitive venues are as rare as perfect places to live. Corruption, crime, traffic jams, pollution, public health concerns and other unpleasant realities of modern life are part of the local territory for nearly everybody now.

There is really nothing new about what’s going on in Brazil. Acknowledging the reality, however, is a more recent development. In a very practical way, that’s inspiring.

Denial is not necessary for the Olympic Games to continue. Perhaps that’s the best news of all from Brazil. Victory is still thrilling for those fortunate enough to taste it. Defeat is still difficult to take. The essence of human spirit, represented by the Olympic flame, still burns brightly in enough human hearts to inspire people from all over the world to gather in a form of competition that is not war, and that provides an example for your life.

Denial will not serve any of us. While present realities must be accepted, that does not mean you should surrender to them. It is important to endeavor and do your best to prevail. The same spirit evident in Olympic competitors is also what you need to cultivate inside.

You are not in this life to lose. You are here to win, both for yourself and on behalf of others — just like the athletes now contesting in Brazil. In practical fact, you are a thoroughly modern Olympian in your own way. Even as you are engaged in your daily efforts to survive, you are also part of something bigger than any one person. You are one of many, and we are all come together in the same reality.

As one might expect, the astrology this week continues to be as indicative of earthly events as ever. That’s especially true of the Full Moon and (very subtle) partial penumbral lunar eclipse that will be taking place in late Aquarius shortly before 5:30 am EDT (09:26:31 UTC) on Thursday.

As Robert Hand put it, the Moon signifies “the need to be human.” Assuming that Mr. Hand’s typically concise summary captures something both timeless and essential, a Full Moon would then plainly represent a need to be human at its fullest. In Aquarius, that need is expressed through life as part of a collective.

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Aquarius is the sign of a conscious collective where individuals still persist (and even contest), but not for themselves alone. The fixed nature of Aquarius is consistent with the limiting nature of its original ruler: Saturn.

The air element uniquely combines with fixity to make Aquarius different from any other sign, suggesting that idealistic Uranus is a plausible (albeit controversial) co-ruler. The combination is thus neither Utopian nor dystopian, but real.

So it is that, as the 2016 Summer Olympics nears its climax, a simultaneous lunar maximum and all-but-imperceptible lunar eclipse is following suit. It’s a controversial and contentious situation that is nonetheless indicative of both the hard realities of life and the human potential to continuously transcend them. In order to get the best collective outcome, do what you can to set the same type of example for others that you would would want an Olympic athlete to set for you.

Come together with others as you necessarily must. Then, rise above necessity and see if you can accomplish something more. You may not be in line for a medal, but you are in a position to somehow show the rest of us that the need to be human includes doing your very best.

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Part of being human is encountering and dealing with limits. For example, you actually cannot fly as a bird does, even though you might imagine yourself doing so. Unlike a bird, you were not born with wings. Even so, you do have something else going for you — free will. You can choose how to deal with your limits.

You can choose to allow your lack of wings to confine you to the ground. Conversely, you can also elect to be defined by what you do have to work with. For instance, you can choose to employ your hands to supplement your imagination and make a device that gets you off the ground.

The same principle applies to working with astrology’s corollary for limits: Saturn. All too often, the ringed planet is interpreted so as to take only its confining downside into account. Actually, that’s not a surprising perception. Nonetheless, it is outdated.

For all anyone knew, an emblematically stern and authoritarian Saturn represented the outer limits of the solar system until just over two centuries ago. Interestingly, human life on Earth often followed suit. Up until relatively recently, most people’s prospects in life were confined by the station they were born into. For most of human history, responsibility was defined as the acceptance of that confinement.

Then, right around the time Uranus was unexpectedly discovered in 1781, there came an age of revolution. The all-but-unprecedented experiment of replacing hereditary monarchies and opportunistic warlords with participatory republics was an audacious idea. It was a bold and imaginary concept of instituting a greater freedom accompanied by greater responsibility for exercising free will, so that a previously subservient and politically inconsequential majority could define itself.

What has followed since is the continuous application of imagination and innovation. The result has been both additional planetary discoveries and the evolution of alternative models for governance.

Now it would seem that our world is poised at a critical passage. There are presently a significant number of people who would have astrology once again confined within the limits of Saturn’s orbit. There are even more who would surrender individual freedom and cede individual responsibility to a strong leader. Interestingly, both the astrological and political initiatives to roll back to a bygone era require either stubborn denial or willful ignorance of all that has been proven since the 18th Century.

It has been proven that awareness of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and other objects in the solar system have value for astrologers. It has also been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that political power concentrated in the hands of only a few serves the best interests of only a few.

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Indeed, even Saturn itself clearly indicates that progress must ultimately triumph over regress. Earlier this year (on March 25, 2016), Saturn stationed retrograde in the 17th degree of Sagittarius.

Tomorrow, just before 6 am EDT (09:49:37 UTC), that retrograde will end in the 10th degree of Sagittarius. Saturn will then slowly resume direct motion and progress into the 28th degree of Sagittarius before its next retrograde begins in 2017. As result, the net motion of Saturn is always forward, not backward, continuously moving beyond previous limits.

As above, so below. Even allowing for periodic setbacks, it is natural for you and humanity as a whole to ultimately and continuously move forward and transcend the confinement of previous limits, to define oneself anew. To do so takes imagination and freely exercised will, which is where you come in.

It is never natural or in harmony with any part of the universe (even Saturn) either to go backwards or to remain confined. Yet, somewhat ironically, you can choose to do so. Just as Saturn has a confining downside and a defining upside, so does free will.

Even though Saturn will inevitably and predictably start moving forward again tomorrow, it is not fated that you or humanity as a whole will do the same. Unlike in the heavens or on the zodiac, the direction you and the rest of us take from this point on will be a matter of choice.

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There’s an old saying about keeping an ear to the ground. There is also a truth in the aphorism. Generally speaking, the denser the medium, the faster sound travels through it. That’s how actually placing your ear in contact with the ground can give you data before you could receive it through the air.

Maintaining an ear to the ground is also a figure of speech for being especially alert and attentive. As such, it’s an appropriate metaphor to employ when Mercury is moving through what astrologers call its first ‘shadow’ (or ‘echo’) phase prior to retrograde.

That phase begins shortly before 7:30 am EDT (11:23:43 UTC) tomorrow and continues until Mercury shifts into reverse on Aug. 30. You can think of the phenomenon in terms of both space and time.

Spatially, the shadow begins when Mercury in direct motion first passes the zodiac degree where its next retrograde will eventually come to an end (with a pivot back to direct motion again). To help you visualize it, think of a windshield wiper on an automobile. The wiper’s first swipe is the first shadow phase and the second swipe (which returns the wiper to its starting position) is the retrograde. That’s how it works on the zodiac.

Tomorrow, Mercury’s first swipe begins smack in the middle of Virgo. Mercury will then continue in direct motion until it reaches the very last degree of Virgo where its retrograde will begin. From there, Mercury will backtrack, returning to mid-Virgo on Sept. 22.

After that, a resumption of direct motion will carry Mercury over the second half of Virgo a third and final time. That will begin the concluding echo phase, before Mercury finally moves on to new territory (and into Libra) after Oct. 6.

In terms of time, the first of Mercury’s three swipes usually takes more than two weeks, but less than three. From an astrologer’s point of view, it’s typically a period you can put to good use if you have your ear to the ground for any foreshadowing (so to speak). Given the part of the zodiac Mercury is about to begin tracing and retracing, the results of monitoring events with extra care should be more than just typically productive.

First off, Virgo is one of two signs (along with Gemini) where Mercury is said to rule. That’s another way of saying that the earthly manifestations of Mercury can be expected to express strongly while Mercury is moving through Virgo. Among the many worldly phenomena associated with versatile Mercury is information.

What’s more, the midpoint of Virgo is the one degree in all of the zodiac where Mercury is exalted. In other words, the already strong expression of Mercury in Virgo can be expected to be even further amplified and most highly focused when Mercury is at that particularly sweet spot.

Additionally, consider the combination of element (earth) and quality (mutability) that distinguishes Virgo from the other eleven signs. Among other things, the specific amalgam of earth and mutability implies that any time Mercury spends in Virgo can be an especially productive period to gather information for the purpose of making changes in your life.

Finally, consider just two ways the beginning of Mercury’s shadow phase tomorrow connects holistically with the rest of the zodiac. Once again, employ concepts of space and time.

Spatially, Mercury at the midpoint of Virgo tomorrow will be in a precise trine aspect with Pluto in the cardinal earth sign Capricorn. A trine is a separation of 120 degrees.

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That particular geometric relationship clearly implies a flow of grounded and substantial power available to anybody who has an ear to the ground. In addition, the Moon (which entered Scorpio earlier today) will move to 90 degrees of separation (a square aspect) from the Leo Sun tomorrow for its first quarter phase — just seven hours after Mercury enters its shadow phase.

Among other things appropriate to accomplish during a lunar first quarter is a leveraging of your awareness. Doing so would include action on your part.

Specifically entailed would be your acting to become more conscious of what’s going on both inside and outside of you, and then putting that information to work to become stronger and more highly evolved once the square aspect has passed.

In view of the fact that the Moon moves rather swiftly, timing is important when it comes to lunar aspects. Any ear to the proverbial ground could thus make a big difference tomorrow, and even possibly result in an easier time for you during the rest of our current lunar cycle, which will end less than 48 hours after Mercury’s retrograde begins.

So do what you can to keep your eyes, ears and other senses more open and connected beginning tomorrow. Strive to keep yourself well informed. Try to be especially proactive when it comes to gathering information that strikes you as useful or advantageous as regards to addressing any unanswered questions or unresolved tensions you are left with after today.

Chances are that any effort you expend keeping your ear to the ground for the rest of this month will be returned to you as even more substantial insights once September begins.

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The three dimensions of space (height, width and length) function to define a lot of your reality. There is, for instance, only so much room in any given physical container. Contents are thus identified in part by both their proximity to each other and the nature of what holds them. You might say something of the same for any given amount of time.

Time is not amenable to the same static measurements as the three dimensions of space. Even so, you have no doubt experienced a given period being defined by what you can (or can’t) fit into it.

Additionally, the concept of fitting in goes beyond quantification of space and time to take other forms of identity. It is not unusual for you to be faced with the question of how or whether to fit in with a group of people, to cite just one example.

The same principles of how and whether or not things fit together is part of astrology’s way of understanding the world. It so happens today’s astrology combines representations of space, time and energy to indicate something of how you can affect the climate in which you are, and will be, living your life.

As regards to spatial considerations, the Sun and Moon come together in the same degree of Leo today shortly before 5 pm EDT (20:44:29 UTC) to define the prototypical conjunction aspect known as a New Moon.

When any two objects conjoin, they are essentially sharing the same space on the zodiac. In a way, then, the Sun and Moon become one today. Among other things, the two luminaries are astrologically emblematic of your conscious awareness (Sun) and unconscious understanding (Moon). Both exist alongside each other in your mind. Sometimes those two parts of your mind are not fully cognizant of each other, but when they are you can reasonably be said to have yourself together. That’s an especially pertinent theme for a New Moon in Leo, where issues regarding the self are emphasized.

In addition to having the nature of their merger today defined by its Leo container, the Sun and Moon are also initiating a temporal container. That’s because every New Moon is considered to be the end of one period called a lunation, and the beginning of the next one as well.

Lunations bequeathed the commonly used unit of time fittingly named after the Moon: a month. If you are at all typical, many of the cycles of your life complete and renew again on a monthly basis.

No two months are alike. Many of those differences can be traced to how each month begins. The same is true of lunations. Any events taking place at the same time or in spatial aspect to a New Moon are thus considered by astrologers to anticipate the array of possible environments defining the four or so weeks to come.

Today’s Leo New Moon is taking place at about the same time Mars is returning to Sagittarius after a retrograde foray that took it back to Scorpio. Additionally, the merged luminaries will today be in a trine aspect to Saturn, which is also in Sagittarius.

When any object changes signs, its role in the astrological order changes as well. Among other things, Mars is, as Robert Hand put it, “an energy planet.” It would be fair to say that the role of energy in your life is now subject to change precisely because Mars is changing signs. In addition, the concurrence of the Martian ingress to Sagittarius with today’s New Moon would appear to be saying that energy’s changing role could very well be a defining theme for you this month.

Saturn is the very essence of containers and definitions. Trine aspects are second only to conjunctions when it comes to representing things flowing together through the auspices of a common element. In the case of Leo (where the New Moon is) and Sagittarius (where both Mars and Saturn are), the common element is fire.

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Fire is closely related to the energetic nature of Mars. The visible countenance of Mars is red like fire. In addition, Mars rules the third fire sign — Aries.

Combine the timing that today’s Leo New Moon has with Mars and the spatial aspect it also has with Saturn, and you might reasonably draw a few conclusions about the life conditions you may well be able to co-create during August.

First off, this new month is likely to be a defining time. It is probable that you will participate in defining yourself, as well as who and what you do or don’t fit in with.

The nature of your participation, in turn, will likely be determined by the amount, inclination and nature of energy you can bring to bear. Where, when and how you apply yourself will thus go a long way towards making not only this month, but you. The net result of today’s astrology is thus an implied practice.

On the whole, the protocol indicated by the astrology today is the practice of asking yourself aloud where you want to put your energy on a daily basis. Based on the principle that what you put in is what you will get out, you should be able to shape not only yourself but your environment with greater efficacy than usual. The final result, however, will not be a matter of destiny so much as a matter of choice followed by action.

So act with care. Combine a conscious awareness of your intent with an understanding of your desires in order to invest your energies wisely. In essence, the implied outcome will be a significant chapter in your further evolution, that of your life, and how both fit into the world.

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It seems like such a long time ago. It feels like ages since the process of selecting presidential candidates started in the U.S. Indeed, one would be hard pressed to even know when the journey started. Everybody with a civil calendar, however, knows when the race is scheduled to end.

Nov. 8 is the day set aside for voters in the U.S. to have their say. After so long reaching this point, a bit more than three months would not appear to be much more. Mercury, however, just may be about to indicate otherwise.

Mercury enters Virgo tomorrow and will remain in this sign, which combines both its rule and exaltation, until Oct. 7. The reason Mercury’s tenure in Virgo will be so long is its upcoming retrograde. It will not be just any retrograde, either.

On Aug. 30, Mercury will pivot in the very last degree of Virgo, then walk back to the midpoint of this mutable earth sign. It will resume direct motion on the same day of this year’s Libra equinox (Sept. 22). Add just over two more weeks before Mercury finally exits Virgo, and a long, eventful road is clearly implied.

Versatile Mercury manifests in many ways. There is, however, one theme that ties many of Mercury’s worldly expressions together: that of mental constructs. Perhaps most notable among the elusive intellectual intangibles that you take for granted as reality is the concept of time.

Everybody has had the experience of time flying by. So have you undoubtedly been through what seems like a great length of time elapsing in what is technically a short while. Depending on your personal relationship with both the sign Virgo and the planet Mercury, it would appear as if one form of time distortion or the other will begin for you tomorrow and extend into the next season.

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For those of you who are U.S. citizens, the more likely possibility is a long journey to the polls in November. You may expect nearly as many steps back as forward. That’s because Mercury will ultimately cover 60 degrees of ground within the boundaries of a 30-degree slice of the zodiac before it finally leaves Virgo behind.

In all probability, the next several months will give you reason to contemplate not only the origins of the U.S., but also the origins of its origins. Just as possible (and every bit as important), you will almost certainly have occasion not only to glimpse, but to contribute to shaping a distant future.

In other words, even with as long as it has taken to reach this juncture in your life, the journey has evidently just begun. As such, you may want to prepare in kind. Pace yourself. Take frequent breaks. Drink water. Note the landmarks and enjoy the view. Savor and seek to make the most of every moment.

After a year in which so may cultural icons and loved ones have taken their leave, you are undoubtedly still here for a reason. If there is anything to what Mercury entering Virgo tomorrow implies, at least part of that reason will be revealed before this season comes to a close.

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To cast a natal chart, you need to know the date, time and place of the birth in question. The date tells you the position of the Sun. The time (along with the date) allows you to pinpoint the position of the Moon. The location (along with the date and time) will give you the primary angles — ascendant, descendant, mid-heaven and nadir.

The primary angles, in turn, set up the all-important houses, which function to individuate a natal chart. Because the angles change with location as well as with time, the place you were born is just as important as the date and time when it comes to your astrological identity.

You might accurately say the place of your birth will always be part of you, and you part of it. It is not a connection to be minimized. If you were (for example) to move to the other side of the International Dateline from where you were born, the birthday on your passport would not require changing.

It is thus worthy of note that the Democratic Party’s presidential convention is now taking place where the U.S. was born: Philadelphia, PA. That, and a couple pertinent events in the astrology this week, imply that a nation has come home to take care of some unfinished business — or not.

For astrologers, there are a handful of astrological events that take priority along with the date, time and place of an earthly occurrence. Eclipses are probably the most heavily weighted because of how important the Sun, Moon and lunar nodes are. After that, either ingresses (objects moving from one sign to another) or lunar phases (New, Full and quarter Moons) are considered to be nearly as big a deal. Finally, and often overlooked, come the starting and ending of retrogrades — called “stations,” for how the object in question is perceived stationary before changing directions.

Today, the Moon makes the astrological grade in two ways. After leaving Aries behind to enter its exaltation in Taurus shortly after 11:30 am EDT (15:27:23 UTC), the Moon will close to withing 90 degrees of separation from the Leo Sun. That happens just seconds before 7 pm EDT (22:59:37 UTC) to reach the lunar last quarter.

A last quarter Moon means it is one week before the end of the current lunar cycle, and the next New Moon. It is thus, at least, a time to take care of unfinished business started with the previous New Moon. Beyond that narrow definition, however, it is not unusual for any loose ends, dropped stitches or dreams deferred of longer standing to clamor for your attention with the advent of any given closing square from the Sun to the Moon.

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So it may be said to be now for the U.S. When a new nation was brought forth with the signing of The Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia some vital corners were conveniently cut.

First, the hallowed document itself contains a libelous reference to the original inhabitants of the continent who were given no voice and no choice regarding a wave of immigrants setting up a new country on their land.

Next, the subject of slavery was pointedly ignored. Finally, those who famously rallied around a slogan of no taxation without representation made no provisions for women to participate.

Now, all of those cut corners are coming home to roost where they hatched.

Furthermore, the planet that brought the subject of unfinished business into the world will be reaching its retrograde station on Friday just as the Democratic Party’s convention draws to a close. That would be Uranus.

Up until the unexpected discovery of Uranus in 1781 (between the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the French Revolution), our solar system was a nice, neat known quantity for both astronomers and astrologers. In the minds of most brilliant people (with the exception of an occasional satirist like Voltaire or Swift) the cosmos had been nicely figured out. Uranus upset that neat little apple cart and the world has not been the same since — thank goodness.

For it is the loose ends that create possibilities. It is the unresolved and unfinished business that not only shows us where to improve, but constantly goads us to do and be something more, something better.

So it is that a party, and a nation, now gathers in Philadelphia. Not to preach a smug entitlement, confidently blind to hubris. Rather, to go about the messy business of cleaning up some originating errors and to begin anew in the most appropriate place to do so: where it all started. The astrology this week will support just such an effort. Whether and to what extent the potential implied by this week’s astrology is fulfilled is, as it always is, up to those who assume the mantle of responsibility for manifesting on Earth.

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“There is a Sun within every person.”
— Rumi

It’s interesting that the Republican National Convention concluded yesterday just hours before the Sun left the sign Cancer. The Sun’s subsequent entrance to Leo earlier today (an event previewed in this column on Tuesday) is thus enhanced with a meaning unique to our moment.

It is not a meaning conferred by objects in the sky, or even the signs and houses of the zodiac. Rather, it is the Sun within you that now matters most.

Last night, the Republican Party of the U.S. presented us with their spokesman and his perceptions of reality. With the Sun’s move from the Moon’s dominion in Cancer to its own domain in Leo, astrology’s emblem of consciousness is now symbolically inviting your response.

Among other things that distinguish the advent of solar Leo this year is the importance of your consciousness and your own perception of reality.

The question is whether or not you will allow your inner Sun to shine so that your perceptions may be known. The idea is that you nearly always have a choice as regards to whether that happens.

Fittingly, perception plays a big part in astrology. More to the point, astrology properly read gives you options regarding how and what to perceive. Those electives, in turn, give you power. Astrology, when properly practiced, implies that your most fundamental prerogative is nothing less than a birthright to co-create a reality, destiny and fate of your own.

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Power, of course, can be (and often is) given away. You can choose to accept the perception, and hence the reality, of another. You may deign to surrender choice and do — even think — as you are told. It is ultimately for you to decide whether to see the world as others do. To live through and for what is not yours, however, is only necessary if and when you deem it so.

As the Sun literally and metaphorically opens a new day in a new sign, it is more for you than for any celestial or symbolic accompaniment to determine what it means. Furthermore, it is now — more than perhaps ever in your life — a moment to determine what it means to be you.

It is for you to decide what you want or not. It is for you to imagine a future you would like to see or not. It is for you to act so as to make that vision a reality or not.

The astronomical Sun is plainly and simply the sole source of day and the only significant source of light in our solar system. Similarly, the light of awareness that your consciousness represents is the Sun within you.

It is now for you to determine whether, how long and how far you will allow your inner Sun to shine. Choose as though such a moment may not come again, and you will have done all you can to choose most wisely.

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