After the Apocalypse, the Laundry

Astro Notes for Virgo Season (August 22-September 22, 2026)

For the last 18 months, I’ve been telling an astrological story of humanity’s emergence into a fundamentally new (and more Aquarian) era. Since late 2024, there has been a series of exceedingly rare outer-planet transits that unmistakably delineate this passage as a historic collective transition.

The breakthrough phase is largely complete. Our task now is to learn how to actually live in the new world, with all its promise and perils.   

Enter Virgo season.

Virgo is primarily concerned with making things work better. It looks at any given situation with a discerning, analytical eye, figures out precisely what’s not working, then goes ahead and implements a solution.

It’s the archetype of the Fix-It Guy or Gal, who likes nothing better than to be helpful (in an unassuming way).

Our new supersonic jet of the emerging Aquarian age has achieved liftoff.

Yet it’s far from clear whether it will break the sound barrier or crash before gaining altitude.

With Virgo season, the Fix-it Guy is here to inspect the machinery and make some crucial adjustments.

And the inspection and repairs are taking place amid considerable turbulence.

Virgo season began in the middle of an eclipse window. There was a total solar eclipse in Leo on August 12 and there will be a deep partial lunar eclipse in Pisces on August 27 or 28, depending on your timezone.

Eclipse windows can feel disorienting, like being tumbled about in rough surf.

I often think too much is made of the nuanced meaning of particular eclipses. It’s true that not all eclipses are the same. Whether an eclipse is solar or lunar, total, partial, or annular, and whether it occurs near the South Node or North Node, does bring a different inflection to the experience.

But if you’ve been dumped by massive surf and you’re struggling to figure out which way is up, you may not be that interested in labeling the type of wave that knocked you over.

Sometimes the most useful thing to understand about an eclipse window is this: Shit happens.

In this regard, I’m in complete agreement with the good people at Good Planet Chat Show (whoever they may be):

https://youtube.com/shorts/50OSVO52S70?si=hydvGl80nB9IElBF

With that said, this particular lunar eclipse does have a recognizable signature. Lunar eclipses (occurring at the time of the Full Moon) tend to bring things to culmination, often lifting shadow material to the surface or stirring long-buried emotions. In Pisces, something may be swelling up from the depths of our emotional unconscious for release, and we may feel it well before we understand it.

Immediately following the lunar eclipse, Virgo’s discerning eye turns toward the technological and informational revolution symbolized by Uranus in Gemini. On August 28, both the Sun and Mercury in Virgo form an exact square with Uranus in Gemini.

Uranus in Gemini is associated with breakthrough developments in information, communication, and learning, and the technologies that support them. The most obvious current manifestation is the rapid integration of AI into almost every sphere of human life. Although this technology has introduced incredible new capacities and many potentially beneficial applications, most of us are highly aware of the costs: information overload, fragmentation of attention, digital addiction, loss of social skills and human connection, and so on (and so on).

The systems panel on our supersonic jet is flashing warning lights, and Virgo is here to help. What’s not working in our new technological world? What practical solutions can make it better?

Yet Virgo’s situational assessment is not all critical. On August 30, Jupiter in Leo forms a trine with Saturn in Aries. When Jupiter, the planet of expansion and faith, aligns harmoniously with Saturn, the planet of realism and structure, we may find ourselves in touch with a welcome sense of grounded optimism, perhaps in relation to a new structure capable of supporting sustainable growth.

With the trine occurring between planets in fire signs, this might involve taking a bold action step toward a more inspiring future, accompanied by genuine excitement and enthusiasm.

And after the intensity of the eclipse window has largely subsided, the New Moon in Virgo on September 10 may be when we feel encouraged to begin creating small functional forms that embody the codes of the emerging era.

Virgo’s intelligence is concrete and practical. Rather than dwelling on narratives of doom or visions of utopia, Virgo asks us to engage in small, humble experiments that make things work a little better than they did before.

The world is always balanced precariously on the brink of ruin or glory. And, as Virgo reminds us, it can always be improved by what we do next.

Break of Dawn

Astro Notes for Leo Season (July 22-August 22, 2026)

It’s Leo Season, the time of year when the archetype of the Sun – the Self – takes center stage. 

Every culture has recognized something sacred about the Sun. 

Whether as Ra, Helios, Apollo, Surya, or simply the golden light that greets us each morning, humanity has long understood that the Sun is not merely an object in the sky, but the visible heart of the living cosmos. 

Leo season is a wonderful time to renew this ancient relationship. Get up early and watch the sunrise. Bring the Sun into your heart. Offer gratitude. Become a Sun worshipper. Remember that in a very real sense, our bodies are woven from sunlight. We are, in truth, offspring of the Sun. 

I’m a little late writing these Notes, because, in the spirit of Leo season, I took a King’s indulgence last week to celebrate and unwind. I had just helped convene a remarkable gathering of thirty leaders working at the intersection of consciousness and technology, exploring how humanity might cultivate a wiser relationship with AI. The gathering coincided with the extraordinary ‘Barbault’s Basket’ alignment (see last month’s Notes), and what unfolded was suitably spectacular. After months of disciplined preparation, a week of Leonine R&R felt entirely appropriate. 

Leo season invites us to follow the Sun’s lead and let our light shine brightly. It asks us to dare a little, to expand beyond our usual shape, to fully express the gifts we are here to bring. Leo is an attractive, confident, winning energy. At the heart of its wisdom is a simple truth: As we let our light shine, we give permission for others to do the same. 

This year’s Leo season is supercharged with significance. 

Firstly, we are still surfing the tsunami of evolutionary potential unleashed by the Barbault Basket configuration in mid-July. If, for some of us, the promise of that alignment has remained largely theoretical, Leo season may be when it begins to manifest in concrete form. 

The Full Moon in Aquarius on July 29 brought the Sun and the Moon into direct relationship with the Basket configuration. When the luminaries activate an outer planet transit, that’s often when the archetypal becomes personal. 

Chart of the Aquarian Full Moon (July 29, 2026), showing the activation of the Barbault Basket configuration.

Secondly, not only is the Sun moving through Leo this season but so too is Jupiter. Jupiter is still at the beginning of its year-long transit through the sign of the Lion, having entered Leo on June 30. On July 29, the day of the Aquarian Full Moon, the Sun formed an exact conjunction with Jupiter at 6 degrees of Leo. Astrologers call this a Jupiter cazimi. A cazimi is said to re-vitalize the planet that meets the heart of the Sun, allowing that planetary archetype to express itself with unusual strength and purity.  We thus have a newly empowered Jupiter moving through Leo during Leo season. 

Jupiter is itself a symbol of royalty – the King of the Gods – just as Leo, the Lion, is King of the Beasts. Jupiter enlarges, expands, and blesses whatever it touches. Together, these archetypes offer exceptional support for expanding into a bolder version of ourselves: a cosmic green light to share our gifts with the world on a bigger stage than we’ve experienced before. 

But wait — is that more of a yellow light (proceed with caution)?

Because there’s a deeper dynamic taking place between opposing signs Leo and Aquarius. 

The Aquarian Full Moon on July 29 involved an opposition between the Sun and Jupiter in Leo and the Moon and Pluto in Aquarius. 

And just a few days earlier, on July 26, the Lunar Nodes changed signs, with the North Node entering Aquarius and the South Node moving into Leo. For about the next eighteen months, this Leo–Aquarius polarity will become one of the principal evolutionary classrooms for humanity.

The Lunar Nodes represent humanity’s evolutionary axis, with the North Node pointing toward the qualities we are collectively learning to embody, and the South Node revealing the patterns we are learning to hold more lightly. 

This sets up a fascinating paradox. At the very moment Jupiter and the Sun are amplifying Leo's confidence and radiance, the evolutionary current has begun flowing toward Aquarius, which asks us to participate in something larger than ourselves. The North Node in Aquarius is a reminder that our individuality finds its highest expression not in personal glorification, but in contribution to the greater whole. We are being asked to shine — but not for ourselves alone. 

How do we reconcile these seemingly opposite impulses? How do we shine brilliantly without becoming self-important? How do we serve the whole without sacrificing our unique individuality?

One contemporary teacher who has beautifully articulated this paradox is A.H. Almaas, founder of the Diamond Approach. Almaas’s concept of the Pearl Beyond Price describes a state of unique, individualized consciousness that is not separate from the whole. It’s a deceptively simple idea with profound implications. 

Our individualized consciousness, in its unique personal essence, is not ‘ego.’ The ego, from this perspective, is merely an imitation of the Pearl, the true individual. We don’t need a “healthy ego” to function effectively in the world. We need a realized Pearl, or personal essence. 

From an astrological point of view, the Pearl can be seen as the mature synthesis of the Leo and Aquarian archetypes: a uniquely realized individual whose very individuality is an expression of the whole. 

I believe it is the development of something like the Pearl that is being called for at this time. We are being encouraged to express our unique gifts as fully as possible, in joyful service to something much greater than ourselves. 

This developmental task is no longer merely personal. It is also becoming civilizational. It may be no accident that these transits are taking place alongside the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence. 

If AI continues to develop within a paradigm of separation and competition, it will inevitably accelerate the metacrisis. It will allow us to optimize outcomes for certain parts of the system with ever greater intelligence while further undermining the integrity of the whole.  

Yet this very predicament may serve a profound evolutionary function: to catalyze the emergence of a planetary wisdom culture — not as an ethical or spiritual ideal, but as a survival necessity. 

So, please, gather your courage, answer the call, and let your light shine as never before — in service to the planetary awakening that is becoming not just our highest possibility, but our deepest necessity. Our collective dark night has not yet passed. But for those paying attention, it is also the break of dawn.

Surf's Up

Astro Notes for Cancer Season (June 21-July 23, 2026)

The swell is starting to arrive.

Over the last 18 months, two extraordinarily rare astrological sequences have marked this period as a genuine historical inflection point for humanity. The first involved the unprecedented concentration of major planetary sign changes that took place between November 2024 and July 2025, when Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all changed signs — as if humanity were being pushed out of a cosmic birth canal into a new era. The second was the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune at 0 degrees of Aries — the first degree of the entire zodiac — on February 20 this year, symbolizing a rare and profound global reset. The last time this alignment occurred was over 6,000 years ago, a time many associate with the dawn of human civilization itself.

This Cancer season brings a third configuration of similar historical significance.

Between July 7 and July 31, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto each occupy four degrees of their respective signs, forming an exact Minor Grand Trine. A Minor Grand Trine involves harmonious aspects between three planets: two planets linked by a trine, with each forming a sextile with a third planet. In this case, Uranus in Gemini forms a trine with Pluto in Aquarius, with both making a sextile to Neptune in Aries. The last time this particular configuration occurred (a Minor Grand Trine between the outer planets with Neptune at the apex) was toward the end of the 5th century A.D., around the time of the Fall of Rome.

This Minor Grand Trine pattern first formed during the northern hemisphere summer of 2025, and will remain in effect for much of the remainder of this decade. What is remarkable about this Cancer season is that, in addition to the three outer planets aligning at 4 degrees of their respective signs, Jupiter joins the configuration at precisely 4 degrees of Leo from July 19-22.

Jupiter magnifies and expands whatever planetary dynamics it touches. In 2020, when Jupiter formed a triple conjunction with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, it coincided with a global crisis of historic proportions. With Jupiter now poised to amplify this already exceptional outer-planet configuration, we should not be surprised if this period also brings world-shaking developments.

And for a few hours on July 19, the Moon completes the pattern, moving to 4 degrees of Libra, briefly producing a configuration of stunning celestial geometry.

Because of the rarity of this pattern, astrologers have been forced to be inventive in developing language to describe it. One popular term that has emerged is “Barbault’s Basket”, in honor of the late, widely respected French astrologer Andre Barbault who first brought attention to it. Barbault called this alignment “the most beautiful configuration of the 21st century” and predicted it would lead to “a splendid relaunch of civilization.”

In fact, the astrological world is divided as to its real world implications. Many believe, like Barbault, that the elegance of its geometry suggests it will have a mostly benevolent influence. Others argue that coherence is not always positive, and that it could just as easily correlate with the arrival of a global apparatus of digital surveillance and control — a different form of coherence.

My sense is that this period is likely to bring a wide range of dramatic developments, both creative and destructive.

The archetypes themselves are ethically neutral. How they manifest in the world depends very much on the level of consciousness with which we engage them.

There is a definite possibility for paradigm-shifting breakthroughs, especially in the realms of technology, consciousness, and the relationship between the two. There is also real potential for the expansion of global conflicts and divisions. This is an excellent time to pray, to invoke the highest levels of assistance, and to meet whatever you’re called to contribute with the most conscious version of yourself you can summon.

Things start to seriously rev up on June 29 when, on the same day as the Full Moon in Capricorn, Mars enters Gemini, Mercury turns retrograde in Cancer, and Jupiter moves into Leo.

Jupiter’s entry into Leo brings one of the more significant shifts of the year. This transit offers a twelve-month opportunity to step more fully into the light in a particular area in our lives and allow our gifts to be expressed on a bigger stage. The invitation of the Lion is always both exciting and scary, because if it’s real, it asks us to open to a level of visibility and power we haven’t experienced before.

When Jupiter in Leo aligns with the historic outer planet Minor Grand Trine in mid-July, it may feel like we’re paddling directly toward the most enormous evolutionary wave we’ve ever encountered.

There is only one real option: Take a deep breath, gather your courage, and ride that sucker to glory.

Yet Jupiter is not the only planet activating the Minor Grand Trine this Cancer season. Earlier, on July 4, Mars forms a conjunction with Uranus in Gemini.

Mars transits often serve to ignite the potential of outer planet configurations, triggering events that bring the zeitgeist into concrete form. Mars-Uranus aspects can be electrifying — or explosive — activating a deep hunger for liberation from oppressive dynamics. Taking place in Gemini, the sign of the communicator, this may manifest as an urgent need to express a truth we’ve previously suppressed. Yet with Mercury retrograde at the same time, it may be wise to review any emotionally-charged communications before hitting the send button.

The symbolism of the Mars-Uranus conjunction perfecting on July 4 is striking, since this transit may involve fireworks in more ways than one. The challenge, both individually and collectively, will be to speak our truth with courage and vulnerability, rather than light a spark that becomes a wildfire.

All of this is taking place against the backdrop of Cancer season, an annual time associated with greater emotional sensitivity, inwardness, and self-care. With Mercury moving retrograde in Cancer, we may feel called to review recent events, revisit any unprocessed grief, and be honest about our deeper emotional truth, especially regarding familial roles and patterns.

It’s an epic time to be alive. As history accelerates around us, we are being asked to meet it with as much emotional courage and honesty as we can muster. The invitation is not simply to witness history but to participate consciously in shaping it.