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It's Time to Get Serious

There’s a New Moon in Virgo this Saturday and much weirdness afoot for Aries planetary influences. As I mentioned in my recent “Women Who Howl at the Moon” minipod, this latter development that actually occurred on August 20^th, has old fiery Mars getting comfy in Gemini for the next seven months! To give you a little better perspective on this, Mars typically only stays in one place for two months tops, which could lead to some interesting developments between now and late March of 2023.

For one thing, Gemini as we know, loves to gab, and socialize. However Gemini is also known for multi-tasking and having many irons in the fire at once. Throw Mars in the mix and you could wind up with a lot of scattered energies and distractions, if you’re not mindful. What we can do is tap into that practical, cautious, and detail-oriented energy of steadfast Virgo to help us ride this phase out. Stay the course, do an “internal inventory,” to weed out the unnecessary stuff, as suggested on nylon.com. Yes Virgo can be irksome with its nagging and nitpicking, but it also can assist in keeping us focused and patient with the tasks at hand.

In Irish mythology, there is a story of the salmon who swam in the Well of Knowledge, around which grew sacred hazel trees. The salmon ate nine hazel nuts that fell into the Well, and suddenly become possessed of the all the knowledge in the world. Anyone who caught and consumed the salmon would also take in the blessing of wisdom, and so the salmon was pursued by heroes for years.

The New Moon this month occurs in the sign of Virgo (2'19) on Monday, August 25th, at 7:13 am (PDT). Virgo is the archetype of the Virgin goddess, originally meaning, “whole unto herself”.  And, no matter how devoted Virgo is to the people in his or her life, a certain part of Virgo’s psyche always remains “untouched” by the opinions or influence of anyone else. Virgo is a Mutable Earth sign, meaning it is a threshold sign, bridging one season into the next, and it resonates with the grounding and stable element of Earth. Virgo season is summer transitioning into autumn, and this energy is indelibly imprinted into the archetype, giving way to a Mercurial nature in the Virgo personality. The Virgo archetype echoes with the preparation for harvest: we begin the task of separating the grain from the chaff in our lives.  This requires clear-headed logic, as well as attention to our deep intuition about what crops we will harvest, and what needs to be turned back into the soil, or allowed to die on the vine.  The Virgo personality is often lauded as analytical, discerning, and as having a superior flair for organizational activities. When you think of the qualities of the season, this makes sense.  And, although this time of year is fast paced and busy as we get ready to go back to school or work, there is also a quiet turning within now.

Virgo embodies the aspect of the Priestess that is self-purified and dedicated to the practical expressions of serving the divine.  The archetype is associated with all types of ritual, and integrated daily spiritual practice. There is a visceral body/mind connection with Virgo, and you can find many with Virgo strong in their charts working as nutritionists, yoga teachers, herbalists and holistic practitioners.  Health, healing and daily care of the body are all Virgo preoccupations. Virgo is also the inspired craftsperson, using their attention to detail to produce beautiful works in a variety of mediums.  Additionally, they have an innate talent to elevate what others might term “puttering”- beekeeping, gardening, flower arranging and so forth - into an everyday art form.