#Blessed: Venus kisses Jupiter & Mercury stations direct

Cycles of Time is a weekly forecast that explores at the energies of the upcoming week through the lenses of astrology, the Pagan Wheel of the Year, the Daoist 5-Element Cycle, the Indigenous Medicine Wheel, and the 64 gates of the I’Ching/Human Design/Gene Keys/ mandala.

Each of these ancient, cyclical systems have the potential to connect us deeply with the changing seasons and also with the wisdom of our global ancestors. Viewed together, they reveal the profound interconnectedness that human beings have always held with mother earth. Thanks for reading & listening!

-Alison

Hey friends and astro-lovers,

Welcome to Cycles of Time, and to a moment of blessings in the wheel of the year as we celebrate the annual Venus-Jupiter conjunction along with Mercury stationing direct this week after 3 weeks retrograding through Leo! If last week felt difficult (thanks to the Saturn/Mars opposition and a tense full moon), this week could provide a little bit of respite, the fog lifting a little bit.

With Mercury direct, conversations should flow more easily, and self-expression will feel more aligned. In the heat of Leo season, it’s a good time to speak from the heart, and to trust that what you’re reaching for might actually be reaching back.

Today and tomorrow, Monday/Tuesday, Venus and Jupiter meet in Cancer, in the Human Design Gate 39, known as Provocation. This is one of the luckiest and most twinkly conjunctions we get each year. It brings a chance for emotional expansion, heart openings, and surprising breakthroughs in love, creativity, and connection. In the Gate of Provocation, it might stir something up in you, but not necessarily in a way that causes trouble. The highest frequency of this gate is Liberation, so this conjunction here is like a gentle nudge from the universe, asking, What would happen if you let yourself want more? What if the discomfort is actually an invitation to bloom, to break free of the chains that your mind has been imposing on your actions?

This week, the seasonal wheel continues it’s turn to the West on the Medicine Wheel, which is an introspective direction, tied to autumn’s approach and the wisdom that comes from reflection. In the Wuxing cycle, we’re transitioning from the element of Fire to Earth, asking us to root in what’s real, what’s nourishing, and what sustains us beyond the quick wins.

Leo season continues to blaze, but with a slower rhythm now. The cross quarter day of Lammas/Lughnasadh has passed, which marked the first harvest, both literal and symbolic. What did you harvest from the seeds you planted earlier this year? Where are you being asked to pause and reflect before the next wave of growth and the next harvest?

On the Human Design/I’Ching Wheel, we’re still moving through Gate 7, the Gate of the Role of the Self in Interaction, through Monday. As I spoke about last week, this gate asks: How do I lead in a way that serves the whole, not just myself? Then on Tuesday, we shift into Gate 4, the Gate of Formulization, where our minds may start searching for answers, sometimes a little too hard. This is a gate of youthful questions and playful ideas, but also of mental overdrive if we’re not careful. It might help to ask yourself: Am I trying to figure it all out too fast? Can I let the answers come in their own time?

The moon is waning now away from last week’s powerful full moon in Aquarius. The energy is softening a bit (finally). Let yourself exhale and reorient. There’s more big growth coming this year (*cough* September’s upcoming eclipse season)…. so take this week to revel in the glow of the kissing benefic planets, and remember that not everything has to be solved right this second.

You’re allowed to pause, to shift, to ask new questions, and to bask in the beauty of Venus/Jupiter this week.

This week in the Wheel of the Year:

* MEDICINE WHEEL Direction: WEST

* WUXING Element: EARTH

* PAGAN Season: LAMMAS/LUGHNASSA

* ZODIAC Season: LEO (July 22-August 22)

* I’CHING Hexagram/HUMAN DESIGN Gate:

* last Wednesday August 6- Monday, August 11:

* Gate 7: Earth over Water “The Army”, aka the Gate of THE ROLE OF THE SELF IN INTERACTION

* Tuesday August 12- Saturday, August 16:

* Gate 4: Mountain over Water “Youthful Folly (The Taming Power of the Small)”, aka the Gate of FORMULIZATION

* MOON Phase: Waning

* PLANETARY Dances:

* Monday, August 11th

* Venus conjunct Jupiter in CANCER (In Gate 39: Provocation)

* Mercury stations direct in LEO

Venus Kisses Jupite