Virgo New Moon: A Cosmic Reset for Personal Growth

There's a potency and poignancy to this New Moon that we don't often expect from the non-nonsense sign of Virgo.

Virgo is often relegated to being the helper, the analyst, the perfectionist. Very demure, very mindful, indeed. But her precision is more divinely inspired than we like to think. Virgo is the embodiment of Spirit, the keeper of the temple, the herbalist, the healer.

If Pisces is the lost soul, adrift on tendrils of melancholy and poetry, eager to dissociate from the tragedy of being human to merge with all that is, Virgo is the Earth angel, dutifully mining every moment for divinity. Virgo is the spiritual epiphany that only comes after mastering the mundane. Virgo is the famous 8th century Zen Buddhist master Layman P'ang, famously quoted as saying:

How miraculous and wondrous,
Hauling water and carrying firewood!

Which brings us to the mood of this Virgo New Moon. We've all been on a roller-coaster ride the last six weeks. We could use a break. Our need for consistency has been seriously challenged. The acceleration of change has left us dehydrated and breathless.

It's impossible to ignore the weight of this moment. We may feel haunted or relieved by this notion. Or both. Melancholy, ambivalence and even grief are normal responses to this astrology. And yet, it's unlikely we'll lose ourselves entirely to this maudlin mood.

Something exciting and liberating percolates beneath the surface. This lunation carries the essence of a fresh start. This is the eye of the storm. Adrenal fatigue is real. Our rebirth is here. Time to reconcile with what's over and surrender to the arriving dawn.

Balancing Responsibility and Recovery

At it's most basic, a Virgo New Moon is a good time to organize, plan, and embrace the dutiful nature of Virgo, while creating space to process the events of August. Clean out the drawers. Take a restorative bath. Consider your nutrition. Do yoga. Take a silent, phone-free walk. This New Moon may ask you to take responsibility for your own recovery.

Neptune and Pluto: Diving into the Subconscious

Larger forces are at work in this lunation. Several cycles are ending at once, bringing the events of the last 15 years to a natural crescendo. Consider the Capricorn and Pisces parts of your chart. The places we've been burdened by responsibility and challenged to make sacrifices. Since 2008, Pluto in Capricorn has turned our notion of "success" inside-out with obvious manifestations of workaholism. Since 2011, Neptune in Pisces has done the same for our connection to "reality" and the mass appeal of dissociating from it.

On this New Moon, Neptune and Pluto form an Earth-Water sextile for the first time since 1986 and for the last time in our lifetimes. This is a chance to explore our deeper psyche to uncover and heal hidden motivations, to clarify our aspirations and watch them manifest.

This harmonious aspect peaks on September 3rd, continues during the Sept. 17 Pisces Lunar Eclipse and stays active through early October. This is a powerful period for psychological and spiritual growth.

Saturn in Pisces: Lessons in Surrender

This New Moon also offers a sobering confrontation with the limits of self-sacrifice and the consequences of having porous boundaries. Since March 2023, we've been granted valuable lessons in surrender. This year, we saw some reward for that sacrifice. But the challenge to find balance between structure and flexibility, commitment and freedom, joy and obligation, continues. We may choose to establish new limits, to realize our mind-body health depends on it.

Mercury in Leo: Awakening to Change

Despite all this ongoing angst and recovery, Mercury in Leo forms its third and final square to Uranus just days after this lunation. This is a catalyst for change, sudden realizations and breaking news. We're on the brink of an epic shift in perspective or circumstance. If we can just find the peace in the midst of this storm.

With Venus in Libra conjunct the South Node, we're reminded of astrologer Tosha Silver's wisdom:

Let everything that needs to go, go.

Let everything that needs to come, come

The changes occurring now are fated. It's time to let go of old, co-dependent habits, old people-pleasing patterns and stake a claim to our autonomy and this brave new world.

So as we move into this Virgo New Moon, ground yourself in the present moment. Release notions of the "ideal." Open yourself to a more balanced and intuitive approach to life. The invitation is to shift from rigid control to fluid responsiveness.

This is the last non-eclipse lunation in Virgo until August 31, 2027, making it a launching pad into a new way of being. Set intentions for personal growth.

Stay present for the magic that's on the way.