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). Location for all mundane charts is set for the Great Pyramid at Giza; the choice being strictly arbitrary in any case. 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) the complete version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (34 8-1/2 x 11" illustrated pages); focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. The full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights is available in hard copy by mail ($75) or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in toll-free anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761, and charged to any major credit or debit card. Orders may also be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page.

"The present holds within itself the complete sum of existence, backwards and forwards, that whole amplitude of time, which is eternity."
-- Alfred North Whitehead
 

The Skinny

If you read pages 20-25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (published last year), then you already know we’re just now entering into one of the more potent geophysical shock windows of 2019; namely the July 29-August 4 interval anchored by the Stealth SuperMoon at 8° 37’ Leo on the 1st of this month. And it gets bookended by the second of three consecutive Stealth SuperMoons on the 30th at 6° 47’ Virgo, with a corresponding risk period of August 27-September 2. (If you were born under important celestial points around 9° in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), or 7° in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), then be advised that the August Stealth SuperMoons are focused on you personally in some sense. Check your chart!) Incidentally, the first of these SuperMoons amplified by falling on the same day as Mercury’s direct station, one of the five peak points in the June 23-August 9 Mercury Max.

Geophysical hot spots and their corresponding storm and seismic surges aside, there are several more notables in the skies of August: the Jupiter and Uranus stations on the 11th and 12th respectively, just a few days before the Sun-Venus conjunction at 21° Leo on the 14th. And then there’s the Venus-Mars alignment on the 24th, which sets up a volley of Mars configurations sprinkled all through September – including one on the day of the full moon at 21° Pisces, which is in T-Square to both Mars and Neptune in the sky then; with Mars and Neptune in the sky simultaneously making a Grand Cross out of President Trump’s natal Sun-Uranus-Moon lunar eclipse. But first we have to get through August . . .

The August Stealth SuperMoons

SuperMoon is a term I created and defined in a 1979 article for Dell Publishing Company's Horoscope, the world’s leading astrology magazine, describing a new or full moon (syzygy) which occurs with the Moon at or near (90th percentile) its closest approach to Earth (perigee) in a given orbit. In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth. (My most recent print article on this subject appeared in the October-November 2007 issue of The Mountain Astrologer.) Over the last several years, astronomers and science writers have adopted my terminology; which has spurred interest in the topic among astrologers as well as the general public. (I’m told this is the first instance since Johannes Kepler in the 17th Century of astronomers adopting a concept that originated with an astrologer.)

History and definitions aside, at the very most basic geophysical level, a SuperMoon is a type of extreme lunar alignment that is associated with especially powerful tides in the atmosphere, seas and crust of our home planet. These extremes manifest as increases in the frequency and magnitude of strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation – and all that this entails, including flooding, property and infrastructure damage and worse. Also in the SuperMoon arcanum comes an uptick in notable seismic activity, including moderate to severe (Magnitude 5 and up) earthquakes and significant volcanic eruptions. Extreme tidal surges are the third leg of the SuperMoon geophysical tripod – sometimes these are tsunami, but more often they’re just normal tides that happen to be much higher than usual.

These geophysical manifestations of SuperMoon are only the larger, grosser expression of this alignment; the macrocosmic end of the spectrum, so to speak. The other, microcosmic end is much subtler, in the grand scheme of things. It’s an intensification of human psychological and emotional extremes. Although these sometimes make headlines in their own right, as when someone becomes unhinged and commits atrocities of one kind or another, usually we see the personal side of SuperMoon on a much more private level. We feel it in ourselves – some of us more than others – and we see it in the people around us. There’s an intensification of emotionality, for better or worse.

Typically, this is most apparent in people who were born under planetary placements at or near the degree of a particular SuperMoon – or in hard aspect to it. (Hard aspects are angles of 0°, 90°, 180° or 270°: the conjunction, waxing square, opposition and waning square, respectively.) People born under a new or full moon (including those born under an eclipse or SuperMoon) are also especially likely to go to emotional extremes during a SuperMoon. (Check the free 20th and 21st Century SuperMoon tables online at my website – astropro.com - to see if you or someone you know was born under a SuperMoon.)

Although I created and defined the term, and have worked with the concept for some 40 years now, I don’t ask or expect anyone to accept what I say about SuperMoon on my own authority. That said, here are a few pointers from my experience . . .

First, the typical SuperMoon stress window is plus or minus three days of the exact date of alignment. Sometimes the shock window is extended by other solar and lunar factors, including lunar declination extremes at or near the open and close of the SuperMoon window. Solar eclipses – eclipses are the third major type of lunar extreme – can extend the shock window even more drastically, to a week either side of the exact alignment in the case of a solar eclipse SuperMoon.

Second, remember that Earth is a dynamic planet. Strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions don’t need a SuperMoon trigger – they happen with or without a SuperMoon. But they happen with notable frequency and intensity when there is a SuperMoon, as I’ve been saying for nearly 40 years now. For example, during the geocosmic shock window predicted in my free online November 2016 forecast, there were a total of 108 M5+ quakes; an average of over 10 M5+ events per day– more than twice the daily average for all the previous year. (The total number of M5+ quakes for 2015 came to 1,556, an average of 4.26 per day.)

Third, new and full moons - SuperMoons and eclipses included – are astronomical in scale, and planetary in the scope of their manifestations. Tides, for example, cover the whole of Planet Earth. Obviously they’re more evident along the coasts, but even the solid ground beneath our feet rises and falls to the tidal rhythms. Solar eclipses have a uniquely limited zone of visibility, but their reach extends to the whole of our home planet. Astro-locality mapping is one say to see what’s happening. For something of a primer on the subject, see the Astro-Locality section near the end of the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 32-33). For now, just consider that such a map features lines showing where the Sun, Moon and planets are rising, setting, culminating overhead and anti-culminating below at the moment of a timed event, be it a new or full moon, the birth of a person, etc. Those lines represent zones of significance for the celestial bodies at the moment of the event in question.

Analyzing new and full moons always includes the lines for the Sun and Moon at the time; plus any planets that happened to be focal points in the sky then. Examining these lines gives a sense of where the storm and seismicity events associated with the new or full moon in question will be most in evidence. Again, we’re dealing with a planet-wide phenomenon. The lines on the map represent focal zones of prominence – but not at all the only places where the effects we’re studying will occur.

Basics aside, this month's SuperMoons are not the full moon variety; they're new moons. The general publis is conditioned to think of SuperMoons as a full moon phenomenon, because of the spectacular images of a full SuperMoon they've seen in the media. A new moon, even if it’s a SuperMoon, is on the other hand invisible to the naked eye. The Moon and Sun are in the same spot in the sky when the moon is new, which means that the Moon gets lost in the Sun’s glare when it’s above the horizon; and it goes down below the horizon at sunset. We can’t see it, but it’s still there – and, because it’s a SuperMoon, this invisible Moon is much closer to Earth than usual. It has the same pronounced tidal pull on the crust, seas and sky of our home planet as all SuperMoon. We just can’t see it. Hence, a Stealth SuperMoon. (As the fox told the Little Prince, "what is essential is invisible to the eye.")

The Stealth SuperMoons of August will not go silently. They have the same tidal, storm and seismic potential as their showier full moon counterparts. Some in fact, some of this summer's SuperMoons look more than usually potent. All of them are accompanied by a fairly tight Jupiter-Neptune square. That suggests an extra measure of geophysical stress in its own right – particularly in the case of the August 1 apparition, which falls on one of those Mercury Max hot spots (the direct station).

New and full moons - SuperMoons and eclipses included – are astronomical in scale, and planetary in the scope of their manifestations. Tides, for example, cover the whole of Planet Earth. Obviously they’re more evident along the coasts, but even the solid ground beneath our feet rises and falls to the tidal rhythms. Solar eclipses have a uniquely limited zone of visibility, but their reach extends to the whole of our home planet. Astro-locality mapping is one say to see what’s happening. For something of a primer on the subject, see the Astro-Locality section near the end of this forecast. For now, just consider that such a map features lines showing where the Sun, Moon and planets are rising, setting, culminating overhead and anti-culminating below at the moment of a timed event, be it a new or full moon, the birth of a person, etc. Those lines represent zones of significance for the celestial bodies at the moment of the event in question.

Analyzing new and full moons always includes the lines for the Sun and Moon at the time; plus any planets that happened to be focal points in the sky then. Examining these lines gives a sense of where the storm and seismicity events associated with the new or full moon in question will be most in evidence. Again, we’re dealing with a planet-wide phenomenon. The lines on the map represent focal zones of prominence – but not at all the only places where the effects we’re studying will occur.

Preliminaries aside, the August 1 SuperMoon is part of a configuration that involves a whole host of planets, visible and invisible. It’s conjunct Venus, in waxing trine (120° arc) to Chiron, and waxing square (90°) to Uranus; with Mercury opposing Pluto and in a waxing trine to Neptune, which is in turn in a waning square (270°) to Jupiter, which in turn is in a waning trine to Mars. All of this is happening during one of the five key sensitive points of this year’s second Mercury Max cycle; namely within plus or minus three days of the August 1 Mercury direct station.

2019 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 27, 2019	MAR 5, 2019	MAR 15, 2019	MAR 28, 2019	APR 11, 2019
JUN 23, 2019	JUL 7, 2019	JUL 21, 2019	AUG 1, 2019	AUG 9, 2019
OCT 20, 2019	OCT 31, 2019	NOV 11, 2019	NOV 20, 2019	NOV 28, 2019

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Bottom line: this will be the biggest storm and seismic signal for the month. Expect the usual, only more of it than usual: extreme tidal surges, a rash of moderate to severe earthquakes (M5+), notable volcanic eruptions, and powerful storms with high winds and heavy precipitation producing local flooding. The contributing Mercury Max factor amplifies these geophysical effects, and contributes another; namely an outburst of solar energy and accompanying geomagnetic storms, manifesting in heightened auroral displays, disruption to electrical and electronic infrastructure (including broadcasting, power, communication and commerce), and scrambled circuits in biological networks (including the human nervous system).

Remember that, while these effects are potentially global, there are a few target zones indicated in the astro-locality map for this SuperMoon. For example, follow the Sun-Moon-Venus meridian lines running through Siberia, Japan, Indonesia, Australia; the Jupiter meridian through western Canada, the US and Mexico in the western hemisphere, and anti-meridian through central India and western China in the east; and the Neptune anti-meridian through New Zealand and far eastern Siberia. Not to mention the horizon arcs through California. There’s plenty more to discover: see the map.

The August 30 SuperMoon is more focused than its predecessor. This one is part of a quintet that embraces Mercury, Venus and Mars in addition to the Sun and Moon. Its corresponding shock window runs from August 27 to September 3. Jupiter and Neptune are tightening up their waning square during this lunation, amplifying the geophysical effects. But Mercury Max has passed, so that’s pretty much a wash. (September is another matter, with the Jupiter-Neptune square exact on the 21st and within a couple degrees of exact all month.)

Of course we can expect the typical SuperMoon phenomena in the August 27-September 2 shock window: more and bigger extreme tides, moderate to severe seismic activity (M5+ quakes), powerful storms with damaging winds and heavy precipitation, and newsworthy volcanic eruptions. And of course this is a planet-wide issue. That said, astro-locality mapping displays horizon arcs cutting from western Australia through Indonesia, the Philippines and much of Southeast Asia, across Siberia and down through eastern North America, the Caribbean and east central South America. The same planets are on the antimerdian from Alaska down through Hawaii in the New World, and through eastern Europe and central Africa in the Old World. Again, it’s not as if you’re home free outside of these zones. Having a go bag ready just in case is a good precaution anywhere at times like this. But if I were anywhere around these lines between August 27 and September 2, I’d want my pantry stocked and my go bag right by the door just in case.

Miscellany

I’ve put a lot of emphasis on the geophysical side of August, because I see it as a prime theme for the month as a whole. But there are several more notables in the skies of August: the Jupiter and Uranus stations on the 11th and 12th respectively, just a few days before the Sun-Venus conjunction at 21° Leo on the 14th, which in turn is only a day before the full moon on the 15th. These factors combine to indicate financial turbulence: dizzying swoons in world markets, for example.

The Mars emphasis at both lunations, and not far off the mark at the full moon as well, speaks to hair trigger impulsiveness that raises danger and promotes strife and conflict at all levels of human experience this month – particularly around those two Stealth SuperMoons and the full moon (a lesser storm/seismic ssignal, from the 12th through the 18th) as well. This is a mass psychology manifestation, but it can focus on people born under celestial factors located at or near the degrees emphasized by the lunar factors just mentioned – specifically 8° 37’ Leo and 6° 47’ Virgo (the two lunations) plus 22° Aquarius (the full moon) and 28° Leo (the Mars position at the full moon). Check your chart for these degrees, and their triplicity partners. That’s 9° 22° and 28° in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), and 7° in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces).

If any of those degrees sound familiar, maybe it’s because they figure prominently in the BC chart for the American President, Donald Trump. They trigger his natal Pluto and Mars – all while Jupiter and Neptune are triggering his natal Uranus and lunar eclipse. Stable genius? Hardly – especially this month and next. (But in fairness, his chart has been a celestial pinball machine since Jupiter-Neptune square began in January this year.) Mr. Trump has always had a tenuous grip on reality, being born under a square from Mercury to Neptune. It’s completely out of bounds this year, as Jupiter and Neptune square his natal lunar eclipse: downright delusional. And remember that Trump was born under a Mars line that passes through Washington DC and Pyongyang, North Korea. I’m no Cassandra foretelling a World War. This year is too early for that. The pots aren’t boiling over yet, but they’re already up to an active simmer.

There is a good side to Mars this month: its alignment to Venus. This happens on the 24th, at 4° Virgo. This is sexy and passionate – hopefully fun too. It’s a follow-up to the flirty, appreciative party atmosphere around the Sun-Venus conjunction at 21° Leo on the 14th.

Acknowledgments

All mundane astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are set for the Universal Time (UT) of the event, and calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8. Charts are set for the location of the Great Pyramid - a purely arbitrary choice, since location is irrelevant to these charts. Unless sotherwise noted, sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe or Star Rover apps for iPhone, or produced by Starry Night for Windows; storm tracks are screen captures from The Weather Channel app for iPhone; and earthquake maps are screen captures from the QuakeFeed or QuakeWatch apps for iPhone. Any market images are screen captures from the default iPhone Stocks app, unless otherwise noted. Weather images and storm tracks are screen captures from the Weather Channel app for iPhone.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (AmEx/Discover/MasterCard/Visa) 800-527-8761 data/message 480-753-6251 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA www.astropro.com