!! OMG Stars: Horoscopes for August 2025 !!

Happy August, readers.

We are getting through to the end of some of the wackiest astrology of 2025 this month with the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries coming to a close at the end of August, and the current Mercury retrograde finishing on the 11th. The summer’s astrology has been tense, combative, and a little bit me-first. While that doesn’t completely clear up after this month, the Mercury retrograde has made for some interpersonal irritation against the backdrop of global catastrophe. This is astrology of very limited windows of tolerance.

The Saturn-Neptune conjunction has been one of the biggest astrology news stories of the year, and is a transit that happens about every 36 years.  Saturn, of structure, Neptune, of mystery, in the sign of Aries, of the individual, points to a current confusion about how to be in the world. The tension between wanting to protect ourselves with the structures we need to individually feel safe; the belief that a single hero could come swoop up and save us all; and the lingering feeling that maybe we should actually be working together.

The last time this transit happened was in November of 1989, in the sign of Capricorn, which is itself about structure, boundary, and order. November 1989 is the month that the Berlin wall fell and the Soviet empire collapsed. 1989 is also the year that commercial internet became available for the first time, beginning the lead towards a more technologically interconnected world. The astrology of this year is so intensely busy and I don’t want to write a thesis about how these years relate, so… do with that what you will.

Mercury’s retrograde through Leo has been adding some spicy daily grievances. Having started in late July, this transit that affects our communication, schedules and technology has been moving through the creative, expressive, and also a bit me-first sign of Leo. One thing about Mercury retrogrades that I don’t think gets talked about enough is that they can make us very nostalgic. They tend to bring us into the past and the way things could have been, in the sign of Leo, particularly relating to our creative expression of the self. Mercury stationed direct on August 11th and will still be in the shadow phase until the 25th, so you can expect some of these feelings to linger throughout the month.

Throughout this month of self-centered astrology, try to use it for the better and think about how your own self and self-worth are affected by the world at large, and how the opposite may be true.

Happy summer, August, and Leo season,
Amelia

Horoscopes are written using whole house calculations and are meant as inspiration and affirmation. Specific calculations are made for the rising signs, but if you don’t know your rising sign, you can read for your sun. You can access your birth chart at astro.com, café astrology, or many other apps and websites using your birth date, time, and location. You can also find out lots of personal information by booking a reading with me here.

Aries

This month marks the end of the most intense astrology in your sign of the year. Finally! There has been lots of movement into your sign this year, and while it may not yet be affecting you personally, it’s still a lot. The Saturn-Neptune conjunction in your sign punctuates this year with some confusion about your purpose in this world. Do you hunker down and follow a well set out path? Do you do something more esoteric? Has the job market been so bad you’ve finally stared following your dreams?

Any of these expressions are possibilities of what you may be dealing with, Aries. I often notice that although Aries is a sign about the self, driven by Mars, and often recognized for that fiery energy, Aries people can have a hard time making long term plans and deciding on life paths. As long as Mercury is still retrograde in your fellow fire sign of Leo, you may find these feelings intensified.

Take August to chill out, see your friends, have a fun time, and not worry about those life plans.

Taurus

The Mercury retrograde in Leo has been moving through your fourth house, Taurus—the part of the chart about your home and family.  A mercury retrograde in this part of the chart is classic astrology related to things going wrong around the house, so be prepared to feel astrologically justified if you get a leaky pipe, broken window, internet outage, or any other grievance.

The nostalgia of this transit could also lead to some reverie related to your childhood and family. Leo is the sign of the child, so Taurus risings have a particularly potent fourth house.

Try to avoid the whirlpool draw of the past and keep yourself in the present, ready to take on your future.

Gemini

This summer’s Mercury retrograde has traversed your third house of communication – an important part of the chart for your sign, which itself is the sign of communication… and an important transit as Mercury rules your sign. This is extremely annoying astrology for a Gemini rising. Your sign loves to gather information and share it, so if the information is incorrect that can be disastrous.

How can one be the reliable center of gossip if the gossip is misheard? Perhaps Gemini I might recommend that this be a month of gathering and not of sharing. Things tend to emerge during Mercury retrogrades, facts that had previously stayed hidden.

Make it through to the end of the month to let any information action settle and then use the clarity of Virgo season to do with that news what you must.

Cancer

As the sign directly following yours, Leo has qualities that are a natural evolution from Cancer, but also qualities which are very far from the desires of your own sign. Cancer desires connection and achieves it through care and consideration; Leo desires connection and achieves it through generosity and expression. Cancer is the sign of the Mother, Leo of the Child.

This sign rules your second house of resources, and describes how Cancer rising people can be very giving (sometimes to a fault). Your second house rules your money and finances – be prepared for things to not go according to plan in this area of your life, Cancer, and to have to double check anything that you set in motion during this time after Mercury stations direct.

On the other hand, a Mercury retrograde is a fantastic time to take stock, take inventory, and make a budget, so spend some time going over your finances carefully and making sure things are where you want them to be.

Leo

It’s you season, Leo! Leo is a fixed fire sign, and the fixed signs all bring with them a tendency towards both stubbornness and loyalty. When I think of the symbology of fixed fire I think of a bonfire – the kind of fire whose purpose it is to bring people together, to warm them in community, but also to be tended. A bonfire must be watched carefully so it doesn’t spread, and must be tended so it doesn’t burn out.

Leo is a sign about the side of all of us that needs affirmation from the people around us. A mercury retrograde in your sign during your birthday month might be making you especially nostalgic and thinking about the passage of time. Aging is weird, and I don’t think we’ve ever lived in a world more afraid of it.

My advice for you is to avoid looking back on old pictures, especially old pictures of yourself, and try not to get caught up in the past. Remember Leo, you have not yet met everyone who will love you.

Virgo

This month’s Mercury retrograde has taken place in one of the most private and hidden parts of then natal chart for you. The 12th house is the sign of shadow, of solitude, and of dreams. Ancient and traditional astrology calls it the house of hidden enemies. For not the first time I must reference RuPaul, whose book The House of Hidden Meaning I THINK might be suggesting the 12th house, but through some serious astrological error and gobbledygook.

On the useful front though, RuPaul’s obsession with the Inner Saboteur is extremely 12th house relevant. If we take the idea of hidden enemies and cross it with the more contemporary understanding of the 12th house as relating to mental health, the idea of the inner saboteur becomes very obvious.

Virgo people have the loudest inner saboteur of any sign, and the Mercury retrograde through this sign likely brought out past versions of these battles you’ve had with yourself fin the past, Virgo. Try to keep looking forward and avoid the sinking into past feelings.

You are your own biggest critic, and there’s nothing you can do better for yourself than to fight that criticism.

Libra

This recent Mercury retrograde is moving through your 11th house of community and social circles. This part of your chart governs any group of people you belong to, which can include your coworkers, friends, unions, clubs, memberships, or demographics. Any group that you belong to falls under the purview of this house, and any transit through this part of your chart will affect those groups.

With the Mercury retrograde in Leo taking place through this sign, you are in a period of astrology where miscommunication between groups is a major possibility. This doesn’t have to mean conflict, but with the expressive sign of Leo involved, if someone is angry, you are likely to know about it. The good thing about this astrology is that it is excellent for clearing up lingering conflict.

Your sign is rather known for being… not the best at conflict. Be your bravest self, Libra, if conflict arises, and do your very very very best to not automatically move into a space of fawning.

Scorpio

Leo rules your tenth house of career and public profile, so the Mercury retrograde has moved through this area of your chart life. Scorpio risings have a surprising quality of being creative, expressive, and occasionally gregarious in their public life with Leo ruling this area (your Midheaven), but you get to also have the chill mysterious qualities of Scorpio—for this reason I think it’s one of the coolest rising/Midheaven combinations.

This Mercury retrograde has perhaps seen misunderstandings at work, but as Scorpio is itself the most nostalgic of all the signs, you might be looking back on past career accomplishments and sighing heavily. Yearning for the past doesn’t help our movement towards the future.

Think about how you might transform your past experience in the style of a Scorpio into creative career possibilities in the style of a Leo, and avoid the suction effect of dreaming about the past.

Sagittarius

Leo rules your ninth house of expansion and growth, Sag rising—this part of the chart actually governs the Sagittarian areas of life: travel, higher learning, philosophy, religion… growth, in a word. Anything you take on that helps you expand. This is the Sagittarius’ natural territory. The Mercury retrograde in this part of the chart certainly can indicate challenges related to these areas (travel hiccoughs or irritations related to school) but I imagine that for a Sagittarius it can lead to that most familiar of feelings of wanderlust.

Thinking about trips you’ve taken in the past and longing for them is very much the energy of this astrology. Longing for past travels can be particularly melancholic because often the places we visit can never be visited again—returning never feels exactly the same: We don’t stay in the same place, the local businesses close, the vibe changes.

Instead of getting lost in the past, use this astrology to daydream about your dream trip. If you were to plan one today, where would it be to and what would you do?

Take an evening in to dream about this as a way to appease mercury and your own Sagittarian wanderlust.

Capricorn

This Mercury retrograde has moved through your eighth house of transformation, Capricorn, an area which governs both our intimate connections to other people as well as the practical and mundane effects of those connections. The Mercury retrograde here has very possibly brought up some annoying unfinished business or administrative stress with those mundane aspects – taxes, grant money, divorce paperwork… but it may also be bringing you into nostalgia about past connections, thinking about exes and wondering wanting to do so yourself.

If you find yourself in either of these positions, resist, don’t engage, and wait until at least the end of this retrograde period (ideally until the end of the month) before you decide if you actually want to do anything. The astrology is pulling you into the past and making it hard to get back out.

Do something to ground yourself in the present (cooking, cleaning, or organizing your finances are all great solutions to this astrology) to resist the lure of your past situationships.

Aquarius

Leo rules your seventh house of one-on-one relationships, Aquarius, so this Mercury retrograde has been travelling through this part of your chart. You may be dealing with miscommunication issues between yourself and your partner, closest friends, or close collaborators. You may also be deep in nostalgia for past relationships, or friendships that didn’t work out. If you’ve ever had a close friendship breakup, this astrology can bring up those feelings big time.

Resist the lure of nostalgic pining, but let the astrology bring up the feelings you need to feel. Mercury retrogrades aren’t going to bring up situations that you’ve completely healed from, so if a past relationship is crossing your mind, be with the feelings and sit with them.

Avoid scrolling back through past photos or reading old texts, but do let yourself be sad: loss is sad, and no matter how much time has passed between now and then, it hurts.

Pisces

Leo rules your sixth house of day to day life and schedules, Pisces rising, so the Mercury retrograde has been hitting you in this part of your chart. The sixth house also rules your health, so there are possible complexities to this as well. This kind of astrology can mean big time problems in your daily life (schedule mix ups, annoying things at work) but can also be tricky on your health. Since it’s a Mercury retrograde it’s short (3 weeks) so I’m not reporting on anything terrifying, but it is a likely time for a scraped knee or a stomach ache.

Beyond the common manifestation of Mercury retrogrades as being about mishaps and miscommunications, they are also a deeply reflective and nostalgic time. Nostalgia for your past day to day life feels a little unromantic, but a Pisces can really find romance and nostalgia anywhere they want. Perhaps you find yourself thinking about past coworkers, or previous work environments that you now feel were a better fit for you than the one you’re in now.

Pisces is extremely susceptible to feelings of nostalgia, so beware the pull of the deep dive: for your sign it’s too easy to swim all the way to the depths.

OMG Stars is our astrology column written by queer astrologer Amelia Ehrhardt (@amelia.np.e). At the beginning of each new astrological season, Amelia interprets the upcoming astrology with a focus on how to navigate current events (astrological and global).