Your Monthly Horoscopes For August 2026

By Jessica Lloyce

August is sure to be exciting. We just don’t know if it will be exciting like a celebrity appearance at a party, or exciting like raindrops on the calm surface of the pond that is your life. 

So here I was thinking the biggest headlines for July would feel related to the last of the five slowest moving planets moving from water and earth signs to fire and air signs once Jupiter entered Leo on 6/30 (and some of them were). But if my experience, what’s been coming up in the real life conversations I’ve been having, and what I’ve been seeing on my social media feed over the course of mid-June through July is anything to go on, though the outermost planets might be jubilantly singing “can you feel a brand new (fire and air) day?” the planets closer to home are saying “before you do all that jubilant hooting and hotterling, the skeleton’s in your closet and everything you’ve swept under the rug of your psyche for the past few years would like a word with you”. 

One thing I didn’t mention in last month’s horoscope for the collective was that the minor planet Chiron has been in Taurus (perhaps the earthiest of earth signs) as Mercury has been retrograding through Cancer (perhaps the wateriest of the water signs) from 6/29-7/23 (though the extended cut of this retrograde cycle is from 6/12-8/6 or even longer if you include when Mercury first entered the sign it would eventually retrograde through on 6/1). When planets are in earth and water signs they are able to witness (and therefore aid or frustrate) each other in a way that isn’t always the case for every earth and water signs’ ability to collaborate with every fire and air sign. So I’d like to believe that I am not the only one who felt double teamed by Chiron, the planet most associated with aggravating long held and deeply ingrained wounds (in order to call attention to them so the healing process can begin or continue), partnering in emotional crime and Mercury (the trickster planet associated with how one’s mind works to process information coming in and communicate information moving out) stumbling backwards since the early days of the summer. But it’s not just that these celestial bodies have been double double toil and troubling us because of their significations generally. It’s that they have been doing so while inhabiting two signs that are specifically about what we hold most dear to us. 

Chiron’s journey through Taurus (which began on 6/19, will end on 9/17, then after retrograding back to Aries for a few months will re-enter Taurus in April of 2027 and remain there until July 2023) has thrown a banana peel onto the metaphorical ground which normally wouldn’t catch you slipping. But this time not only did you fall, it aggravated your bad ankle from that middle school injury that you never got professionally looked at. And it hurts. It hurts so much that the physical pain recalls memories of emotional wounds from the same time in your life. So perhaps it’s a few days of limping…or perhaps it’s a few weeks of feeling melancholy. In the best case Chiron situation, whatever the inciting banana peel in your path-esque incident was, became the catalyst to get you to book the appointment and address the thing that’s been put off for far too long. Depending on where Taurus sits in your birth chart, June and July might have brought a realization around needing to book an appointment with a specific kind of physical doctor (Sagittarius risings I’m looking at you), start or re-start therapy (hey Gemini risings!), hire a financial planner or get a budgeting app (Aries and Libra risings please come to the front), consult a medium to help you untangle that recurring dream (calling all Virgo risings), or get some estimates for the cost to fix what can no longer go ignored in your physical home (Aquarius risings this could also mean it’s time to decorate your space). 

Regardless of where Taurus is in your chart, this sign’s energy is about our physical world (including our physical items we assign value to) and our deepest held values that pull the invisible strings behind our decisions. After Chiron’s journey through Aries (which began in 2018/2019) that asked “who do you truly believe yourself to be and/or that you can become”, during the next 8-9 years Chiron in Taurus will force us all to grapple with the questions “what is it that you really want? What is it that you deeply need? Why? What has it been like to live without it or sacrifice it on the altar of other people’s needs/preferences/standards?”. 

But again, this is not a solo show. This has been a double act since Mercury entered Cancer on 6/1 and definitely since the retrograde began on 6/28. Mercury is so much about our baseline mental landscape but as it swims through Cancerian waters, it wakes up themes related to our nature (the person whose womb we first began our life in and any inherited traits, gifts, challenges, or traumas of all the people whose wombs that brought us here) while also highlighting what about us and our life is a direct result of our nurture via the environmental foundation we came from. Did you grow up in a robe and pajamas house or a naked house?  Was healthy emotional regulation modeled in your childhood home or could anything pop off at any moment due to a caregiver’s unhealed (read: unhinged) behaviour? Was your literal or metaphorical voice encouraged and fostered in your family of origin or were children expected to be seen and not heard? Lastly, as Cancer is also associated with the home, this retrograde may have brought up feelings related to your (literal or metaphorical) home (including any literal or metaphorical homelessness you’ve experienced) and any matters related to the sense of belonging and safety that home and family are supposed to provide.

So yes, it’s very marching band and fireworks vibes for Neptune and Saturn (freshly in Aries) being in cahoots with Uranus (newly in Gemini), who is riling up Jupiter (which recently entered Leo) who is starring across the battlefield at Pluto in Aquarius, and all the possible connections between each of those planets (as all air signs can interact with all fire signs), but we may not feel ready to come blazing out of the gate just yet. In a more positive interpretation, I think that’s actually ok. Leaping before you look often looks sexy, but falling flat on your face is never cute. But after living through the July retrograde, though I love all of the outer planet energy for us, “I couldn’t help but wonder” if we collectively needed forced reflection that Chiron in Taurus/Mercury in Cancer induced to ensure that we were sufficiently aware of what’s at the heart of our desires (especially if they are being driven by feelings of lack or fear) before leaping into the great unknown. I would hate for us to take all of the sky’s energizing and exciting fire and air energy only to realize 5 years down the line “you came a long way, but you went the wrong way”. 

So if you made it to August 1st, cheers to you. I hope the recent end of Cancer season, Mercury’s retrograde in Cancer (with this officially being over on 8/6), and the first month and a half of Chiron in Taurus has brought moments of reflection and released any overdo tears. I also hope everyone’s late July/early August was a pocket of calm and stability before the universe whacks us again: welcome to eclipse season. 

The biggest highlight of this month will be the two eclipses taking place on 8/12 and 8/28 (technically just after midnight on the east coast of the US on 8/28 so depending on your time zone the second eclipse may technically occur on 8/27). Eclipses are astronomical occurrences where all or part of the sun or moon’s light is temporarily obstructed. Though depending on where you are on earth, you may or may not see this phenomenon take place in the sky (for example if it’s night time where you are when a solar eclipse is happening), it is still an event of global significance (and heightened significance for locations where the full view of the sun or moon’s light will be completely obscured. From an astrological perspective, eclipses are “shadowy” periods (as when the lights go out, we as individuals and/or collectives are often forced to grapple with what has been done in the dark) marked by a radical disruption to the norm. During eclipse season, the things that have been quietly altering the trajectory of a story in the background get suddenly sped up to drastically shift the direction or tone of the narrative. Like a premise to many a murder mystery, when the lights momentarily go out, people tend to freak out leading to seemingly chaotic behaviour and events. And by the time they turn back on, something significant has occurred or been revealed. But what each of these eclipses will mean for you, will correlate to what astrological house Leo and Pisces occupy in your birth chart.

The 8/12 eclipse is a solar eclipse meaning that those who have traditionally been associated with the sun (rulers, celebrities, and other people in positions of power and influence in the same way that the sun “rules” over and influences so much of our life) will be temporarily darkened. Perhaps this will be a highly public fall from grace of a previously beloved celebrity. However, as the sun also represents the animating force or spirit that gives life and purpose to our lunar associated physical vessel, the period encompassing roughly a week before the first eclipse and roughly a week after the second eclipse in a set of two have often coincided with the death of prominent leaders. But this isn’t only a solar eclipse, it’s a South Node solar eclipse in Leo. 

The South Node is a mathematically derived point in space that is astrologically associated with emptying out or releasing. In your birth chart I tend to think of it as a hole where the energy of the sign it is placed in has a hard time “sticking”. Though its zodiacal placement shifts every few years, where it resides in August of 2026 is in the zodiac sign of Leo meaning that the Leonine qualities of being celebrated for one’s individuality, leadership, courage, boldness, creativity, full self expression, and rulership are being greatly threatened or diminished. Aka the collective’s relationship with and to celebrity is experiencing a massive shift that will likely feel like a downgrade or de-emphasis (and for those with prominent Leo placements, this particular eclipse may be very difficult…especially if they are also in their Uranus return which marks periods of intense disruption…and if this eclipse is taking place in their first house which could spell disruption to their body especially if their natal Uranus is conjunct their natal Sun). But even if you don’t have any of the aforementioned astrological traits, this first in a series of eclipses occurring where Leo is in your birth chart, is likely to experience a downgrading of sorts (fingers crossed we all have an appropriately sized ego death). This combined with Mercury (the communicator) moving into Leo on 8/9, looks like whatever happens during this eclipse in Leo is set to be loudly communicated and globally discussed. It’s giving grand openings and grand closings.

Now the 8/27-8/28 eclipse is something different altogether. This is a North Node lunar eclipse in Pisces which is the last in a series of three Pisces eclipses (the previous two were in mid-September of 2024 and early September of 2025). This is the closing chapter of the story that’s been increasing or speeding up the themes related to the Pisces section of your chart. As the moon is so heavily correlated to our bodies and Pisces is a sign that deals with transcendentalism, this is NOT the time to over indulge. If you think of the metaphorical lights flickering within your body, I think we can all agree a reboot is more likely to be successful and least painful if you are not in any way intoxicated. So yes, this applies to substances. But it’s also not a time to over indulge in the non-material either. Save the wallowing in self-pity or getting high off your own ego (pro tip: this is the same thing) for September as it will be easier than normal to feel like way too much is not nearly enough when it comes to anything that feels like a welcome disconnect from reality. But the lights will come back on and the physical, financial, emotional, or energetic check will come due. August is not a time to max out your credit in any of the aforementioned areas of life as the condition you entered the void in, will likely have shifted upon your exit (so, for example, if you’re someone with a gym/movement practice, go a little lighter with the weights around 8/27). 

Now other than a slight hiccup with Mars, there are lots of life rafts scattered throughout August to help us through this turbulent eclipse season. Mars (the planet most associated men, aggression, (usually, but not always, forward) movement, being a driving force behind something, war/conflict, confidence, and individuality/going it alone) enters Cancer (the sign most associated with home, family, mothers/people with wombs, togetherness, safety, belonging and in group/out group dynamics, care, and nurturance) on 8/11 and will be there through 9/27. In case it wasn’t already obvious, Mars tends to struggle here (the planet named for the Roman corollary to the ancient Greek’s God of War is rather uncomfortable in the sign that loves to be cozy at home surrounded by hugs from loved ones). Because of this misalignment, we are going into a difficult month and a half for Martian figures (men and mascs more broadly but also those actively engaged in military conflicts) and for getting our goals off the ground. Passive aggression and brooding may hit an all year high while having the “get up and go” to do something about what makes us feel alone or uncared for is likely to experience an energetic dip. 

So what do we have to look forward to in August? Well first of all it’s my birthday month so there’s that (and if you’ve made it this far into this horoscope and want to leave a lady a little birthday tip I’m $JessicaLloyce on Cash App and @Jessica-Jefferson-31 on Venmo or if you’re in Baltimore, I’m teaching an intro to astrology class on 8/16). But outside of that, Venus (the planet most associated with women/femmes/queer/gender nonconforming people, love, beauty, justice, art, creativity, relationships, harmonious group dynamics, sensuality, the erotic, and style) has come home to Libra (one of the two signs it rules) as of 8/6 which offers us some sweetness in the Libra house in our birth chart and gives our relationships a boost of positivity (or at least an enhanced potential to be making love and not war with each other). While there, she’ll make a cutesy sextile with Jupiter in Leo on 8/17 which is excellent for hyping up our beloveds and our creative endeavors. Around the same time, Mercury in Leo will conjoin Jupiter on 8/15 providing a megaphone to enhance the volume and proliferation our creativity, leadership, and anything we communicate that is related to the themes of the Leo house in our birth chart (including what our actions and/or self presentation communicate about our identity). But later in the month, after Mercury comes home to Virgo (one of the two signs it rules) on 8/27, it will come to the same degree as the Sun (called a Cazimi) in Virgo on 8/27 providing us with an excellent day to communicate clearly, understand and analyze information accurately, and clean up any literal or physical messes related to the Virgo house in our birth chart. 

So in a word, my overall prediction for August is that it will be “exciting”. We just don’t know if the eclipses mixed with Mars riding the struggle bus, Mercury being a loud mouth then wielding words with surgical precision, and Venus and Jupiter’s mutual flirtation will be exciting like winning free tickets to your favorite artist’s show, or exciting like waking up to an unexpected earthquake. Here’s hoping it’s more of the former and if it’s the latter, that we have strong metaphorical seatbelts so we aren’t jostled too hard by any turbulence. 

One last word of caution before jumping into how each of these astrological occurrences are relevant for your specific life: September 1st looks extremely tricky. Mars (who again, is not a very happy planet while it resides in Cancer) will enter into a kind of planetary relationship with Saturn (who, while in Aries, is also not very happy as Saturn longs to pause, plan, and erect boundaries while Aries yearns to go, act quickly, and approach boundaries with a jack hammer) that is anything but helpful. Unlike the Venus/Jupiter sextile happening in August, the September 1st Mars/Saturn square is the astrological equivalent of two planets shouting obscenities at each from opposing hospital beds. No one is having a good time on their own but somehow making someone else miserable seems like a good idea (pro tip: it is not). If you can, I’d highly suggest taking some time off (even if it’s just off from social media or relationships that tend to not bring out the best of you) on the days surrounding 9/1, as to not find yourself in the middle of the flight path for any astrological shrapnell this planetary signature’s combustion may spew. 

Find out here how August’s astrology will play out for you.

A guide before moving forward: The individual horoscopes will be most accurate and impactful if viewed through the lens of your rising sign. If you don’t know your rising sign (also known as your ascendant or the zodiac sign that is found in your 1st house), and would like to use the whole sign house system (that’s what I use), you can find it by entering your birth time, date, and location here. If you are unaware of your birth time and/or location but know your birth date, read the below horoscope through the lens of your sun sign. For further explanation of any astrological terms used here, check out my astro glossary to learn more.

About Jessica Lloyce: Jessica is a Baltimore based astrologer and founder of 2nd House Astrology whose mission is to provide primarily Black, women/femme, LGBT+ people, and those that live within those intersections a life raft in the storm that is extractive white supremacist capitalism. She does so by giving her clients the tools to build a personal relationship with their material circumstances that feels sustainable, aligned, fulfilling, and of course, profitable, by uncovering the “instructions” laid out in their birth chart and illuminating how to work in concert with the current and upcoming planetary transits. She strongly believes that, “as we march on until victory is won”, we’re going to need a little treat (and there’s some aspects of community care, protection, and uplift that we’re going to need McDonalds money for). To connect with Jessica, check out her website at 2ndHouseAstrology.com or follow her on all social media platforms @JessicaLloyceWorld.