Magical Dates of August 2025
Hello, friends!
August has arrived, and with it come several dates you might like to remember. August is a bittersweet month for me. It’s when school starts, but it’s also when we begin to see the crispness of Autumn arrive. It won’t begin until the end of the month, but stepping outside on a cool morning to smell the arrival of Autumn is a magical experience.
Anyway, let’s get into some dates you might find important!
August 1: Lughnasadh
The Wheel of the Year is always turning! This month, we approach the first harvest festival of the year. Lughnasadh is an ancient Irish festival honoring Tailtiu, an Irish Goddess and the mother of Lugh.
There is also a story that says every Lughnasadh, Lugh battles with a mystical figure named Crom Dubh, which translates roughly to “the black bent one”, to fight for the abundance of the harvest. This is shown in a book written by Maire MacNeill called The Festival of Lughnasa: A Study of the Survival of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest. Evidence suggested that this festival involved some of the following…
Lughnasadh || A Brief History of the First Harvest
- cutting of the first corn as an offering
- a meal of the new food
- a sacrifice of the sacred bull and a feast of its flesh and then replacement with a young bull
- a ritual dance and/or play that perhaps tells the struggle for a goddess and a ritual fight
- the placing of a carved stone head on top of a hill and a triumphing over it by an actor impersonating Lugh
- another play representing the confinement by Lugh of the monster blight or famine (possibly the Crom Dubh)
- a three-day celebration presided over by Lugh or his human representative
- a ceremony indicating that the interregnum was over and the chief god in his rightful place again
For modern pagans, it’s a time of festivity, skill, and games. Gather with your loved ones, play some games, and enjoy the company of others. Oh yeah, and bake some bread!
August 9: Full Moon in Aquarius
Every time I see the Moon in Aquarius, I’m reminded of the song I sang with my high school choir: Age of Aquarius. That’s the kind of energy this sign has, and that’s the kind of power Aquarius brings to the Full Moon. On a grand scale, the Full Moon in Aquarius can help open our hearts and minds to the needs of others.
Aquarius tends to pull us toward communities and the value of the group spirit. We may find conflict with this, though. The Sun is in Leo, an energy in direct opposition to the Moon in Aquarius. Leo is intensely individual, and while Aquarius also values individuality, it also understands the need for community.
For this Full Moon, remember that your needs matter, but the needs and spirit of your community also matter. If you’re looking to do spellwork for this Full Moon in Aquarius, you might find healing spells or any community-related spells best suited to this energy.
August 11: Mercury Goes Direct
Yes, you read that right! It is time for Mercury to go direct! Mercury leaves its retrograde movement and moves forward in the sign of Leo. The post-retrograde zone ends on August 25, and this period is generally better for long-term goals than the pre-retrograde shadow period.
Mercury rules communication. Now that it is direct, any issues we’ve had with communication during the retrograde period should begin to resolve themselves. Our decision-making skills should also begin to improve now that Mercury is direct.
Don’t rush back into everything, though! It is best to take things slowly. Give yourself time to adjust and let things fall into place naturally. Ease back into any plans or difficult conversations that need to be had.
August 22: Sun Enters Virgo
It’s time for Virgo Season! The practical sign of Virgo puts a magnifying glass up to our lives as we examine the finer details. With the Sun in Virgo, we might find our main focus turns toward our day-to-day lives as we take care of everyday life. This might look like developing new skills to care for your home and family, formulating new routines to be more efficient, or cleaning out the basement you’ve long avoided looking at.
Doing the dirty work of caring for everyday life is no fun, but Virgo reminds us that it’s necessary. Believe me, taking care of things now will save you a lot of time and trouble in the future! Let the energy of the Sun in Virgo push you toward the practical home life duties you’ve been avoiding. You’ll thank Virgo season later, I promise.
August 23: New Moon in Virgo
The dark of the New Moon rests in Virgo, a sign of practicality, balance, and stability. New Moons are often seen as times to focus on our goals or create new ones. I also like to work with my shadow during the New Moon, but that’s just me. I find the darkness of the New Moon is a perfect reflection of the darkness of the Shadow Self, and the two complement each other well.
The New Moon in Virgo might pull us toward the more practical sides of life. Our discernment, routines, and day-to-day life will likely come to the forefront, so this is a good time to build routines if you don’t already have them.
The New Moon in Virgo is down-to-earth. This is when we can sit down to figure out if we’re on the right track in our lives. If you have goals you’ve been working toward, this New Moon is a great time to reflect on those to see if you need to make any adjustments to your plans. This New Moon is also a good time to expand on your routines or create them if they’re missing.
That’s all I’ve got for August – I hope you have a wonderful Lughnasadh and happy August!
Note: Astrological information was written with the help of Cafe Astrology’s monthly forecast and Spells8’s Stellar Foundations Astrology Course.
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