Waxing Moon in Virgo

The Leo Moon's last aspect is an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius ... the energy of personal creative expression in dialogue with the cosmic collective. Then, at 6:23am EDT, the Moon enters her time-between-times until emerging into cautious Virgo at 9:15am, where she will stay until early Friday.

Virgo is an Earth sign: analytical, detail-oriented, practical, reliable, and dedicated to service. If your Leo Moon time was a dramatic, creative party, Virgo will clean up and get the bills organized. This is a time for checking things off your to-do list. The satisfaction of a job well done is one of Virgo's chief joys.

Virgo does have its joys, by the way. Despite its reputation as a critical workaholic, Virgo at its best is the sign of craftsmanship ... taking the time to master a craft, and then putting those skills to good use.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi wrote about flow, the timelessness and joy we feel when we're in the zone, caught up in an optimal experience. Although we've come to think of the flow experience as something special, linked to challenge and exertion, Csíkszentmihályi found that flow also happens when people are serenely engaged in everyday tasks.

Flow can happen when we chop wood and carry water, knowing these tasks are practical, helpful, and vital to our ongoing lives. This second kind of flow is a Virgo thing ... the flow of gardening, making, mending, tending.

At 3:08pm EDT, the Virgo Moon flows energy in trine with Pluto the transformer, another acknowledgment that ordinary things can carry great power. At 5:14pm, the Moon joins Venus in Virgo, carrying the energy of willing service and practical help into our relationships and creative lives.

Thursday evening, at 8:30pm EDT, brings the Virgo Moon into conjunction with Mars in Virgo. If Wednesday was devoted to planning and organizing, today's the day to get 'er done. A bright flow of energy (sextile) from the Cancer Sun at 11:39pm brings the Virgo Moon's focus to home and family, tribe and tradition.

These Virgo days are times to appreciate fine work well done, and those who accomplish it. Look with new eyes at the myriad details of the world, how wonderfully everything around us is made. Value those who preserve the old ways and traditional crafts, for they are links with our ancestors. Express gratitude to those who serve us, and gratitude for our opportunities to serve others. These are the virtues of Virgo.

The painting is The Seamstress by Joseph DeCamp. The photograph by Tom Allen was taken at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, USA, of a craftsman making boxes in the manner of the 19th century Shakers. Both images from WikiMedia Commons.