If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo psycho-babble word salad. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT, aka GMT). Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.
PLEASE NOTE: This month’s forecast incorporates elements of (and refers to) my complete 2012 World Forecast Highlights (34 8-1/2 x 11” illustrated pages), focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. If you’d like your own copy of the full 2012 World Forecast Highlights, it’s available in hard copy by mail ($75) or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in (toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761) and charged to any major credit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page.
The future influences the present just as much as the past.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
Mars Max is over now, bringing an end to the long season of extreme Mars (October 28, 2011-July 12, 2012). But Mars is still up there in the sky. And when it makes significant alignments, a new outburst of mayhem, fires, crashes, clashes and explosions is par for the course – including extreme violence both personal and collective.
Last month, for example, there was the Mars opposition to Uranus, setting up a T-Square to Pluto. Exact on the 19th, it came just hours before the Aurora, Colorado movie massacre. As mentioned in my July 16 update, the period around July 19 "(give or take a few days)" would be one when "being extra focused and aware, extra safety-conscious, is more than just a good idea this week, under the Mars-Uranus opposition. People are edgy, impulsive and distracted – a dangerous combination, if they happen to cross your path. Pay attention! If you expect people to do the sane and sensible thing, you’re likely to put yourself at risk."
James Holmes, perpetrator of the July 20 Aurora movie massacre, was reportedly born DEC 13, 1987 at 07:33 in San Diego, CA - source David Crook. The mass shooting began within hours of the JUL 19 Mars-Uranus opposition, which set up a close T-square to transiting Pluto and Holmes’ natal Neptune on the ascendant: psychotic break-down, I’d guess. (A compulsive over-achiever whose identity was destroyed when he failed an oral exam?) Being so slow in apparent motion, Pluto’s transit over Holmes’ Neptune on the ascendant has been in effect on and off for a couple years now. This suggests to me that his breakdown has likewise been in progress for some time. It just so happens that the breakdown broke out into the world around him just as Mars transited into the T-Square configuration touching his natal Neptune.
I mention the transits to Holmes’ natal chart not because I think it’s useful in any practical sense. Hindsight being 20-20, anyone can see anything looking at a chart ex post facto. What is of potential practical value is the use of transits to foresee periods of danger in advance. Clearly the Mars-Uranus opposition had some utility in this regard. That’s the difference between real astrology and the psycho-babble mumbo-jumbo stuff: one gives you a predictive heads-up, the other gives you postdictive gobbledygook. Seriously, how many millions of people on this planet were born with Neptune in early Capricorn rising, like Holmes? Was somebody really supposed to round them all up? But those who watched the planetary patterns in the sky knew something was up.
All of this comes to mind because there’s a similar alignment taking place this month, as Mars aligns with Saturn in the sky on the 15th (within a few degrees of exact from the 9th through 22nd. Once again, it’s a time to be on the alert for danger due to the haste, recklessness or outright malice of others – including mass shootings and other especially heinous crimes. Be safety-conscious. Steer clear or conflict and danger as best you can. Some of us won’t be able to: the whole town of Aleppo, for example.
The 2012 Venus Max comes to an end this month, on the 15th. That’s when Venus reaches its maximum elongation west of the Sun, shining bright and high in the eastern sky before sunrise. All else being equal, Venus Max tends to be a cycle that coincides with better financial/economic fortunes. Despite all the headwinds, major US indices are currently positive for the year at present. As Venus Max ends, instability tends to grow: be ready, to the extent that you can, especially around the end of the month, as Venus moves close to Saturn. At the very least, have cash on hand in case of ATM outages; and a supply of dry goods and such to get you through a rough patch. Don’t be misled: this won’t be a financial Armageddon and it won’t happen this month anyway. More like a temporary and localized (i.e. not global) seize-up, and more likely next month in any case.
The current Mercury Max, which began on June 30, concludes on August 16. The lesser included Mercury retrograde portion of this cycle, which began on July 15, wraps up on August 8. Once again, forget all the Mercury retrograde nonsense you’ve been taught. The Mercury Max cycle as a whole means an emphasis on all things mercurial – thought, planning, commerce, communication – and things don’t go wrong on their own. Pay attention, follow-through, keep your eye on the ball. You’ll prosper, probably at the expense of the sleepwalkers and Mercury retrograde fatalists. Be especially diligent around August 8 and 16 (give or take a few days). Do not assume you (or anyone else) will get things right the first time: double-check, and then triple-check.
The Uranus-Pluto square is once again the single most important celestial configuration of the month, being one in an ongoing series that doesn’t conclude until 2016. It’s been in effect off and on since 2011, and per my annual forecasts it signals a social response (e.g. anarchy and revolution) to fundamental political, technological, economic and social change. You’ve seen it in the Arab Spring, in the Occupy Movement and more – and it’s only just begun. Remember: this is not just a "Great Recession"” or Depression we’re going through: it’s the start of a whole new historical epoch, unprecedented since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The transition, as described in my annual forecasts, began in 1980 and reaches critical momentum in 2020. Revolution is the key theme of the month, just as this particular planetary configuration is the key feature in the heavens for August.
The major configurations aside, don’t be surprised if solar flares kick up around the 8th and 16th. Depending on the magnitude of the flares, this can be accompanied by phenomena as benign as extravagant auroral displays to more serious manifestations such as disruptions to electronic equipment, satellite networks and electrical infrastructure. (Last month’s collapse of northern India’s power grid came during a period of M-class solar flares during a Mercury Max.)
Apart from direct electro-magnetic action as seen in aurora and disruption of electronic equipment and electrical grids, solar flares are often accompanied by an increase in strong storms. Dump a few million extra Gigawatts of energy into the atmosphere, and you stir things up! The storm and seismic stress window is already wide open as the month begins, anchored by the August 2 full moon and the Moon’s northward equatorial crossing on the 4th: severe storms with high winds and heavy precipitation will likely make big news, along with moderate-to-severe earthquakes (Magnitude 5+) and volcanic eruptions. I’m not expecting Katrina- or Krakatoa-class stuff here, but big ones in their own right.
A similar batch of storm and seismic action is due from about the 14th through the 20th, associated with the new moon on the 17th. Remember, this time span includes the 16th, a solar flare risk factor. Power, transportation and communication infrastructure are doubly vulnerable, both from geomagnetic storms and the atmospheric variety. A good time to have fresh batteries and a fueled-up generator, at the least; not to mention a go bag at the ready, and a handy stock of bottled water, canned and/or dried foods, etc. And if you happen to be in transit, be prepared for weather-related delays that can play havoc with schedules and connections. The month ends on a similarly shaky note, associated with the full moon on the 31st. This one sets up a storm and seismic stress window extending from the 28th through to September 3.
Acknowledgments
All astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8 Sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe app for iPhone.
SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)
