TOMORROW'S TRUTH TODAY

That said, next week does look kinda crazy.

Before I get into it, I owe you a clarification from my last eclipse video. I’m realizing from the comments that a lot of viewers took what I said to mean that I was predicting Donald Trump's death. Looking back at the clip, I can see how folks got there. I was talking about his Mars, and I was also talking about “kings” dying, though to be fair I did say the deaths could be symbolic, and specifically named Bill Clinton in the video, who is very much alive and very much finished his presidency after his sex scandal. So let me clean up what I meant.

About Mars: it's violent, but it not usually "death-y," unless there is an accident. Death is more Pluto's territory, or Saturn's. Mars is the planet that fights and pisses you off. If you want a real-time example of Mars turned up in somebody's chart, watch Donald Trump on any given day. He has Mars rising, and it shows.

So Mars can be related to war, but hell, sometimes Mars is hunchin’. So, maybe we’ll learn more about this Natalie Harp situation that I am not sure I actually want to know about. 🤮 But my bad if I caused false hope for some of y’all. I don’t predict individual deaths anyway.

But like I said, next week looks crazy.

There are two yods popping off in the sky this week, one pointing at Pluto and the other pointing at the Sun. That's FOUR quincunxes at once. I don't usually work with aspect patterns like yods, but this pair is worth breaking down. But first…

🎯 What a yod is (and what a quincunx is)

A yod is a chart configuration where two planets in sextile are both quincunx to a third. The third one is the apex, the planet being pointed at. Astrologers call it the finger of fate because that's what it looks like on a chart wheel.

Yod is also the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, meaning hand or arm. And in the Rider-Waite tarot deck, it shows up as little floating flames you see raining down on certain cards. It symbolizes the divine spark, the moment God enters a human scene directly. One of the cards where yods appear is the Tower, where old, false structures come crashing down. The Tower is ruled by Mars. So a yod is already giving Tower energy. And with Mars being this extra in the sky right now, that overlap is unavoidable. Time for a higher power to shut down an idol. To reiterate the eclipse video, someone is getting their throne taken. Or to quote Beyonce, "Lights! Somebody's gettin' fired. Hey hey!"

On to the quincunx. It's the aspect of active aversion. Two planets know each other exists and are working hard to ignore that fact, and the ignoring itself is what ties them together. 🤷🏾‍♀️ Quincunxes ARE the drama.

A quick example of quincunx energy: It’s like seeing your ex in the Trader Joe's produce aisle. You both spot each other out of the corner of your eyes and suddenly develop a deep fascination with whatever produce is in the opposite direction of the former flame. But then some nosy big-mouth you both know sees y’all acting funny, and now you’re reunited by hot goss.

Or maybe it’s more of a Princess Catherine and Duchess Meghan sitch. Use whatever imagery works, but let's face it: Kate and Meg would def look the other way on aisle one.

In any case, a yod stacks two quincunxes on the same apex, so we’re doubling up on that Trader Joe’s tragedy. The apex ends up being what everybody has been avoiding, and the avoidance breaks next week.

🔥 What each yod means

Let’s start with the yod that's pointing at Pluto. (FYI: the commentary I’m sharing is not U.S.-specific!) The Sun (leadership) and Mars (action/violence) are the two planets doing the pointing, and both have been avoiding Pluto. This week Pluto ascends from the underworld. What comes with it is real power, and who's really in control. What somebody has been doing and how they've been leading both have to reckon with the power dynamic underneath. After all, the Sun with Mars and Pluto is a combination for "an upset or shock caused through the intervention of higher power." (CSI)

Mars is also making contact with Hades and Kronos this week, which pulls the yod a specific direction (hint: it's down). Hades/Kronos with Mars in Uranian astrology terms is mass murder and the low-down dirty acts of the boss or the government. That could look like a scandal, or a truth about leadership that finally can't be spun.

The other yod points at the Sun. Pluto (hidden power) and Neptune (illusion) are the two pointing planets, and they've both been avoiding the Sun. This week the Sun becomes what neither can keep ignoring. What comes into view is leadership itself, and who the emperor really is underneath his clothes (shout out to the Shakira fans!).

The Sun is also sitting on the Mercury/Transpluto midpoint. Transpluto corresponds to power outages, literal and metaphorical. So the Sun on that midpoint reads as a communication moment centered on a loss of power. It could be news of a literal blackout, or political power slipping while the news cycle carries the story.

Mercury and the South Node are conjunct the Sun too, which stirs up the things we thought had been put to bed. Nope, we’re bringing it back. And also seeing failures related to Mercury stuff (transportation, communication, negotiations). And the Sun is weakening; gradually losing its ability to lead. This combo kinda pulls forward those reflective themes I mentioned last week.

🔗 Ties tested

Venus opposes Saturn on Friday, August 21st. That's a signature for separation and sorrow. In a mundane chart, watch for an ally pulling back or a partnership publicly cooling.

Mars is also contacting Cupido this week. Cupido governs the formal shapes of connection: marriage, political parties, labor unions, families. All the arrangements where you put your name on a group and agree to move together. Mars in there brings pressure and fighting. Expect a union move, a party defection, a family feud that goes public, or a marriage on the rocks.

♍ Enter Virgo

Right as all this is coming into view, the sky shifts gears. The Sun crosses into Virgo around August 22nd, which switches up the sentiment midweek. Leo season has been about the best of everything: sparing no expense, indulging, having fun. Virgo comes in and ropes us back in to get it together. Lord knows, I need it.

If you're a Virgo, happy solar return! Your season kicks off with a lot on the table, which is low-key what you would have ordered anyway. Y’all love a lil’ mess. Who would you be without having something to “edit?”

For everybody else, Virgo season is the annual reset for health and daily systems. Look at what's going on in your body, your calendar, and that one drawer you keep meaning to organize.

Hygeia is right there with the shift, hitting the World Axis a couple of days into Virgo season. She's the goddess of health and the everyday practices that keep a body running, getting highlighted in the part of the sky where global stories live. I kinda feel like I’ve beaten the Hygeia horse to death (and then some!) but she ain't going nowhere. I talked a lot about hygiene practices and food safety (and the need for government intervention) in the Aries ingress video from March 2026… and here we are, eating dirty food, with what seems like a new recall everyday. I would say we should all become breatharians to save ourselves from the perils of the food supply, but the air is polluted too. 😩

In mid-September Hygeia will activate the last eclipse point (20 Leo). If a health story or a healthcare fight lands in the headlines over the next few weeks, this is the timer that already told us to expect it.

What to do with all of *gestures vaguely* this

• Notice what you've been avoiding. If the same thing keeps showing up in your attention, that's a quincunx doing its thing. Look at it before it makes you look.
• Friday night, feel the Venus/Saturn. If you need to cry in the car for ten minutes, do it, and then drive home. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Honda or a Bentley.
• Watch what happens with coalitions this week. Notice who's lining up with who, and who's calling it quits.
• Virgo season kicks off mid-week. Pick one system that needs a cleanup (inbox, meds, that one drawer) and get to it.
• Don't scroll yourself sick on the coverage. Read the news, then close the app.

I know this went a bit longer than usual, but truthfully I write the transits in a stream of consciousness way and don't really have time to edit (or write Big Deck Energy) right now because I'm finishing my slides for the United Astrology Conference, working on an exciting new offering that many of you have asked for (*squeal!*), and going on a road trip. *Screams silently with enthusiasm and stress!*

But hopefully you learned something new in this edition. Until next week...