This is perhaps the biggest turning point for you this entire year. With this total solar eclipse occurring in your rising sign, a new pathway is opening for you. The problem is that you might be looking at a blank canvas wondering what you’re going to do with it. There lies the gift and the challenge of this eclipse season. The gift is that you’ve gained an awareness of your need for more autonomy, which gives you greater power to move beyond some dependencies that have outlived their use for you. The challenge is what do with your newfound freedom. This will unfold over a period of time, since eclipses are not isolated events.

But the eclipse within you is really the most important change that’s occurring right now, even if you can’t quite see it. An emerging and developing confidence is taking hold of you, possibly well beneath your conscious awareness. This solar eclipse is really just a magnified New Moon. It’s a dynamic and critical new start--and for you, that says a lot about what you’re currently experiencing within yourself. You’re at the beginning. Where you go from here has the capacity to greatly change your life. Your choices now are important to consider. In fact, considering that you even have choices is the greatest realization you can uncover. But where to begin? Try the first step, and others will follow.

Occurring in Leo, your rising sign, this eclipse is a time for considering some big changes and new beginnings. It will greatly accelerate your inner confidence enabling to take charge of your life from now on. But you have to choose yourself. That’s liberating but also possibly terrifying. You may not find that anyone else can choose for you. You might be feeling utterly alone. That’s perfectly natural, as this eclipse is activating the “willful” regions of your chart, putting you in the driver’s seat, with a map, but no predetermined destination. There’s also a grand trine formed with this eclipse, Uranus, and Saturn.

This trine from Uranus is particularly helpful, as it has the capacity to gift you some “shocking” realizations and unconventional perspectives. Engage your curiosity, and explore what’s possible for yourself. This is the season to try out unconventional or otherwise “alien” approaches to help you gain more freedom in your life. If it sounds too far out, it’s actually perfect for you. In fact, taking a leap of faith now is exactly what you need to break free of whatever is holding you back.

The Sun enters Virgo and joins Mercury retrograde in this sign on Aug 22, just a day after this powerful solar eclipse. This places a lot of emphasis on your financial situation as well as your overall self-worth. With Mercury retrograde until Sep, the flow of money and resources is likely to shift for you, either creating a surprising increase or a slowing down, depending on where you’ve been with these matters until this point. Overall, this Mercury retrograde cycle relates to a period of redefining the things you value in life, which includes the value you place on yourself.

This is also an ideal time to make some changes in your finances, move things around, or look for ways to work out any problems here. Going over these matters more carefully, and reassessing your current safety nets is ideal. Once Mercury turns direct around Sep 5, you’ll be able to implement any changes made and will have a better understanding of any blind spots in your financial situation that’s been evading your detection.

Towards the end of Sep, you’ll be in a much better position and can expect a steady increase or benefit to come your way, so get things straightened out now while you have extra time. Aug 26 represents a peak of this current process, a day or so that can help you gain more insight, awareness, and perhaps present something from the past that could improve your current situation.

The early part of Sep is even more eventful for you, with Mercury retrograde conjoining Mars in your rising sign (on the eclipse degree). This “activates” the solar eclipse just days before, which can further inspire you to get proactive or even confront you with a completely altered perception of your actual power. This gets further activated on Sep 4, when the Moon opposes both Mars and Mercury from Aquarius. This represents a culmination of events and inner changes that have been developing within you, and can act as further reinforcement, catalyzing new actions and directions for you.

This is a high time for you to get busy with thinking about those first steps in the direction of your choosing. Consider that this part of the year is the most “wilful” for you. If you’re not sure of this new direction just yet, consider that until early Sep you’re in a process of brainstorming or otherwise figuring it out. While Mercury will station, and thus not relate to much actual movement, these transits in early Sep can indicate some “aha” moments, gifting you the ideas and solutions you’ve been seeking.

Life feels overwhelming when faced with things outside of your control. Understanding yourself is key to finding your power and place in the world. While you can't control fate or the chaos of life, your destiny belongs to you, something you can always strive for to gain command of your life path. Evolutionary Astrology can help.

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