August Horoscopes 2026

How to navigate the month ahead for each sign

All paintings by the magical late David Hockney

Leo season always brings a bit of drama, but this year it’s really turning it on: a total solar eclipse lands on August 12th, the first one mainland Europe’s seen since 1999, right in the sign that never met a spotlight it didn’t like. Then, just as the spotlight’s fully warmed up, the Sun slips into quieter, tidier Virgo on August 22nd, and the whole mood shifts from performance to paperwork. For more on the eclipses check the link below. And for your horoscopes read on! As always, read for your rising sign first.

Dates to pop in your calendar!

August 3rd: 🩹 Chiron retrograde
August 6th: 💘 Venus enters Libra
August 9th: 🦁 Mercury enters Leo
August 11th: 🔥 Mars enters Cancer
August 12th: 🌑☀️ Total solar eclipse
August 15th: 🧠🍀 Mercury conjunct Jupiter
August 21st: 💔 Venus opposite Saturn
August 22nd: ☀️➡️♍ Sun enters Virgo
August 25th: 📝 Mercury enters Virgo
August 27th: ✨☀️ Mercury cazimi
August 28th: 🌕🐟 Lunar eclipse

And if you are looking to be really precise about when you start or launch things check out my new app Rise & Align, your cosmic weekly planner!

Aries Rising

The solar eclipse on August 12th lands directly in your 5th house, taverns, alehouses, swashbuckling energy, fertility, dating, sex, games, risk, whatever feels fun in the moment, your natural habitat. Barely a hardship assignment for you.

Being out and about is also indicated by the North Node which has just moved into your 11th house of friends, groups, and future plans, so there will be a magnetic pull toward your social circle rather than your own agenda for once. A stretch for a sign that runs solo by default, but lean into it anyway, the right group or friend carries more weight than usual right now.

Mars, your ruling planet, is heading into Cancer on August 11th and your 4th house, so home and family are about to get loud, and not quietly. Expect opinions, arguments, someone’s feelings getting hurt over something that started as a joke. You know exactly how this goes, you just don’t usually start it at home.

Saturn’s still parked in your first house all month too, an adult standing behind you clearing their throat every time you’re about to do something impulsive. Not fun, but this month you could really use the supervision.

Venus moves into Libra on the 6th and is there for the rest of the moment activating your area of partnerships and one-on-one dealings, glowing hardest from the 6th to the 11th. Book the date, book the business dinner, sign the thing, that’s the window where charm is really turned on. After that she’s still there, just not handing out quite as many favours, so don’t sit on it too long.

Leo Rising

This is the one month where the usual Leo playbook, strut in, take up all the air in the room, make sure everyone’s watching, gets flipped completely on its head. A solar eclipse lands right in your first house on August 12th, and the Sun, your own ruling planet, gets literally switched off at the exact point that governs your identity and vitality. Leo doesn’t do subtle. But this month, subtle is the entire assignment. This is a good time for rest, private practice, meditation, journaling, actual solitude, whatever gets you turned inward instead of angling for an audience.

It gets trickier. The South Node has just moved into your first house too, and it behaves like a slow leak rather than a dramatic collapse, tiring, depleting, the kind of drain you don’t notice until you’re already running on empty. Expect to feel more wiped out than usual, and for once, resist the urge to power through on charisma alone. Your health needs the attention you’d normally spend performing for everyone else.

The one thing saving you: Jupiter is camped out in your first house too, a stroke of luck, expansive, protective, a safety net stretched under the South Node’s drain. It won’t stop the dip, but it’ll stop you from actually hitting the floor.

The new moon Eclipse on the 12th would normally be your cue to launch something big and loud. Not this year. Between the eclipse, the South Node, and everything else stacked on your own sign, this is a month for retreat, not a rollout. And be careful what you’re calling in right now too, whatever you summon under this sky arrives with real weight attached, so choose it on purpose instead of on impulse.

The Lunar eclipse on the 28th lands in your money-shared-with-someone-else house: taxes, joint accounts, investments, whatever your partner's finances are doing to yours. More on that in my eclipse article.

Virgo Rising

Let’s start with the less glamorous news, the kind you were probably bracing for anyway. The solar eclipse on August 12th falls in your 12th house, the zone of rest, retreat, and whatever’s happening behind the scenes, hospitals, dreams, secrets, the subconscious, all the stuff you don’t file away neatly or put on a to-do list. That’s the real problem for you, isn’t it, not the rest itself, but the fact that rest doesn’t feel productive. It’s not a bad omen so much as a firm suggestion to actually slow down: lie low, think things through, and resist the urge to perform competence just because Leo season is telling everyone else to. Treat it as a closing-chapter kind of day, not an opening one, and for once, let something end without immediately optimising the next thing.

Don’t worry, though, things get considerably better as the month goes on, and whatever strife you’ve been quietly managing (and by managing, I mean overthinking) is finally cresting. The lunar eclipse on August 28th lands in Pisces, directly opposite your sign, activating your relationship zone, the house of partners, exes, and anyone cast as “the other” in your story. Fittingly, Pisces is the one sign built to feel everything you’d usually rather analyse, so this eclipse is the universe forcing you to sit in the mess instead of fixing it. Eclipses in angular houses (and the relationship area is about as angular as it gets) tend to hit harder than most, so expect this one to actually move something rather than just simmer in the background. With any luck, it brings real closure on whatever’s been unresolved with another person, not just another round of the same argument you’ve already drafted in your head.

You also get a nice bit of cover heading into it, which you’ll take, because you always want the cover. Mercury, your ruling planet, moves into Virgo on August 25th, the one sign in the entire zodiac where Mercury holds both rulership and exaltation, its only true double-dignity placement anywhere, so Mercury finally gets to be insufferably right about everything on its home turf. Two days later, on the 27th, Mercury meets the Sun exactly for a cazimi, a rare moment of total clarity, just hours before the eclipse the next day. So the week runs: sharp thinking first, then the emotional reveal. Whatever becomes clear on the 27th is probably worth trusting once the 28th arrives, even if it’s not the tidy answer you were hoping for. This story is referring back to the previous eclipses in this cycle (March 3rd 2026, September 7, 21, 2025, March 15 2025 and September 16th 2024). See my eclipse article for more info.

Libra Rising

Venus, your ruling planet, glides into your own sign on August 6th and stays there for the rest of the month, essentially moving back into her own house after redecorating everyone else’s all year. In Libra she’s in her diurnal domicile, so expect the full treatment: magnetism, better skin days, people suddenly finding you fascinating, beauty and art flowing your way with suspiciously little effort on your part. If you’re a creative, this is your window, ride it shamelessly.

Best days are the 6th through the 11th, so front-load anything creative, any favours you need to ask, any charm offensives, into that stretch. After the 11th, Mars struts into Cancer and starts squaring lovely Venus, like someone barging in and messing up your hair right before the photo. Then Saturn joins in too, opposing Venus exactly on the 21st. Ouch is right. Think of it as the universe’s version of a friend telling you a truth you didn’t ask for, a reality check around love, money, or both. Don’t take it personally, everyone’s Venus is having a rough week, not just yours.

Silver lining: the solar eclipse on the 12th lands in your 11th house, friendship and community territory, with Mercury and Jupiter also parked there in Leo. Short version: get out of the house. This is a month to be seen and let people fuss over you a little, which you were never going to say no to anyway. Normally you say yes and quietly flake later, don’t do that this month. Actually show up. A few kismet encounters are on the table, but only for the people who bothered to leave the house.

Scorpio Rising

Mars stays in Gemini until the 11th, then slides into Cancer, where it forms a trine to your rising sign, a nice, easy aspect on paper. The catch: Mars is in its fall in Cancer, meaning it’s not exactly firing on all cylinders. Action gets filtered through mood instead of will, so your usual Scorpio drive to just make things happen might feel a bit softer, more reactive, more “I’ll do it when I feel like it” than “I’ll do it because I said I would.” Cluster anything that requires force or decisiveness into the first half of the month, because the back half runs on feelings, not output.

August is all about career, mostly because the Sun’s out there hanging out in your career sector, but the solar eclipse is doing the heavy lifting. It hits your 10th house on August 12th, what old-school astrologers called a king or queen maker aspect: the house of authority, reputation, whoever signs off on your work. It’s also the first eclipse in the new Leo-Aquarius sequence, so whatever moves this month in your job, your standing, who’s watching you, isn’t a one-off. It’s the opening move in a career story that plays out over the next couple of years. Don’t treat a single data point as permanent, but pay attention to what’s being tested professionally right now. Whatever gets planted mid-month, a project, a reputation shift, a conversation with someone above you, matters. Plant it wisely.

Sagittarius Rising

Mars has been sitting in Gemini, your opposite sign, for the past month, and it isn’t done yet, it stays there through August 11th before finally moving on. Mars in your 7th house doesn’t mean you started something; it means someone else did, and it’s been surfacing as friction in your one-on-one relationships, partners, close collaborators, whoever you deal with directly. Your usual move when things get tense is to leave the room, change the subject, book the flight. Mars in this part of the chart makes that harder than usual, since the tension is coming from someone standing right in front of you. Whatever’s been heating up with a specific person wants an actual conversation this month, not a graceful exit.

Jupiter, your ruling planet, is currently sitting in Leo, which is permission to think bigger than usual. Expect something concrete this month, not a vague “wouldn’t it be nice” daydream, but an actual opportunity: perhaps put your worldview in front of a genuinely bigger audience than you’re used to. Maybe it’s the book deal you’ve been circling, the course you keep meaning to launch, the podcast guest slot. Whatever shape it takes, this is one of those rare months where the grand Sagittarius vision looks realistic on paper instead of just being an overpromise.

The solar eclipse on August 12th lands in your 9th house, exactly where all that big-picture energy is already pointed, so treat it as more fuel on a fire that was already lit rather than a surprise. The eclipse that actually matters more this month, though, lands on the 28th: a lunar eclipse in your 4th house of home. That’s rare, uncomfortable territory for you, since home is usually the room you spend the least time in before booking a flight elsewhere. Whatever comes up around family, roots, or the actual physical place you live deserves real attention this month, not just a plane ticket out of it.

Capricorn Rising

Venus moves into Libra on August 6th and lands in your 10th house of career and public standing, staying there for the rest of the month, honestly the only house Venus could occupy that you’d actually notice. From the 6th through the 11th, she’s running clean, so this is prime territory for presentations, pitches, any moment where you need to look good doing your one true love: work. Talk, connect, take the meeting, accept the compliment for once instead of deflecting it straight into a to-do list. After the 11th, Venus has to contend with both Mars and Saturn, so the ease thins out fast. Circle August 21st specifically, when Venus opposes Saturn exactly, an austere little day even by your standards, not the one to ask for a raise or expect anyone to notice how hard you’ve been working.

Money is the bigger theme this month, though. The solar eclipse on August 12th lands in your 8th house, other people’s money, shared resources, whatever you’re financially entangled in with someone else. Expect real movement here, and try not to treat it as a personal failing if it’s not entirely in your control.

Then the lunar eclipse on the 28th falls in your 3rd house of siblings and everyday communication, and with Mars also moving into your 7th house of partnership from the 11th onward, the back half of the month has genuine friction baked in, difficult conversations, family tension, other people’s demands stacking up while you’re quietly convinced you’re the only one holding anything together. Not an easy stretch. But keeping your head down under pressure is basically your whole personality, so you were built for exactly this. The reward’s coming next month.

Aquarius Rising

Chiron stations retrograde on August 3rd in your 4th house of home and family. For a sign that generally prefers processing everything at a safe intellectual distance, this one’s asking for something closer to the source: whatever needs healing around where you come from, or the people you grew up with, doesn’t get to stay theoretical this month.

More to the point: the solar eclipse on August 12th lands in your 7th house of partnership — a lot of noise for a sign that treats commitment like an optional software update. Whoever you meet, reconnect with, or suddenly can't stop thinking about around this date is worth paying real attention to. Eclipses in the 7th house have a habit of either introducing someone significant or forcing an honest reckoning with someone who's already there. For a clue as to who that might be, think back to Valentine's Day this year. If you're already coupled up, you don't need the clue, you already know exactly who this is about.

For single Aquarians or ones looking for business partners, this is also a month for kismet meetings, so don’t write one off as coincidence just because you’d rather keep things casual. Meetings that happen around the eclipse can carry a fated quality, the kind that depends on nothing but the accident of timing.

Picture it: you were meant to arrive hours ago, but a calamity of small errors kept peeling minutes off the evening, and you’re only now walking through the door. The party’s been going for hours. Someone’s already at the door saying their goodbyes, keys in hand. Your friend, who somehow, by the grace of god, happens to know them, catches their arm, and they turn back in for five more minutes, offered almost as an afterthought.

Within those five minutes, something shifts, though neither of you will know it yet. Had they left five minutes sooner, or had you arrived five minutes later, you’d have missed each other completely — two strangers, forever. Not a grand gesture. Just the quiet kind of magic that only reveals itself in hindsight: the near-miss that turns out to have been the whole point.

Pisces Rising

Jupiter, your ruling planet, is currently in Leo, sitting in your 6th house of health, routine, and daily work, an unusually useful placement for a sign that usually treats structure as optional. Expect some expansion here, a health kick that actually sticks, a work routine that starts paying off, a habit you’ve been circling finally clicking into place. The solar eclipse on August 12th lands in this same house too, so whatever shifts around your daily grind or physical health this month isn’t small. Pay attention to what starts here.

More significant, though, is the lunar eclipse on August 28th, which lands directly in your first house, your own rising sign. There’s no hiding from this one, a full spotlight on you, your identity, how you’re showing up in the world, not through a relationship or a job, just you. Worth looking back to March 3rd for a clue about where this is headed: that eclipse landed in your 7th house of partnerships, not your own sign, so whatever came up then about who you are inside a relationship, what you were bending yourself around, is likely flipping back onto you directly now. The story that started as being about someone else in March finishes as being about you in August.

Mars also heads into your 5th house, the zone of romance, dating, and sex, from the 11th onward, and Mars here can stir up real heat: a libido spike, a sudden urge to be wanted, maybe a streak of jealousy or possessiveness you don’t usually admit to. If you’ve been in a lull, sexually or romantically, this is your excuse to fully lean into it, whether that means chasing something with a partner or just getting reacquainted with your own body. Don’t overthink it this month, that’s not what this transit is for.

Taurus Rising

Chiron stations retrograde on August 3rd in Taurus planting it squarely in your first house, which means the self-healing homework this month is about your appearance and sense of self, exactly the kind of assignment a Taurus will either fully embrace (skincare routine, new haircut, full glow-up) or flatly ignore because change is uncomfortable and the sofa is right there. Either way, the invitation stands: look at how you’re showing up physically and whether it still actually fits who you are, not just what’s familiar and easy.

Venus, your ruling planet, is currently in Libra, sitting in your 6th house of routines, chores, and coworkers, quite possibly the least glamorous house Venus could land in. From the 6th to the 11th, though, she’s running smooth, so use the window to make your actual daily grind nicer, redecorate the desk, fix the annoying little routine that’s been bothering you, whatever counts as luxury when the assignment is “chores.” Maybe even some drinks with coworkers. After the 11th, Venus has to square off with Mars for the rest of the month, so the ease dries up. Good news: that friction is actually useful if you’ve been meaning to start exercising and have, predictably, been putting it off. One date to actually watch out for: the 21st, when Venus opposes Saturn. Not a day to ask anyone for a favour.

Then there’s the solar eclipse on the 12th, landing in your 4th house of home and privacy, astrology handing you a permission slip to do the one thing you were already going to do anyway: stay in. Don’t force yourself out into Leo season’s spotlight just because everyone else is having a big dramatic month. Stay home, pay attention to what surfaces. You were never leaving the house regardless.

Gemini Rising

Mercury, your ruling planet, is finally moving direct again after last month’s properly brutal retrograde. If July felt like your brain was wading through wet cement, congratulations, that’s over, and you’re allowed to speak in a straight line again.

The bigger event: Mercury meets Jupiter exactly on August 15th, both in Leo. Normally Mercury/Jupiter together is a recipe for exaggeration, big talk, promises you can’t quite cash, especially say in a sign like Sagittarius where the two of them practically dare each other to overdo it. Leo’s a bit more honest about it, though, since it’s ruled by the Sun there’s less bluff and more genuine confidence behind whatever you’re saying. Ancient astrologers apparently rated this combination as prime timing for getting a yes out of someone, so if you’ve been sitting on a big ask, today’s the day to actually open your mouth. It’s also a good day to strike deals or settle an agreement, people are more inclined to agree with you than usual, which you were always going to milk for everything it’s worth.

It’s also a solid window for a refresh, new look, new bio, whatever image update you’ve been putting off, since Mercury-Jupiter loves a bold gesture.

Then Mercury moves into Virgo on the 25th, one of only two signs it actually calls home, so it goes from merely performing well in Leo to being structurally strong. In short: you spend the first half of the month getting louder and more persuasive, and the back half getting sharper and more precise. Not a bad trade for a sign that talks as much as you do.

Cancer Rising

Money’s the theme this month, and it’s mostly good news. With the Sun and Jupiter both moving through Leo, your 2nd house of income and resources lights up, so expect some actual movement on the financial front rather than just the usual quiet hoarding-and-worrying routine. The catch: the South Node is sitting in that same house, so treat anything that looks a little too perfect with real suspicion. Jupiter’s expansion and the South Node’s illusion are operating in the exact same territory this month, so it’s worth telling the two apart before you sign anything.

Chiron stations retrograde at the start of the month in your 11th house of friendship, which is astrology asking you the question you’ve been avoiding: who’s actually your crew, and has someone in that group let you down without you fully admitting it yet? Cancer holds onto old loyalty long after it’s stopped being earned, so this is worth an honest look rather than another loop of quiet resentment.

The North Node has also shifted into your 8th house of shared resources, joint finances, other people’s money, the stuff you’re entangled in with someone else. Expect this area to demand more of your attention over the next couple of years, not just this month, so pay attention to what starts here now.

Mars moves into your sign from the 11th onwards, and this one can go two ways. Lean into it right and you're fiery, productive, finally getting through the list for the next few weeks. Lean into it wrong and you're just reactive, snapping at things that don't deserve it, combustible for no good reason. The difference comes down to whether you give that energy somewhere to go. Set yourself actual tasks on the 11th, so Mars has something to burn through besides your patience.

The lunar eclipse on the 28th lands in your 9th house, foreign lands, foreign ideas, anything that pulls you further from home than you’d normally choose to go. This one’s a genuine nudge: book the trip, take the course, have the conversation with someone whose worldview isn’t yours.