The world is praying for peace as the balance between the East and the West continues to rest on very fragile grounds. Should we expect such ongoing tension until Pluto has finished its long stay in Capricorn in November 2024?

Whether it is the Israelis against Hamas, Russia against Ukraine, China against Taiwan, Republicans against Democrats, vaxxed against unvaxxed, woke against unwoke, or me/us against you/them, we are dealing with escalating polarization that ultimately results in violence and harm to both sides.

Someone said that virtue is its own reward, and that is a pretty smart statement. Our virtuous nature can give us deep inner peace. But with Saturn’s current retrograde motion in Pisces, we need to examine closer these idealistic ways we try to be human.

This month’s lunar cycle is unique in that, for a certain period of time within it, seven out of nine possible planets (including Chiron) are retrograde, and for most of the cycle, there are six! Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus are turning retrograde this month to join Pluto, Neptune, Chiron, Saturn, and until September 3rd, Venus! From August 28th to September 3rd, the only direct planet will be Mars. From September 3rd until the 15th only Mars and Venus will be direct.

This is a big week, and the wheel of time is turning again. Both Pluto and Neptune will play their cards and shake our existential core, and the nodal shift happens just hours after the New Moon, opening a whole new chapter of experience for us earthlings.

Wooha! Talk about New Moon with an extra-dimensional flair. Not only does the square to Neptune point to an experience of living beyond linear time, but the New Moon also occurs at the opposition point to the Galactic Center. This place in the cosmos opens up a wormhole in our minds that allows us to access new information and reach a higher level.

This New Moon closes the Eclipse Portal. Now, on the other side of Eclipse Season, we’re arriving at a lineup of planets in Taurus grander than any of us have ever experienced in this lifetime. Jupiter, the North Node of the Moon, Mercury, Uranus, the Sun, and the Moon are all aligned in the sign representing your ability to grasp your self-worth and value.

The message of this eclipse is relevant for this entire lunar cycle and, as all eclipse do, sets the tone for the next six months. Beyond that, it speaks to us of knowing our boundaries and, by doing so, points our attention to Saturn, who will be transiting Pisces for the next three years. Saturn, or Chronos, as both the “Lord of Karma” and the ruler of this time-space 3D material world, constantly reminds us that we all have limits, need boundaries, and function within a limited reality.

Almost simultaneously we have this month’s new Moon in the very first degree of Aries, indeed, the very beginning of the entire zodiac symbolizing fresh, new enterprises, relationships, and projects. With both Neptune and Saturn transiting Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, we can see this month as harboring both endings and new beginnings.

This month marks the turning point not only of the yearly cycle of the Sun through the zodiac, but many longer cycles like those of Saturn, now leaving Aquarius after more than two years, and Pluto leaving Capricorn after more than fourteen years. Astrology reminds us over and over that there is no end but that every ending leads to a new beginning.