No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
~John Donne

There’s a lot of conversation going on these days about various forms of government — socialism, fascism, oligarchies, dictatorships, etc. But the one thing that is true of all government is that it tries to control, to one degree or another, the actions of the individual in service to the whole. At least in theory. In practice, government is usually in service to whatever the powers-that-be are in service to. Which is all too often their own monetary gain and personal influence.

This month’s Virgo New Moon asks us to look at what we are in service to, because we all, as Bob Dylan wrote, “gotta serve somebody”. This doesn’t mean that we are in some way less than, “below stairs”, our lives dictated by the whims of others. It means that we live in a fully-interconnected world.

If you have a job, you are in service to your employer, and who/whatever your employer is in service to. If you have a business, you are in service to your clients and customers. If you live on retirement or investment income, you are in service to whatever your money is invested in. If you are focused on self-sufficiency and living off the land, then you are in service to the land.

But we also serve outside of how we make a living. We make choices to serve family, community, and perhaps our deities, ancestral spirits, and the living world of Nature. Have you considered recently how, who, and what you serve? Where does your energy go? How do you spend your time? How do you spend your money? How are you involved, how do you weave yourself into the tapestry of human society?

Virgo is an often-maligned sign, accused of being uptight, prudish and nitpicky. And it can be all of those things. But all signs have their light and shadow, and Virgo is also delightfully embodied, sensual, creative, and focused on both self-integration and integration into the community through service. This New Moon is *very* Virgo (see the astrology paragraph below), and, if we understand these Virgoan energies, we can focus on making the most of our opportunities during the month ahead, and fine tuning our lives so we are putting most of our energy in service to what we want to encourage and grow in our lives, and not contributing to those things we find problematic or even abhorrent. This month, we will see clear opportunities to develop discernment and organize our lives around our values. This is an excellent time to plan, because you’ll find that both practical strategy and inspiring, creative vision can be brought to bear on your future goals, yielding realistic plans in line with your soul’s desires and intentions.

There are tremendous planetary energies encouraging invention and expansion this month, challenging us to take risks, but only after we have carefully assessed our options. But that may not be easy to do. It’s hard to make clear assessments when you feel like you’re playing Whack-A-Mole half the time, and people keep changing the rules on you. If you find yourself feeling off balance and having a hard time deciding how to react, call a time out. Take the time you need to consider and assess a situation. If you can’t take the time, and need to react quickly, have faith in your intuition.

Being a Mercurial sign, Virgo is very aware of the power of words. Virgo knows that words must be chosen carefully and precisely, because they have power, because they can both heal and destroy. There is a distressing trend I see on social media to refer to people as idiots and worse because they are ignorant of a fact that the person who is posting knows. Ignorance is not idiocy, and even repeated, deliberate ignorance is not cured by calling people names. Cut others some slack, and work to educate, not insult.

We will see many power plays in relationships this month, and it’s important to stay conscious of how our words affect others, how they resonate when we release them into the world. The webs of relationships are what make the world go round. Be discerning about who you are in relationship with, who and what you are serving. You may find you need to make some changes to bring your life into resonance with your dreams for the future.

A Look at the Astrology

Before we get into what this chart means for the nation, here’s a paragraph for those who are interested in the astrological details:

Cast the chart for September 20, 2017, 1:31 am EDT, Washington, DC (AS 21 Cancer 58). (Remember that houses in this chart apply only to the USA). Note first the stellium in Virgo, including Mercury, Virgo’s ruler right at the midpoint between the New Moon and Venus, and in a tight opposition to Neptune, which is also in the sign of its rulership. This aspect dominates the chart. Mercury is also semi-square to Uranus, and the New Moon is in a very, very tight inconjunct to Uranus. The inconjunct demands adjustment of some kind, here between the need to move ahead quickly in response to events, and the need for precision and care in actions. Uranus is in the 10th house, tied by aspect to all the major players in this chart. We are going to see quite a wild ride in the government this month. Mars is also in opposition to Neptune. Finally, note the Jupiter/Uranus opposition, both planets in 8th harmonic aspect to Mercury and Neptune. Note, too, the tight quindecile aspect (an aspect of obsessive thinking and behavior) between the New Moon and Neptune.

On the National Stage

Cancer on the Ascendant indicates that we the people will be very concerned about national security on a number of levels, but food, communication and transportation networks, fuel availability and pricing, and international tensions will be paramount. Victim-blaming and saber-rattling are on the menu. Confusion, deception and disillusionment are rife. But we also have great opportunities for transcendence and spiritual conversations of a high order.

The spiritual warrior will be a theme — fighting for change from a spiritual perspective. You might ask yourself what actions you can take that will inspire others and bring more spiritual awareness and connection into your world.

Strong, even violent opposition and conflict around ideas and beliefs will bring more confusion than clarity to various situations. Many people won’t, but you might want to make a point of thinking before acting, and remember that insults do not inspire change.

We’ll also be seeing a lot of news about banking and finance, taxes and insurance, and while this may seem a remote possibility at the moment, given the current state of the Legislative Branch, new banking and financial regulations might materialize. We can hope.

Keep in mind that your personal experience of these New Moon energies depends on your personal natal chart, your intentions, and your discipline and mindset. Be sure to state your intentions for the month ahead clearly on the day of the New Moon, then follow up with magic to manifest them as Moon waxes to Full. If you want some insight and detail about what’s going on for you personally, contact me for a consultation.