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Rooted in ancient Celtic traditions, Imbolc honours the goddess Brigid, a deity of fertility, healing, poetry, and fire. As winter begins to wane, the festival signifies the awakening of the earth from its slumber, preparing to welcome the rebirth of nature and coming of spring. The word 'Imbolc' means 'in the belly' (of Mother Earth).
Celebrations at Imbolc centre around the theme of light – both the returning sunlight and the symbolic inner light of inspiration and creativity. Lighting candles, bonfires, and hearth fires are common traditions during this festival, to symbolise the triumph of light over darkness and the growing power of the sun.
Fill a small bowl with water and add a pinch of salt for protection and purification, plus a few drops of your favourite essential oil – something calming like lavender is a good choice.
Tie together small bundles of herbs. Dip the herbs in the water and gently wipe them over the door frame, starting at the front door of your home.
Continue to do this to all doorways and windows in the house visualising the protection and peace spreading from the front door to the rest of your home.
When you have finished, leave the bowl of water out overnight to anchor the protection, and let the bundle of herbs dry before burning it with your blue candle.
Aquarius, the zodiac's forward-thinking intellectual, invites us to embrace our unique individuality while fostering a sense of interconnectedness with the global community. Under the heightened energy of the full moon, unconventional ideas and novel perspectives find a harmonious balance, sparking creative solutions to long-standing problems.
This full moon encourages us all to break free from societal norms and unleash our inner maverick, tapping into the collective consciousness to work towards a brighter, more egalitarian future. Those with personal planets in Aquarius should feel really fired up!
The alignment of Mercury and Mars in Virgo opposite serious Saturn offers the chance to ground ideas and visions in reality. But this will require hard work!
Venus is the planet of love, relationships, beauty, harmony, creativity, and abundance. When she is retrograde her energies are felt more intensely and we re-assess what and who we value.
On 23rd July, Venus began her six-week retrograde cycle and will travel backwards through dramatic fire sign Leo, disappearing from view as she passes in front of the sun. She will then reappear, reborn as the morning star and complete her retrograde journey on the 4th September. Those with personal planets between 12-28º Leo and those with birthdays in the first three weeks of August will be most affected.
Venus has an eight-year cycle meaning every Venus retrograde period mirrors a similar period eight years ago (25th July – 6th September 2015). Themes such as self-worth, financial resources, and relationship patterns may re-appear, and what was incomplete or left unresolved eight years ago, may surface again.
If in doubt, keep checking in with your heart, and asking yourself ‘what do I truly value?’
Some say Leo energy is self-centred, boastful, arrogant, and lacking in humility. This may be true, but positive Leo energy is warm, entertaining, generous, brave, passionate, proud, and confident. Leo conquers new challenges with unwavering enthusiasm, inspiring the rest of us to step up and follow suit. And that’s something to celebrate.
The Leo new moon is conjunct Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Uranus in Taurus adds spice and unpredictability to the mix. Love is in the air; fun and passion are in the air and we can expect a few surprises!
Even if you normally feel anything but confident, enthusiastic, and powerful, know that this Leo new moon will help you embrace your own uniqueness and share your creative vision with the world. Harness that celestial force to manifest your dreams, embrace your royal essence, and reign over your destiny!
Mercury is the planet of communication, intellect, technology, travel, and contracts. And he’s at his best in Virgo, delivering peak performance. Thought processes are sharper, and mental focus shifts towards practicality, efficiency, and competence. Problems are easier to solve as the finer points and intricacies of situations become clear. Communication is more methodical and efficient, meaning August and September are excellent months for planning, strategising, and completing tasks requiring attention to detail.
However, Mercury in Virgo can also make us overly critical of self and others. Constructive analysis and debate are wonderful, but harsh judgement and nitpicking are best avoided.
As Virgo has a strong interest in health, wellbeing, and self-improvement, you may find yourself on a health kick, streamlining your routine or wanting to expand your skills and knowledge.
On 24th August, in the middle of his transit through Virgo, Mercury will come to a halt and travel backwards through the zodiac for three weeks. As Mercury is the planet of communication, commerce, and travel, when Mercury is retrograde, these areas of life can be adversely affected, leading to all sorts of problems.
The overall advice with Mercury retrograde is to be patient… and don’t jump to conclusions if things start going wrong.
Everyone can see when the moon is full, but here’s a little trick to help you tell the difference between the waxing moon (moon energy getting bigger and more powerful) and the waning moon (moon energy becoming smaller and less powerful).
Think of the word “COD” (reversed to “DOC” if you are in the northern hemisphere).
The “C” shaped moon appears during the waxing cycle as we move from new moon to full moon. The “O” represents the full moon, and the “D” moon appears during the waning cycle as we move from full moon to new moon.
In Australia, and other southern hemisphere countries, if you can see the crescent moon (C) near sunset (west) it means it is waxing or growing bigger and if you can see the crescent moon (D) near sunrise (east), the moon is waning or growing smaller. Head outside around sunset between 19th and 23rd August and you should be able to see the waxing crescent moon on the western horizon.
Stella Woods is an astrology teacher, writer, and consultant. Contact Stella at stella@stellastarwoman.com or www.stellastarwoman.com or
www.facebook.com/stellastarwoman
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