On Sunday, September 9 we have a New Moon in Virgo, exact at 11:01am at 17 degrees. This is the first lunar cycle that doesn’t carry the charge of eclipse energy with it since mid-July, and the first one without the frustration of Mars Retrograde. With Saturn recently turned direct as well, it seems like a reprieve.
Virgo is where we recognize a need for wholeness. We’ve been so mired in our own subjective, personal business, otherwise known as the progression from Aries to Leo, and suddenly we recognize that there is more. We hear the call of the other and a need to relate and change and grow. But it’s more than that, too: we hear the call of the divine from across the circle in Pisces, and we experience an increased drive to live up to the call of our souls as we recognize we will eventually return to the abyss. The longing to be in service to love emerges.
The Virgo archetype speaks to that of the Virgin: She who is whole unto herself. If we take that gender binary stuff out of it: They who are whole unto themselves. Virgo is a very solitary archetype, represented by The Hermit in the tarot. Virgo also speaks to a lineage of healers and humans who have been devoted to service of something outside of themselves.
.
For thousands of years, it was priestesses who guarded the mysteries of the flame and the mysteries of life. Many of these mysteries were sexual in nature, and as information and consciousness began to evolve, these priestesses were the ones who served by initiating others into sexual mysteries, into paths to wholeness, and into transformation.
The asteroid Vesta is commonly understood as representing a blend of Virgo and Scorpio. The Virgoan path towards making practical use of our individual gifts in service of Scorpio transformation -- the death and rebirth processes that are vital to the health of our species and our earth.
Over time, these sacred servants became confined and repressed. Through the evolution of time, as the power of sex and sexuality were recognized by encroaching patriarchal forces, the light was snuffed out. What was once a sacred position tending the flames became distorted. Vows of chastity became punishable by death when broken. When that became too uncivilized, those found to be breaking their vows were locked in underground cells to die. Sacred servants, often called sacred whores or prostitutes, became outcasts. Shunned as diseased, shameful, unchaste.
This lunation speaks to the story of these sacred servants in several ways. We’ve been through shake-ups this summer. This New Moon in Virgo is an opportunity for regrounding and regrouping back into service -- of ourselves and our health first, and then of the whole.
This New Moon is also receiving a sextile from Jupiter in Scorpio, a supportive aspect that synergizes the seeds we are planting and providing an opportunity to heal our beliefs around sex, death and transformation.
Finally, this New Moon takes place with the asteroid Vesta conjunct the galactic center.
You might remember last October when I wrote a piece about Lilith. At the time, Black Moon Lilith was conjunct the Galactic Center, shrieking her rage over the injustices done to her body, soul and spirit through the reprehensible violence of patriarchal rule, and the ways we’ve gone down a rabbit hole of enslaving, denigrating and controlling certain bodies in order to codify the power of others. She was shrieking into the black hole of the galaxy just as the Me Too movement came to the main stage.
Now it is Vesta’s turn. The being who knows inherently what wholeness feels like and is able to tap into that truth and use it to face her path of service. Without martyrdom, without self-sacrifice. With practical, methodical action and troubleshooting. From a place of wholeness. She has ‘gone inside’ to learn what gifts she has to offer and has developed them.
It can feel solitary in this moment, as we re-set and regroup after a summer of change. The weeks since that Pisces Full Moon have likely felt a push towards solitude for many of us. That solitude is a blessing and salve at this time, however The ground of being, represented by a dynamic yet fleeting earth trine between Mercury, Saturn and Uranus, is encouraging us to hold the tension of all that is changing with all that ever has been and ever will be, and to synthesize it into a more cohesive vision.
What’s being called for now is simplification. What is draining your energy? Get rid of it. Even if just for this first week of the cycle so that you can focus and have space for what will be seeking refinement and nurturing in the coming months. Purification is a mandate of the Virgo-Pisces axis, so salt water baths, salt around entrances to your home, water, cleanses and cleaning up your space (physical, mental and emotional) will likely feel good if not necessary.
Bio: Amanda is an astrologer, soul worker and cathartic past life regression therapist. She can be
found in the virtual realms at www.aquarianspirals.com, and does astrology and tarot consults
at East West on Thursdays from 12-6.
Those who support Amanda through Patreon at the $5+ levels received specialized guidance for creating their own rituals for this New Moon. To join and gain access immediately, visit her Patreon Campaign.