August Astrology & Aromatherapy with Sheridan Semple
August is bookended by Full Moons! Venus ends and starts a new 19-month cycle of the Goddess. We have the cross-quarter celebration of Lammas. Mars changes signs. Mercury goes retrograde on the same day the Sun enters Virgo. There is A LOT going on in the sky!
August Sky Viewing
Venus shifts from Evening to Morning sky – how cool is that?!?
Evening sky – Mars and Saturn
Late night, early morning sky - Jupiter
Aquarius Full Moon – August 1 – Supermoon and Lammas
We’ve got a supermoon, a full Moon today, with the Moon in closer proximity to the Earth, adding to its pull and effect. The Aquarian Full Moon invites us to celebrate our ability to gain the eagle’s view. Aquarius sees the bigger picture. What is something in the bigger picture of your life that you could celebrate with this full Moon? Aquarius likes community too, so maybe build a fire and celebrate with your friends!
This is the calendar time to celebrate Lammas, coinciding with some of the Goddess traditions timing as well. They celebrate Lammas when on the Aquarius full Moon. Pretty cool that they align this year! Bring celebrating the abundance of the earth in our lives into your Full Moon ceremony.
Pinecone essences, such as White Pinecone are excellent for expanding our energies into the Aquarian consciousness-focused realms.
Waning Half Moon – August 8
This month the half Moon is in Taurus. We are encouraged to reflect as the Moon loses its light and moves toward its meeting with the Sun. We can look back on our last New Moon intention and feel what revisions are needed to influence our next intention. Were we able to accomplish the previous intention? Is it a work in progress? Do we need to change it completely? We can begin to envision what our new intention will become, for this Leo New Moon.
The Taurus energies invite us to drop into what feels good in our bodies around these intentions. Did we reach for something that was stressful? How can we set a new intention that feels pleasurable and is easy for us to receive?
Narcissus is an excellent essence that brings in the Taurus vibes while preparing us for a Leo new Moon. Both a sensual Taurean flower oil and a self-love promoter.
Major Venus Vibes - August 12-19
Venus meets exactly with the Sun – August 13
Venus has dropped out of the evening sky now. Our Divine Feminine symbol is meeting with the Sun in the heart of an alchemical cauldron. When Venus is retrograde, she passes between us and the Sun, closest to us, and her energy is extremely powerful. She is shifting from one cycle to another through a rapid, metamorphic, underworld transformation. The energy available to us is one of personal change. What are we ready to transform within our feminine sides? What needs to be released so we can use that freed energy to birth more of our authentic selves, our soul selves?
This is a powerful day to set an intention for the new 19-month Venus cycle starting when she rises into the morning sky. What do you want to create over the next year and a half?
Ylang Ylang and Vetiver are a powerful combination to bring us more deeply into our heart’s desires and help move us through this alchemical, metamorphic time.
Moon meets with Venus and the Sun – August 15
Adding to the above energies, the Moon now amplifies this Venus and Sun meeting and brings us into the new Moon.
This is a very powerful time (from the 12th to the 16th) to do ceremony. And, do ceremony again. What are you seeding, creating, and birthing within the feminine? The feminine aspect of Leo shows us we are the Divine. We are incarnate of the Creator's energy. We are radiant Love at our essence.
Rabbitbrush our local native shrub is coming online now. You could bring her into your ceremony, aligning you with these powerful Leo vibrations.
Leo New Moon – August 16
And the high vibes continue!! Seriously, do ceremony, set intentions, and get clear on what you want to be birthing now and in the coming 18 months. Take advantage of all this energy to empower aligning more completely with your soul's intention. Use this new Moon to set one intention that supports that larger Venus vision.
Ylang Ylang I’ll keep beating the Ylang Ylang drum for all things Leo. She is a beautiful flower who opens and heals our hearts. She helps us to stay with our emotions with love. She encourages radical self-love, which is one of Leo’s main teachings.
Join me at True Nature for a Leo New Moon Ceremony, Thursday, August 17, 6-7:30 PM. We’ll learn more about these Venus and new Moon energies, play with astrological aromatherapy for Leo, and set our New Moon intentions in ceremony. You can learn more about it and register here. Hope to see you! These New Moon Ceremonies are held on the third Thursday of the month, so I hope you’ll join us!
Venus rises in the Morning Sky – August 19
Venus officially begins her new Leo lioness cycle. She is reborn after her metamorphic transformation into the morning sky, ahead of the sunrise. Depending upon your horizon line it could take a few days to see her. All of our ancestors tracked and awaited this incredible sight. The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians did ceremony to herald in this new beginning. It is a sight to see and tune into. It is empowering to follow the Venus cycle, helping to raise the awareness of the feminine in our world.
Learn about and join our ceremonial journey with Venus by clicking here. We start on September 6.
Geranium is a lovely essence for the Feminine and Venus, balancing our feminine expressions, and helping us transition into this new cycle.
Mercury goes Retrograde and Sun enters Virgo – August 23
The planet that represents our minds goes retrograde on the day our light star moves into the priestess energies. Alighting what is sacred in our lives, we pay attention to the movement of the Sun, knowing we are in a time to connect to our earth and soul connections. Virgo is the sign that reminds us to do ceremonies, pay attention to our spiritual connections, and connect to Mother Earth. Virgo brings us into the September Equinox when the earth shifts her seasons.
Mercury going retrograde supports this sacred energy, as it gives us time to pause and drop into our hearts with our minds, letting the go, go, go linear mind step offline for a few weeks. Nothing to fear, Mercury retrograde is something to honor and express our gratitude for!
Lavender is a beautiful friend of Virgo. She drops us into our hearts, and calms our nervous systems, so we can remember we are really souls in a human body.
Waxing Half Moon – August 24
This Sagittarius Moon is filling with more light each night. Sagittarius is the explorer, adventurer energy, inviting us to expand into our new Moon intention. Are we taking this inspiration to the next height? Are we putting our fiery action behind that intention? We want to move on with our intentions with this half Moon’s support.
Pisces Full Moon – August 30
We end August with another full supermoon. It’s a Blue Moon in the traditional and more current definitions: the third Full Moon in a season (that has four) and the second in one calendar month. This one is in Pisces, the healer, an empathic sign. Pisces helps us to connect to the heart of the Universe and bring that energy into our hearts to help us heal. This full Moon is a time to celebrate your being held in the heart of Spirit all the time, no matter what you are experiencing, with unconditional love.
Yarrow our local flower produces a beautiful blue essential oil that helps us to deal with our sorrows so we can embrace the love of Spirit more easily.
Blessings on your journey through August,
Sheridan Semple, Alchemical Astrologer and Spiritual Aromatherapist
SheridanSemple.com