You know that feeling you get about two days before you come back from vacation? That feeling of excitement to go back home. Of sleeping in your own bed, of getting back to your routines, of being in your comfort again.
That’s how August always seems to feel to me.
There is certainly this bittersweetness to it, how could there not be? While we are only technically in the second half of the game of summer, we are inching ever towards autumn once more.
The month also brings along equal excitement, too. As if to counteract the bittersweetness a smidge.
Excitement of getting back to some routines once more, of enjoying our last weeks of summertime, of coming back to feeling grounded in ourselves after a summer so far which —while full and thriving—perhaps has left us feeling a bit depleted of some inwardness and structure again.
Bittersweet or excitement or both, however you are meeting this eighth month, I wish you joy along the way.
Here’s your August Ever Diaries.
P.S. If you are new here, welcome! At the start of the month, I send these little overviews out about the time of the year we are greeting—and don’t tell the other posts, but these are some of my favorite ones to write! From astrology to history to what’s happening in our skies above, you’ll find a hodgepodge. Every Ever Diaries also includes photos from the place I am dreaming of visiting that month. I always save the location for the sign-off, so see if you can guess the spot as you peruse the post. Wishing you an ever joyfilled time, Claire
Once Upon an August…
Way back before the common era, there was a lad named Augustus Caesar, who went through quite the name-change to become Julius’ heir upon his death on March 15th, 44 BCE.
As discussed last month, Julius laid a considerable claim to rewriting calendar history with his shift towards a more solar-based system and for making a year equal ~365 and 1/4 days, amongst other things.
And in honor of Julius, the seventh month was renamed July, which is also his birth month.
A similar story arc is seen with Augustus (errr… Octavius or Gaius or is it Octavian…). Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus in the year 63 BCE, the man was later named heir by Julius, who also changed Gaius’ name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus— Julius might have had an itsy bitsy bit of a big head—before the name Augustus we all know stuck. Augustus meant “honored” as Augustus didn’t enjoy having a formal title of king or emperor—though that didn’t stop him from being one!
Augustus was known for being one of the “administrative geniuses of history” (Britannica). He was a master in propaganda and also someone with the foresight to make the Roman Republic into a society to last the ages.
Like the man before him, Augustus got a month named after him, and because he wanted to emulate Julius even more so, took a day away from February and made August 31 days, just like Julius’ July… or so legend says.
A man and a tale (and a month) which has stood the test of time, that is for sure when it comes to the first Roman Emperor of Augustus.
Sources: https://mytpl.org/project/how-august-got-its-name/, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-Roman-emperor/Personality-and-achievement, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
Worth a Revisit This Month
August, in Eight Words
Eight words to describe this eighth month…
Stirring: Lots of things are brewing this month… vacations, back-to-school, back-to-routines, and so much more.
Dawning: On a similar note, lots of new things are coming. Like a brand new day, August feels like the freshest of starts.
Recuperating: August is the first dinner bell ring to remind us to start coming back to ourselves again for autumn and beyond.
Assured: Not sure if is the fact we are in courageous Leo season, or if it’s because of the confidence of this month’s namesake, but August feels like it brings this sense of assurance with it.
Wistful: It’s so easy to wish this month wasn’t the dog days of summer or to wish we were in the beginnings of autumn already.
Rich: In stories, memories and that lingering summertime sunshine.
Weathered: Commonly known for being the hottest month for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and by now… a lot of us are over it!
Corn-y: In the sense that peak corn season is here!
August, Written in the Stars
A heads-up, this month is packed up in the skies.
August 2nd: Look out for Mercury
August 12th: New Moon in the sign of Leo
August 12th/13th: The Perseid Showers (one of the brightest meteor showers to see!)
August 15th: Look out for Venus
August 27th to 28th: Partial Lunar Eclipse
August 27th: The Sturgeon Full Moon in the sign of Pisces
Notes of August
Flowers on the Counter: Dahlias
Tunes on Repeat: Crooners
Currently Watching: Roman Holiday
Book Dog-Eared: Persuasion
Farmers Market Finds: Blueberries and Peaches
“August... brings katydids, elderberries, blackberry pie, and goldenrod... Good old August — we'll take it, and some of us will like it.”
Hal Borland
This August, I am dreaming of visiting colorful Mexico! How about you?
Hasta luego,
Claire
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So well written and interesting! Thank you, Claire.