Virgo New Moon Cycle: Chop Wood, Carry Water

Wikimedia's Picture of the Day ... perfect!

We're just past the New Moon. The window for wishes and intentions is still open, as Virgoan ears gently listen.

Today's post looks ahead through the week to amazing events coming our way, with that New Moon window open, lace curtains fluttering in the breeze. Looking ahead, noting the possibility of challenge, tucking a few extra provisions in our pack––these are Virgo moves.

September 18, Pluto stations direct, which means he's especially powerful that date, and a few days on either side. Calling Pluto "especially powerful" sound like a message from the Department of Redundancy Department, so think of this as a time when we notice in a deeper way how power is moving, where it's moving, and how it works, both in our own lives and in the world.

The Moon and Saturn are conjunct in Libra this day, semisextile the Virgo Sun, which also pulls attention to how things are structured and how they work.

On September 19, we reach the Crescent Moon, a time when we first see the shape of what's to come peeking through the soil. Have we set intentions for more mindful living? We may begin to see what that looks like for us.

Also arriving on September 19 is the second exact square between Uranus and Pluto, revolution and tradition, the explosive and the tectonic, the lightning and the glacier. Pluto's first direct action, in other words, is to engage Uranus.

This Crescent Moon, pulling away from the careful Virgo Sun in an edgy semisquare, is in psychic and wary Scorpio. Life is not as simple as it seems! How can we expect to continue living simply, taking small steps, when events are exploding around us, when our foundations are rocked and split open? The night is dark and we have far to go.

And yet, this is the message of Virgo and mindfulness and simple living: When all hell breaks loose, there is still that next step. The garden needs tending, the dog needs a walk, we are hungry, we need to sleep, the baby is laughing.

Whether we experience tragic upheaval, or the wondrous beauty of spiritual joy, the laundry is there. Virgo invites us to look past the burdens of ordinary life and see loveliness, comfort, symmetry––not to overlook the burdens, but know them, deeply, as beautiful.

Can we breathe through whatever comes, and still walk the path? This is the question of the Crescent Moon arriving with the Uranus–Pluto square.

On September 22, we reach the First Quarter Moon and the Autumn Equinox. The Equinox arrives first. Astrologically, this is the moment when the Sun enters Libra, cardinal Air. 

For those who love Autumn, this is a longed-for moment, a breath of fresh, cool air after the overheated stillness of late summer. Now life feels possible again. New books, sharp pencils, crisp apples, clear nights.

At the Equinox, the Moon sits in late Sagittarius, optimistic and expansive, opposing Ceres in Gemini, abundant and generous. Saturn in harmonious Libra trines Ceres and sextiles the Moon, supporting realistic appreciation of all we have.

How is this a challenge?

When the First Quarter Moon arrives a few hours later, the Moon has shifted into 0 Capricorn, squaring the Equinox Sun. The waxing Moon continues to pull away from the Sun, eager to move on, move ahead.

At 0 degrees, the opening degree, each sign is focused and intent. These are cardinal Air and cardinal Earth, the Moon ready to take action and the Sun wanting to be sure the plan is clear.

Do we really understand what we've committed to? Have we fully explored the risks and benefits? Are we prepared? The Libra Sun wants to know.

Strike while the iron is hot! says the Capricorn Moon. Time and tide wait for no man. This push-pull reflects one of Virgo's core issues: Do we take the small steps we can see, or do we suffer the paralysis of analysis?

Virgo is careful, anxious, keenly aware of the many pitfalls and errors out there, and the inordinate consequences of failing to prepare properly. Virgo is also the helper, the healer, the willing servant who sees what needs to be done, and simply does it.

At this First Quarter, with the Sun poised at a balance of the year, in Libra the sign of balance, our Virgo equanimity is tested.

Here, we see where we're holding ourselves back with overplanning, trying to control what cannot be controlled. We also see where we're avoiding information we find troubling, moving ahead with the plan as it is.

Neither extreme will work; we need just-right planning and timely action. In fact, one informs the other. Action brings response, which is information. Thought allows us to anticipate and gauge the effects of action. At the First Quarter, we bring ourselves into balance.

A lot for one week. A good time for mindfulness and caring.
    

Moon into Leo: Celebrating Change!

Thursday night through Saturday night

The Moon sailed into passionate, expressive Leo last night, where her first actions were to meet Mars in Leo and trine Uranus in Aries, setting the stage for an explosion of creative energy. Mars and Uranus reached their exact trine early this morning.

In the early hours of this morning, the Sun entered creative Libra, marking the astrological Autumnal Equinox, the neopagan festival of Mabon, and harvest festivals the world over. At Weather Thor's Day, Nan Moss shares a poem on this time of equal day and equal night in which she says, in these times of change, that "Equal fear, equal courage" is the true equinox.

Libra is the sign of balance, harmony, beauty and peace, where we experience the ability to see both sides of any question and mediate a just solution. The Moon and Mars in Leo embrace the courage of the heart, ready to face equally the dark and the light, and find a creative way forward. With Uranus the trickster on board, we watch for the unexpected.

This afternoon, the Moon squares Jupiter in Taurus. Expansive, philosophical Jupiter cautions the Moon to slow down, experience the sensual world in all its glory, and nurture ourselves. The passionate Leo Moon pulls Jupiter into a dance, unwilling to sit still. The Moon sextiles Venus in Libra later this afternoon, another creative blending that invites our individual muses to join the dance as well, inspiring us anew.

Strange Fruit performance troupe coming to Lotus

This weekend, my new hometown celebrates world music and art in its annual Lotus Festival––a wonderful way to experience this combination of Leo and Libran energies!

In the early hours of Saturday, the Moon sextiles Saturn. If you're up that late (4:36am EDT), you might feel inspiration turning to action, as words, colors or shapes begin taking form. Saturday is a day for making.

Saturday night, the Sun and Chiron form an inconjunct angle-of-adjustment. What new balance point do we need to find, for healing to happen? If we've been stuck in feeling wounded, where can we find peace?

Not long after the Sun–Chiron connection, the Moon opposes Neptune in Aquarius, and we're asked to take our individual creative visions into a wider realm of community and cosmos. This is the last classical aspect in Leo, opening a two-hour void of course until the Moon steps into analytical Virgo at 12:40am EDT Sunday.

While the Moon is in Leo, the Sun enters Libra, and the year turns, we celebrate our creative passions and face with courage the changes arriving in our world.
   

Autumnal Equinox Today, Waxing Moon in Pisces

Today, at 11:09pm EDT, we reach the Autumnal Equinox. Fall begins; the years pauses for a deep slow breath before turning toward the darker half.

In this natural chart for the Equinox, we see the Moon conjunct Jupiter and Uranus, all clustered at the end of Pisces, the end of the zodiac cycle, before crossing over into the new, bright fire of Aries.

This Moon placement for the Equinox calls attention to the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction--if additional attention is needed for such an enlivening, expansive pair!

Jessica Murray's insightful post links Jupiter and Uranus to our feelings of being overwhelmed by the large and the unexpected this year, and points to the opposition from Saturn as a balancing perspective, reminding us of limits and the need for healthy structure. (Thanks to Mary Plumb at The Mountain Astrologer for this link and recommendation.)

If we've felt swept up in events and energies larger than we could see, let alone manage, tomorrow morning's Full Moon may bring it home for us. As I study the Full Moon chart and read the reflections of fellow astrologers, I'm thinking about the role of the Sun and Moon as the key to our personal charts, the lights in the sky that link most closely to who we are.

As the energy of the Cardinal Cross begins to fade (moving the outer planet powerhouses into new positions of influence), the Sun and Moon meet in dialogue at exactly the same location. Look, they say, let us light this up for you. What has this meant for you? And, this is a Full Moon in Aries after all, what are you going to do about it?

Time to look once more at your birth chart, to see exactly where this Full Moon touches you. Where is the Aries-Libra axis in your chart? Libra rules my Third House and Aries my Ninth; this Full Moon brings new fire to my ever-present drive to learn and explore. My loaded Third House will make sure I think through, write about, and teach what I learn.

My Second House Sun, sitting at 0 degrees Libra, catches the full light of this Harvest Moon; my Solar Return (astrological birthday) falls a few hours after the Moon is Full.

Linda Hill offers her always intriguing, in-deep exploration of the Sabian symbols surrounding this Full Moon. Her title is Coming Ashore and Coming of Age ... A title I'd love to adopt for my rather startling Solar Return chart. The patterns in the sky point to interesting times to come. My charts suggest I'll be experiencing those interesting times up close and personal. I hope you'll come along for the ride!

The Autumnal Equinox and Full Moon in Aries

Underwater rainbow

Today's waxing Moon in Pisces trines Venus and Mars, close together in Scorpio, and also the South Node of the Moon in Cancer, creating a Grand Trine in Water that invites us into deep waters. Our emotions, body, actions, relationships, creativity, and our past, especially habitual ways of doing things that may keep us from our true calling, are all alive in us and enlivening each other.

And yet we are not meant to dissolve into a vast sea of feeling today. Mercury in analytical, practical Virgo opposes the Moon, as the Sun in late Virgo opposes Uranus and Jupiter in Pisces. Virgo becomes our grounding, the reminder to keep our wits about us so we can hear and remember the messages offered to us.

This is our chance to connect with where we are, as we enter a powerful gateway in this powerful year. Tomorrow is the Fall Equinox, which arrives astrologically when the Sun enters Libra at 11:09pm EDT Wednesday. At this hinge of the year, as night catches up to day, we are brought face to face with the limits of life. Celebrating the abundant harvest, we pick up our scythes to reap what we have sown. We dance our gratitude, and sing John Barleycorn Must Die.

Scythe against the hedge

Rob Tillet's post captures the spirit of this year's Equinox. Dana Gerhardt offers a magical ritual for the Harvest Moon, invoking its energies to manifest our heart's desires.

Six hours after the Equinox, the Moon is Full in Aries. This year's Harvest Moon comes with the Moon at 0 Aries and the Sun at 0 Libra, reprising the Cardinal Cross. This Full Moon includes aspects to all the planets and the Nodes of the Moon as well, linking everyone in a circling harvest dance.

How are we doing at this hinge of the year? In the light of this Full Moon, we check in to see how we've weathered the seas of change thus far, and how prepared we are for the time to come. As astrologer Maria Theresa Maggi asked in her lovely podcast series on the Moon, how full-filled are we in the the areas of life where this Full Moon falls for us?

With the Moon at 0 Aries, the beginning of the zodiac, we are called to take action on what we've learned. No more sitting on the sidelines, no more waiting on the fence, it's time to step onto the dance floor and claim our space. This Full Moon is not for the faint of heart, though ... CJ Wright calls this Full Moon the Dance of Fire, even more intense that last year's passionate tango.

Looking at the Full Moon chart, we see the intensity of the patterns: A Grand Cross anchored by the Full Moon. The Aries Moon conjuncts Uranus and Jupiter in late Pisces; the Sun conjuncts Saturn both in Libra. This Full Moon dialogue squares Pluto the phoenix, and the Moon's Nodes. Meanwhile, Venus and Mars in Scorpio are sextiling Pluto and the North Node, even as the Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius sextile Pluto and the North Node from the other side. Mercury, holding on to ordinary life by the skin of his teeth, trines the North Node and sextiles the South Node, while sextiling Venus and Mars.

This Full Moon is a moonlit courtyard full of flamenco dancers, whirling and stamping in perfect unison. So find that red dress, and get ready join the dance.