Veronica Perretti [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the essential Astrocast. I am your host, Veronica Peretti, and we actually have a very tame week. I am happy to share with you and to report that this is a pretty tame week. So last week, I actually did not record a podcast because all the action was early in the week and we had talked about it in the previous episode. So last week's full moon came with it. A lot of other astrological transits which were super intense. And I don't know about you, but I really feel like I had a very intense full moon hangover. It also could have been that I was staying up way too late trying to watch the speeches at the Democratic National Convention, which, of course, went way too late, especially for those of us on the east coast.

Veronica Perretti [00:00:50]:
So I really have been feeling exhausted and wiped out. And that is normal when there is a lot of energy in the heavens. We feel it down here on earth, and it can feel like you're just spent, you're wiped. On the other hand, you might be feeling really revved up because we are in Virgo season, and the sun entered Virgo last Thursday. So we are now in the season of get it all done, make it all happen, get it all together, get the back to school supplies, get the outfits ready, clear out the closets, clean out the pantry. You know, just that energy of editing things and making them feel more orderly is very Virgo. Of course, you know, I love Virgo season because my moon is in Virgo, the sun is coming and lighting up my moon. So, of course, on Sunday, I decided I wanted to make zucchini bread for my son and subsequently cleaned out, like, all the baking stuff, and got rid of a bunch of things that we weren't using.

Veronica Perretti [00:01:59]:
And, you know, that kind of stuff is, you know, soothing my soul. So moon and Virgo people, you understand me, you hear me? I've been dying to do a big kitchen clean out. So I think that I'm going to try to make time for it in the next few weeks. So if you've been feeling like something in your life needs some orderliness, then Virgo season is certainly a time where you can sort of ride that energy and embrace it and use it to your advantage. So this week, we have some big things happening. We have Virgo season that began last week, which we'll talk about today. Mercury is finally stationing to resume direct motion, which is a welcomed shift, and that will happen on Wednesday. And we have Venus entering Libra.

Veronica Perretti [00:02:50]:
So that is also lovely because Venus will be entering her home. Sign of Libra, where she likes to hang out. So all the planets have a sign or two or a couple signs where they feel at home, where they are the ruler, where it's their domain. And of course, they're going to feel most comfortable and be able to operate most effectively when they're in those signs. So having Venus back in Libra is going to be delightful. And it's the last week of the moon cycle. So this is the last week of the moon cycle that began with the new moon in Leo on August 4. So we are entering that last week, and therefore there is a winding down energy.

Veronica Perretti [00:03:34]:
This is a time of letting go. The new moon will occur on September 2, which is next week. And we'll talk about it a little bit more next week. If you are listening to this before that new moon, I'm recording today, Monday, August 26. So if you're listening to this between the 26th and the 1 September, then it's a good time to release. If there's something that's dragging you down that you feel like you need to let go of, if you need to clean out the closet, if there's some old clothes that you've been hanging on to and you're ready to release them and say, I don't need to be that. I don't need to shrink myself to be that person anymore. So the energy of release, that is always best to do at the end of the moon cycle.

Veronica Perretti [00:04:18]:
Okay, so let's review what Virgo season is all about, just in case you are newer to astrology. So Virgo is often associated with routine, with order, with common sense, with a desire to be helpful. Cleanliness, ritual, the devotion to the mundane, the ritual of showing up on your meditation cushion, showing up on your yoga mat, lacing up the sneakers, and going for the run each morning. You know, being the. Being a person who's very ritualistic about the way you work, maybe you have a set thing that you do. You come into the office, you light a candle, you put on your oils, or you have a set way that you make the coffee that just starts your day in that perfect way. So the rituals and routines of the everyday, of the mundane, are the realm of Virgo. And Virgo really can make it.

Veronica Perretti [00:05:23]:
A ritual can find a sacredness in the mundane. And I love the energy of Virgo. The Pisces Virgo axis is one of my favorites because they seem so different and yet they're so similar. Virgo is that devotion, the devotion of the everyday. And Pisces is that devotion to spirit. To something beyond this manifest realm. And so when we have planets working in this axis of Virgo Pisces, there can be a desire to really give yourself over to that person, that thing, that calling. I often talk about Virgo as the selfless servant.

Veronica Perretti [00:06:10]:
You may have heard that before. And remember, the selfless servant is being selfless means that you will bend until you break. A lot of the time for many of us. So it's a good time this week to firm up your boundaries and to be really clear about what you're willing to give and what you expect to receive in return. So it's so interesting, because when I prepare for the podcast, I think about the conversations I've been having recently. And today alone, I had a couple of interesting conversations. One was about someone telling me that someone else was asking them to bend, Bend, Benda. And she's like, I can't bend until I break.

Veronica Perretti [00:06:58]:
And that's where that inspiration for that wording came from. And she said, I'm not willing to bend anymore. And then that person said, okay, like, see you later. Not interested in working together. So I think this week, we have a venusian week. We have a lot of Venus going on. So you might be having conversations in your own life where you might have to be really firm with your boundaries and just in a very kind way, say, this is what I'm willing to give. This is what I'm willing to do.

Veronica Perretti [00:07:34]:
This is what I expect in return. This is what I can show up for. This is the energy I'm bringing. This is the energy that I would like to receive back. And the more clear we are when we set forth with a partnership or a relationship, or we join a group or we start a job or whatever it is, the smoother that relationship is going to be. Right? So Venus rules all things relationship. Venus rules all things that have to do with the things that we value. The things that are important to us, and the things that are most important to us are usually the people in our life.

Veronica Perretti [00:08:14]:
So when it comes to Venus, we often talk about relationships. Of course, she also rules our material possessions and our money and our finances and our self worth and our feeling of beauty and our eye for design and so many things. But we always come back to relationships because that always tends to be the thing that is most heavy for us. Most important, holds the most weight. So firming up the boundaries and getting clear about your expectations is really, really, really great week for doing that. It's also a great week for cleaning out, like, old stuff that just isn't serving you anymore. Again, it's the end of the moon cycle. But if you just have some old things, that of a physical nature or a figurative nature that you've been holding on to, it's a great week for letting them go.

Veronica Perretti [00:09:09]:
Okay, so it's a venusian week. Our focus will be on matters of relating. Venus will be finishing up her time in Virgo. So while the sun has just recently entered Virgo, Venus is finishing up her time there. She's been there for a little bit. In fact, she's been there since that new moon in August 4. So she's been there for almost. It'll be four weeks.

Veronica Perretti [00:09:33]:
So Venus is going to have three transits this week. In fact, all the exact transits this week are involving Venus. So it is a venusian week, and our relationships are going to be at the forefront of our minds. And your money might be the forefront of your mind, where you spend your money, what money you have allocated for the rest of the year, what do you want to invest in? Whether that's with your resources or your energy, your energetic resources. So we have Venus trining Uranus on Tuesday. So that's the 27 August Venus Trine Uranus. It's an opportunity to change things up. So if you want to get creative or maybe change up your work routine, or maybe work in a different part of the office or move your desk, or just have a new routine, change it up.

Veronica Perretti [00:10:35]:
Maybe change up your coffee order. On a deeper level, you might change up your routine at home, with your partner, with your family. Maybe you eat dinner outside instead of eating it inside. Maybe you decide to have a date night on a Tuesday. I don't know, but just do something different. Change it up and give yourself a little breath of fresh air in some way. So Venus Trine Uranus is actually really nice because trines, of course, are harmonious. That means the planets are working together.

Veronica Perretti [00:11:09]:
Venus, of course, is in Virgo, which is an earth sign. And Uranus is, of course, in Taurus, which is an earth sign. So this can be nice. This is a nice opportunity to change things up in the way of your choosing. On Wednesday, we have Venus opposite Neptune. So as I mentioned, Venus is in Virgo, opposite Neptune, who is in Pisces. So this axis, as I mentioned earlier, is one of my favorites because they seem so different, but they're not. Venus in Virgo is that selfless servant.

Veronica Perretti [00:11:44]:
The commitment to the everyday. You know, you can imagine the mom waking up, getting the kids out the door for school. Of course, it's gonna be the first day of school for a lot of people. So a lot of moms are gonna be feeling that new routine of getting the kids up early, getting them dressed, getting breakfast, getting them in the car, getting to school. You know, that kind of, like, monotony of the routine. But it's going to be fresh because you're just coming back to it after the summer. It's kind of funny that we're having all of this Venus stuff this week, and it's back to school week for many, many kids, at least in the northeast. It is.

Veronica Perretti [00:12:24]:
So there is that feeling of Venus opposite Neptune, that commitment to the mundane. Also opposite Neptune. Neptune's in Pisces, and they're both at 29 degrees. So Neptune's been sitting at 29 degrees Pisces for a while. You might recall me telling you that 29 degrees was this crisis point. So Venus opposite Neptune, 29 degrees vertigo versus 29 degrees Pisces. It might be a crisis point for some people in their relationships. It also can be a time when you have rose colored glasses, because Neptune likes to create a blur, create a fog, and we might not be seeing so clearly.

Veronica Perretti [00:13:14]:
Sometimes when Venus and Neptune are dancing together, we can be a little bit naive, gullible, or even easily manipulated. Remember, Jupiter is in Gemini, and Jupiter has been in Gemini for most of this year. And Jupiter in Gemini has been really amping up the misinformation and disinformation that we're seeing online, whether that's political or otherwise. So, with Venus opposite Neptune, be really attentive to what information you're taking in online. Be really attentive to what information people are sharing with you. And think about, where did this person hear that? Where did they get this information? I mean, this could be in the political realm, or this could just be neighborhood gossip. But just know that people are feeling a little more gullible, and they might be more easy to believe something than normal with this Venus opposite Neptune. And, of course, there's someone out there who might be taking advantage of that unknowingly.

Veronica Perretti [00:14:25]:
So being aware of that and being aware of the fact that you also, as a person in relationship and in communication with others, might say something that someone takes very seriously, because Venus is opposite Neptune at 29 degrees, and then they fully believe you. Maybe you say it as a joke, and then they think it's real. So just being aware that that is in the air, it also is really wonderful for creativity. So if you can, like, block out Wednesday and not necessarily have a lot of meetings and just be in the creative flow, that could be a really good use of this energy. Now, Thursday we have Venus entering Libra. So she's come back home to one of her two favorite signs. She loves being in Libra and Taurus. Those are her signs where she is the ruler.

Veronica Perretti [00:15:14]:
And then right after she enters Libra, she's going to Trine, Pluto, because Pluto is at zero degrees Aquarius. So this is actually a fortifying and strengthening transit because Venus, Trine, Pluto, Pluto is the giver and taker of power. So when we have a planet in a trine to Pluto, it gives you the ability to harness that power and use it. So you want to be utilizing that for good. And of course, it is a harmonious transit because they are both in air signs. So they're talking the same language and they're vibing and they're getting each other. So utilize that. Lean into it.

Veronica Perretti [00:16:00]:
If you need to do some focused work around money or your values or even some creative work, that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday might actually be really good for that. So I need to catch up on some finances. I think I'm going to be doing that on Thursday when Venus trends Pluto. So all of that is pretty much what's going on in terms of the transits. The other thing to note is, of course, mercury stationing direct on Wednesday. So mercury will station direct at 21 degrees. Leo, thank goodness we are finally done with mercury retrograde. But remember, there is always the post retrograde shadow.

Veronica Perretti [00:16:47]:
So until Mercury clears his shadow, things are still going to feel a little retrograde y. It will feel better, it will start to lighten up, will start to get more clarity, but it is not going to be quite done. And remember, we had that whole story that I spoke about over the past few weeks of Mercury Square Uranus, and how that is, in my opinion, really the storyteller of this election that we have going on here in the US. And we have the third and final square of those guys on September 7. So that'll be next week. We'll talk about it. But, you know, we're not totally done because we're going to have that post retrograde shadow. Mercury for a third and final time is going to move through those latter degrees of Leo and those early degrees of Virgo.

Veronica Perretti [00:17:41]:
So those parts of your chart are like, it's like they're getting scrubbed clean by Mercury. Everything in that part of your chart is just getting a second and a third look over. So it's definitely going to improve. Things will lighten up and we'll have more clarity. But be on the lookout, especially around September 6 7th. Okay, so Mercury will move through those final degrees of Leo. Remember, the last time Mercury was in this part of your chart was back in mid July. So you might be revisiting some themes and some stories from mid July.

Veronica Perretti [00:18:19]:
This week. As Mercury stations, we feel the planets most intensely when they station to retrograde or resume Dirac motion. So you might be revisiting some of those themes from mid July, some of the ways that you were feeling at that time, some of the conversations you might have had, maybe some of the things you were working on, just what's going on. Look back in your calendar at mid July. Any themes that are reoccurring. Okay. A couple of things that are notable that I wanted to mention is Uranus will station retrograde at 27 degrees Taurus on Sunday. Of course, Uranus retrograde.

Veronica Perretti [00:19:00]:
And Uranus is an outer planet, not a big deal. But as I just said, when planets retrograde or go direct, we often feel them more intensely. So if things feel a little chaotic around Sunday, a few days prior, a few days after, you know, could be Uranus, Pluto will also reenter Capricorn on Sunday. So Pluto is retrograde again. Not a big deal. Pluto is an outer planet. The outer planet spends pretty much half the year retrograde. Not a big deal.

Veronica Perretti [00:19:31]:
We will have Pluto back in Capricorn one final time through November 20. So he will re enter Capricorn on Sunday, September 1. Happy September. And then stay there in Capricorn until November 20. And then we'll re enter Aquarius on November 20 because they will station direct, I think, in October. So Pluto, it's like his final, final hurrah in Capricorn. You know, many of you remember me talking about Pluto and Capricorn and the Pluto return of the USA and how that was such a big deal. We talked about that over the past several years.

Veronica Perretti [00:20:14]:
Many of you have come to my beginning of the year workshop that I teach each year, and it's called dictate your fate. I give you a rundown of all the major themes of the year, astrologically. And we've talked about the Pluto return in the past, like, four of them. So we really have been living through this Pluto return for quite some time. Some astrologers would even say the Pluto return actually began in 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn. I would not say that, but certainly having Pluto in Capricorn has been notable. And 2008, remember, that was the, you know, the housing crisis, the mortgage crisis, too big to fail. Big bank bailout, all that stuff, the election of Barack Obama and then subsequently, we've had a really, really wild few years in this country.

Veronica Perretti [00:21:11]:
And now the democratic convention was last week and everyone was saying, oh, my gosh, the energy is unlike anything that we've seen since 2008. Barack Obama. So there is a little bit of a feeling of, oh, we're getting back to some of that similar energy. But we have seen that Pluto and Capricorn has brought the rise of corporations being stronger than ever. We have more monopolies than ever. Our entire economic system has really shifted. I mean, we have the gig economy now. So things have really changed since 2008 in this time that Pluto has been in Capricorn.

Veronica Perretti [00:21:58]:
And a lot of that, of course, feels like it's in the financial or material realm because Capricorn is an earthen sign. Pluto entered Aquarius for the first time. I think it was 2022, he dipped into Aquarius, and then 2023, he came back for a longer time. And now we're going to have a short time. So this will be the last run in Capricorn and then we will for good have Pluto and Aquarius for 20 years. And that will bring all new themes for us to digest and figure out. And of course, technology is going to be a big thing. AI, we're already seeing it.

Veronica Perretti [00:22:45]:
We're already seeing the groundwork being laid for Pluto and Aquarius. But on Sunday, we will have our last couple of months of Pluto and Capricorn and wrap up any of those stories. And for people like me, with ascendants and planets at the late degrees, meaning like 28, 29 degrees of the cardinal signs, Aries Libra, Capricorn, cancer, you get that one last dose of Pluto. The good news is that with Pluto transits, many astrologers say you really feel it on the first hit. So hopefully this final hit of Pluto won't be so bad. But Pluto will be at the end of Capricorn when we have the election. And just remember, Pluto is at 27 degrees, I believe it is in the USA chart of Capricorn. So we will have Pluto back in Capricorn really finishing up his return with the election.

Veronica Perretti [00:23:50]:
And some say that the Pluto return really isn't done because the revolutionary war didn't end until Pluto was at eight degrees Aquarius. So we'll see. I am really happy to report this is a tame week. We have some really interesting things coming next week that are going to be a little bit more stressful. So we're going to have the new moon on Monday and then we're going to have one last Mercury square Uranus on September 7 and a couple other spicy squares. So next week's gonna be a little more stressful. This week's gonna be a little more tame. Enjoy it.

Veronica Perretti [00:24:25]:
Give yourself space to get into your new routine. Honor that Virgo desire for order and structure and cleanliness. If it helps you and clears your mind and helps your nervous system calm down. Clear out a closet. That's what I like to do. And finally, give yourself space and time to rest, because Virgo can be like, I gotta go, go, go and finish, finish, finish. There's a feeling with Virgo season of always having a project, you'll always have a project. You'll always have something else to do.

Veronica Perretti [00:25:02]:
So give yourself time to rest, especially in this tame week. We had a really crazy, tough week last week. We're gonna have some spicy stuff next week. Give yourself time to rest. It is the last days of summer. We have the fall coming. Virgo is the season of transition. It is my favorite of the mutable seasons because it is the most potent.

Veronica Perretti [00:25:24]:
It is that experience of really seeing the season shift. We are seeing the shift from summer to fall. We have the back to school feeling. We have this. Even if you're not in the back to school years, you still feel that feeling of freshness, of wanting new school supplies, of wanting a new routine, of wanting to start something fresh. So embrace that. Enjoy it and be present for it. And that's all I got for you.

Veronica Perretti [00:26:00]:
So I'm going to go and sign off. One last thing I should say is that you can now get the transcripts for the podcast on my new podcast website because I changed my host. So hopefully you can find the transcript easily over there. If you click on the episode, there will be a tab for show notes and a tab for transcript. So click the transcript tab, and it's right there. So if you missed anything and you just want to quickly scroll back and read it, you can read it there. All right, I rambled on enough. I hope this was going to be a really short episode.

Veronica Perretti [00:26:37]:
I'm going to close it out. And it was great being back with you guys. Welcome to virgo season and Happy Mercury stationing direct and happy Venus back in Libra. And let's get our new routines in place. All right, bye.