Your August Chakrastrology Update: Conceal and Reveal
Set your goals and intentions into motion this month and reap the rewards for months to come.
What is Chakrastrology?
Editor’s Note: Chakrastrology is based on the principle that each of our chakras (energy centers) is ruled by a planet, and that by working with both, we experience greater health and well-being. This wisdom is rooted in ancient texts and brought to life in a modern context. By looking at our chakras in terms of the planets, we get a major advantage in working with them and in seeing what’s influencing them now. For more information on Chakrastrology, scroll to the bottom of this article.
August 2017
Without a doubt, August brings us the most significant chakrastrological events of the entire year! This month we have a double whammy of eclipses that target the third eye chakra and its rulers: the sun and the moon. First, a partial lunar eclipse graces our skies during the Aquarius full moon on August 7. Second, North America’s first total solar eclipse in decades will light up our skies (and our consciousness!) on August 21 alongside the Leo new moon. This eclipse confluence provides us with an energetic and psychological impact that will remain for six months to a year. This means that what you set into motion this month with your intention and attention will bear fruit for a long time to come.
Engaging consciously with the eclipse energy of August is the best thing you can do to harness the powerful forces present during this month. Most potently, these eclipses act to conceal and reveal the depths of our psyche and the power of our spirit. Anything hidden in the shadows of our unconscious must be brought to light, and the light of our consciousness needs to reflect what is most important to us. Events like this inevitably stir up old wounds, challenge our perceptions of ourselves and others, and reflect our inadequacies back to us in ways that must be addressed.
If we do not address what comes up this month, then what is left undealt with will continue to dominate our lives, actions and decisions for a long time to come. The only way to deal with and process what is revealed through these eclipses is with patience, acceptance and gratitude. Patience helps us to take things one step at a time, acceptance allows us to be kind to ourselves through the process and gratitude reveals the gift of whatever is showing up for us.
There is always a gift. In fact, it is within the darkest reaches of our psyche that our greatest gifts lie. This opportunity to bring them into the light is precious. Rather than let them continue to hide in the shadows, use the revelatory power of this month to bring them to the forefront and transmute what may at first feel like heaviness or darkness into light.
This is an old alchemical process that each of us is empowered to do this month. It starts with the full moon and partial lunar eclipse in Aquarius on August 7 that challenges us to defy expectations, grow beyond our limiting beliefs and follow our flashes of inspiration to align with what is best for us. As the light of the moon is eclipsed, and darkened, we may notice we are more easily triggered, quicker to anger or cast judgment. These are opportunities to notice what is hiding in our shadow! Our triggers show us what we are passionate about, our anger reveals the depth of our love and judgment shows where we ourselves are not yet free.
All of this invaluable information—this darkness—is brought back into the light with the solar eclipse during the new moon in Leo on August 21. This is our chance for the alchemical shift of our darkness into light, or the proverbial transformation of “lead into gold.” This is a metaphorical movement of our spirit as we take what has been revealed to us this month that is no longer serving us and start leaning toward the light. We do this by maintaining elevated focus and intention during this time, and concentrating all of our energy on elevating our hearts and minds. We want to exit this eclipse shining like the sun and expanding our elevated energy out into the world!
Recommended activities
Because the focus of this month is elevating our mind and spirit and working with the energy of the third eye chakra, anything that helps us to enter a meditative, relaxed or contemplative mind state is optimal.
Try a Mind Body Fusion or BOOM Mind class at your local 24 Hour Fitness, or commit to a daily meditation practice. Even two minutes of quiet contemplation at the start of your day goes a long way this month!
If you really want to allow your unconscious mind to reveal what needs to be shifted, start a morning journaling practice, and spend three to five minutes writing whatever comes to your mind. This helps to bridge the unconscious and conscious mind as you write, and illuminates all the hidden energies of the mind. You may find things out about yourself that you would never otherwise be able to reveal! This powerful practice activates the third eye energy and keeps your consciousness elevated throughout the day.
August Chakrastrology meditation: The sun and moon both dominate this month with our dual eclipses and keeps our third eye chakra activated. Connecting with your conscious mind (sun energy) and the unconscious mind (moon energy) is invaluable at this time, and doing practices that help to bridge the gap that usually exists between them helps you to keep moving from darkness to light.
Try the following meditation to help create a balance of sun and moon energy within you.
- Sit in meditation and light a candle. Close your eyes, and bring your hands to prayer.
- Touch your thumbs to your forehead, and then to your heart, then gently bring your hands to rest into your lap.
- Turn your inner gaze to your third eye and silently ask for the greatest source of challenge to be revealed. (Note: You may substitute the word “challenge” with pain, frustration, anger or whatever you feel best fits for you.) Allow yourself to drift into a dream-like state of consciousness. You may see images, feel sensations, hear sounds or experience sensations. Welcome all insights that come.
- When you’ve received the message from within, follow up by silently asking, “How do I transform this challenge?” When the answer comes to you, bring your hands to prayer, touching your thumbs to your forehead and bow slightly in gratitude to the wisdom of your higher self.
- Close your meditation by writing down three ways in which you can transform your challenge into strength, grace and joy!
Mantra of the month: I bring the darkness into the light within me, through me and all around me.
Third eye chakra smoothie recipe: Acai, strawberry, banana and coconut water
August’s Chakrastrology focus
Third eye chakra + sun + moon
Focus: Intuition
Location: Between the eyebrows, pineal gland, sinuses
Core mantra: I am guided by intuition.
Self-care practice: Meditation
Sanskrit name: Ajña (command)
The sun and moon both rule the third eye chakra, and represent our conscious (sun) and unconscious (moon) mind. While the sun illuminates our core personality, the moon reveals the underlying urges, drives, habits, beliefs and thoughts that are behind everything we do. Creating more self-awareness is the key to balancing the sun and moon energies within us.
More on Chakrastrology
The ancient wisdom of the chakras reveals that there are “energetic hot spots” within the body where we store our experiences, emotions and beliefs. When we don’t examine these deeper elements of the self, then eventually imbalances in these areas manifest as physical sensations like tension or chronic pain. This is the inherent link between mind and body, and the chakras provide us a road map for unlocking it!
To take this understanding further and to see how our chakras are being influenced by the outside world, we look at their connection to the planets, which are yet another ancient body of wisdom. In alignment with the alchemical idea “As above, so below,” we watch the planets above us for insight into what’s happening within us. For millennia, astrologers have witnessed the influence of the planets on our day-to-day lives.
By recognizing the intrinsic links between the planets and areas of our body (the chakras), we also get invaluable information about how to optimize our health and well-being. This comprehensive system, known as chakrastrology, bridges the gap between outer and inner, and helps us make sense (and greater health).
Photo credit: Ig0rZh, Adobe Stock