Virgo Insights
When I
investigate,
when I discover
that the forces of the
heavens and the planets
are within ourselves, then
truly, I seem to be living
among the gods.
Leon Battista Alberti
August 23
Sun enters Virgo: 05:01 AM EDT
Mercury stationary retrograde Get aligned here.
Virgo is not what we seem to think about it much of the time. Not the sign of uptight, bitchy anxiety that picks away and overanalyzes everything it encounters. Who wouldn’t be anxious if they were inherently tasked to live in this world as if it is sacred? Virgo looks into the world and sees desecration of the body, knowing it as the temple for the divine. Virgo understands our embodied existence as something to be nourished and cleansed, adored and adorned. This awareness includes the entire planet as the body of all life. To be here is a gift we are given to be used mindfully and with an eye on best practices. Virgo seeks the sacred and often doesn’t know it. We need to respect anxiety as a kind of sensitivity, seeking wholeness in a world that only seems to honor the parts. Virgo is the canary warning us. Virgo’s impulse to heal and to use things as they function best is the enemy of dominator culture. Domination requires the violation of Virgo’s sacred trust. By robbing us of time it robs us of rest. All the various manifestations of anxiety from the despairing children to the rampaging men and of course the dying coral reefs show us that that we cannot throw Virgo into the junk heap. We might as well allow for the sacred turning of the seasons, the blessing of the harvest, the sacred trust.
Mercury retrograde on the same day and in the same sign as the Sun is an astrological clarion call to reflect on the ways we live and consider adjusting them toward wholeness and in service to the divinity contained and expressed in our embodied existence. We might need to sweat the small stuff for the next few weeks. In a good way. Take a period of time each day to meditate or nap, to rest, even as you consider landfills and sustainability. This will help you move into where your small but powerful contribution would be welcome.
August 24
Mars trine Pluto
Mars in Virgo (along with the Sun and Mercury) carries the Virgo themes along with vigor. Reminding us to walk our talk, put our money where our mouth is. Be the change. Trite but truisms for these days. How we live matters.
August 27
Sun opposite Saturn
Mars enters Libra
Consider the limits of matter along with the ignorance and belligerence of humans. Horrifying as that may be, refusing to acknowledge these things only makes them worse. Working within boundaries turns us into artisans, crafters. Acknowledging our ignorance and aggression helps mitigate their bad effects and can even render them as useful. Teaching tools in the Classroom of Life.
August 28
Uranus stationary retrograde
We are at a crossroads where expectation and aspiration toward our good life meets actual circumstance which is becoming more and more real and dire. This period of the Uranus station (August 15 – September 11) heightens the issues that Venus retrograde brought to light. Like it or not, believe it or else, reality bites: The cost of food, the quality of air, the apocalyptic experiences of fire and flood; the choices we have to make. It’s almost impossible to feel grounded in a world that is changing so fast. But Uranus in Taurus is just that. If the only constant is change, where can you stand? The answer is easier than the practice. Taurus (Uranus is stationary in the sign of Taurus) is the sign of here and now. The more we can stay awake in the swiftly shifting sands of the present moment the better is our reach toward more effective change. No escape.
August 30
Full Moon: 07 degrees Pisces: 09:35 PM EDT
What doesn’t kill us, doesn’t kill us. It only makes us stronger if we learn from it. And this strength only matters if we share it with others. This Full Moon asks us to take the measure of our difficulties. Who might benefit from our experience? We are the teachers, the wise ones (homo- sapiens means wise humans). We have all been here before and we can never step into the same river twice. Both things are true. Paradox and ambiguity: the stuff of life. Here there be dragons.
September 3 & 4
Venus stationary direct
Jupiter stationary retrograde
Mercury trine Jupiter
Are we desperate to have fun? To return to the ‘good old days’ of excessive consumption? Have we finally come to Last Chance Saloon?
Venus and Jupiter are like those proverbial ships, passing in the night as they change direction within 24 hours of each other in a square. Astrology comes to us or at us through geometric synchronicities. We can and do use them to reflect and guide (even predict) our experience here on Earth. The easiest predictions, the ones you can count on are based on knowing that humans resist change. History repeats itself. If we cannot be present, the past will determine the future.
Venus and Jupiter have been in this square for a while (August 22 - September 17th). Together in a square they suggest indulgence, excessive pleasure seeking, a devil-may-care attitude. Let the chips fall where they may. I’m just doing what I want. That’s how it goes down at Last Chance Saloon.
It’s quite possible to do something else with this square which Mercury trine Jupiter suggests. Consider all you have learned this summer about the conditions in this world. The climate, the kids, the wars and the losses. You know the details. Perhaps the best way to engage the energies of Mercury and Jupiter is in the small things that matter to you or someone you know. Even if you wake up in Last Chance Saloon you might find something to do. Sweep the floor, clean the mess off the bar counter. Talk to the guy who thinks they need one more drink. Flutter your wings and start a current of change as you challenge the habit of excess. Venus in Leo wants love, Jupiter in Taurus wants pleasure and beauty. Perhaps this square tells us of our struggle to love the earth itself. Maybe a heat pump is a better choice than a trip to Shangra-la.
September 6 - 8
Sun conjunct Mercury
Sun trine Jupiter
‘Cazimi’. Such a great word for when Mercury conjuncts the Sun. A direct connection between mind and heart. An infusion of vitality to the way we think. Add a measure of Jupiter and it’s a great time to open to all manner of inspiration from Nature itself to help solve the puzzles of life. Look or listen for messages; the song in your heart, the letter in the mailbox, the words to songs. Investigate Biomimicry. Sit still in silence and appreciate the voices in your own mind. No judgment.
September 14
New Moon 21 degrees Virgo: 09:39 PM EDT
This New Moon is in the same degree which Mercury was in when it stationed retrograde on August 23rd. Tomorrow Mercury goes direct. Today could be a powerful windup for tomorrow’s starting point. The radical individualism that has so imperiled the world doesn’t know how to value life itself. It seems stuck on the notion of MY life. MY one and only life. The stand-alone self is therefore obsessed with living longer, it can even imagine ultimately living forever. What a dead-end that experiment is turning out to be!
Time to reimagine the Madonna and her children?
September 15
Mercury stationary direct
Sun trine Uranus
We are reminded, inspired even, in these days of the New Moon and Mercury direct that it is never too late to begin again. Whatever conundrums you have been hard at work trying to understand or solve, here and now is an invitation to collaborate with other minds and find ways going forward from here. Maybe my life doesn’t last forever but life itself goes on. And on. The only cure for living is full-tilt engagement with life while we are here, where we are now.
September 17
Venus square Jupiter
This is the last square between these two for a while. Time to look back and see if we learned something or not. We might consider what if any excessive behaviors we have indulged over the summer. Maybe we ate or drank too much. Maybe we just worried too much or got sunburned. Are we any wiser on account of our experience? Alternatively… it might just be time for one more massive indulgence! Not generally my kind of suggestion! But sometimes we just have to let go…
September 19
Sun opposite Neptune
We are carried along waves of culture more than we know. A big part of our collective story that is undergoing massive change is that we exist in little power pockets of innovation and control. “If you’re so smart,” my rude mother would say to our hapless boyfriends, “how come you’re not rich?” This made perfect sense to her. As the waters rise and warm and the coral dies, this notion of the individual savior must give way to collective effort. “If we’re so smart”, you might ask, “how come we are killing our planet?”
September 21
Sun trine Pluto
The warm and rising waters of extinction are not the only thing happening. All efforts are empowering. Even the smallest things we do or try make a difference. The tide is ours to turn. We are the transformers.
These insights, are meant as contemplations of a sort: Astrology is a kind of sky writing which invites the muse. No two perceptions are exactly the same but any of us can find insight through the images if we look. These are mine, happily offered for you to reshape and fashion into something of your own. Follow the links, where you find them for further musings on the planetary aspects.