Chiron Retrogrades & Venus Comes Home
This Week’s Astrology | Aug. 3rd - 9th, 2026
Let’s start by setting expectations. It is Monday, which means you’re back to the work week grind and feeling as grumpy as Garfield. Unless, of course, your grind involves you eating big pans of lasagna and taking catnaps. (Remind me why Garfield hated Mondays so much if all he did was eat Italian food and sleep? I’d love to have that job.) Thankfully, this week’s astrology is, against all odds, light. Four movements, one of which involves Venus. There’s nothing extreme, charged, or challenging. No drama and no transit that requires a survival guide.
I know. I don’t trust it either. (Being a person who’s heavily traumatized by everything, I’m unaccustomed to astrological rest periods and find them highly suspicious.) Last week was the heavy-hitting Aquarius Full Moon / Jupiter Cazimi, which knocked me sideways more, and next week is—well, if you watched the August Month Ahead Forecast with Jenny Dee and me, you know exactly what next week is. If you didn’t, the short version is: eclipse season. The longer version is: eclipse season, Mars in Cancer, and Lots. Of. Emotions. For now, though? The sky is taking a little break but still doing something worth talking about, and I have thoughts. So many thoughts. Let’s get to it.
In the sky today and the rest of this week:
Chiron stations retrograde in Taurus on August 3rd, but I don’t want you to freak out. Because unlike Mercury Retrograde and the forthcoming Venus Retrograde in October, Chiron Retrograde won’t ruin our lives. Chiron is the “wounded healer” asteroid, which is astro-code for: it points to what hurts so that we can mend it and teach others to do the same. The retrograde is a period of reflection that’s—dare I say—helpful for paying closer attention to all that is sore in the Taurus part of your life. And by “sore” I mean a big, effing pain in the butt that makes you feel inadequate, unworthy, and/or undeserving of what you desire here. Notice where you still outsource your sense of security so you can begin reclaiming it…
On August 6th, Venus enters her home sign of Libra, then the Sun trines Saturn Rx. Venus in Libra means the perfunctory perfectionism of Venus in Virgo is almost over (hallelulah). It also means charm, creativity, and sociability abound. Plus, we’re less likely to nitpick our desires, creations, partners, and selves to death. YAY. The Sun-Saturn trine wants you to get to work on those ambitious goals, even if they’re still only halfway there. Infuse some much-needed structure into where your creativity needs it most. (Me? I need it everywhere, as July’s astrology threw me over the edge and into “wtf am I even doing with myself anymore?” territory.) Consistency and showing up even when no one’s clapping strengthens your foundations. If you’re Leo-heavy like me, that’s easier said than done…
Mercury enters Leo on August 9th, and THANK GOD. Look, I don’t have a problem with Mercury in Cancer, per se, but it was a really hard transit that saw me overreacting to every imagined slight my hyperactive mind could conjure up. (And that Mercury Retrograde was awful.) With Mercury in Leo, we’ll still get butt hurt every now and then—especially if someone doesn’t compliment our hair, Gold Star our pitch, or clap when we want them to—buuuut we’re better able to channel our mental heat into something creative. (Like calling that person an idiot.) It’s a short transit that’s good for infusing more confidence and drama into your communications. Don’t shy away from being your own PR person or from saying what’s really on your mind…
Dispatch from the writer / (aspiring) comedian / astrologer void:
Last week was a busy one for me. Wednesday thru Friday, I did remote producer work for a commercial shoot this week in Phoenix. So, I spent several hours ordering five days’ worth of breakfast, lunch, and snacks for twenty people I’ve never met in a city I’ve never stepped foot in, and subsequently had a panic attack about it (#welcometomylife). Will the Guy Allergic to Tree Nuts be OK with Pei Wei? What if the Chipotle I ordered gives someone explosive diarrhea for weeks on end?
Those were but some of the irrational thoughts circling my brain. And as much as I’d like to put the blame solely on my PMDD, such unreasonable, self-focused thoughts were also the fault of that damn Aquarius Full Moon and Jupiter Cazimi in Leo. Both events stretched me thin across the Me vs. Them zones of life, whilst triggering the frustration, anger, and Inadequacy Complex of my Mars-Saturn opposition. (And I answered that frustration with extreme haughtiness, pouting, anxiety, and aloofness, which—sadly—my partner took the brunt of.)
Then, Friday night and all of Saturday, I took part in the Denver 48-hour Film Contest, where I helped write a 7-page dark comedy short film and also acted in it. Boy, was that a whirlwind of brainstorming, writing, hating everything I wrote, then working really, really hard to: a) honor the premise that the group had picked, b) tell the story that the Director & Producer wanted to tell in less than seven minutes, c) make it funny, and d) not get upset that my scene was THE VERY LAST SCENE THEY SHOT (10:30 pm on Saturday night) AND I DIDN’T GET AS MANY TAKES AS EVERYONE ELSE. I’m not sure I accomplished any of that, but I did have a good time and I met some really cool / nice people.
This week’s horoscopes to look out for
Venus in Libra & Mercury in Leo, as those two transits are often harbingers of heightened creativity and good tidings for me, so I’m more than happy to wax poetic on why they’re good for everyone else. In the meantime, read your Chiron in Taurus Horoscope to know where this retrograde wants you to remedy your aches and pains, as well as your Leo Season Horoscope and Saturn Retrograde Horoscope for more about Thursday’s trine.
*Note: this newsletter has been edited for facts because apparently, I don’t double-check dates before hitting publish!
Let’s Connect:
TikTok | YouTube | My Website | BlueSky (which I never post on) | Instagram & Facebook (ditto)