Astrology of the Week Ahead with Chani Nicholas - The Week of August 21st: Mercury retrograde and the start of Virgo season give us a cosmic review

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

Episode 140 In this podcast, New York Times bestselling author and astrologer Chani Nicholas discusses the astrology of the week and what it might mean for us all.  The astrology of the week of August 21st, 2023, is here to clean up our act. On Wednesday, the Sun enters Virgo, encouraging us to get our systems in order. Later that same day, Mercury (the planet of communication) stations retrograde, ushering in a time of recalibration — and potentially some misfires. On Thursday, Mars (the planet of action) trines Pluto (the planet of transformation), giving us the motivation to dive deep into an issue and return with buried treasure. On Sunday, the Sun makes an opposition to Saturn (the planet of restriction), presenting us with an obstacle, reality check, or course correction. Also on Sunday, Mars moves into Libra, heating up the part of your chart that contains the sign of the scales. But the main signature of this week is Mercury retrograde. So back up your technology. Triple-check everything. And be extra compassionate with yourself and others.  For more, check out your free daily horoscope on the homepage of the CHANI app — now on iOS and Android. The music featured in the podcast was created by Latashá.

Okay, y'all, the message this week is loud and clear. If the check engine light is on, you need to stop, drop, and roll. I'm mixing metaphors, but the point is this week, Mercury stations retrograde, and it is on. We need to make sure that we have double, triple, checked all the facts, all the data, and probably pause more than once. for a systems update. The Chani app is officially available on Android. You can download it now and get access to everything from daily horoscopes,

daily readings from moon phases and signs, a library of audio affirmations and meditations, current sky horoscopes, weekly sign-specific readings, rituals and journal prompts, real-time transits, birth chart breakdowns, push notifications, and so much more. Share the news with all your Android besties. This is the astrology of the week ahead. I'm your host, Channy Nicholas.

In this episode, we are talking about the week of August 21st. And, you know, Mercury retrogrades are always times of recalibration. And if we can enter into this Mercury retrograde with that, thought and with that as our goal, like this next three week period is going to be one that is going to teach me a great many things about what wasn't working, what was bound to break anyways and what needed an update. Then I will be less likely to be frustrated when things go off course. This is my every Mercury retrograde pep talk. We talk like this, we have this little talk about, you know, three times a year, sometimes four times a year, because that's how common Mercury's Retrograde is.

And, you know, my mode of thinking is that if something happens often, then it is most likely meant to be or here for a reason that is possibly trying to help me out. And again, even though Mercury retrogrades can be exceptionally rude, in the end, if we don't take it personally, we will come out with something that feels like a much better game plan or a much better system. Now, the interesting thing about this Mercury retrograde is it's happening the same day just after the sun enters Virgo. And we all know Virgo loves a spreadsheet, Virgo loves an air table, Virgo loves a filing system, Virgo loves to have things in order. And of course, we also know that Mercury retrogrades tend to be the exact opposite of that. They like to mess up the file system. They like to show how out of order everything is. They like to make a mockery of our best laid plans.

So this Virgo season is, I think, going to be one for the books. And what Virgo does really well is it does things specifically. It does things with exactitude. And it does things that are very detail-oriented. So if Mercury is going to be retrograding through Virgo season and Mercury is going to be retrograding through Virgo, so we're really like doubling down on the Virgo energy. And if Mercury retrogrades point out what isn't working or what isn't connecting, like those wires don't meet and that light switch is not connected to the rest of the system, then it's going to give us some very specific things that aren't working. So we want to get really skilled at being able to pick out the things that aren't working and leave what is working.

Like leave the rest. We don't have to fix everything. This is not a time to, you know, deconstruct. everything, this is a time to be very particular with the things that we are going to address. And that can be really helpful. So it's not like you need to know all that ahead of time, but throughout the next couple of weeks, throughout really the entirety of Virgo season, because let's be honest, before Mercury Station's retrograde, at least a week before and at least a week after, we feel it, right? It's the planet slowing down to

appear to change directions. And that is the like putting on the brakes before it goes into full stop before it and then it goes reverse. And then as it stations direct, it's got to stop again and then pick up speed to go direct. And so we are just in it. And this is a good time to just clean up our act in the ways that we need to. Of course, this is specific to your life because it will be happening in the area of your chart that contains Virgo. You don't have to have a planet in Virgo. Don't be like, I don't have any planets in Virgo, so I don't have Virgo in my chart. You do. You have all 12 signs in your chart. I also say that ad nauseum, but it's like you have the entire sky in your chart. And we're used to looking at our chart in terms of a list of what planets are

in what signs or what nodes or what points are in what signs. And that is all true. But the other thing that's also true is that your chart is a circle or it's the whole of the sky. And so you have every single sign in your chart, even if you don't have any planets there. And the sign will fall in a house. And that house is a domain of life. And so when Mercury retrogrades through, let's say, Virgo this time, it's moving through a domain of your life. So again, it doesn't matter if you've got planets in that sign. Mercury is going to be cleaning up and picking things apart in a certain area of your life. And we go into that in your readings for this week in the Chani app under the weekly tab. So if you want to learn more about that, go there. We also give you some tips and tricks in your Mercury and Virgo

horoscope. So also read that on channy.com or also in the Channy app. All right. So we know this is happening. It is a main theme over the course of not only this week, but the entire Virgo season. And so the more we can just get prepared for that, get prepared for like the cosmic kind of audit that we will be going through, the better. Get your receipts in order. Get out all of your systems that you know need an update and maybe the ones that you don't and be like, okay, this was working well for this stage of my life. Now it. needs to be working in a different way for the present moment. We're just working on the present moment and what is and isn't working. So expect some delays, expect some miscommunications, all of that,

but really do look for what you are being asked to fine tune right now. And it might be a skill that you need to develop, right? This is a really good time to Virgo season, always, always, or anything in Virgo, major happening. You want to be like, what? What's my skill or what does this action or what does this opportunity or what does this goal require me to develop in terms of my skill set? And a Mercury Retrograde is always good to review. So this is a really good time to review the basics of any skill that you know needs a little fine tuning or an upgrade or maybe that you need to like learn for the first time. So go back to school in whatever way you can, metaphorically or literally. Virgo loves a lesson, loves a teacher, loves a curriculum, loves a reading list.

This is time to feel like we're really going back to school. And it is that kind of time of year anyway. So let's embrace it. Let's sharpen our pencils. Let's get our little pencil case in order. Get your favorite notebook. You know, the one with a spiral or the one that's bound. Whatever, I love a spiral.

Anyways, get all your tools together because we. are going to school. Mercury retrograde is in session. Yay, maybe. I don't know. Okay. So that is the main theme of the week. Let's talk a little timing, shall we? So the sun enters Virgo on August 23rd at 201 a.m. Pacific time. And then later that day, Mercury stations retrograde. Now, the interesting thing is this is happening on a Wednesday. Mercury rules Wednesdays. So it feels a little extra. Mercury is in its own sign and one of the sign that it rules, Virgo. So again, it feels like we're in a deep clean.

This is going to be like a deep exfoliation, a deep scrub of the system. You know, when we go back and check out what isn't working, what is, etc., we're going to go deeply into the cracks and crevices. This is an exaggerated mercury retrograde. But I do think it's going to be helpful. I do, I do, I do. On Thursday the 24th of August, Mars, also in Virgo, so it's like a very virgoan moment until a little later in the week, Mars trines Pluto, which absolutely helps the situation, which absolutely gives us a little bit of like get up and go and helps us to dig into our appetite for success or our hunger to go deep into something and to get the treasure that's like buried beneath the. the surface of things. So it's like a deep dive into something and it feels very victorious.

Then on Sunday, we have the sun in Virgo making an opposition to Saturn, which is kind of a bummer. It's definitely a reality check, which I think Mercury retrogrades are anyways. And Mercury is retrograding in the sign opposite from where Saturn is. So there is this feeling of like being in a process of correcting something or reviewing something and also having someone very stern or some kind of energy that's very critical, be watching us course correct, which can be a little nerve-wracking. So we might feel like a little, like there's a little too much, a little too much course correction, a little too critical. So I highly recommend kind of countering that. with a lot of kindness and countering that with a sense of, like, it's also my responsibility

to be really compassionate with myself and other people. Like, yes, it's important that things are done correctly. And part of that is having a lot of compassion and a lot of care for myself and others in the process. So if Sunday feels like a little bit of a stock, sign, like we're meeting a little bit of a wall or we're meeting something that feels really harsh internally or externally. Please, please, please remember to soften. You know, like when you hit a wall, when you come up against a boundary or barrier, you can lean against it and take a rest.

Maybe it even gives you some shade. Like, perhaps it is a good moment to be like, okay, I respect you. I respect this boundary and I'm not going to try to push past. it right now. Maybe I need a moment to sit and rest and think about a better way to go because I can't push through literally physically a brick wall. So there's got to be a different way. So if we come up against something that feels like that by the end of the week, I just want you to all pause. I want me to pause. I want us to just be like, okay, this is my invitation, perhaps to meditate, metaphorically or literally, to stop and take a nap. Metaphorically, literally. Like, what would happen if

I didn't right now and still was accountable to myself for my responsibilities and what I need to do. Then Mars moves into Libra also on Sunday. And a part of this is interesting because it takes the pressure off the Virgo situation because Mars was in Virgo for so long and it was making at least a whole sign aspect opposition to Saturn. It got really tense that like third week of July moment and now it's like finished finished and it's moved into Libra. In Libra Mars is in the opposite sign of what it likes to be in. So there's this contrarianness to a Mars and Libra. Mars and Libra makes an interesting strategist because it's always going to take both sides into consideration and it might have a harder time just going for what it needs because it's trying to weigh all options. There's a lot

more to say about Mars and Libra, which we will get into over the course of the next couple of weeks. For now, just know that there is a little bit of a sea change at the end of this week and that the part of your chart that contains Libra now has Mars roaming through it. And so that's where things will start to heat up. So we are in Mercury's retrograde. We are moving into a new relationship with data and information. And we'll we need to course correct. And again, we're going to be extra compassionate and mindful of the ways in which a rest could be just what we need, especially come the end of the week. Thank you all so much for leaving us reviews in the app store. We so appreciate it. This one is called

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This app is honestly the astrological soul food that you need. All right, y'all. I'll see you back here next week where we will talk about the full moon. and Pisces. Bye for now.