HOROSCOPES: astrology with Lilith Rocha

Leo JUL 24- AUG 23

Mercury in Leo and Venus in your communication zone are nominating you as the main players on this month’s stage, so welcome to your month in the sun, your majesties. May your manes be forever radiant. But wait! Mercury’s retrograde. Darn. You’ll have to tread carefully in clashes over who’s the boss of what. As the annual Leo new moon pops the cork on the 11th and unrolls the red carpet for your astrological new year, Mars and Mercury gradually get back on track and those from the cat empire will be basking in the apricari – that lush, Italian word for soaking up solar warmth – of your planetary ruler.

VIRGO • AUG 24- SE P 23

With red-hot Mars in your passion zone and Venus shimmying into your house of sensual pleasures, ask, are you ready for what could be a major month of touchy-feely affectionate togetherness, Virgos? Leave others to play out their love dramas, and invite your inner diva to engage in creative playtimes. If larger-than-life egos get triggered, the advice of Virgo performance artist Pink applies: Take the gravel and the shell and make a pearl… Then, for the last week of August, it’s move over Leos as the solar spotlight switches to Happy Birthday Virgo month.

LIBRA • SEP 24-OCT 23

Librans like to keep life light; with six planets in intense retrograde for most of this month, good luck with that. Fortunately, it arrives during the second week of August with your guiding planet Venus in Libra helping keep an even keel if online buys disappoint, your media posts are taken the wrong way and loved ones become extra demanding. If the late-month full moon winds up a work or personal cycle, remember venerable Libran Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching that to be beautiful just means being yourself: Smile like a flower, he says, and everyone around you can’t help but benefit.

SCORPIO • OCT 24- NOV 22

With Jupiter blowing things out of proportion and Mercury the communicator reversed in the sign of pride, this month’s dynamite combo of argumentative and hypersensitive could scramble signals and misinterpret motives, with people not saying what they mean or expressing themselves in a way that’s easily misunderstood. Feeling touchy and vulnerable yourself? Then share your authentic heart but resist doing dummy spits, because channelling scary Scorp can make others wary. Get an action plan happening at the August 11 new moon, then relax and enjoy all the amusing diversions on offer. At the end of month the full moon will help clouds dissolve, skies clear and bring your stylish self back in fine form.

SAGITTARIUS • NOV 23-DEC 21

Progress less glowing than you’d hoped? Hang in there – the mantra of Mars retrograde is make haste slowly, which won’t be easy but it will be worth it because going against the flow could cause resistance and frustration. Venus in your sector of friends and technology suggests online connections may be fun and profitable, while the mid-month eclipse reveals something you didn’t know that affects a project close to your Archer’s heart. August memos – with so much grandstanding and limelighting going on, bring your wise, dignified persona to the negotiating table. And when shooting truth arrows, tip them with silk, dip them in honey.

CAPRICORN • DEC 22-JAN 20

Everyone wants to be boss this month. For Capricorns, mid-August Mars backtracking into your sign, along with retrograde Pluto and Saturn, issues an urgent alert against trying to do everything yourself, which could trigger system overload. So slow before you blow: delegate, cut back, lighten that commitment load. Tune into love planet Venus in your public image zone, who’s more than ready to reward your glamming up and pressing the flesh at celeb affairs. The new moon on the 11th is your own personal romantic scorcher, and by late month, pressures ease and setbacks dissolve as Mars moves into forward gear again.

AQUARIUS • JAN 21-FEB 19

Action planet Mars retrograde in your unorthodox, iconoclastic sign for the first fortnight of August aggravates a general tendency to eyebrow-raising

behaviour. In your case this is not recommended, because, while pushing buttons will definitely get a reaction, it might not be one you want. If something’s utterly giving you the pip, a change of scenery to think it over is just what Venus beaming into your house of adventurous getaways recommends, especially with Uranus lying low for the rest of the year. As mid-month Mercury and late-month Mars untangle themselves, the jigsaw pieces start falling into place again, and so do you.

PISCES • FEB 20-MAR 20

August’s theatrical productions feature a luminary cast of larger-than-life stars: dramatic, charismatic, outrageous – who are also prone to great exaggerations, inflated opinions and easily bruised egos. Venus, currently in your house of bonding, inclines you, even more than the rest of us, to empathise with a seductive sob story, fall for a slick sales pitch, or be dazzled by a flash presentation. But this month needs your sensible side not believing everything you hear, see or read. Enjoy the entertaining parade, but also check sources, do your homework, get second opinions and remember that sometimes tough love’s a marvellous medicine.

ARIES • MAR 21-APR 21

Your celestial mentor Mars influences what gets you excited, and when the passion planet’s in mental-as-anything Aquarius that’s probably progressive, inventive ideas for the future. The fertile mid-month new moon feeds these seeds, but for your plans to proceed, old issues that you thought were dealt with will need completing and clearing away during the first two weeks of August. Irritating? Be aware of leaking emissions from the smouldering volcano you think you’re hiding, because guess what? Others are affected by it. Instead, convert that glowing raw energy into what you and August do best: creating. Venus in artistic Libra ensures your glorious outpourings will be gorgeous.

TAURUS • APR 22- MAY 21

With Mars, the red planet, retrograde, August’s personnel may well be coming on strong and not listening, challenging you to alter your approach to getting what you want. Einstein’s famous definition of crazy is always doing the same thing and expecting different results, so if something doesn’t work try a different strategy. Venus, which is in Libra for most of the month, favours artistic projects and all forms of aesthetic expression, while anything-goes Jupiter in your relationship zone and Mars in your house of adventure invite you to experiment with a few new moves in the game of love.

GEMINI • MAY 22– JUN 22

Glamorous and theatrical, August’s the month of entrepreneurs, grand plans and lavish attitudes. And with your ruler Mercury retrograde, also a lot of hot air: people talking things up or making lofty promises in the heat of the moment they’re unable to keep. It’s easy to get sucked into the circular squabbles of office politics and social power plays, so be extra selective about your preferences: ditch drama for people and activities that feed your spirit. It’s not a difficult ask, as Venus is offering a stimulating smorgasbord of spicy ideas, entertaining mind games and romantic interactions to you networkers extraordinaire.

CANCER • JUN 23 – JUL 23

Monthly lunar movements affect the moon-ruled Crab clan more significantly than any other sign. Eclipses tend to illuminate what’s under the radar, and the bold new moon eclipse on August 11 may radically change your workplace gameplay. With feisty Mars igniting personal politics, you might take a stand for what you believe in and step up to a role of caring leadership. There’s astral support for extending your reach from mid-month onwards, going big via a wider social media audience. In the private sector, Venus in your home zone likes love nests and intimate hosting chez vous.