This is Kathy Biehl of EmpowermentUnlimited.net with Astro-Insight for the week of August 7th, 2023. We’ve reached the halfway point in Venus’ retrograde through the sign of Leo. The ruler of love, money, beauty, creativity, everything we value is traveling backwards through the self-expressive, self-focused, high energy, generous, gregarious, high drama sign of Leo. We’re at the halfway point in her journey, which began July 22nd and ends September 3rd, and we’re halfway between the Aquarius Full Moon, which took place on the first and the Leo New Moon, which happens on the 16th. A couple of astro-events turn this midway point into benchmarks and milestones for the retrograde. What have you been encountering: past projects? past passions? memories of the way you were years ago? memories of people who used to be important to you? Have you actually heard from some people who used to be important to you? Have you been finishing up projects that kind of went by the wayside or rediscovering passions that you had?
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Any and all of that information plays into the breakthrough, the epiphanies, the gear shifts, the changes that are coming when Venus makes a challenging aspect of a square to Uranus on August 9th. Uranus is the quick-change artist of the sky, and Uranus is in a sign that Venus rules, so she’s really in charge of this shoving match, which means that anything that snaps, breaks, loose, breaks open, moves into a different form at this square is ultimately something that’s going to be really beneficial to you, ultimately bring circumstances that you value and enjoy. Let’s say, for example, you’ve rediscovered some pastimes that you used to really have fun with, and that rediscovery is causing you to break away from something that is less appealing, less enjoyable, less self-expressive. This is hardly a quiet moment. Mercury is in a trine to Jupiter expanding and expanding, amplifying the urge to share, the flow of information, the chatter, the texting, the communicating, the posting all over social media about whatever it is you’re up to or
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Whatever it is that people in your life are up to, seeing all their posts. It’s probable that a desire is kindled in you that is a little bit outside your comfort zone, but you’re getting nudged to do something about it. You’re getting nudged to try something that maybe you didn’t dare, which could be speaking up. It could be making an overture to someone. It could be trying something that you haven’t done or going back to something that you think maybe you’re too old for. That feeling is particularly strong on the 12th when Venus is in a semisextile to Mars, and perhaps the most important day in the entire retrograde happens on the 13th when the Sun and Venus make a conjunction. This is an exuberant, feel good moment of accepting and embracing at least the notion of what it is you really want and burning it into your heart and allowing your own spark, your own nature, your own unique creativity to shine and shine and shine. This encourages sociability. It inclines us toward indulgence and generosity, toward simply having a good time and enjoying life. Venus is too close to the Sun for us to see her in the sky at this point. Symbolically, we are taking in and assimilating what we have learned about ourselves in the Venus retrogrades so far in the best possible light.
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So go out, be with people, enjoy yourself, and if you’re not inclined to socialize, engage in creative pursuits, scribble drawings, paint, dance, make music, go outdoors and soak up the sun. Do whatever makes your inner spark grow and grow and grow, and share it with as many people as you can.
Homing Thought of the Week: I deserve.
Song of the Week. I have three: Life is a Cabaret from the musical Cabaret; I’m Free from the Who’s rock opera Tommy’, and Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, and the
Image of the Week is: Hugging yourself.
You’ll learn more about this in my forecast for the month of August, which is at my site, EmpowermentUnlimited.net, where you can sign up for my mailing list and book a session with me. I’m Kathy Biehl, a professional astrologer with more than 30 years experience. I host the show Celestial Compass on OMTimes Radio on the first and third Monday of every month at 5:00 PM Eastern, and this week we’re talking about weather astrology with the Mountain Astrologer’s resident columnist Peter Doughty. I also host lively conversation on Facebook at Empowerment Unlimited and the group the Astro-Insight Lounge. I have lots of bonus content at patreon.com/kathybiehl, and I’m really grateful to the people who support my work there. I’m on Instagram and Threads at @kabiehl and on YouTube at the Professional Aquarian channel. Talk to you next week.