Can everyone feel this Mars in Gemini? Whew! It is hard to miss. It is already intense and mostly, except for the times when it is too much, I AM LOVING IT
(except for the crazy drivers part, but I live in New Jersey, so it is probably more noticeable here).
I am writing this on Friday night. The dark Moon phase. The Moon has been void all day. This is a good time to turn inward/slow down (can we slow down? I am thinking this is part of the Mars in Gemini TEST). There is a HUGE theme here about adapting to change and how we go about changing things. Collectively this Moon is about Virgo themes - our work, our health, our day-to-day life, our pets, our habits, our service.
We are going to unpack this New Moon a little differently this month.
We will look at the event chart, but also follow Luna's progress through Virgo and see what we can learn about the micro of the next two days/weeks and the macro of the next 6 months as we build toward the Virgo Full Moon on March 7, 2023 - which also happens to be the day Saturn moves into Pisces.
On Friday night, the Moon moves into Virgo. She will square Mars and then almost immediately meet the Sun (4:17AM EDT at 4 degrees) giving us this month's NEW MOON. Then she trines Uranus, opposes Neptune and goes void off a trine to Pluto. That's it for her time in Virgo. She will have moved on to Libra by Monday. But, the next two days are also our next two weeks as the Sun does what the Moon just did (through the Sun's trine to Pluto on September 18th).
It's pretty cut and dry, but that kick-off square to Mars in GEMINI is going to influence EVERYTHING. It's agitating. It's aggravating. It's mentally energizing. And, also, I should mention all three of those outer planets - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - are retrograde, because that part is VERY important.
On the one hand we don't have the assistance from these outer planets' energies for new projects, etc, in normal ways - this is a NEW MOON after all, so something is starting - and on the other hand, and this part is important, too, we don't have the resistance either.
This New Moon is kind of the kicking off point, although clearly this has already started, for Mars in Gemini - Part I of that post is HERE - which will last until March 2023. There's March 2023 again. That's also the month Pluto dips his big toe into Aquarius - plunging us into the Age of Aquarius in bigger ways. What does that mean? Well, there could be some clues RIGHT NOW.
And RIGHT NOW we have a New Moon in Virgo answering to Mercury and squaring Mars who is also answering to Mercury. AND Mercury is trining Mars. BUT, because Mercury is going to slow down to station retrograde, and although he/she will get very close to an exact trine on September 4th, the trine isn't going to actually happen. So, what does that mean? Well, let's take a look at some possibilities.
Because Mercury is very changeable and particularly here where he/she is stimulated by "going in two directions at once" through Mars in Gemini, one thing it can look like is wanting to bring about change and doing things that create change without really having a plan about what comes next (this is all nicely illustrated by Biden's student loan announcement - his NN (legacy) at 0 degrees Virgo squared by Mars in Gemini this past week).
We are all probably doing something like this right now
(this square from the Mercury New Moon to a Gemini Mars can also pull in stress/anger over things not being done correctly or just scatter our focus/actions).
With Mercury, ruler of this lunation in indecisive Libra, decisions can be HARD, unreliable, even agonizing (I would suspect Biden lost sleep over the decisions he has been making lately and still isn't sure they make sense), because we are often coming from a space of trying to placate someone/some situation or to make other people happy and not from the space of what we really want. People pleasing can appear to be diplomatic, but it puts the onus of our decision on the OTHER PARTY. This, shirking of our responsibility thing, will be challenged because Venus, the ruler of Libra, is opposing 'reality check' Saturn. If we aren't stepping into our own authority/responsibility - working seriously with what really matters, buying what we can afford, tending to our harvest, etc - energies outside us HAVE to bring things back into balance/bring karmic results. AND, Venus is also squaring Uranus, so we are responding to some kind of shake-up with our relationships or finances or impatience with something happening here.
One of Virgo's biggest challenges is the need to have things be a certain way and this can create a kind of self-induced pressure cooker. We want to be asking ourselves why we are doing the things we are doing. We want to be asking ourselves if what we are doing needs to be done. There are things that maybe should be pushed off until spring because they will be SO much easier then AND because in some cases they will no longer make any sense.
Now, after the Moon squares Mars and meets the Sun, she trines Uranus, retrograde in Taurus. She will do this the next morning. The trine to Uranus can make us more comfortable with change/the uncomfortable. Life is not supposed to be comfortable and we can't be/become the resilient people the world needs us to be by being comfortable all the time. The Sun, following Luna, will trine Uranus on September 11th. Click. Something falls into place then. By Sunday, the Moon will oppose Neptune. Keep in mind the Moon is doing in 2 days what it takes the Sun much longer to do - so, it's kind of like the Moon sends us the energy and we emotionally absorb the patterns and then the Sun allows us to 'live the energies out'. This opposition is about the dissolving of a delusion or addiction or path of escape. Or maybe an understanding that we can't make this thing perfect. Here is where we kind of 'let go and let God', and no, we can't skip right to this step although I will tell you that people who are truly detached from current irritants, will get here faster. The Sun will oppose Neptune on September 16th. The closing aspect though, is that smooth trine to powerful Pluto, so here is the final result. Looking beneath the problems (or our Venus in Leo's need for a shiny exterior) for
what's real. This is a VIRGO New Moon after all. There will be a practical, orderly truth here about what is essential for us. The Pluto trine speaks of tools that are accessible to FIX THINGS/make things right. The Plutonian exposure or purge (pick your poison here) will be precise and highly effective. The reveal of the flaw won't be fun. but the fix will appear naturally, happen naturally. The Moon is in an exact trine to asteroid Pholus in Cappy, too, reinforcing that BIG results (Pluto trine!) come from small things.
OK, so that is one way to look at this New Moon in Virgo - we follow the Moon through Virgo. If you read my New Moon posts every month, you might know I don't usually do this on paper, but I do look at it. Do this in my head.
In this case, we have that starting square to Mars - the push. It's hectic, maybe we are doing/starting two things at once. Then we have that smooth trine to a retrograde Uranus. We want to be leaning into the future. Doing something NEW. With Uranus retrograde this will probably have some connection to the past. Then we get the opposition to Neptune - this might be the trickiest part of the whole thing, but is really about us releasing some kind of bullsh*t. The delusion, the escape, the addiction, the IDEA OF PERFECTION - this will go, how hard this is depends on how hard we are trying to hold onto it. Finally we get the smooth trine to powerful Pluto in Cappy - we step into our authority/our Cappy public power through our daily actions/doing quality work/doing our Virgo. Pluto requires our total commitment. We are in it to win it. We target the problem LIKE A LASER BEAM. We focus on what we can realistically do to make things better. Then we do it. LIKE A BOSS.
Now, I could stop there and the Moon is dark and I am tired and I probably should, but since I almost always prefer to set up an event chart, let's do that, too, and see where the common ground can be found.
The Moon and Sun meet at 4 degrees Virgo. The Moon is in an EXACT square to Mars in Gemini (answering to Mercury).
The Moon is in an EXACT
trine to asteroid Pholus in Capricorn. Mercury, as ruler of Virgo is
the ruler of this lunation. Mercury is in Libra answering to Venus.
Mercury is applying to a trine to Mars. He/she is opposing Jupiter, also
applying. Venus is squaring Uranus and opposing Saturn - both aspects unwinding.
Here again, of course we have that tense/frustrating square to Mars in Gemini. We might have alot on our plate or two things to do at once. We want to or feel impelled to or likely even
need to act, but don't really have a plan for what comes LATER. Or maybe the piece that is missing is why we are doing what we are doing - something here is out of whack.
The Moon is trining Pholus - a wise and peaceful centaur/friend of Heracles. He is most famous for uncorking the bottle of wine that started the carnage that wounded Chiron and thought in astrological interpretation to speak of 'small things that bring big results'; his death coming as he examined an arrow and marveled that such a tiny thing could kill a massive centaur. I was born with this asteroid exactly conjunct my Sun (so one degree from my Saturn, opposing my Mars and squaring my ascendant/Neptune) and once changed my entire life by starting a business on Etsy called Uncorked on the day he was transiting exact on my Sun. Of course, this happened naturally, and unknown to me at the time, because I wasn't tracking asteroids 15 years ago AT ALL and had no knowledge of a centaur named Pholus. There is much more to his story than 'small thing that brings big results', but that probably applies. Maybe what is started now can bring bigger changes than we anticipate - this can be good or challenging, so keep this in mind. Either way he provides us with a direct, freshly-paved route to Cappy energy. Since Virgo rules our work and Cappy rules our reputation/career this is mostly a good thing. Just keep in mind, the thing we are 'uncorking' will take on a life of its own.
Mercury, the ruler of the lunation is in Libra answering to Venus who is opposing Saturn and squaring Uranus, so the Saturn/Uranus square is pulled into this New Moon's chapter, too - the old vs the new, our responsibilities to the group vs our need for freedom/liberty - via Venusian or Leo situations - our relationships, money, values, resources, our need to shine/celebrate/receive love or appreciation or attention.
Mercury is also applying to that trine to Mars - the trine that never quite happens, although it gets close enough to maybe produce results as if it does happen, so it's hard to say how this will impact things. It gives the whole New Moon energy a kind of EDGE. Are we doing this all for nothing?! Now, of course, we can make sure THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN by understanding what we are learning which is the part we can never lose!
OK, so what can we take from this astrology to make us smarter? To make this whole thing easier?
We can see there is some kind of change/disorder in Venusian matters - resources, money, relationships, our wants, etc. This comes through Venus in Leo so something here about our need to shine, receive appreciation/attention is activated by that Uranus square. We are likely coming from a space of ego with whatever crazy-making we are getting up to. At the time of the New Moon we have probably already committed to doing something or multiple somethings. We have alot of mental activity going on. We can use the astrology to understand there is a kind of IMPATIENT energy here and make sure we are not contributing to the chaos by acting out of anger/impulsivity or DESPERATION. The skies are dark. Take a breath. Mars in Gemini will have us running in multiple directions at once and normally this is only for a few weeks and we can just kind of 'run with it', but this year it will be for months and unless you are some kind of long-distance runner I would be totally jealous to find out about, we have to PACE OURSELVES.
Focus. What do you really want to get out of this?
That square to Mars says "yes, this is a time for change, for something new", AND it will really pay off to know why we are doing this, so we can be doing the right/smart thing! Keep in mind Virgo is the great FIXER energy and much of the skies are retrograde or about to be. Keep in mind the Moon through Virgo's journey and that final trine to Pluto - does our goal here line up with THAT?
This all lands with that Cappy trine to Pluto from Virgo and makes me think about:
- Laser focused efforts that pay off in big ways (although, yes, Mars in Gemini will have us tossing alot of mud at walls to see what sticks, at some point we will need to focus on what is working or what needs to be working)
- Going deep, cutting to the chase, zeroing in on the TRUTH, and purging everything else.
- This is not the usual Virgo humble service, but about working for someone/something to further OUR agenda.
- Empowering fixes
- Not suffering fools
- Regenerating dead aspects of ourselves
- Finding deep/healing resources within ourselves
- Recognizing our shadow as part of us instead of tossing it onto other people
If what you are doing seems to fit into any of these general statements - KEEP GOING/START. Just remember to keep checking in with yourself/ 'check yourself before you wreck yourself ' because Sun/Pluto can burn itself up/out, so keep that in mind, too.
As this New Moon grows into the Full Moon in Virgo, from now until March 2023 - anxiety is going to be something we need to figure out how to deal with - coming from too much to do or too much information, ie that Mars/Gemini square coupled with the over-thinking Virgo energy that kicks this whole time period off. We can use things like mindfulness exercises, tapping, coloring, meditation, physical exertion, etc. We are going to want to figure out ways to manage this energy within ourselves, because it will not be possible outside of ourselves to get a grip on things! We want to be responding and not reacting, but with so much of the skies retrograde, our natural instincts will tend to kick in. Forgive yourself when you screw up.
PACE YOURSELF.
Toss some things you can actually finish onto your to-do list. Small projects are helpful. Add things to your to-do list you have already done and cross them off. NOTICE WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED and not just what you have left to do. Prioritize. Don't waste time attending to the wrong details, but also know some of this is going to happen now. We are going to be doing some things TWICE. Give yourself, and other people, because we are all in this TOGETHER, a break when this happens. Virgo energy loves to be organized, so how can you get more organized? I recently turned a coffee table in my studio into a higher counter with some plastic storage tubs and a tabletop and it is so much more useful and I am loving it. Small things create BIG significance.
Note this chart also has a retrograde Chiron trining Ceres. 15 degrees Aries/Leo is another way through. This is healing/help. Ceres in Leo is encouraging our shininess - this could show up as a person/situation or we could be playing Ceres here. Our special-ness recognized is healing. Our healing comes through our heart. What we are starting at this New Moon allows our heart/our creativity to heal some very old wounds. This is love. Powerful mothering. Our wounds/our history is enabling us to shine.
We will talk more about this over the next couple weeks as these lunar energies play out through solar aspects. I hope something here is helpful.
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.
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, wants - not what you think you should write. 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 - 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?
Hug a tree. Thank her. That tree in your backyard is talking to that tree in my backyard and they are both talking to that tree in the Amazon - they need us.
xo all
