Tut, man, one fire burns out another’s burning,
One pain is less’ned by another’s anguish;
Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning;
One desperate grief cures with another’s languish:
Take thou some new infection to thy eye,
And the rank poison of the old will die.

Benvolio in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette (I.ii.40-5)

The Sun enters the Tropical Zodiac Sign of Virgo August 23, 2023 at 4:02 AM (local).

• Mercury turns Retrograde August 23 at 21° Virgo
• Mars enters Libra on August 28.
• Venus turns direct on September 4 at 12° of Leo.

Horoscopes for Virgo 2023

One desperate grief cures with another’s languish

Benvolio in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 1.2.43

Virgo

(Impossible goal) I’m not going to do this until I do this (impossible goal). I’ve seen this positioned in a variety of formats, but it breaks down into a simple, “Not this until this.” The way the Virgo planets play out, though? There isn’t much that’s really exceptional. Yes, your birthday month and yes, some fun stuff, just the retrograde patterns are playing havoc with the good, orderly direction you want. Instead of making absolute plans, or giving yourself impossible goals? Think about the algorithm “Not that until this” and figure how that’s worked out. It’s quite alright, this next few weeks? Skip a few steps, as you know, we will all have to come back revisit this after the good Virgo birthday month is over. Just know, you won’t achieve (impossible goal) until after the retrogrades. You’re welcome to try and prove me wrong. I won’t be the least be upset — more than one good Virgo has proven me wrong.

Libra

How many times has your fine Libra self fallen for the loss-leader? “It’s on sale; it’s actually below cost; how could I pass up a deal like that?” Not that I have any personal experience with this myself, nope. Not me. But I’m sure we all know a person or two who has fallen for the “Loss Leader” deal, the item that really is below cost, and the retailer takes a loss on the deal because it gets butts in seats, traffic, or generates sales. There is one, it’s a singular example, but a local box-box store was running a loss leader promotion. I bought.

I walked in, bought the single item that was marked way below cost, and then without looking at anything else, I walked out. Not very friendly, and certainly not economical for the store — but that’s not why I was there. I was there for the single deal. If I mentioned the name, though, the purpose of the “sell it below cost to generate revenue from everything else,” that would prove to be effective, so I won’t mention a brand name. But it was good deal, and I feel better because I just got the one, at below the dealer’s cost. However, this is a singular example where I was discipled enough to just get what was advertised at below cost. Given the planets? Can you just limit yourself to that single item on sale? “Wait, look, I’ll need some of these, too…”

Scorpio

I got off on listening to some baseball, a while back. I’m not really a sports fan, so this doesn’t mean much to me, but I got to the point where I liked listening to some games, more as background noise rather than intently following a particular team win or lose. What fascinated me, the amount of chatter that the commentators generated. Every day, day-in and day-out, there was a steady amount of talk with no dead-air. Statistics, facts, stories, memories of bygone championships, failures, successes, and the endless parade of errant data, which, I would suppose if greatly enhanced by the digital age, where we can access all that minutiae at the touch of a keyboard, mouse, pointing device, or even a phone-like thing. No dead air, games were lasting three, four hours, and no dead space in between. As a sport, I would favor a radio, or an app that does radio-like delivery for the data. I can listen, as intently, or as distracted as I want to. Repeat the score, repeat the current information, tell a joke, and then report on what just happened, swing, miss, hit, home run. While endlessly fascinating on one level, I’m not too engrained or engrossed. Still, thinking about baseball commentators, and this month’s Scorpio planetary mess? Think: no dead air space. Like a baseball game on the radio.

Sagittarius

Repeat a process long we enough, and it becomes habit. There’s also a kind of training that occurs, sometimes, with that repetition. I was originally thinking of citing the act of reinforcing a habitual move so it’s more like muscle memory but I got off, sideways with that, and then, thinking through the various structures we’re facing, in Sagittarius, and how a number of elements seem to have deviated from whatever “normal” might be? With all that? Is repeating an action to develop it into a habit really good?

Caution: may be habit forming.

Dependency issues aside, the fun part of this is the action, but the practice can seem a little time-consuming or downright boring, as in, “I have to do this over and over?” For me, this involved a fishing pole so the action didn’t bore me at all, and although I was merely standing on the dock, practicing, I did, oddly enough, catch a few fish, although that wasn’t really the purpose. Although, “You had a fishing pole, there was an artificial bait on the end of the line, and eventually? You had to get lucky. Right?” Sort of. I was rethinking, this is more about learning a particular skill set, and then, getting ready to apply in the wide world. Catch some fish along the way, almost by accident? I mean, I’ve never seen pan fish hit a bass bait like that, but who am I to judge? Mercury, you know, and have a happy, if weird, Virgo.

Capricorn

I have some business card left over from a failed endeavor. Not really “failed,” just never generated the projected income it was supposed to generate, and as such, I let it languish, then gradually, let it get sold. No real profit. Not a loss, either, but not much gain. In these times? Take that as a win. All I have leftover is a set of incorporation documents, tax filings, receipts, and business cards. The business cards, I used them as a promotional device, and as it turns out, it didn’t work well, but I was careful, I still have the business cards, and they have proven to be a perfect blank slate. I can doodle, draw, write, make notes, and attempt to capture an idea in a few squiggles. When it doesn’t work, or I’ve translated that idea to a more permanent kind of media, I can toss the cards. One side is a defunct business, and the other side? Blank notecard for new ideas. I love the idea of the business card size of paper, just enough space for a single idea, and that size enforces a kind of artistic discipline. That idea of artistic discipline enforced by the size the canvas? The space you’ve got to work with? Tools at hand rather than spending too much time trying to find the perfect device? Use what’s there. It’s a kind of extra discipline that benefits Capricorn in the next month, and best of all? It is a reused item, plus: it’s disposable.

Aquarius

I will admit to sheer mental exhaustion when trying to run a simple website, online business, especially when I have to compete with angry hordes of freeloaders. I enjoy interaction with the public, more or less, and I make a sincere effort keep I touch with various aspects of the real world. I cleaned it all up, simplified it, and instead of trying to compete on the international stage, I rolled this all back a step. Kept it easy for me. The word I like? “Sustainable.” That is the month-long, season of Virgo, message and single keyword for Aquarius.

“Sustainable?”

Yep. Takes on a variety of meanings, implications, and how a particular Aquarius might interpret this varies from individual to individual. So there is that. But the meaning, the overall sense of it? Think about the term sustainable and how that applies to the Life Aquarius, even now, as we look at the month up ahead, fraught with dire misgivings and worrisome planets. Make it “sustainable” for yourself.

Pisces

I have, and I will continue to do so, talk about the ideas of structure, order, and chaos. What gets to be more fun in the following month, as long as the Sun is in Virgo? All of this gets more than trifling confusing for gentle Pisces. What looks like a solid foundation? Might be an illusion. What looks like an idea spun out of the airy firmament of my mind? Might actually be a solid bit of lore. The fun part, for me, as a Pisces observer, the fun part is I understand that illusions are not real, reality is an illusion, and telling the difference between the two? Well nigh on impossible at this time. Simplest idea? Solicit outside expertise. In other terms, just to make sure I’m clear? Ask for help. Ask for non-Pisces helps. Seek outside, expert advice and assistance.

Aries

“You try and tell her to calm down. Let me know how that works for you.” I was a third party in the conversation, more listener than a participant, having played, and lost, at this game before. “You try and tell her to calm down,” and me? I’ll be out of the line fire, out of the direct line of sight, and I will endeavor to present as small a target as possible. I might just run away. My experience? “Telling her to calm down? That never works.” I’m just passing along second and third-hand data points for good Aries. Mars moves into Libra, opposite from you, but Mercury and Venus, they are grinding away elsewhere, and if I suggest that you just calm your Aries self down, just take it easy, slow down there, I meet with that same resistance, and we all know, “Resistance is futile.” What this means, though, is there is much ire from Mars and the other retrogrades, but that doesn’t mean you have to rise up and take what is proffered. Simple as that. This next month is about recognizing what is bait. No one feels sorry for the bait. “You try and tell her to calm down.” Yeah, let me know how that works for you.

Taurus

Ever get stuck on an idea and just can’t let go? It happens, and what’s worse? This is sheer brilliance on the part of the gentle Taurus. Sheer brilliance, I’ll say it again. That much is good, really good. The problem? Rather, the very specific Taurus challenge ahead for this next few weeks? You’re stuck on your idea, and no one else can understand it, no one else grasps the delicate and nuanced expression, and no one else can see the sheer brilliance that I alluded to, for Taurus. This is a problem. There’s an incessantly reluctance and desire to make the point, and display that brilliance. I think it’s wonderful. I am one person, the rest of the world? They don’t see it, they don’t get it, and they aren’t going to acknowledge that brilliant Taurus idea. That’s the idea that you can’t get past, and since you refuse to let it go? This just gets worse and worse. Simplest solution? File away that answer, that brilliant solution, the game-changing idea? File it any and we can trot this out later, and there’s another bonus, let it go for now? You get a chance in a six or eight weeks to say, “See? I told you so.” Vindication is a long way away. Let it go for now.

Gemini

Because I think of myself as a writer, and primarily identify as such? I have a built-in mechanism for dealing with exigent circumstances — like right now. There is Plan A, then Plan B, and Plan C. There is a whole alphabet of plans. When the first objective fails, which it will, or requires attention, materials, skills, expertise, or expert assistance that I don’t currently have? I put that objective on hold. I don’t keep hammering at it, hoping I can get something to work. Requires a piece, a part, an understanding that I lack? Set the objective aside and move on to the next one on the list. It’s a simple way of working, and I got lucky, this is a question of how software influences my pattern for work, but I make an effort to only keep one window open at a time. “This is what I am working on,” and when I hit that pause point, I pause, close the window, and move on the next item on that list. Variations of this methodology shows up in my material as an effective way to deal with recalcitrant planets and their energies. Like now, while the Sun is in Virgo.

Cancer

I depend on that peculiar and particular Virgo energy to keep matters clean, orderly, and tidy. As a Moon Child, Cancer? The orderly flow of information in a tacit yet lovely manner is important. Here’s the month’s problem, the Virgo energy is greatly disrupted, and as such, none of this is going to be pretty, nice, or even tidy. I guess I should break that down a little, as I was always a tidy person, just not always clean, much to the chagrin of some Virgo, and yet, none of this is about Virgo directly. This is about the gentle Moon Children, the Cancer — sign of the crab? There’s a sense that nothing is lining up the way you want it to line up and for the next month, the little things that cause clutter in your life? That gets worse, not better. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, but adjust the expectations in a downward way, so as not to be too upset. “I just cleaned this! Why is it dirty again?”

The Leo

It’s a matter of being funny, entertaining. There comes a point where The Leo audience just needs to be entertained. Not looking for breadth of topic, or depth of knowledge, it’s just entertainment. Jovial, sarcastic, witty, lovely, urbane, or, as previously mentioned, entertaining. Just be your funny self. Couple of jokes, maybe a Leo pratfall, depends on staging, but it isn’t a big deal. Worst way this works? I’ll think I’m being funny, and I get taken seriously. Or, I’ll think I’m serious, and everyone laughs. With retrogrades, have to watch that. But more so? Be thoughtfully entertaining. It’s a matter of being yourself enough to entertain, but not so much that HR or lawyers get involved.