On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 7:00AM EDT (precisely, of course, as we would expect a New Moon in Virgo to do it) the Virgo Moon meets the Virgo Sun at 25 degrees giving us this month's New Moon; our annual New Moon in Virgo.
The New Moon is a time when the skies are dark. It is the time of beginning.
The seed goes into the ground. The sperm goes into the egg. The nail
meets the wood. The words meets the paper.
Virgo encourages us to prioritize our health, to value quality over quantity, to be of service to others (not at our own expense though and especially not at the expense of our health),
to care for our pets, to take care of the day to day things that
make our life our life. It also rules co-workers, employees, our
daily activities and our work. And, of course, a specific house in your natal and progressed astrology charts with specific themes. They get a fresh start.
Virgo is the first sign that thinks about 'other people'. We
spend the first five signs of the zodiac focused solely on ourselves - forming
an identity, expressing who we are and then in just ONE
SIGN we begin the tricky transition toward relating to other people. That's why it feels like such a pressure cooker! We move from "how can I be special?" (Leo) to "how can I be useful?". That's a pretty hard right turn!
OK! Let's unpack the chart!
The Moon is conjunct the Sun at 25 degrees Virgo. The Moon/Sun are trining (exactly) a retrograde and sober Saturn (in Cappy). They are trining Pluto (also retrograde in Capricorn). They are squaring the North and South Nodes (Gemini/Sagittarius) and the ruler of this lunation (Mercury) is exactly squaring Jupiter. So, we have the ruler of the ruler of the South Node. The Moon/Sun are exactly novile Vesta at 15 degrees Leo. There are waning inconjuncts to Mars, Black Moon Lilith and Eris.
The Moon and Sun trine Saturn. It's exact. It's Saturn - who is kind of a big deal this year. Pluto and Jupiter are both answering to Saturn. He's in his home sign of Capricorn for only a couple more months. It's 2020 and we have had previous New Moons challenged by Saturn. Limits. Responsibilities. Frustration.
But now we get a smooth flow with Saturn, An ease. Time to drop some of those heavy loads. We move forward without all the herky jerky roadblocks. Saturn is retrograde (for one more week), so we are still dealing with old work, old commitments, old responsibilities.
But I think what we are seeing here at mid-month is a FIX to some of the stuff that has fallen apart over the last year.
The beginning of a fix. That sets us on a new path.
With the Moon trining (brakes off) Saturn and Pluto (authority, structure, power, transformation) a little efforting can take us a long way.
This is about building a solid foundation. Something real and grounding. Something we can count on. Touch. Take to the bank. We are starting something that will last from the dust of the decayed infrastructure of our lives/our Cappy house theme (which collectively would be about our goals/our work in the world/career/public life/our support structures).
The caveat here are these nodal squares.
In evolutionary astrology squares are called 'skipped steps'. We have procrastinated this stuff, maybe over multiple lifetimes and now the bill comes due/chickens home to roost.
In Virgo - it's time to do the work, to prioritize our daily routine/organization, our health.
The squares are reflected not only by a square from the New Moon to the North and South Nodes, but by the North Node ruler, Mercury (who also rules the New Moon as ruler of Virgo) squaring Jupiter, the ruler of the South Node.
This is being made doubly clear to us so we can't miss it.
Choices will be made. This is a fork in the road between the past (Sagittarius) and the future (Gemini). We talked about this in detail earlier in the year - HERE.
The square indicates there is something that needs to be overcome/finished/decided BEFORE we can get on with this New Moon.
We talked about this in Wednesday's post HERE.
To do this - because with the South Node in Sag it can feel overwhelming - we might have to break this stuff down into manageable parts. That's what Mercury (as ruler of Gemini and Virgo) can do.
The South Node in Sag (where we are now) can make us hopeful (to the point of inertia which is itself exhausting) looking for a savior at a time when Chiron is in Aries telling us the best way to get something done is to do it ourselves. That our own unique gifts are needed. We have to trust ourselves to have what it takes because we do.
Trust is different than hope. Being hopeful is good until it isn't. If it keeps us stuck, and remember, this crossroads thing is about coming unstuck - then "hope" isn't such a good thing.
(It makes me think of an old cartoon where the guy is blasting God because he never won the lottery and God says "well, Tom - or Dick or Harry - did you ever help me out by buying a ticket?")
Remember "hope" was what Pandora had left when she tried to quickly close the jar as all the world's ills made their escape. Did we ever think about what "hope" was doing in that jar in the first place? Hope isn't always a good thing. It can get inflated. It can keep us stuck. It can create inertia which is exhausting.
The South Node in Sag is also about our big-picture beliefs. With the New Moon squaring the South Node in Sag it will be our programmed beliefs and the beliefs we fight to justify that will self-sabotage us now/keep us stuck and not able to move forward. Don't worry about what you believe or what anyone else believes. No one needs you to be right. Just deal with the facts/the details. What is right in front of you. Your own little local world and not the big outer world.
(if you are posting memes and links to news on your Facebook, etc, try not doing that for a while, post pictues from your life - what you are doing or maybe it is time to step away from social media entirely and focus on your real life)
What do you need to do, right now, today and over the next week, before Saturn stations direct next week and things get more cemented into place, to FIX this thing?
Start here.
Mercury is in balanced Libra - able to see and communicate both sides of the situation. Soon, he will be in Scorpio - where he/she will retrograde (!) - and things will get more complicated. NOW is the time for those conversations we have been procrastinating. It won't be easy. But it will be harder LATER.
Mercury is going to work through all his/her squares to the Cappy planets and her opposition to Mars in Aries over the next week, so we are going to get CLEAR on what we need to do here anyway through challenges and frustration, but we can make some of this a bit easier if we take it into our hands now.
There is an aspect I don't usually look at, but since it's exact here and involves Vesta and we just had the ruler of this New Moon (Mercury) interacting with dwarf planet Vesta, let's look at it. The Moon/Sun is 40 degrees - called a novile - to Vesta in Leo. And Vesta being about the Vestal Virgins and the Vestal Virgins connecting to Virgo - the sign of the purity of the virgin - this seems to matter.
We associate Vesta with the Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome. Charged from childhood (around age 7-10) with keeping the sacred hearth of the temple burning, the Vestal Virgins were supposedly also required to remain chaste for their 30 year careers. In recognition of their unending devotion to the flame (working round the clock if needed) that kept their civilization alive they were also given the unique freedom that came from being "unowned" by men.
This pulls not only Vesta - our scared devotion - in Leo into our New Moon story - what our heart wants, our creative passion, creative devotion, but indicates that this chart, if looked at from the perspective of the 9th harmonic would have the Moon/Sun conjunction where Vesta is now - at 15 degrees Leo. Since the 9th house is Jupiter's house - ruler of the South Node and squaring Mercury (ruler of the North Node and this lunation - and yes, I know this is getting tricky and tongue-twistery!) this kind of 9th house energy - our ethics, truth, our philosophy, our world view, the dangers of the routinization of experience (we are all feeling this due to Covid and the restrictions), something about our basic nature as expansive - has a voice here, too.
And since we are looking at the novile aspect, let's look at the sesquiquadrate to future-focused Uranus, busy shaking up our values, our money, our resources in Taurus. This speaks of our need to be uniquely ourselves as we move forward - how a part of us that maybe it once kept us safer to hide, now needs to be brought to the table. Everyone gets a seat this year, keep this in mind.
There are waning inconjuncts to the Aries pile-up - Black Moon Lilith, Eris and a still and retrograde Mars.
This speaks to the action we have to take - because remember Mars holds all the cards now (dealing with our anger, the wounded masculine and feminine energies) - so maybe what we need to do/want to do slowly comes to light as the Moon waxes and Mars backpedals.
We have a few days here before we get to a solid commitment when Saturn stations direct on September 29th.
This is about old moves we didn't make. Unfinished business. Loose ends that need to be tied up. The death that was postponed. The pilings that never went in. If it feels like the decision you are making now is a decision you should have already made - that sounds about right and what if I tell you, this decision could not have been made any sooner even if it looks like that might have been smarter.
But now, the stuff we have ignored in the past, but can no longer brush under the rug without having dust bunnies the size of elephants living under our carpets - will be dealt with.
This chart isn't a quick fix, the trine to Saturn indicates it will take work and time (but some obstacles will be removed/more easier maneuvered than what we could have faced earlier).
It isn't a quick fix, but it is the fix we need.
Start with your intentions. This will help you get clear on what you want/need.
New Moon Guidelines
Set your intentions and make your affirmations for Virgo themes (or your natal Virgo house theme!) for the best outcomes - health, quality over quantity, service to others, attention to details, work, co-workers, employees, day to day activities, cleaning, organizing, pets.
Your Capricorn mess because we have that smooth trine - whatever has fallen apart in the last year or so - toss that in here!
INTENTION TIPS: Let the earth guide you this month, plant your feet firmly on the ground, clear your head, write what your physical self, grounded by the earth, desires. Write your intentions down by hand in script on a blank piece of paper, speak the words out loud, maybe burn the paper and give the ashes back to the earth -
now, release your attention from these things knowing your intention is known.
Life has heard you.
Know these things are already yours.
What do you do next? Do what is right in front of you. Whatever has grown from a dust bunny into an elephant through procrastination and fear. That's your piece of the collective puzzle.
We are moving toward a more genuine/authentic life - we have to allow these old chapters to complete. Care for each moment as if it is your beloved offspring because it truly is.
xo all
(I find setting my intentions when I see that first little piece of the waxing Moon works best, but, NOT when the Moon is void which it will be on Saturday from 10:29AM - 2:33PM EDT.
If even setting intentions feels overwhelming right now do something symbolic - if there is a big mess in your life that needs to be cleaned up - clean the floor, a closet, your bedroom. If something overwhelming needs to end - end something else, something smaller and manageable. Life will see you are able/ready to conclude things and larger things will start to conclude. If something overwhelming needs to start - start something else, something smaller and more manageable. Life will see you are able/ready to begin things and larger things will spring to life.
Words are powerful now, but life can hear us without them.)