It’s a hands-on, hard-working, practical kind of month ahead. The Virgo New Moon always brings a big dose of earthiness with it, but this year, the chart is remarkable for its elemental focus. Aside from the Sun and Moon, 5 other planets are in Earth signs, and the remaining three planets are in Water signs. Let’s review and consider some of the lessons of the Elements, because that’s where we’ll discover how to finesse the month ahead.
The four classical Elements — Air, Fire, Water, and Earth — are basic to astrology and many forms of magic. They are the building blocks of the reality we experience1. When we have this kind of emphasis on Earth signs, we’ll find many of our challenges and much of our magic and personal power are somehow engaged with this element. Time and space, manifestation, limits and boundaries, fertility and growth, and all practical concerns will be pushing at us. Caution, patience, and thoroughness will serve us well in the month ahead.
The dearth of Air and Fire suggests that communication will be inhibited in some way, and inspiration and enthusiasm will be in short supply. And then we have those three planets in Water.
Many years ago, when I was studying soil science in college and grad school, I slogged through a lot of muddy fields, because that’s where so much of the research was done. But you can’t do any real work in wet fields because of what all that water does to the soil. Walking through them makes it worse. Flooding changes the chemistry, the microbiology, and the structure of the soil so much that even after it’s dried out, the changes persist.We’ll be seeing something very similar as the energy of Water and Earth plays out around us and in our lives. Life is changing, there’s work to be done, but because of weather — anything from emotional weather to planetary weather to space weather — we can’t do it. We need to wait until things dry out, or our efforts might make it worse.
We may see this happening on an emotional level, with relationships that were deeply-rooted slip slidin’ away, and all efforts to stop the slide just make it worse. Perhaps other people are changing profoundly in ways we never anticipated, or maybe we are. We’ll see it reflected out in the world, with life-changing events that can bring fresh new growth or change your plans entirely. Emotional realities will bring real-world consequences. Real world events will bring buried emotional issues to the surface, hopefully to be healed, integrated, or transcended as needed.
We’ll all be influenced by and react to these energies differently, depending on our natal charts, but there are some psychological and magical techniques that can help you shift things if you find yourself feeling burdened and unable to find balance this month.
In meditation, build a small, sacred fire within your self. Sit at your altar and consider what drives you, what inspires you, what makes your life worth living. Connect with whatever spiritual reality calls to you. Hold those things in your mind, and see them become a living flame in your heart from which you can draw strength and energy. Touch two fingers to your heart, and let them carry that flame to at least two other places in your body — your belly, just below your navel, and your third eye, between your brows.
Do this daily for a while, until you can quickly and easily visualize the fire that you carry inside, and call on it for the inspiration and energy you need when you are feeling drained and like you’re just slogging along. If you want to add a little more magic to the process, you might want to have a small alcohol fire on your altar.
I’d also suggest that you spend some time breathing consciously. Try simple square breathing, or explore pranayama. If you sit at your altar and light some candles and incense while you’re doing these exercises, all the better.
It’s also important to honor Earth and Water as well so we can work with these fairly heavy energies in a productive and beneficial way. Here are some ideas.
Work in a garden, sit on a rock and meditate, make something with clay. Clean any crystals or stones you work with, and charge them in Sun or the next Full Moon (September 24 @ 2° Aries). Spend a few moments before you eat in gratitude for and awareness of the food you are about to eat. Say grace, and mean it. Hug a tree. Talk to your plants. On a more practical level, make concrete, written plans to reach a goal. Catch up on your finances. Organize and declutter. Take a cleansing salt bath, and let any negativity you’ve picked up drain away. Write down your dreams. Nurture your ideals. Make them manifest.
Kindness and Discernment
There are some other points of interest in this chart I’ll elaborate on, but first, here are some astrological details for those who are interested.
Astrologers: Cast the chart for September 9, 2:02 p.m. EDT, Washington, DC, 14° Sagittarius rising (the ascendant and houses in this chart are almost identical to the USA Sibley chart). Remember that the angles and houses only apply to the USA.
Here’s what I’m looking at. The New Moon is trined by Pluto, and in opposition to Neptune. Pluto lends support, and power from the depths, but that opposition is challenging, making it difficult to achieve the clarity we’ll be needing under this Moon. There’s a tight trine between Saturn and Uranus, creating a wide Grand Trine with Mercury at home in Virgo. This makes 3 planets in their domicile in this chart, so you’ll want to pay particular attention to the dispositor dynamics. A planet in its own sign is particularly strong, and three can be a three-ring circus, with 3 different ringmasters. Confusing, and even conflicted without a strong director. Neptune makes this confusion more likely, but Saturn, if we’ll follow him, offers direction, with some organizing help from Mercury.
Mercury may rule the New Moon and be cracking the whip, but Saturn holds the reins. Why? Look at the major aspect in this chart aside from the New Moon-Neptune opposition. It’s a T-square, with Venus in Scorpio (ruled by Mars and Pluto) oppose Uranus in Taurus (ruled by Venus), square Mars in Capricorn. So Saturn is in Capricorn and disposits Mars and Pluto, which themselves disposit Venus and Jupiter. That makes 5 planets under Saturn’s rule. But wait, there’s more! Saturn is also the way out, the release for the tension of this T-square, since it trines Uranus, sextiles Venus, and disposits Mars.
When Saturn is driving a chart like this, hard work is unavoidable. Do the work and do it well, and rewards will be forthcoming, but if you are being lazy or a screw-up, you’ll find yourself connecting with the proverbial 2×4 to the head. Remember that the things worth doing are worth doing well. Find joy in work well done.
The Virgo team — Mercury, Sun, and Moon — are insisting on discernment, which would include understanding the difference between hard work and self-destruction, between laziness and self-care. Look after your health, both mental and physical, and think about how you can change the routines of your life to improve both.
As always, how this New Moon affects you depends on your birth chart (if you want a personalized overview, check out the SkyLog report I offer ). But whatever you are dealing with this month, make a real effort to see and consider other points of view. A little humility will go a long way. You may be smart, but that doesn’t mean you’re right. Maybe the other person’s right — or not. That’s where the discernment comes in. To accurately discern between two choices requires that you understand both.
Kindness is another quality we’ll need this month to counter the inchoate fear of the “other” that infests the zeitgeist these days. Racism, misogyny, xenophobia and all the other fear-driven reactions to a materialist world view will be running wild, and the only cure for this existential fear is the understanding that Spirit, that Consciousness is behind all that we see in the manifest world. We are so much more than our minds, our bodies, our race or gender. So is everyone else we meet. Look beyond the surface this month.
Our lives consist not only of what we encounter, what happens to us, but of how we respond and the choices we make. When Neptune is emphasized in a chart, as it is in this one, making creative choices in line with our spiritual values and dreams is the way to go. Otherwise, we’ll likely find ourselves entangled in scandal, the fallout from deception, issues around drugs, addiction, and getting lost in false glamour, fantasy, and/or other Neptunian traps.
There’s a lot going on in this chart, and surprising events are likely. There are tremendous opportunities for growth and productive change, with change being the keyword. Sudden changes are to be expected, and you may feel as though you’re playing whack-a-mole at times. Be ready to make quick decisions, and trust your instincts. Don’t take the easy way out, take the right way.
On the National Stage
This is a remarkable, unprecedented time for our country politically, and I don’t see things getting calmer or easier in the near future. For the month ahead, issues around the courts, legal matters, relationships with foreign countries (particularly financial relationships), religion and philosophy will be primary. So will considerations of espionage, the national debt, sex, death, and taxes.
Financial shenanigans, power plays, and disruptions will be much in the news, and women, especially women in the legislative branch of the government, will be prominent and under fire. Innovative and even revolutionary legislative wrangling is likely, as are subversive maneuvers.
Freedom will be a buzzword, and ideas of what exactly that entails will be the subject of arguments that could turn violent.
As far as the weather is concerned, flooding, water pollution, and yet more fires and explosions are probable. Do not take evacuation warnings lightly. I am also concerned about possible earthquakes, so if you live in an earthquake-prone area, make sure your emergency plans are in order.
I know, it sounds like I’m just extrapolating from the current news, but it’s all right there in the chart.
Astrologers: (I am using equal houses) In addition to what I noted above, The New Moon, in the 10th house, rules the 8th and 9th, with Mercury in the 9th. Also, Sagittarius is rising with Jupiter in Scorpio in the 12th. The T-square crosses the 5th-11th axis (elites and the legislature, the people’s representatives), and squares the 2nd of finance, ruled by a powerful Saturn, and containing both of Scorpio’s rulers.
Venus is in and ruling the 11th, rules the 6th and the MC, and disposits Uranus. She is not very happy in Scorpio, but rulerships and aspects give her power while putting her in the line of fire. And speaking of Scorpio, note the focus on investigations and espionage, with the AS ruler in Scorpio, in the 12th. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to bring them to my Facebook page.
I may not be writing any more posts until after November 12th, which is the deadline date for delivering my book to the publisher. Yes, I’ll be publishing a book next year! The title is Touch the Earth, Kiss the Sky: Integrating Science, Magic, and Spirit. I’m very excited, but I’m also getting down to the wire, so I need to focus entirely on that for a while. If everything is going smoothly, I’ll get another post up on the next New Moon, otherwise, I’ll see you in a couple of months!
1These are obviously not the elements that make up the Periodic Table we’ve all seen plastered on the walls of every high school science lab. But take your mind back to your high school chemistry class, and recall the four states of matter — gas (Air), plasma (Fire), liquid (Water), and solid (Earth).
