Speak From The Heart: Horoscopes August 17-August 23, 2026

There has been a lot of conversation in the astrological community over the past two weeks about racism and speech policing. Mercury is in Leo right now, along with Jupiter, the Sun, Hygea, and the South Node (last week’s eclipse was also in Leo). Leo governs the heart and is associated with wholehearted presence. Leo is not, however, the sign most associated with listening. ; ) Love you, Leos!

The debate about racism and speech policing that I usually see goes something like this: Person A says or does something, Person B asks Person A to stop and apologize, Persons C through Z take a side or offer a different perspective. In the end, Person A either agrees to change their behavior or commits to the original behavior. There can also be other impacts, but related to the original conflict, those are the basic options.

For many people, this experience is limited to social media, but I have seen this experience in many, many workplaces, educational settings, and friend groups as well.

Ultimately, for People C through Z, who are potentially (but not always) somewhat removed from the central incident, there is the choice between offering scrutiny or offering support. When we are scrutinizing what “should” happen in a situation, it can feel fun, or it can feel very unaligned. When we are offering support, it can feel like people pleasing, or it can feel wholehearted.

If you are scrutinizing or policing (whether you are speech policing or policing the speech police by saying “wokeness” has gone too far), consider what police department you are working for and whether its mission is aligned to your values. If you are supporting, make the same consideration as to whether your energy is paying into what is aligned for you.

Ultimately, there are many ways to speak from the heart, and this week offers us energy to do that, even if we don’t get it exactly right the first time. It’s also okay to not care about what you don’t care about. Communicating from the heart includes allowing yourself to release spaces where your heart isn’t there.

Photo by Fabrizio Morelli on Unsplash

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Monday, August 17, 2026:

  • The Sun in Leo is in Gate 29 in human design throughout most of this week (starting around 7pm Pacific on Sunday night). This gate encourages us to look at places where we force ourselves to have enthusiasm, when we really don’t care, and allow ourselves to say no to what is not correct for us. On the other hand, it invites us to be enthusiastically committed to what is a “yes” to us. It’s okay to not care, and you don’t have to pretend you do, just notice where you overcommit or flake out because you’ve pressured yourself to fake enthusiasm.

  • Mars in Cancer squares Neptune in Aries at 2:42am Pacific. This transit comes with confusion around action and conflict. You may feel misunderstood about how you showed up and the actions you took. Depending on how this transit hits your chart, it may also influence you to react in anger in a way that you later realize was disproportionate to the situation. Look twice at the reality of what is happening with your 5 senses and write it down in the most neutral way possible before reacting.

  • Mercury in Leo trines Saturn in Aries at 8:26am Pacific. Mercury in Leo speaks the truth bluntly and from the heart, and with this supportive aspect from Saturn, we can be encouraged to be bossy and think we know what everyone should be doing. And, you know what? You might be right! Just be sure to start with yourself first, speaking from the heart with love and boldness.

  • Venus in Libra sextiles Jupiter in Leo at 9:15am Pacific. This is a sweet supportive aspect to be in the mix with the other more potentially explosive aspects. Venus in Libra is a peacemaker, who can understand different perspectives and find harmony with them. Supported by Jupiter, what we truly love and feel in our hearts can bring intimacy and alignment with others. If you say the wrong thing, motivated by the other aspects this day, you can always listen and repair with the blessings of Venus and Jupiter.

• Friday, August 21, 2026:

  • Venus in Libra opposes Saturn in Aries at 5:43am Pacific. This can feel like suddenly things go wrong in our relationships, we experience financial restriction and scarcity, or people overreact to what we thought was a small thing. It invites us to look at the reality of what is beautiful to us, and what is not for us, and be honest with ourselves about how we may be inclined to gloss over problems. If things feel restrictive right now, it may be a signal you are resisting seeing the reality of your situation, so the universe is loudly alerting you.

• Saturday, August 22, 2026:

  • The Sun goes into Virgo at 7:18pm Pacific. Right after this, the Sun also goes from Gate 29 (saying wholehearted “yes” to what we love) to Gate 59 (establishing true intimacy) in human design. Virgo is energy of analysis and seeing the component parts of situations. In Gate 59, this allows us to see past distraction or illusions of difference, in order to see honestly who we ourselves are and the truth of those we are in relationship with. This starts the transition to autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and can be a time of tidying up before we go into the dark months.

• Sunday, August 23, 2026:

  • The Sun in Virgo trines Chiron in Taurus at 12:29pm Pacific. This is a supportive aspect for evaluating the needs your body has in a nuanced way. If you have any health issues or nutritional deficiencies, this aspect is supportive for addressing them and caring for your physical self or your physical environment.

• We are still in eclipse season!! This means energy is unstable and surprising. The Moon travels through Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and into Capricorn this week; Uranus continues in Gemini; Pluto continues in Aquarius.

These are the principles to consider for the week of August 17, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Conflict only happens when there is mutual interest. If we have no mutual interest, we just walk past each other and don’t even notice. This week, you may feel off-kilter and misunderstood. If conflict comes up, write down what you think the other person said and confirm with them whether you are right. Putting words on paper forces us to look at reality, rather than getting wrapped up in our own fears.

Taurus: Hermetic wisdom says, “As within, so without,” meaning that your inner world and outer environment are mirrors of each other. And also, we live in linear time, so internal changes we make are not always immediately or proportionately reflected in the outer world. You are undergoing expansion in your most intimate spaces, and so if you are not seeing external results, you may need to let time and the external world catch up with you.

Gemini: What we call the placebo effect can also be attributed to the power of thoughts and communication. This week, your thoughts and what you say have a powerful healing quality. You know what you want to say, so say it. The expansion you are experiencing in your communication is supportive of other creative endeavors. If you experience miscommunication with friends, take a step back and pay attention to what is working, rather than ruminating on what is not working.

Cancer: We are responsible for our actions, whether they are based in misunderstanding or correct understanding, and whether their impact is what we intended or not. But, responsibility is not the same as shame. If you mess up or come off more intensely than you intended this week, allow yourself to be human. Being human stings sometimes, and also you are worthy of care and nurturing.

Leo: You don’t have to be on all the time. It’s okay to be meh about some things or even hate them. The more you let yourself embrace what is in true alignment with you, based on what you feel in your heart, the more you will grow in an aligned direction. This week, as the Sun goes into Virgo, let yourself notice what you’re doing half-heartedly, so that you can lean toward what you love with your whole heart.

Virgo: Everyone has gloomy or painful thoughts sometimes, and people who say they don’t often lead very limited lives. There is no shame in experiencing painful thoughts, and the trick is to be willing to notice the pain and question thinking that is painful to see whether it serves you. You are good at changing your mind and learning. If you feel stuck in painful thinking, be open to changing your mind.

Libra: One way spiritual bypassing can have an especially significant impact on people socialized as women is by pressuring us to be positive all the time for the “spirits” (aka the people with power). Your appreciation of beauty and ability to bring harmony to your environment is exceptional, and also, if things don’t go your way it is because that happens to every human, not because you lack discipline. Consider releasing expectations on yourself to control your own and other people’s joy.

Scorpio: The line between being right and being self-righteous is sometimes fuzzier from the inside than it seems from the outside. When we want to prove we are right for the sake of it, we are usually being self-righteous, even if we think we’re protecting ourselves from attacks. This week, be wary of turning against yourself in self-righteousness, thinking your daily habits should be different than they are. There’s more than one right way to do anything.

Sagittarius: Faith is a thought that motivates us to take action based on what we do not see, but know to be true; superstition is the fear of unforeseen punishment. This week, consider which of your beliefs (the thoughts you think all the time) are as comfortable to you as sitting down in a chair, knowing it will hold you. Question any beliefs that center punishment because they are likely to create the thing you want to avoid.

Capricorn: Sometimes, it is easy to see the direct consequences of our actions, and other times, no matter what we try, it feels like nothing works. It may feel like you have been experiencing personal losses and releasing supports for a while now. On top of that, eclipse season is asking you to do more releasing of family or partner supports that is not aligned for you. Let yourself rest if you need to rest. Give yourself what you wish a partner would give you.

Aquarius: Words, and even thoughts, have tangible consequences in the real world. That is not a bad thing and does not mean we need to be vigilant about avoiding saying the wrong thing (spoiler alert: you’re going to say the wrong thing sometimes). It means that this is a curious area of study that anyone can engage in. This week, consider studying where you say “yes” and think “maybe,” especially with those closest to you. When you can understand that more, you may become more yourself in your partnerships.

Pisces: When you consider other people’s opinions, it is important to first consider whether they are living lives you want to emulate. This week, consider what habits, routines, or daily paths you follow and why. If you are half-hearted about them, let that be okay. Not everything has to be fireworks. And, it’s also okay to release those that don’t feel wholehearted. Not everything has to be a full-body yes, and also not everything has to be for you, even if other people like it.

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