New Moon 14º Virgo 6:52 pm MT

New Moon in Virgo

When the sun and moon meet (conjunct) in the sky, we have a new moon. Astronomically, the moon lines up between the Earth and the sun, so from our perspective on Earth we can’t see any of the lit side of the moon.

This new moon, the moon and sun sit in Virgo, punctuating the sun’s pass through the sign. You’ll often hear about Virgo as an analytical, organizing, cleaning, even OCD sign. There is reason for this: Virgo season marks the harvest, where we begin to gather and organize, where we sort and separate the wheat from the chaff.

But also, I think there’s a lot more to Virgo than it often gets credit for. To the terms analysis and organization, I’d like to add: purification and devotion.

Virgo is the Virgin, the devotee to the Goddess, cleaning and purifying the temple, ritualizing their devotion, offering themselves in service to something larger than themselves.

And while I’ve certainly been feeling the back-to-school, prepare-for-winter vibes to clean out the closets and stock the pantry, I am also feeling, deeply, the call to recommit to my practices of writing, meditating, sitting with the sun each morning, making my bed, sweeping space and time for my own connection with something greater, my own devotion and service to the gifts and talents I must hone and create in offering to the world. My payment in exchange for this one wild world, this one short and exquisite life.

Virgo is mutable earth—a shift between seasons, the pause between summer and fall—and a reminder that even the sturdiest of structures, even rock and mountain, soil and earth—change.

Sun and moon trine Uranus; Venus trine Jupiter; Mars trine Pluto

As you can see by the subtitle, there is a lot of trine energy happening right now. If you don’t know astrology well, all you need to know is that this represents a highly supportive and collaborating bond between the planets—and between the parts of ourselves and experience they represent.

I like to think of the planets as aspects of human experience and even more particularly, as aspects or parts of our own psyches. When the planets are active—interacting with each other (dependent on their angle to one another in the sky), you may notice that element of human experience “shows” up more in some way, either in the world around you (in the news, maybe, or as a person that enters or becomes prominent in your life) or in your own perception or way of relating to the world (you may feel more impatient and aggressive when Mars makes major aspects or chatty and curious when Mercury does).

These are archetypes, of course, and the planets have more nuance than we can often easily capture in a short blog post or horoscope—but my hope is always to give you a sense of the archetypal patterns to watch for and work with. In your life and in your creative work.

Moon + Sun trine Uranus

The connection to Uranus highlights the disruptive and change-provoking energy of this new moon—but because the interaction is the harmonious trine I mentioned, we can expect the changes to get a little love and softening from the emotional moon and be more of the fun and excitement flavor than chaos and carnage. Use this burst of innovation and out of the lines thinking to feed your creativity and give you the courage to be fully yourself.

Venus trine Jupiter

Venus went directly from a conflict (square) with Pluto to the trine—supportive interaction—with Jupiter, the other benefic planet. Our relationships and connections with others may have been a bit of a rollercoaster this week, but take solace in (and advantage of) this Venus-Jupiter trine—basically the most beneficial and supportive aspect we can ask for. Bathe in this little boost from the cosmos and allow it to help counterbalance some of the prickliness and fogginess we’ve been going through.

Mars trine Pluto

If the past few weeks you felt any version of combination of the following: adrift, foggy, groggy, dreamy, illusioned, delusioned, disillusioned, unfocused, unable to find footing in reality—you’re not alone. There was a major Neptunian vibe as both Mercury and then Mars came into opposition with this blurry, underwater, boundary-less, murky planet.

As Mars moves from that connection into this current trine with Pluto, expect your goggles to clear and your will and drive to crystallize into a sharp point. Use this energy to fuel your Virgo goal-list and get shit done.

And SPARK! is back!

I’m also super excited to announce that after an absolutely incredible cohort and experience last spring, Ansley Clark and I are delighted to run our course on empowering your creative-erotic self + accessing radical pleasure again this fall!

We’ll have more announcements coming and the cart will be opening soon, so stay tuned and tell your friends!

We officially open for enrollment in two weeks, with earlybird pricing for the first week! (But, if you know you’re in, you can email me and we’ll get you signed up!)

New Moon Ritual + Writing Prompt

Ritual for the New Moon in Virgo

A simple but effective way to ritualize the ritualization and purification energy of Virgo is to clean and beautify your work and/or creative space.

1. Wipe down all the surfaces and objects, clearing away any dust or detritus that’s gathered over the lazy days of summer. Sweep or vacuum the space.

2. Replace pens that don’t work, old paintbrushes, dried up clay. Tune your instruments, replace lightbulbs, water the plants.

3. Organize everything in an aesthetically pleasing way.

4. Light a white candle for the moon.

5. Now write a list of your intentions for the next two weeks, and beyond that to the next six months. What do you want to create, make, build? What is the wheat you want to preserve (and note, how this puts the chaff in stark relief)?

6. While making this list, really center the idea of devotion—consider: what are you willing to devote your soul’s days and breaths to—and why?

7. Fold the list and put it under the white candle. Let the candle burn itself out. (In the bathtub or sink of course!)

New Moon in Virgo Creative Writing Prompt

1. What are your characters devotions? These may be spiritual or mundane. They may be harmful or beneficial. Most likely, there will be a few of each.

2. Make a list of what your character is devoted to. Both good and bad, profound and profane.

3. Write a scene in which we see this devotion block or hinder the character in some way (note, this may not always be a stumbling block, but in this scene it is. Don’t feel that you necessarily need to choose a so-called negative devotion for this to work; that may be the easiest route but not the most interesting).