Recently, I spent a few hours enjoying a friend's impromptu birthday tea party. At one point in the early evening while the children were playing outside, the conversation became somewhat humorous, and I laughed so much that I was wiping tears from my eyes. What was unusual about this experience I later realized was that it happens all too rarely. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed so much. That struck me as rather sad and somewhat worrisome.

I looked around the room as my friend and her family ate, drank, and were merry and thought, "This is how life used to be before we somehow became isolated." More people than ever before now live alone, and given that connection with others, not to mention laughter, is fundamental to the heart's well-being, we are perhaps not doing ourselves any favors holing up in our rooms and staring at screens. I mention this because August is all about the heart, and it brings opportunities for a happier heart through connecting with others, having fun, and being creative.

Celebrate with Others

The month begins with a Jupiter-Sun-Mercury conjunction in Leo: the sign of the heart. This is a wonderful combination for expressing ourselves in a fun, creative, or colorful way. These planets in the dramatic sign of Leo want us to get out there and declare our right to celebrate life. But we can't do it alone, and this is what we might need to be aware of as Saturn and Mars in Scorpio square these fun-loving Leo planets.