Your August 2023 Horoscope Brings The Summer To A Boiling Point

This is it. The peak heat of the summer, the raging, boiling, blurred days when Elio loses his man, Lila betrays Lenú, and when the fever of the hard preceding months finally breaks. The sun, Lilith, and Venus burn hot in Leo, commanding grand displays of wrath, retribution, and retaliation. When you demand — with the fury of Valerie Cherish — that your exes, bosses, and parents see you as you wish to be seen, are you throwing a self-indulgent tantrum, or finally correcting an imbalance? Is it possible you’re doing both?

We long ago predicted that Uranus in Taurus (2018–2026) and Jupiter in Taurus (2023–2024) would ignite a years-long reawakening of the American labor movement. But the current battle in Hollywood could only go down now, in a Venus retrograde in Leo, as Saturn in Pisces negotiates the conditions of projecting fantasy, while Pluto — just barely flirting with Aquarius — sets off a battle against machine writers of the future.

The future. That’s where you should be looking. By the time Jupiter enters Gemini next year, and Saturn and Neptune launch a new era in Aries in 2025, the embodied self, and its trippy dreams, will be the greatest show on earth. Who cares if these institutions fall, so long as you’re creating something meaningful in the present?

On August 1 (the same day as Lughnasadh, the pagan launch of harvest season), an Aquarius full moon launches the month with a streak of optimism. Greet the ongoing meltdown with ideas for you and your creative cohort will live in a post-human cyberpunk state. Leo season is the time when leaders are born, and this moon rewards those with Jodorowsky-levels of daring and vision. It’s now or never! The Venus retrograde in Leo is well underway, inspiring a femmecore style revolution and the final annihilation of Twee culture. Let it be buried, forever and all time. Take this time to experiment with and express your own new shapes and forms. The sun and Venus come into cazimi, or magical conjunction, on the 13th. If ever there was a time to transcend the drip-drip despair of everyday life, and the doom of what’s to come, it’s now.

On August 16 comes the new moon, in Leo, a time to gather with your closest inner circle, and rejoice in collective affirmation. If you’ve never told anyone your dream of opening a chocolate shop in Zermatt, it’s time to say the words out loud. What does it feel like to speak them into reality, and who will be there to tie on your apron?

Yes, yes, we’ll get to the Mercury retrograde. On August 23, as the sun enters Virgo, Mercury lurches back in its home sign. A Mercury retrograde in Virgo is a classic: just in time for back-to-school season, you’re given a little extra recovery from the volatility of the summer. This one runs through September 15; think of it as a chance to bring those grand ambitions to earth, find a way to make your dreams tangible, and plan ahead for what’s next.

After one hell of a month, the gods hand us a creative culmination with the Pisces full moon, on August 30. In the sign of synthesis, processing, and spiritual connection, the moon helps you to tell your story, and with Venus still retrograding, you’d best do it on a grand stage. Ditch the apocalyptic nihilism and the dull dissociation. Who did you become this summer? What did you leave behind? What did you face? If you can own it, and tell it, it may be the catalyst to a new beginning.

Though horoscopes apply to sun signs, we advise that you read based on your rising.

ARIES & ARIES RISING

With the north node now in your home sign and Venus enjoying a pleasure cruise in your fifth house of fun, physical exertion and creativity, you’re enjoying the possibilities of a more open, airy, expansive life. As the summer comes to a peak and we begin to look to the fall, you’re invited to contemplate how this buoyancy can carry over into your “normal” life. The activation of Virgo goes down in your sixth house of work, boundaries, and physical limits. With a Mercury retrograde starting here on August 23, you have a chance to draw contracts for how you’d like to engage and emerge in the world. Take this time now to create protective barriers for yourself; September promises exciting dating and collaborative experiences — set the terms of play now, so that you can really enjoy yourself later.

TAURUS & TAURUS RISING

Much of the focus this summer has been in Leo, in your fourth house of home and rootedness, where you’ve imbued beauty and holiness into your daily life and surroundings. The month begins with an Aquarius full moon in your 10th house of career and public roles, affirming how all this deep nourishment can feed and sustain your ambitions. As the month progresses, much of the action shifts to Virgo in your fifth house of creativity and physical experience. If you want to see buds blossoming in your artistic, athletic, and romantic experiences, then double down on your home life. Release any familial baggage you can. Ask for help. Lock down your weekly Reiki session. Finish redecorating your kitchen. Do you feel strong and safe — or strong and safe enough? Good. Now we can really begin.

GEMINI & GEMINI RISING

You’ve pushed yourself to new heights this year, and to new extremes. The Saturn in Pisces saga continues in your 10th house of career and public glory, offering lessons about how far you wish to go, and where you get to draw the line. Fortunately, the sun, Mars, and Mercury draw the focus of your embodiment to your fourth house of home, rooting, and mental stability. With a Mercury retrograde launching here on August 23, you have time to set the tangible, practical, and essential terms of your engagement. If you were to be given the gig of your dreams tomorrow, what would be in your rider? How many hours of sleep do you need? What do you need to perform consistently? Tend to this in preparation for the Pisces full moon on the 30th, which brings your big-picture efforts to a spectacular culmination.

CANCER & CANCER RISING

In your Venus Retrograde in Leo horoscopes, we advised you to invest in a makeover, so that your wardrobe can act as a vehicle for your growing confidence. As the sun and Mercury join Mars in Virgo in your third house of daily life, the inner renovation expands, from your closet into every aspect of the day-to-day. The Mercury retrograde in Virgo, which begins on August 23, asks you to consider which parts of the mundane feel stagnant and out of sorts with your booming social and spiritual life. Are your daily calls with your mother bumming you out? Is your work schedule sucking your life away? Do you even care about training for this marathon? Bring clarity and possibility to the smallest germs of your conscious life, so that the big downloads have a place to land.

LEO & LEO RISING

All of 2023 has led to this. Venus retrograde in your home sign. A spectacular, propulsive sun-Venus cazimi (conjunction) in Leo on August 13. A Leo new moon on the 16th. If ever there was a time to accept yourself entirely, proclaim your gifts to the world proudly, and refuse to compromise, it’s now. Jupiter will continue to radiate in your 10th house of career for months to come; and the Mercury retrograde in Virgo begins on the 23rd in your second house of earning and self-worth. Essentially, you’ll have time to negotiate the finer points come September. August is the time for dramatic and cinematic declarations, bold and heroic acts, and outrageous risks you’ll look back on with a laugh.

VIRGO & VIRGO RISING

Mars and Mercury are already in your home sign, and will be joined by the sun on August 23. Take advantage of this roaring firepower, and let yourself go on the offensive. Of course, as the planets light up Virgo, they oppose Saturn (boundaries) and Neptune (delusions) in Pisces, in your seventh house of others. It is inevitable that your rush of self-expansion will set off conflict in your relationship arena. This is a critical moment to learn about limits, accountability, and trust — but lessons can only be synthesized in action. Don’t hold back. Let yourself act out, and learn how to reconcile with total accountability as needed. It all builds up to the Pisces full moon on the 30th, a culmination point for all the relationships in your life. You’ll have earned this celebration.

LIBRA & LIBRA RISING

With Venus in Leo in your 11th house of community, and the north node in Aries lighting up your relationship arena, it’s been a pretty lit summer. You’ve been out, engaged, and collecting data for months. As the planets enter Virgo, the sign of processing, they cross your 12th house of incubation, healing and closure. The Mercury retrograde in Virgo, which launches on the 23rd, helps you review all your accomplishments of the last few months, before Libra season sets you off on a new campaign of action. Take any chance for reflection, solitude, and synthesis, so that you can feel whole and directed once September hits.

SCORPIO & SCORPIO RISING

With a sun-Venus cazimi (conjunction) on August 13 and a Leo new moon on the 16th, your 10th house of career and public visibility is burning hot as ever. But are you alone in this? More questions come from Taurus in your seventh house of relationships regarding where you still need support, connection, and care as you push your big metamorphosis through. Take the advent of Virgo season, and Mercury retrograde in Virgo — both launching on the 23rd — in your 11th house of community and higher values, to do some recruiting. Whose work do you admire? Who can you ask for help? The more you can expand your social world, the more lifted you’ll feel in your career arena.

SAGITTARIUS & SAGITTARIUS RISING

Mercury, Mars, and the sun take residency in Virgo this month in your 10th house of career and public ambition. You have the clarity to discern, plan, and execute the year’s large-scale enterprises. Of course, as the planets hit Virgo, they’ll oppose Saturn (firmament) and Neptune (insobriety), in Pisces, in your fourth house of home, roots, family, and mental stability. There is only so far you can launch yourself before having to return home. The real work for you is in establishing security and safety for yourself. Make sure those needs are met, so that your career can have a strong base. On the 30th, all your work in establishing yourself comes to fruition with the Pisces full moon. Bring light into your home and celebrate the miracle of landing where you belong.

CAPRICORN & CAPRICORN RISING

As the summer comes to a climax, you’re ready to look ahead. The activation of Mars, the sun, and Mercury in Virgo goes down in your ninth house of expanding horizons, studies, institutions, and gatekeepers — essentially, the vantage point to what comes next. Take the advent of Virgo season and the Virgo Mercury retrograde — both starting on the 23rd — to line up what you’d like to attack in the months to come. With Mars entering Libra on the 27th, in your 10th house of career, you’re feeling the momentum. You have this time to get clear on who you need to ask for help, which blind spots have yet to be covered, and where you’d like to go for the final third of the year.

AQUARIUS & AQUARIUS RISING

The Venus retrograde in Leo continues to set off your seventh house of others, and with a sun-Venus conjunction on August 13 and a Leo new moon on the 16th, there’s a sense of solar possibility radiating on every new face you meet. However, all planetary progress in Leo will square, or challenge, Jupiter (expansion) and Uranus (awakening) in Taurus, in your fourth house of home and rootedness. You will have to learn the difference between compromise and self-annihilation, and affirm what you need to feel safe in yourself before anyone else can come into the picture. On the 15th, the asteroid Juno joins Lilith in Leo. These are two femme archetypes who don’t go quietly. Don’t wait for your lovers to suddenly know your needs. Speak up. Let ‘em have it. Raise hell if you have to.

PISCES & PISCES RISING

With the sun, Mars, and Mercury hitting Virgo in your seventh house of others, you’re in for immediate and impactful stimulation when it comes to relationships. The catch? As the planets cruise through Virgo, they oppose Saturn (self-development) and Neptune (self-dissolution) in your home sign. With every first date or fight with your spouse, your insecurities, codependencies, and blurred margins of selfhood will be revealed. Fortunately, the Mercury retrograde in Virgo (running from August 23 through September 15) gives you time to fill the gaps between who you are and what you’re projecting. The full moon in Pisces on the 30th offers a spectacular chance to accept and embrace your fearful, sensitive, vulnerable self — and to stop overcompensating.