By Etheric Medicina

Another steamy summer is upon us, but this one feels different, doesn’t it? Collectively, our priorities have shifted recently to some unexpected focus points that aren’t necessarily giving us the summer experience we anticipated. Foundations have been shifting lately, and aspects of our lives that we thought would be around much longer have been in a dissolution process (both literally and metaphorically). Things like security, stability, safety, longevity, and sustainability are the watermarks of our minds as we navigate new climates in the personal, financial, political, and straight-up survival layers of our lives. Astrologically speaking, we are in a time of dynamic change that came unexpectedly, and it is forcing us to get clear and real with ourselves. Levels of self-honesty, realism, and personal empowerment will be required to make it through this heat without melting into a sad puddle of lashes and glitter. And while some super spicy themes will be seeing the spotlight this season, they’ll have a different flavor profile than our typical sweaty summer tasting platters.

The month of August will be just as hot in our internal landscapes as it will be out on these sinful streets – so stay safe, drink plenty of water, and don’t go chasing the mirages left behind by the heat rising off of your cute neighbor’s driveway. The month starts with planets Neptune and Mercury sitting in a couple of reality-shattering retrograde phases, denoting a period in which the rose-colored glasses are being violently ripped from our faces, and we are forced to see things as they truly are, without the pipe dreams and fanciful fantasies in the way. This theme is major, and it can feel as if we are being sneak-attacked by everything and everyone. But really, my dears, the only sneaks are us, having tricked ourselves into believing in things – paradigms, relationships, ideas, empty promises – that were never true to the stories we were telling ourselves about them. This month will bring us some empowering opportunities to see what is really going on around and inside of us, bringing us into a much-needed space of honesty with ourselves, our emotions, and our desires. So, don’t act surprised when you suddenly realize that the hottie you’ve been messing around with is actually a lot less interesting than you’ve been telling yourself, or when you come to terms with the fact that your job is absolutely sucking the life out of you. What is important, though, is recognizing why you’ve been playing the grownup version of pretend.

I know, I know, “facing reality” and “being honest with ourselves” are never the things we seem to want to ruin our day with. However, this isn’t just me being a “bad news bear,” think of me as your fairy godmother, convincing you to finally get rid of the raggedy-ass clothes (people/situations) that you’ve been wearing (that you’ve been wasting your time with). Themes involving fidelity, long-term relationship goals, and the less-than-dreamy aspects of our partnerships will take center stage as we move through August, making us feel like we need to do some spring cleaning instead of summer flinging. We are being pushed into a level of truth with ourselves that will show us the unstable parts of our individual foundations if taken advantage of. This month will offer some wonderful openings for immersing oneself in personal newness, unexpected opportunities, solo adventures, creating more sustainability for ourselves, and taking risks and chances that we normally wouldn’t have considered. The end of the month will present some daunting crossroads, letting us choose if we want to take pathways towards pleasure, passion, fun, responsibility, commitment, or obligation. As we slip into September, we will be prompted to initiate self-inquiry processes that have us trading in some misguided, hopeful naivete for matured and honest senses of self.

September, the last hoorah of summer, will come with an energy akin to “empty nest” syndrome, or that uncomfortable feeling when we start questioning if we’re too old to continue doing drag. We will find ourselves asking questions we thought we answered years ago: What do I want with my life? What am I actually passionate about and inspired by? Am I truly happy, or just used to what I’ve been doing? Who brings peace and enjoyment into my life? Why am I with this bitch? Sure, these feel more like wintertime midlife crisis reflections to be desperately mulled over while drinking a lonely cup of hot chocolate. However, personal growth, unadulterated happiness, and healthy relationshipping are all in style year-round.

September will bring exciting and daunting perspectives to us, and there will be a theme of “naïve, innocent child” versus “jaded but dutiful adult.” Idealistic and lofty hopes will be met with critical analysis, and our desires to support and care for others will conflict with our need to step back and care for ourselves. The paradoxes presented during September will help us refine and strip down our lives in order to get clear on where we are operating from – survival mentality and people-pleasing, or hedonistic self-focus? While there is always a “middle path” where paradoxes exist, there will be a pressing drive to swing the pendulum outside our realms of comfort to identify what is truly important to us, and what we have thoughtlessly been spending our energy on. The ideas we’ve had regarding stability and security will see a maturation process that helps us to get clear on whether we’ve really been creating those for ourselves or not. And, as summer winds down to meet the cooler temperatures, moods, and libido of autumn, if we’ve met these two months with awareness and honesty, our lonely hot cocoa drinking will become refined tea sipping (not to be confused with tea-spilling).

This season seems filled with growth brought by truthful illumination, introspective clarity, adjustment of personal priorities, and the maturation of less healthy layers of ourselves. I know that we all look forward to the typical lighthearted play and flirtatious irresponsibility of a typical sunny midyear, but this one may feel more like the “summertime sadness” that Lana tricked us into loving. Fret not, my loves, for we are all due for a little recalculation in our personal lives that will help us commit to what we really want and are meant to be. And it’ll still be sweaty, so feel free to show some skin while you contemplate what the hell you’re doing with yourself.

This article was originally published in the 52 issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.