You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Last Monday was a very busy day in the shop.

Like, crazy busy.

During one rare moment of quiet, I suddenly heard someone scream outside my door.

I went outside to see what was happening and there was a snake in the middle of the sidewalk.

Before any of us quite knew what to do, it started slithering away and somehow managed to squeeze itself underneath the door leading into the lobby of the residential units in our building.

There were four of us standing outside, all being fairly squeamish about the situation, when one woman decided she was going to save the snake.

Part of its body was still sticking out from underneath the door, so she grabbed it and pulled it back outside.

The snake, understandably, started squirming around uncontrollably in her hand.

And then it bit her.

She dropped it.

Her husband gently put his foot on it so it couldn't disappear under the door again while she figured out how to pick it back up.

It was all very dramatic.

Eventually, she managed to grab the snake again while it was writhing around in her hands, and I ran into the shop and brought her a bag.

She put the snake inside and carried it down to the garden bed at the end of our building, where she released it.

The four of us were still standing there reeling from the whole ordeal when I went back into the shop.

And that's when Joni Mitchell walked in.

This had actually been pre-arranged through my husband and the someone he works for. I'm a huge fan, and I'd given my husband a gift certificate to give to her to lure her into my shop so I could meet her. 

So I knew she was coming.

I just didn't know she'd arrive two minutes after someone got bitten by a snake outside my front door.

Seriously.

You can't make this stuff up.

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Worth Noticing

This week brings the second eclipse of August, but the energy surrounding it feels very different from the bold Leo Solar Eclipse earlier this month.

The Sun is now in Virgo, shifting our attention toward the practical details of everyday life. Virgo likes a plan. It wants to organize, improve, prepare, and make things work a little better.

Mercury moves into Virgo on August 25, strengthening that desire to sort through information, make decisions, and figure out what actually needs to be done.

On August 27, Mercury meets the Sun in Virgo, bringing the potential for an important realization, clearer thinking, or information that helps us see something differently.

That same evening, the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse arrives in Pisces. This eclipse sits across the Virgo-Pisces axis, highlighting the tension between order and surrender, reason and intuition, and what we can plan versus what we simply have to respond to.

Virgo wants to organize the details.

Pisces reminds us that not everything can be organized.

Then, on August 28, Mercury squares Uranus, followed later in the day by the Sun doing the same. Unexpected information, sudden changes of plans, or a completely different way of looking at something may require us to think on our feet.

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Current Astrological Landscape

This week sits somewhere between making the plan and accepting that life may have something completely different in mind.

Virgo season encourages us to get organized.

Mercury in Virgo wants the facts, the details, and a sensible way forward.

But across the sky, the Pisces Lunar Eclipse reminds us that life doesn't always unfold according to the schedule we've carefully created.

Sometimes the unexpected interrupts us.

Sometimes new information changes the plan.

And sometimes the thing we couldn't possibly have anticipated turns out to be the most memorable part of the day.

With both Mercury and the Sun squaring Uranus around the eclipse, there's an added element of unpredictability. Uranus has a way of disrupting familiar patterns, while Mercury asks us to remain mentally flexible enough to consider another possibility.

Maybe the goal isn't to stop making plans.

Maybe it's simply to leave a little room for life to happen around them.

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Expanded Transit

There's comfort in having a plan.

Knowing what comes next gives us a sense of control.

But how much of life actually happens according to plan?

This week's Virgo-Pisces eclipse asks us to sit somewhere between preparation and surrender.

Do the work.

Make the list.

Pay attention to the details.

And then leave some room for the unexpected.

Because being prepared and being in control aren't quite the same thing.

The Sun and Mercury coming together can bring a moment of clarity, while Uranus reminds us that clarity doesn't always arrive in the way we expected. Sometimes it's the interruption, the changed plan, or the completely unexpected turn of events that makes us see something differently.

We don't need to stop planning.

We just need to stay flexible enough to change the plan when life has other ideas.

Sometimes the interruption is where the story is.

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You Might Notice

• plans changing at the last minute
• unexpected conversations or information
• suddenly seeing a situation differently
• wanting to bring some order to an especially chaotic area of life
• realizing you can't plan for everything

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Who This Week Feels Strongest For

Pisces — The Lunar Eclipse in your sign may bring something to a culmination or make it clearer what you're ready to release.

Virgo — With the Sun and Mercury in your sign and the eclipse across from you, the balance between planning and letting go comes sharply into focus.

Gemini — With Uranus in your sign squaring Mercury and the Sun, unexpected information or changing circumstances may ask you to think differently.

Sagittarius — This week's mutable energy asks you to stay flexible rather than becoming too attached to how you thought something was supposed to unfold.

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A Good Time To

• make the plan
• leave room for it to change
• deal with something you've been putting off
• pay attention to unexpected information
• trust yourself to figure things out as you go

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Apothecary Support

🌿 Holy Basil

For staying clear and steady when life doesn't go according to plan.

Brings: focus, resilience, adaptability, and grounded energy.

🌿 Petitgrain

For staying centred when the day takes an unexpected turn.

Brings: calm, balance, and emotional steadiness.

🍵 Lemon Balm Tea

For slowing down and finding a little calm when everything around you seems to be moving at once.

Brings: ease, relaxation, and a moment to regroup.

To make: Add 1–2 teaspoons of dried lemon balm leaf to a cup of just-boiled water. Cover and steep for 10–15 minutes, then strain.

If you're using fresh lemon balm, use a small handful of leaves instead.

Covering the tea while it steeps helps keep lemon balm's aromatic compounds in your cup rather than losing them with the steam.