good time oatmeal

For the month of August every year the Sun is in the sign of Leo. In its simplest form: what this means (avoiding the unnecessary complication of equinoctial precession) is that at dawn, when we see the Sun rise, if we could blot out the Sun and see the stars, we’d be looking at the zodiac sign of the Lion. At noon, the same would be true with the Lion overhead; etc at dusk. So every day now begins with a burst of Leo.

In real life, however, the picture is not so simple. Most of us narcissistic Leos have planets in more self reflective and disciplined parts of the chart, such as Virgo or Capricorn; taking the edge off the arrogant braggadocio.

It is vitally important that those of us with a strong Leo signature in our charts maintain a sense of self-respect. As long as this is so, there is a deep and genuine effort to be ethical, generous, honorable, and honest most of the time. The metaphor of Leo as the feudal lord or king of the jungle is based on the above dynamic. It takes little for Leo to have a sense of royalty, and when they do, their charismatic and magnanimous nature is unmatched. A Leo stripped of their pride is one if the most pitiful and bothersome things on earth.

Here’s a trick for living, working, or just getting along with Leos: put them in charge. They needn’t be the boss of the whole show; far from it, just give them their own little kingdom and let them rule it autocratically. They’ll usually do a fine job. Now, cleaning the toilets probably would be an insult to their royal nature (unless they have Venus and Mercury in Virgo, which often happens) but putting them in charge of the office supplies may be just the right position for a neophyte on the job. In marriage, assure the male Leo that he is the man of the house and completely in control of his kingdom. Listen carefully to what he says and then quietly use your woman’s wisdom to make your own decisions. My understanding of the female Leo is woefully inadequate, but I surmise that sincere daily compliments on her intelligence, loyalty, and beauty would go a long way. If you have a Leo child, you have birthed a Queen or King. Treat them as such.

Planets in Leo are in the only fixed fire sign of the Zodiac. The word “fixed” here doesn’t mean it was once broken (although it allows for a number of good jokes along that line); rather, it means steadfast, not easily changed. Many Leos have the personal planets Mercury and Venus here. Any planet in Leo shines brightly and is a constant companion to the personality. There is usually a healthy sense of pride attached to the qualities expressed by the planet. Mercury in Leo may be proud of a classical arts education, and enjoy quoting Voltaire or Sophocles on occasion. Venus in Leo blooms exquisitely when personal attentions encourage her to feel like the Queen of Heaven. Leos can be a bit slow to change their minds, even when faced with a better option. When suggesting change to a Leo, ignore the first knee-jerk reaction, let the idea soak in, then tactfully approach them on the matter at an opportune time. As the Bible says, ”Honor thy Leo, thy father and thy mother” for when you respect a Leo you get both honor and loyalty in return.

In the first week of August, we find a rather difficult blend of Mars, Jupiter and Pluto effects. There will be a tendency toward overconfidence combined with a surge of buoyant energy. Add to this pot of soup a tendency toward the manipulation of others. On the personal level, we may find ourselves trying to change others into what we think they should be. There is a sincere but easily misdirected desire to make things better for everyone. A catch phrase to watch out for is anything resembling, “You need to do this for your own good.” Due to some misplaced optimism, we may expand our business affairs beyond our ability to consolidate our gains. If we use prudence as our guideline, we will gain a modest amount of success. The basic difficulty is that there remains an impulse to think too big.

Enter Pluto, darkly flourishing a black and gold cloak, from left stage. This particular character wears a mask of greed. He is hungry for power and is ruthless in his attempts to manipulate others into his grand scheme. Mars, the God of War, brandishes his iron spear brazenly in the direction of the God of Hades. These two figures square off against each other in mortal combat. Pluto is destined to win after a gory battle. I realize that this isn’t a pretty picture, but the aspect of Mars squaring Pluto is perhaps astrology’s most dangerous, warlike and potentially disastrous aspect. This transit is often found in the charts of both perpetrators and victims of violent crimes. A tremendous amount of power is unleashed. With concerted effort, this can be controlled and directed selflessly towards a major evolution of the psyche but only if we hold to honor and keep the common good of the masses clearly in mind. This will demand a personal sacrifice of some of our previously held core beliefs. I have never been successful in keeping this alignment from creating difficulties in my life. To string all these things together, we can imagine some people acting with good intention to improve things but occasionally succumbing to the temptations afforded by power.

On the geopolitical level, let us apply the primary assumption of an empirical study of human culture i.e., “The future will be like the past.” Put simply, we see the Sun rise in the east every morning for several thousand years. Where do we expect to see it rise tomorrow? It is my considered opinion that in the past few years, the nature of global politics has been driven by greed, leading to wars, divisive conflicts of interest and ecological disasters. For example, my recent prediction that the BP oil cap would be removed in association with geological anomalies (fractures) on the ocean floor supports this assertion. With reticence and disappointment, I must admit that we can expect large international corporations (Jupiter) to maneuver ruthlessly (Mars) in their attempts to control the world’s fossil fuel addiction for their own selfish ends (Pluto). Pluto, God of the Underworld, rules oil, among other things.

I sincerely apologize, dear reader, if you find the above distasteful. If so, please skip the next paragraph.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this pile of … uh … this here mess. Astrological prediction can be simpler than one thinks. You just know what the planets rule; take a look at the world, and see what’s goin’ on. Then you string the planet’s key words together to make a sentence. Jupiter rules religion and culture, especially foreign cultures. Mars rules arguments, strife, iron, fire, explosions, blood, and all the panoply of war. Pluto rules obsessive fundamentalist attitudes, greed, power, corruption, immense wealth, censorship, dark secrets and the forceful manipulation of others. We can expect cultures to continue to clash abrasively with each other as fundamentalist Christianity and Islam continue their thousand year old war. The conflicts will be driven by our addiction to fossil fuel, our intolerance, and the immeasurable greed of a very few whom are already immeasurably wealthy and powerful. Our troops in the Middle East will see more resistance. This is already America’s longest war and it will soon escalate as the possibility of Zionist’s demands for more territory remain on the table. We can say this is everyone’s fault. I contend that the blood of our fellow human beings pours mainly over the hands of a few people who are willing to use the young men and women of our generation as cannon fodder to prosecute their own insatiable desires. I have seen war, and I believe in peace, dammit. We will have peace only when we stand up as individuals in a spirit of tolerance for other cultures and religions. I was bashed on the head more than once, after my overseas tour of duty, in Vietnam War protests. The youth of our nation came alive, poured into the streets, filled Washington square, and we changed the world and stopped the war. Look out your window today. There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. Look what’s going on.

Let’s have a little light in here. On August 6th at 11:47 PM EDT Venus enters her home sign of Libra. Venus is the Goddess of peace, love and harmony. She is strong and just in the sign of the scales. The simplest interpretation is that love and pleasure may come to those of us whom have planets in the air sign of Libra. Between the 7th and 11th of August, opportunities exist for many of us to find love and affection. The requirement will be an ability to respect the existing order of things, including the person as they are, with a willingness to move forward into unexplored territory. It will be necessary to abandon jealousy along with the idea that we own our partners. Globally, we can hope for real peace initiatives to be pressed by broad-minded people who seek justice and the right for us all to have happy simple lives. May the sparrows sing on the tumbled stones of fallen battlements. May the bastions of fear collapse as we realize we must take action on a global scale as brothers and sisters or else continue down the road towards total environmental collapse.

The New Moon occurs on August 9th at 11:08 PM EDT @ 17 degrees of Leo. A Pluto apex T Square demands action. The challenge is to retain enough of the status quo so that geopolitical infrastructures remain in place while the appropriate application of new research and technology moves us forward into a future very different from the recent past.

Between August 16th and the 20th, those of us who act carefully to build our dreams on solid ground can expect some measure of success in business. I see no indications of the global market improving significantly this month. The Sun enters Virgo at 1:27 AM EDT on August 23rd. Virgo is much more practical minded than Leo; less extravagant and more prone to the precise application of proven techniques to gain ground incrementally in the service of others. Virgo is a sensual earth sign and adapts readily to changing situations. There is another ray of hope in that Virgo is traditionally associated with cleaning up other people’s messes and environmental concerns.

The Full Moon occurs on August 24th at 1:04 PM EDT @ 1 degree of Pisces. All Full Moons are a culmination and bring us to a process of decision making which can start a new phase of life whereby we integrate successfully with existing socioeconomic demands. There will be a tendency to visualize our highest ideals and some hope for peace and increasing prosperity in the Third World.

In conclusion, this month begins with some rather nasty planetary alignments followed by some genuine hope that justice may bring us closer to peace. The month ends with some powerful solar energy which can be used to regenerate and renew the spirit of this fine little blue-green ball of a planet on which we share our lives.

Next month: A deeper look at the BP Gulf oil spill.

Key words for Leo are: generous, optimistic, ambitious, loyal and affectionate.

New Moon is on August 9th at 11:08 PM EDT @ 17 degrees of Leo
Full Moon is on August 24th at 1:04 PM EDT @ 1 degree of Pisces