Astrology for the Wheel of the Year: LAMMAS

August 1 is the traditional date on which witches celebrate Lammas — or Lughnassadh — the First Harvest in the northern hemisphere, the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. As a harvest festival, it’s a time for offering gratitude for the abundance of the Earth, for the crops that are starting to yield fruit, and for all the ways our lives are bringing forth bounty. This year as the Sun rises in its domicile of Leo on August 1, it’s in a tight conjunction with Mercury. This superior conjunction is a condition known as cazimi or ‘in the heart of the Sun,’ a time when Mercury disappears into the blazing daylight to be purified and clarified. It is a place of extreme favor and relief for Mercury halfway between its direct and retrograde stations. Messages come through with precision and authority, and the topics for which Mercury is responsible benefit from the good will of the dignified Sun. The Sun in Leo burns with courage, whole-heartedness, and authenticity, calling us to radiate more fully and persistently in our truths. However, this conjunction is also in a tight applying opposition with Saturn, retrograde and also in its domicile of Aquarius. Saturn is in the process of reviewing and revising systems, institutions, rules, and regulations, and in this opposition, we may encounter resistance to what is being revealed during the cazimi. There may be revelations we are harvesting that are not easy to recognize or receive. The waning quarter Moon is exalted in Taurus, separating from a conjunction with Uranus and a T-square with Saturn, Mercury, and the Sun. For this sabbat, may we celebrate the rich abundance of our lives, all the lessons that we are learning from our labor, daring to seek and uncover the truth even as we encounter fear or restrictions from within or without. Stay open to epiphanies and take responsibility for how or when you share what you are coming to understand. Trust that the wisdom of your body is already leading the way.