At the core of this week’s astrology is the Virgo New Moon, exact at 1:29 am EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Can you believe it’s been a month since the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse? And quite a month it’s been, as superstorms have wiped the infrastructure off of whole islands, and have rearranged much of Florida and Texas.
Barred spiral galaxy — in this case, an artist’s image of the Milky Way.
The Virgo New Moon is a high-impact event, if you measure by the many aspects it makes to slow-moving planets and deep-space points, particularly the Galactic Core.
The Moon and Sun form their conjunction in an opposition to Chiron. The is the last of seven Sun-Chiron oppositions during Chiron’s run through Pisces, which began in 2010. So it’s the first of several send-offs to this phase of history, as Chiron gets ready to enter Aries.
The message here seems to be about understanding the purpose and the impact of our relationships. The purpose must, on some level, involve healing. The impact could be anything, though it’s essential to remember that it exists. Our relationships are the primary way that we teach one another, and define our reality. For its part, Chiron in Pisces has offered a thread of reality though a decade of ever-increasing human indulgence in fantasy.
As for fantasy — we might get an abundance of that this week as first Mercury, and then Mars, form oppositions to Neptune. This is a caution against wishy-washy thinking, allowing emoting to substitute for intelligence, and failing to listen to your intuition.
Mars in particular can have a self-destructive quality in opposition to Neptune, and you may not be able to accurately calculate the risks of something you want to try. Therefore, you may need other forms of boundaries and reality check. I would repeat a caution — emphasized several other ways by this week’s astrology — to do nothing absurd like drive a car or operate machinery under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
A typical hurricane takes a galaxy-like shape. The spiral seems to be a basic and recurrent form in our dimension of reality.
Back to our New Moon: it also makes an exact quincunx to Uranus and, by extension, to the Uranus-Eris conjunction. The way I’ve interpreted this in my horoscope columns this week is if you are resolutely yourself, you’ll invoke an unusual power of transformation.
Unexpected developments and encounters are likely to happen in any event, and it will help not to cling to your expectations. The less you cling, the more gently they will be removed, as the keynote of any potent Uranus aspect is to ‘expect the unexpected’. That’s another way of saying: proceed with an open mind. Finally, the New Moon makes square aspects to many points in late Sagittarius. By many, I mean that the New Moon is in close proximity to the Galactic Core, which offers a daunting image of the mundane life described by Virgo contrasted with the cosmic-level of experience described by Sagittarius.
The New Moon also forms a square to Pholus (pressurized release; small cause, big effects), to a hypothetical called Cupido (groups, families and gatherings), Achilles (false lack of confidence), Quaoar (family of origin; personal creation myth), and Orius (the long arc of justice).
Taken together, we seem to be looking at something describing conditions within the family of humanity. Yes, there are plenty of diverse conditions, though some keep showing up over and over again, wherever you might look.
Another naturally appearing spiral, this time in the form of a cactus in Mexico. Photo by David de la Luz.
Despite all our seeming differences, and the exploiting of those differences for purposes of marketing, politics or projecting one’s inner conflict onto society, this is ALL a game, and a toxic one.
False debates rage on and on as humanity gradually forgets not just its origins (to the extent that it might meekly remember) but also any sense or experience of common ground.
Many recent events have served to remind us about our commonality, or to put the world in situations where we actually see that it’s all about us — and there’s nobody here but us.
The New Moon’s square to the Galactic Core and its many attendants, coupled with the opposition to Chiron and aspect to Uranus, is indeed a tense scenario. It might feel like the extreme discomfort one experiences prior to admitting the truth of something that’s been nagging for years or longer.
One potential scenario is that the spiritual questions described by aspects to points in Sagittarius manifest as personal questions, issues or encounters in the more easily accessible realm of Chiron. If that’s true, the question then becomes: how do you handle people when they offend you? How do you handle boundary breaches? When you are hurting and someone else is hurting too, how then do you proceed?
And do you exploit the differences you experience with others — that is, do you dwell on the otherness — or do you explore what you share in common? Can you even see and feel it?
These and other ideas may arise in your field of reality this week. I am planning to be with you Tuesday for another edition of Planet Waves FM.
Wonderful. Thank you, dear Eric. xxx
Turning 63 on the 21st, thanks for the heads up!
Welp, guess which PW astrologer just noticed that this Virgo New Moon roughly squares her natal Moon? Been a little preoccupied with some very intense theatrical work, and somehow this bit about Chiron seems very apropos — though my battle with insomnia this week has me feeling a little slow on making the connections more clear… that said, I think this relates to my present theatrical situation, what with Pisces being my 10th house:
“The message here seems to be about understanding the purpose and the impact of our relationships. The purpose must, on some level, involve healing. The impact could be anything, though it’s essential to remember that it exists. Our relationships are the primary way that we teach one another, and define our reality.”
And with Mercury in Virgo and almost out of shadow (yes?) my mental sphere has been working overtime — to a deleterious effect, it seems. At least as far as my sleep is concerned… which affects so much else…
The description of Mars opposite Neptune has me very grateful that I don’t have to drive to and from work, given everything else. Not that I ever drink much, anyway.
And this bit is certainly ringing some bells — though again, it’s a more impressionistic sense, rather than a clearly detailed “ah ha!” on my part:
“The New Moon also forms a square to Pholus (pressurized release; small cause, big effects), to a hypothetical called Cupido (groups, families and gatherings), Achilles (false lack of confidence), Quaoar (family of origin; personal creation myth), and Orius (the long arc of justice).”
Which, I guess, is just to say that I hope this setup helps me to release/undo/re-pattern a couple of patterns that seem to be taking hold. I hope everyone else is hanging in there ok!
Amanda, if it helps, I too have had battles with insomnia, if what you are saying is that you can’t turn off your mind at bedtime. If that’s it and we (and zillions of others) are exhausted but can only sleep in short naps, then I believe it will pass. I’m now moving into periods of sleep 3 to 5 hour long, but it is a deep sleep. (I believe it is in part reflected by transiting Uranian Point Kronos aspecting my natal Sun-Chiron-Ceres).
It may sound like woo-woo but I believe the human species is and will be going through physical as well as spiritual and consciousness changes. Transiting Saturn is exactly opposite U.S. natal Mars in Gemini which might have a zapping effect on the whole nation. We are drained.
As for the Virgo New Moon, its sextile to Ceres in Cancer forms a Yod to the U.S. natal (Sibly) Moon in Aquarius (symbolizing U.S. people) which is still under the vibes coming from last month’s eclipse in Leo. It all amounts to a Boomerang pattern that reverberates or re-echoes the same energy until we feel like a plate of jello. All the better to open us up to the new energies/vibes needed for the transformation. As a science flunkie I don’t totally grasp the idea of humanity moving from a carbon based being to a crystal based being. Seems like something a lab test could detect.
However, I submit to being a lab project if it means that the world will be a better place someday. The scary feelings, symptoms, thoughts could be explained away by physicians who say they’ve seen it all before, but it could also be some incredible morphing from one “state” to another “state” (of being). If you’re a believer of course. Hang in there, this too shall pass. . I hope.
be
Thanks, Be! I’m trying not to stress about it, but…. it is very stressful not to be able to have all my usual energy reserves available for the projects I’m passionate about (an amazing theater production I’m in) and work (which needs me to be focused and clear-headed). And the off-kilter sleeping and waking is also eating up *time* that I would normally have to use in certain ways.
Whether I’m undergoing a collective shift in consciousness or just experiencing personal artistic and karmic growing pains in an especially disruptive way, JELLO is right. You hang in there, too!
Thank you be! (((((())))
Feeling the same way, dear Amanda – and it just seems to go on and on and on. I’ve found it helps a lot when I can surrender to the exhausted, constant, jello state rather than resist it. Not at all easy – but when I’m able to do it, I feel more relaxed and a bit of mojo comes back.
Back atcha Lizzy . . . .
Good Amanda, you have a passion that drives you. Without a passion or two these stressful things that block us from engaging to our fullest can be very depressing. These frustrating, stress-creating blocks are Saturnian in nature (IMO) as is *time*. What if the blocks that keep us from giving our All to our passions were trying to teach us something? To train us in some way, or maybe it might be an effort to re-channel or re-balance our energy output?
I’ve even had the notion that most of the country is being forced to STOP everything that is seen as productive; not only is the U.S. progressed Mars in retrograde, the natal U.S. Mars has had over 2 months of an intense block from transiting Saturn. What’s a Mars to do besides spin his wheels when faced with this dilemma?
Transiting slow-down Saturn is in the U.S Sibly chart’s 1st house;
U.S. natal Mars is opposed by Saturn;
Transiting Neptune squares U.S. ascendant;
Trans. Uranus-sextile-US Moon instills the urge to “breakout” in the U.S. People, but trans. Uranus also squares the U.S. Pluto who is reluctant to give ground. All very frustrating.
Trans. Saturn is in the sign that Jupiter rules and trans. Jupiter opposes trans. Uranus and they both square U.S. Pluto. The U.S. is stymied; unable to move forward or breakthrough it appears.
Two things give me hope. Mercury and Mars made 3 conjunctions to begin their present cycle. In the 1st try they opposed Pluto and squared Jupiter (who was conjunct U.S. Saturn). In the 2nd try they were conjunct the degree of the solar eclipse 2 weeks earlier while engaging in a grand trine with Uranus and the GC and Pholus. In the 3rd try 3 days ago they were in Virgo, conjunct Circe and square U.S Uranus. Circe could turn men into swine. That’s the part that gives me hope. This Mercury-Mars cycle that carries so much symbolism will be over in Spring, 2019. During this cycle Mercury-Mars + Circe will be turning men into swine and it will be a breakthrough (U.S. Uranus) for the USA.
The other thing that gives me hope is that in early November trans. Venus and Jupiter in Scorpio (while closing in on a trine to Neptune) will sextile the 3rd Mercury-Mars + Circe conjunction degree that took place 3 days ago. This will coincide with the final trine between trans. Saturn and Uranus in their cycle that began in 1988 in the late degrees of Sagittarius. Trans. Saturn will be in late Sagittarius in early November.
There are a couple of things I can note here about that cycle between Uranus and Saturn without going into the detailed picture. (1) In the last of the 3 conjunctions between Uranus and Saturn in 1988 Neptune was at 7+ Capricorn which is trine the degree where 3 days ago the 3rd of 3 conjunctions took place between Mars and Mercury and Circe. (2) That Neptune in 1988 was opposite Chiron at 7+ Cancer. (3) The Moon in that 1988 chart was conjunct the U.S. natal Pluto at 27+ Capricorn and she was (4) square the Sun, at that time in Libra, which is where transiting Jupiter is right now, today.
I believe the Mercury-Mars cycle we are just starting is linked into the present cycle between Saturn and Uranus which will reach a major milestone this November; a point of rare cordiality between the two forces symbolized by Saturn (change resistant) and Uranus (change). This will affect the U.S. (people, government, history) who will play an important part in that milestone. The fact that this cycle between Saturn and Uranus started conjunct the Galactic Core is not insignificant.
It is possible (IMO) that the people in the USA might be “on hold” for some event or process that will start or take place in November, an event which will require an enormous amount of energy from the U.S. people. It will have to do with establishing new order while at the same time the old order is transforming into some totally new entity. As transiting Uranus squares (challenges) the U.S. Pluto (and the Moon in the Uranus-Saturn cycle chart) transiting Chiron will be sextile (cooperates with) the U.S. Pluto. This will probably be visible to us by next March.
If my hunch is right it is possible that many of us being frustrated (lack of sleep, lack of focus, lack of time) right now will be unshackled from our present lethargy by Thanksgiving.
be
Thanks again, lovely be! (roll on Thanksgiving!).