Waxing Moon Cycle, Post-Eclipse

We’re in the waxing moon cycle following the new moon that kicked off last week’s eclipse in Leo. We’re gathering momentum around individual expression within the collective — and for some people, that’s going to be ego-busting. Being heard within the collective isn’t about standing at the front of the room saying “listen to me.” It’s about how we can work together, collaborate, and build new worlds and new visions. That’s where we’re at.

There’s a strong pull right now to have people toe the line, fall in lockstep, and do things a certain way — but that’s just not where we’re headed, evolutionarily speaking. What we’re seeing instead feels like disruption: new people, new voices, collective energy questioning and pushing back against the status quo. This is building energy.

Monday, August 17

The morning begins with the moon in Libra, still in its waning/waxing cycle. It’s well-aspected for early risers — all times given here are Eastern, so adjust for your time zone.

By “early risers,” I mean the moon goes void of course at 7:31 a.m. Once the moon is void of course, it doesn’t form geometric aspects with other planetary bodies, meaning there’s no momentum or “glue” to carry a new idea through. If you’re starting something new, this isn’t the window for it. But if you’re already working on something, it’s a great time to focus on that and follow through without getting distracted by shiny objects. It actually looks like a fairly productive void-of-course period, as long as you keep that distinction in mind — new ideas need not apply, but existing projects can move forward.

The moon stays void through the traditional workday and enters Scorpio at 5:46 p.m. This can be a useful time for focus, research, and deep-diving into things — with a caveat. It can also be an evening where some of us get into “dog with a bone” situations: this is the way I want it, and I’m not budging. That kind of back-and-forth can feel like a power struggle — and as I’ve said many times, the biggest power struggle is often within ourselves. One part of the psyche wants things a certain way; another part is just as convinced that’s not the way to go. It’s a negotiation period.

The most productive way to use this energy is to remember Scorpio’s range. At its most negative, it can be stubborn, vengeful, convinced it’s right, and prone to manipulation or subterfuge. But Scorpio also has other layers — yes, it’s a secretive sign, but it’s also excellent for research, digging down, and getting to the bottom of things. It can be genuinely revelatory.

If you find yourself fighting something — whether it’s yourself, someone else, or a situation that feels immovable — dig deeper. Research, strategize, figure out what makes someone tick. Think of Ted Lasso: one of his gifts is his genuine curiosity about why people are the way they are, especially the ones who seem most difficult. Some Scorpios use that same gift for their own agendas, orchestrating outcomes to suit themselves. But in its deeper, more therapeutic sense, this energy is wonderful for understanding why the divisions are there, why the power struggle exists, why someone — even you, looking in the mirror — is so convinced they’re right.

How do we shift that frame? When we’re stuck in “this is how it must be,” we stop seeing other options, other escape hatches, other opportunities. And on this stretch of days, especially as Tuesday approaches midday, we may feel a lot of distraction — a sense of “look over here, here’s another way you could go.”

The best way to work with this isn’t to grip the bone and refuse to let go. It’s to ask: where’s a good place to store it? Where’s the hole to dig? And as we dig, what do we find — are we hiding it from everyone, or setting it aside until we understand it better?

This stretch runs from Monday evening through Wednesday night, when the moon goes void of course at 10:48 p.m. The larger lesson of the moon’s journey through Scorpio is about breaking habitual communication patterns. One of the basic lessons of couples therapy — which applies to any relationship, whether it’s a partner, child, parent, or coworker — is that when we fall into the same call-and-response pattern, we go nowhere. It’s ping-pong: he says this, she says that, back and forth, and the argument, the discussion, the whole concept goes nowhere.

What changes the conversation is introducing something new. So instead of your habitual response, try something else — throw the dialogue off its usual track. Yes, the ball will sail somewhere unexpected, and you’ll both stand there a little confused. But that’s what opens up new understanding. Someone might get frustrated when their usual script stops working — but that friction is exactly what starts to break the old ego patterns, which I think is part of the larger lesson this eclipse season is offering: how do we understand each other a little better, change the formula, and create something new?

These Scorpio-moon days can be tense, challenging, frustrating. But by late evening on Wednesday the 19th (10:46 p.m. Eastern), once the moon goes void of course again, lean into that quarter-moon energy: wind down, get a good night’s sleep, and let revelations come through the dream world. Moon in Scorpio moving through the dreamscape can be productive — it might startle you, but dreaming is a safe space to let the unconscious bring you closer to understanding.

Thursday, August 20

The moon enters Sagittarius at 4:30 a.m. After the intensity of Scorpio, this is a real shift in energy — you may feel more optimistic, and the people around you more adventurous, curious, and willing to take risks. It can be exciting, especially after a couple of days that felt like stop and stop again.

One thing to watch for: as mid-afternoon approaches, an aspect between the moon and Uranus can make people accident-prone or inattentive to their surroundings. There’s fast, erratic energy in the air — a lot of “oh, let me go there” impulsiveness. This applies mentally too: if you’re at your keyboard chasing an idea, pay attention to what you’re hitting send on. Accidents don’t just happen in the physical world — they happen electronically too, especially with Uranus involved.

By late afternoon, things settle and that erratic buzz starts to quiet. From around 3:45 p.m. Thursday through Saturday the 22nd, we move into a lovely stretch — space to stretch our limbs, stretch our ideas, and stay open to whatever shifts come, riding the wave of this waxing moon toward the changes that need to happen.

This eclipse, and the one coming next week, mark a period of real acceleration. Astrologers — myself included — have been talking about this shift for the past year and a half, building since the start of this millennium. You’d have to be living under a rock not to notice the sheer amount of energy signaling change, both positive and negative. With the sun in Sagittarius from the 20th through the 22nd, these can be genuinely empowering days after ones that felt like banging your head against a wall.

Enjoy the company of like-minded people. Make the connections that help you sail forward with your objective, even if you’re not entirely clear on what it is yet — you have the vision, the desire, the ambition to stand in your own way of being seen and let things flow. If you’re not currently working on a project or vision, these are great play days: hike, get into nature. I’ve long believed that one of the best ways to fuel change is to give ourselves bursts of that dreamscape feeling — a sense of infinite potential. Nature offers that freely, along with anything that gives the body a sense of freedom, whatever “abled” means for you (mine has changed a lot as I’ve aged). That need to move, stretch, and expand is a great space to be in over these couple of days.

One caveat as the moon moves through Sagittarius: stay within your financial boundaries as this expansive energy tempts you toward risk. Be realistic about what you’re investing in or committing to, especially Thursday — you don’t want to overextend and end up asking “why did I do that?” And choose your companions carefully: nothing sours a trip — a day trip or a longer one — like realizing your travel partner is a bad fit for the journey. That goes for any shared venture, not just travel.

The moon goes void of course at 4:31 p.m. on Saturday the 22nd — the same day the sun enters Virgo, at 10:19 p.m. That moves us into Virgo energy: mutable earth, an energy of shifting and adapting. If you’re a Virgo, or have strong Virgo in your chart, you know it’s the most adaptable of the earth signs — because to plant seeds, you have to work the soil, and the soil is never the same twice. There’s a grounded wisdom in Virgo’s willingness to shift; it’s stable, but never afraid of change. (Capricorn and Taurus, by contrast, can be more resistant — Capricorn out of caution, Taurus out of preference.) Virgo’s attitude is simply: this is the natural shift, time to adjust. That’s what we’re moving into.

Saturday into Sunday

The moon enters Capricorn at 4:59 p.m. Saturday — it’s a very different energy from Sagittarius. It may feel like a sudden lead balloon, a hard landing after the high flight. Expect it, and don’t let it overwhelm you — just notice what feels disappointing or challenging. Some of us love the socializing, the momentum, the “on, on, on” — and then when the party’s over, we crash. Prepare for that. A nice bath, a movie to sink into — whatever helps you take care of that “now it stopped” feeling.

This can also show up in projects: something that was gaining momentum suddenly feels grounded, blocked. How you interpret that matters. Treating it as defeat makes it more defeating. Treating it as new information — something to sit with and figure out how to work around — changes everything. I’ve spent time around construction over the years, mostly observing, and the best builders I’ve seen don’t grab a problem and force it to work the old way when something unexpected comes up. They sit with it. They mull it over.

Moon in Capricorn is a mulling time. Maybe the money isn’t there, or it’s not coming in the way you expected, or you’re not getting the collegial support you hoped for. Mull it. Consider it. There’s also potential for confusion right now, especially for the cardinal signs — Capricorn, Aries, Libra, Cancer — because Neptune is currently in early Aries, and the moon’s transit through Capricorn will form an aspect to it. Depending on your chart, this can bring confusion, low mood, or a sense that something’s being withheld from you. A feeling of victimization or of not having the full picture can surface. The key is not to get stuck there, but to understand the situation as clearly as you can.

For some, this will barely register. For others, it may be personal, or show up through people around you. Either way, work on untangling the web where you can — and accept that some of it isn’t going to untangle just yet. These couple of days may feel a little deflating for some of us. That’s okay. Ride it through.

The rest of the week, more in-depth — when you listen to the podcast…

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