I am so happy to send you the August forecast, for it brims with happy surprises. July was an intense month for many readers, for we all were subject to two eclipses and Mercury retrograde. In comparison, August will be a breath of fresh air. Mercury is now direct, and we have one of the most beautiful new moons of 2019 on August 30 in Virgo. It will offer you an array of opportunities and many happy surprises in the last week.

July was a somewhat difficult month for a portion of Aries readers, but August promises to be a big improvement. Mercury, which has been mischievous all through July, turned direct as of July 31. You had two eclipses last month too, on July 2, in your home and family sector, and on July 16, in your honors and awards sector, emphasizing your career. If you didn’t hear news last month, there is a small chance you will on the days surrounding August 2 or August 16.

As you move forward into August, you will see the tempo pick up. Many readers rush into action on the day Mercury goes direct, but if you can wait, do, for the outcome of your endeavor will work out even better. Mercury is still groggy in the days right after he turns direct, and he needs time to be fully alert. We have to give tipsy little Mercury time to have his coffee and a little something to eat to be back to his former alertness. We know, in the case of Mercury, he is a wild child at the start and end of the retrograde.

August begins with a new moon in Leo at nine degrees, which technically arrived on July 31—in the evening in New York, it was at 11:12 PM, and appeared on August 1 in London at 4:12 AM, so this new moon is bridging two dates.

This new moon will be a bright spot in your personal life. If you are single and want to find the right person for you—someone with whom you can form a real relationship, not a casual one—you may meet that person in the first half of August. If you are attached, you can find more time for your partner now and flirt with each other like you did when you first met. This new moon will herald the most romantic period for you that I have seen in a long time, brought to you by a loving new moon and encouraged by your ruling planet, Mars. The fact that your ruler is involved gives this new moon extra clout and an extra sexy vibe.

The gorgeous part of this new moon is that Jupiter will signal his beams of luck and good fortune to the four happy heavenly bodies—the Sun, new moon, Mars, and Venus—in Leo, your fifth house of truelove, creativity, and children. Mars, your ruler, is there in Leo, stimulating your dreams of romance, and Venus is there to make them come true.

This suggests to me that you are ready for love. That’s a big factor—when you are ready it, love happens. Take time to muse about how you would like your life to be like in the future. Many of the planets are standing by to help you, so take steps to make your life emotionally richer and more rewarding.

    After this new moon, two of your best days of the month will be August 5 and August 6 when the mighty Sun and Jupiter will trade signals on your behalf. Everything will begin to click into place, and you will feel that indeed, life is very good.

If you dream about having a baby, this would be the right new moon to start trying to conceive. I receive more letters about pregnancy, and also about IVF (In vitro fertilization) than any other question. This would be the right time for this procedure, and with a new moon in your fifth house, it might just be one of the best points of the year for you, so ask your doctor and follow her advice. If you already have your children, with four heavenly bodies in child-loving Leo, including your ruler Mars, you can have bushels of fun with them.

The one downside of the new moon in Leo will be a harsh beam from Uranus, sent from the surprise-bringer’s position in your second house of income and savings. It appears an invoice will show up that will be completely unexpected and make you jittery. You can solve this—don’t let this spoil an otherwise rare, lyrical month made just for you.

After this new moon, two of your best days of the month will be August 5 and August 6 when the mighty Sun and Jupiter will trade signals on your behalf. Everything will begin to click into place, and you will feel that indeed, life is very good.

August 5 or 6 would be ideal for signing any kind of paperwork, or for having an important interview or presentation. Either would be considered a gold-star day, so use it, no matter when your birthday happens to fall within the Aries sign. Everyone will benefit.

Jupiter has been retrograding for four months and will restore full power on August 11, a wonderful development for you. From now on, Jupiter can help you in a more noticeable way. When a big planet goes direct, it always gives you subtle clues of what good things are about to come to you—watch that day and the day before and after. Jupiter is in your ninth house, so you may finally receive definitive, and likely good, news about an immigration matter, or a question involving a publishing or broadcasting venture. You may finalize your plans for a long-distance trip or a situation involving international relations, immigration, import-export, or a pending legal matter may finally see signs of vibrant life. Jupiter is in a fire sign like yours, and Jupiter is in a perfect position to bring you luck and growth.

On August 15, under the full moon in Aquarius, 22 degrees, your merry, romantic mood will continue, and it seems you could receive an invitation to a memorable, glittering social event on or near this full moon. Allow a timeline of plus four days, which will bring you into the weekend of August 17-18. This full moon is delicious. You may go to a wedding or other celebration, or you might go to an exciting sporting event, party, dinner, award show, club event, concert, ballet, or Broadway show that you will love and that will draw many jovial people together. Alternatively, if you can schedule a vacation, take off in mid-August, and enjoy life to the hilt. If you don’t receive an invitation or have anything planned, then treat yourself to a soothing day treatment at the spa.

Watch what you say on August 16, however, when saying it the wrong way may cause someone to be upset. Mercury, the communication and transportation planet, will be at odds with Uranus. A simple comment could cause a meltdown, so easy does it. Money seems to be involved in the conversation that goes the wrong way, so don’t ask for a raise or try to close a deal on this day. Also, travel at this time would be bad for almost nothing will go right. Go on August 21 instead.

You already know that August 5-6 will be outstanding, but there is another day, just as sweet—August 21. Yes, August 21 brings Mercury in sync with Jupiter, a gorgeous aspect for traveling, putting your signature on a contract, or shopping for just about anything, from new luggage to new clothes to a new computer. A work-related trip to see a client face-to-face would also turn out to be a success.

Mars and Venus will make their one and only conjunction of the year on Friday, August 23, and Saturday, August 24, a highly romantic, breathtaking set of days when Venus and Mars will ignite the spark of love. If you do feel the zing of Cupid’s arrow, you are likely to meet that person in the course of your work, either a contact from within your own company or through a meeting you have with an independent consultant, expert, or another person who will visit you from the outside.

Everything will keep getting better and better. On Monday, August 26, you may offer an idea at work that could easily and quite suddenly win acceptance on the spot, and as a result, a commission or bonus might be heading your way for your brilliant idea. If you’re self-employed, you may be celebrating a new client, or you may receive a large, lucrative project from a current client.

More happy financial news is likely to come to you on Wednesday, August 28, when Mars and Uranus exchange signals. On this day, ideas will come to you like lightning. Keep a pad and pen handy, dear Aries.

You are on a roll, and here comes more news to make you jump for joy. On Thursday, August 29, you again will hear that financially you are going like gangbusters. Your mind will brighten with 100,000 points of light to solve creative or other work-related challenges and have the department cheering.

On this same day, Thursday, August 29, your love life will again be brilliant, and serendipity will rule—romance could reach an all-time high point—so be spontaneous and enjoy what life has in store for you.

Now we come to the new moon in Virgo at seven degrees—a beauty of a new moon that will bring work projects you will enjoy and want to start immediately. This is one of the best new moons of the year. This time, Uranus won’t be his usual bad-boy self—instead, he will send a golden beam to the Sun and new moon, bringing all kinds of happy surprises, not only in the two weeks that follow this new moon but for six months to come. Your work might be so superb on these assignments that it could bring you a raise.

If you have your own business, jobs will pour in at a surprisingly rapid rate. If you work for others and are in sales, you will be the hero of the team. If you work in other types of jobs, you will win all the best assignments, ones that others wish that they had. Your ability to be organized and able to handle lots of detail will be the reason you are chosen.

Here’s the bonus: Saturn and Pluto in your tenth house of honors and achievement will be beaming to the group of heavenly bodies, suggesting the work you do on the assignments—assuming you will give your projects all you have to give—will lead you straight to an impressive promotion or award. You will be very busy in September, and the pace will be rapid from the moment you sit down at your desk.

This month will have two themes, with the start of August finding you in a playful mood and completely open to possibilities for romance. It’s a great time to indulge in fun and love, so, by all means, give in to that impulse. The last third of the month will be devoted to detailed but fascinating work projects, so if you plan to travel, go in the first half, for you will be needed back at the office later. This will be true even if you say no one ever stays home at the end of August to work. You will be the exception to the rule, and you’ll be quite busy planning a launch for a work project that will happen later in the year.

If you are single, the new moon of July 31-August 1, which occurred in your truelove sector, will go far to help you find the one person who would be right for you. If you are attached, planning a vacation for early to mid-August could be ideal. You’d attract plenty of loving attention. If having a baby is your desire, but you’ve had difficulties with conception, you may be in luck, as this could be your best time of 2019 to consult a fertility doctor.

Uranus will be in hard angle to the new moon and Sun in luxury-loving Leo, so you may be concerned about how much money you are spending this month. You could have an unexpected expense, so spend conservatively until you see the lay of the land in August. Mars will light your fifth house of truelove until August 17, doubling the new moon’s message that this is your month for romance. Mars is your ruler, so the red planet adds extra weight to this sweet, affectionate trend.

One of your most fun days will be August 8, when love-me Venus, in Leo, will receive shimmering vibrations from Jupiter in your long-distance travel and foreign relations-oriented ninth house. Publishing, broadcasting, legal matters, and efforts you make related to earning a university degree will shine for you. Early August would be the perfect time to go on an exciting, distant vacation, and if you do, include August 8 as one of the days you plan to be away.

On August 11, Jupiter will go direct and become stronger, while on the same day, Uranus will begin to retrograde and become weaker. The area discussed above involving your ninth house of travel will allow immigration (visa or green card, too), the media, academia, and legal matters shine even brighter for you with the good fortune planet Jupiter working at full strength. At the same time, your efforts to receive a raise will slow down for six months until the time after the new moon, February 23, 2020. Although this new moon is in your twelfth house of privacy, it is signaling Uranus, planet of surprise, in your second house of earned income, as well as four planets in your house of fame and honors.

The breezy, upbeat romantic theme of the month will continue and intensify at the full moon in your friendship sector on August 15, and you will be among many smiling people within four days of this date. Jupiter will envelop you with warm feelings from those you are with, and as a bonus, you will enjoy a touch of luxury at the event you attend at mid-month.

The second half of August will bring an emphasis on work, starting when Mars enters Virgo on August 17. If you work in a creative field or are part of the support staff to creative people, August 21 will be a standout, when Mercury and Jupiter combine forces.

Your work will please your boss and your client, and on August 26, you can do no wrong. By August 28 and August 29, you will be over the moon when you receive unexpected praise and applause for work well done—and you may secure a raise or a bonus. Your fears about running out of funds will subside, for your cash flow may increase so nicely that you’ll feel like you’ve received a miracle. The good work you’ve been doing for months will now bring you more complex, sophisticated projects, and along with them, you will garner the recognition and respect you deserve.