Phases of the moon and signs of the zodiac
For those of you gardening according to the phases of the
moon and signs of the zodiac, here’s the information for the month of August.
And, as always, don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have questions. All times
are Eastern Daylight; adjust for your time zone.
The moon
August begins and ends with the moon in the dark phase.
The full moon rules until 10:53 a.m. Aug. 14 and returns to
force again at 2:35 p.m. Aug. 29, continuing until the new moon at 2:41 a.m.
Sept. 13.
Between those dates, specifically, the last half of Aug. 14
through the first half of Aug. 29, the light moon is in force.
“General Tips” for
dark- and light-moon activities are below and if you are planting in flats, seedbeds,
the garden — anywhere — it’s above-ground producers in the light moon and
below-ground producers when the dark phase is in.
The signs
Remember: Again,
check to see if the moon is in the light or dark phase (information above)
before proceeding with planting, or other activities, indoors or out.
In a change from the past two months, August begins with the
fertile sign Pisces (the feet) in force. So, we’ll have a look at dates for the
four fertile signs first.
Fertile signs: The
most fertile signs in the zodiac rule these days: Pisces (the feet), Aug. 1-2,
29-30; Taurus (the neck), Aug. 5-7; Cancer (the breast), Aug. 10-11; and Scorpio
(the secrets), Aug. 20-21. There are 11 days this month ruled by the fertile
signs — Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus and Cancer.
So-so days: These
aren’t particularly fertile nor destructive, just so-so: Sagittarius (the
thighs), Aug. 22-24; Capricorn (the knees), Aug. 25-26; Aquarius (the legs), Aug
27-28. This month we have seven days ruled by the three so-so signs:
Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius.
Killing signs: No
planting, transplanting, or dealing with things you want to thrive should occur
on these days. Reserve them for cultivating, cleaning out fencerows — anything
but planting: Aries (the head), Aug. 3-4 and 31; and Leo (the heart), Aug.
12-14. We have six days this month ruled by the killing signs Aries or Leo, up
from four in July.
Flowering days:
These are “bloom days” and well suited for planting flowers. Virgo (the
bowels), Aug. 15-16 and Libra (the reins), Aug. 17-19. There are five flowering
days this month.
Gemini days:
Gemini rules the arms and is in force Aug. 8-9. Unfortunately, like June and
July, the dark moon rules all of these days. At least half of the ideal
equation is in force with the sign in Gemini, the bean sign, although the moon
is in the dark phase and beans produce above the ground.
General tips
Again, here are a few general tips for activities other than
planting:
>If you have gravel to pour on a drive or roadway, do that
when the light moon rules. The same applies for stones on a garden path: Place
them when the moon is in the light phase so they don’t sink.
>If you’re setting fence posts, do that in the light of
the moon so the posts don’t sink.
>If you’re putting on a new shingle roof, do that when the
moon’s in the dark phase so that the shingles stick down and don’t curl up on
the ends.
>If you have
changes to make, we have three full days this month, Aug. 1-2 and 30 and a
few hours Aug. 29, the day the moon moves to the dark phase at 2:35 p.m.
During this time the moon will be in the dark phase and the
signs going out of the body past anything that functions. All the days are
ruled by Pisces (the feet).
These days are good for weaning babies or small animals,
scheduling elective surgery – not
emergency surgery since that usually can’t be “scheduled,” stopping smoking or
using other tobacco products, starting a diet or exercise program. Consider
what it is you want to do and if it involves making a change — like starting or
stopping something — then this is the best stretch for it according to the
phases and signs.
