I apologize for being absent for over a month. I’m busy with other projects and simply couldn’t find the time. Also, I will be traveling in September and October and I can’t promise to stay in touch until I return.
That said, on August 23rd with the New Moon at 00 degrees of Virgo, we entered eclipse season, a particular powerful one because this New Moon triggers all those transpersonal planets that are hanging out in the first degrees of new signs. This points to a powerful month of growth and awakening.
Many of us have been stuck in old habits, addictions, mental loops, emotional reactivity, unhealthy relationships and karmic patterns that hang on with the tenacity of a bulldog. This Virgo lunar cycle is our chance to free ourselves from the quicksand of the past.
For most of this year we have individually and collectively attempted to integrate new intense energies and deal with regime change that is eroding everything from our government to our culture to our basic humanity. It has been a stressful time for all of us, but the pressure we are feeling is part of an evolutionary thrust toward awakening and enlightenment.
Just the other day I heard an unusual, and comforting, definition of enlightenment on “Open Minds,” a metaphysical series on Gaia. An enlightened being is anyone who is consciously working on themselves, trying to do the right thing and follow their spiritual path. I love this definition because it describes enlightenment as a process, not a goal which seems unattainable to most of us.
So here we all are in a pressure cooker, dealing with a broad spectrum of emotions, some of us fearful, all of us feeling the collective anxiety. Our psyches have been dislodged from comfort and certainty. The world isn’t making sense anymore and we’re trying to find our footing in a crumbling reality. Fortunately, the heavens never fail us. Just at the right moment they provide a huge boost of energy, along with a distinct message to help extricate us from our fixed state.
Virgo is a reflective sign. It asks us to pause and do some house-cleaning before we move on to the second half of the Zodiac where we form relationships and find our place in the world. Virgo is also the sign of the harvest. After a spring and summer of planting seeds and tending their growth, we now can harvest the fruits of our labor. In Virgo we save what is of value and discard the rest. And we do that by taking the time to think, to analyze, to take stock of our lives and assess the value of the burdens we carry. It’s time to lay them to rest.
Self-reflection includes examining our attitudes and beliefs, our negative emotions, our relationships, our own behavior and the impact we have on others. We look back at the past to heal old wounds and make peace with all those people who taught us some harsh lessons that helped us grow. And the very act of self-reflection is an act of enlightenment.
We carry images of enlightened beings as perfect people, monks or gurus who are wise and unflappable in the face of worldly disaster. But our goal isn’t to follow someone else’s path and become them, it’s to find our own and work consistently to remove the obstacles that obscure our light.
And that is the essence of eclipse season – it’s all about shadow and light.
The New Moon in the USA Chart
Sun and Moon at 00:23 Virgo are in the USA 9th House. This is where we take our experience and information and formulate our world view. It’s the house of higher learning, expanding thought as in philosophy, theology or cosmology. As the natural home of Sagittarius with its dreams and ideals, the 9th House inspires new vision.
In our natal chart, the 9th House holds a stellium consisting of an asteroid, Hygeia; two dwarf planets – Orcus and Varuna; an invisible point in space – Black Moon Lilith; and Neptune, the transpersonal planet that washes away all boundaries and holds sacred space for us to expand. These archetypes are the guides to a new paradigm.
Hygeia in Leo is telling us that the health of our nation depends upon an open heart, a courage that comes from knowing ourselves, cherishing our values, expressing ourselves creatively. That doesn’t mean we all become artists. We do, however, become our true selves. This is an art in itself – discovering our original, source selves. Once we do, we are automatically unique because no two of us are exactly alike; and creative, because we share the attributes of the Divine Creator.
Black Moon Lilith is only two degrees away from Hygeia, implying that it is a necessary component of a healthy society. Lilith carries the dark energy of neglect and abuse of the Divine Feminine. This is one of our greatest challenges as humanity, to slip the bonds of dualistic assumptions and see the wholeness of the cosmos, to embrace and embody the beautiful qualities of the Divine Feminine that have been conditioned out of us. If anything, Black Moon Lilith demands equality. The ills of our society lie in the shadow caste system which relegates the majority to an inferior status and robs them of their rights.
Orcus speaks to us of oaths. I don’t think of this in the legal sense that involves reams of paper and months of conflict. I believe Orcus speaks to us about the vows we made to our souls, that we would dedicate this lifetime to a mission. That brings in the concept of karma. The USA had its Orcus return in 2019, which set the theme of our collective shadow as we approached the Saturn/Pluto conjunction: – Saturn as the Lord of Karma conjunct the Lord of the Underworld – followed by our Pluto return, which is still asking, “Can we preserve our Republic?” We are enveloped in our collective shadow and the only way out is through, not a retreat to the past.
Orcus helps us transmute our inner darkness into light. We have an opportunity to step off that karmic wheel, by making peace with our past and integrating our shadow qualities. It’s time to stop projecting our shadows onto others, and judging them for the very qualities that exist in all of humanity. When we acknowledge our darkness we can claim its power and choose positive ways to express it.
Varuna speaks to us of sovereignty, the power and authority to manage our own lives. It also speaks collectively to self-rule which was the original intent of our Constitution. We make our own laws and agree to abide by them. This is an important theme right now in the evolution of human consciousness. The sign of Pisces has been about herd mentality. Aquarius is about finding and expressing our unique selves and using our collective power to improve the welfare of all.
Neptune in our 9th House encourages our imagination and dreams. Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, is also co-ruler of Pisces and both these signs speak of ideals and enlightenment. Neptune is dancing with Saturn right now, and while the two planets seem to be antithetical in purpose, they are learning to cooperate to bring about growth through responsibility; integrity and sovereignty through spiritual awareness. Neptune plays a big role in this lunar cycle, as we shall soon see.
Our 9th House is already equipped with a variety of themes: psychic and physical health, equality and the recognition of the Divine Feminine, transmuting our shadow, stepping into self-rule and spiritual growth that leads to the realization of our Oneness.
Now the Moon and Sun are transiting Virgo and heading for a rendezvous with the South Node. The Sun meets up with South Node on September 10th but things will constantly heat up between now and October 21st when transiting Orcus and South Node come together at 17:47 Virgo. The inner work we do between now and then can release us from the past in a flash of illumination. The process continues through January as the South Node comes into conjunction with our natal Orcus intensifying our work with shadow material.
All of this takes place in the sign of Virgo. The upside of Virgo is discernment, the ability to see what is valuable and worth preserving and what needs to be released. The downside of Virgo is judgment, including self-judgment. Because we’re so good at picking up imperfect details, we can be harsh task-masters to ourselves. We expect more than we can deliver and then beat ourselves up about it. It’s imperative that we become our own best friends right now and make a connection with our higher selves. The ego will attempt to thwart our growth. We can’t let it.
Part of the difficulty of Virgo consciousness is the Super Ego. This is the repository of all the conditioned rules laid down by parents, teachers, churches, and peers. We integrate those voices and they haunt us daily, weakening our will and autonomy. We need to break some of our own rules that have been set in concrete and loom as taboos. Pisces carries the martyr energy, and we’ve been conditioned to put the needs of others ahead of our own. This is especially true for women.
Aspects
By now you all know that aspects are angular relationships among the planets. We have some very dramatic ones in the New Moon chart. I told you earlier that all the transpersonal planets are entangled with this New Moon. Remember that a New Moon is the beginning of a new cycle. All the transpersonal planets have been crossing thresholds, so they all are at the first degrees of new signs. Beginnings galore!
Let’s start with Uranus which is square the New Moon. Also, Uranus is moving into the final years of its cycle and will return to its natal position for the first time since 1944, as WWII was coming to a close. The exact return happens in July of 2027, but the awakening is already in process.
Uranus is the Great Awakener. Now that it is in the Air sign Gemini, it has room to throw its lightning bolts of energy and information. People are waking up, having realizations, breaking out of imprisoning beliefs and freeing themselves from captivity to the past.
Uranus is also conjunct transiting Sedna within half a minute of arc. That’s tight. Sedna addresses our spiritual path, urges us to let go, to surrender to the flow of evolution and allow ourselves to be transformed. It isn’t just about doing the inner work, addressing our issues, seeking new ways to frame our past and forgive ourselves. It’s also about allowing ourselves to be transformed and regenerated. It’s about surrender.
The New Moon is also the apex of a tight Finger of God aspect, with Pluto in Aquarius quincunx, or 150 degrees away from the luminaries. Pluto is sextile Neptune and Saturn in Aries, which are also 150 degrees away from the New Moon. Two quincunxes and one sextile. Pluto, Saturn and Neptune will be working behind the scenes and pointing out the significance of this lunar cycle. They are telling us to pay attention, allow the evolutionary impulse to work through us, to exercise our imagination and work with the paradox of impermanence.
Saturn loves to create structure, order, institutions that organize our society into manageable stability. Neptune washes away boundaries, erodes rock, swallows up land, continually disappearing the works of humankind. We’re going through an anxiety-producing time of dissolution, to make room for the emergence of a new world order, hopefully one tempered with compassion, empathy, and a desire to reunite our society based on inclusion and an appreciation of diversity.
Total Lunar Eclipse
On September 7th we will have a Full Moon at 15:22 Pisces and the first of two eclipses in Virgo. Unfortunately we won’t be able to see the total blood moon eclipse here in the states. It will be visible in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Even though we can’t see it, we will feel it.
Lunar eclipses take place when the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon and casts its shadow. This is a North Node eclipse which lands directly on the USA natal Sedna, the very planet that is transiting with Uranus. The North Node is the unknown future. It’s tempting to fall back into the familiar territory of the South Node because we know it, no matter how painful it may be. The North Node on our natal Sedna tells us that we are being drawn into the future on our collective spiritual path. We are evolving into the beings who will create a more just and loving future. The message couldn’t be any louder. This is a profound spiritual opportunity to step out of our ego consciousness, let go of grievance, and take a bold step forward into the unknown.
The second eclipse of this season is a partial solar eclipse at 29:05 Virgo on September 21st, just 24 hours before the Autumn Equinox. Again we won’t be able to see it. I think the only country in its path of totality is New Zealand. Nevertheless, it will have an impact on all of us.
The Square to Uranus at the recent New Moon, will become a trine at the next one. In other words, what seems like a struggle at first, or a sideswipe of emotional shock, evolves into a cooperative aspect. We have a month to transmute our relationship with Uranus from resistance, or plain stubbornness, into excitement, as positive energy creates positive outcomes.
I’ll try to write about the equinox before I leave. I’m headed cross country to my grandson’s wedding, another family milestone. In the meantime, pay attention, not just to the curve balls coming your way, but to the bigger picture, the evolutionary context of this powerful moment.
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