Astrology isn’t worth much unless it’s applicable in and to your life. Assuming you agree with that assertion, the question of how to make astrology applicable depends on what your life consists of. Change is very possibly the only constant in life, so that’s one thing. Also, carrying on with your life does seem to require self-awareness possessed both of and by a physical body.
Hence, your life in this material world might to be said to at least include change and possession as fundamental constituents. Possession in this, our material world, must likewise include a relationship with tangible things.
In astrology, tangible things correlate closely with the four elements: fire, earth, air and water. Among those four, earth could reasonably be considered the most tangible element.
Change is something that takes place over time, and time is anything but tangible. For astrologers, change might be said to correspond with the three qualities: cardinal, fixed and mutable. Of those three, mutability would logically be considered the most change-able quality because (as Eric noted in a recent podcast) it can best and most often evince something of the other two.
Each of astrology’s twelve signs is distinguished in part from the other eleven by a unique combination of element and quality. After the Sun enters Virgo shortly after 6:37am EDT (10:37:14 UTC) on Sunday, the solar emblem of consciousness will be expressing through the one and only sign that combines earth with mutability.
Each of the signs is also distinguished in part by a ruling planet. Mercury rules Virgo. Virgo is also where Mercury is exalted. Indeed Virgo is the only sign which doubles down in that way. Since one of the ways Mercury manifests in your life is as mind and the means by which mind makes itself known, solar Virgo is an appropriate time to be aware of, think about and discuss change, possession and your relationship with both.
At first, the combination of mutability with earth might appear to be a contradiction. The same might be said for the combination of change and possession, but that would be over-simplifying things. Granted, one does customarily construct a building’s foundation on the ground rather than in the air, on a fire, or in the water. But earth in the elemental sense entails more than just the ground under your feet.
Earth as a planet and in the elemental sense is a dynamic thing. Earth as a planet is the field upon which change plays out in your life. Earth in the elemental sense is also what change acts upon so as make the intangibility of time evident. Hence, possession on Earth is not really owning stuff, it’s owning your place in a dynamic. Indeed, ownership of tangible things (including your body) is ultimately among the most fundamental of over-simplifications.
Ultimately, all tangible things are shared. Your body is not a static thing; it is a dynamic thing. Energy, solids, air and water all pass through your body. With few exceptions, the material that makes most of your physical being turns over and is replaced many times in the course of your life. Ultimately, and without exception, every last atom is returned to the physical realm when your life is over.
You bring no tangible things, including your body, into this world with you – it is all acquired here. Neither do you leave this world with your body or any other tangible things. All you leave with is what you have done while acting as a custodian.
Hence, the greatest form of possession is to consciously own any changes you bring about by what you do with your body and other tangible things while you are here. Likewise, the most lasting and meaningful changes are made not on the material world and its things, but with them on yourself.
The essentials of change and possession are thus fundamental to the mutable earth that is Virgo, and all the things that Virgo can be construed to mean. This year, that essence will be symbolically encountered by the Sun in Virgo as never before in your life.
For this year, very shortly after the Sun enters Virgo it will conjoin with Jupiter to amplify the essence. Furthermore, as it applies to conjoin with Jupiter, the Virgo Sun will simultaneously oppose the centaur object Nessus, retrograde in Pisces. In the words of Cam Hassard, Nessus correlates with the “complex interplay of causes and effects.” And it is largely through your engagement with possession and change that cause and effect are manifested in the world.
That combination of aspects (Sun opposing Nessus while moving to conjoin Jupiter) upon the Sun’s ingress to Virgo is without precedent in your lifetime. Hence, the initiation of solar Virgo this year will apply to your life as at its most fundamental as never before in your experience. Of course, you have a place in all of this. Your place is to make it real.
To make it real you need to become a part of this historically significant solar ingress to Virgo. Cause and effect begin with you. In order for the astrology to apply to you, you must apply yourself. It means applying yourself and all you possess with conscious awareness and mindful intent. Not to change the world, but to change yourself into the best agent of cause and effect you can be. That’s how astrology works. That’s why it will be good to be alive when the Sun enters Virgo this year.
Offered In Service
Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.
“Hence, possession on Earth is not really owning stuff, it’s owning your place in a dynamic.”
Word.
chief niwot’s son: Thank you.
Interesting take on Virgo being the sign of Mercury’s rule and also exaltation. The duality of Virgo is, to a great extent, hidden beneath the surface. Yet I think those of us with prominent Virgo need to acknowledge it. Apparent inconsistency is a great stick to beat oneself up with, and many of us are only looking for an opportunity to do so.
Amy: No need to beat yourself up. In my experience, people with a strong Virgo signature are among the best of the best. i would ask you to consider whether this “duality” you speak of is another case over-simplifying what in fact is an indication of great possession. In other words, having Virgo be the only sign in which the ruling planet is also exalted is not an inconsistency, but rather a reinforcement of the sign’s emphasis AND a connection to other objects (such as Chiron and perhaps also Vesta) which symbolically resonate with (rather than against) Mercury and Virgo. i know one thing for sure, i’m repeatedly and continuously grateful to and for you.
Thank you so much. In my current mindset, I cannot understand why anyone would feel that way. But I’m very decidedly grateful for your kindness.
Amy: i can assure you that the appreciation is sincere, and that i’m not the only one.
Len-
This doesn’t have reference to today’s text. A little while ago you quoted three dates. The first was in March ( 2 dates together) the second one was August 29th and 30th or August 30th and 31st. The third and final date was Nov 1st and 2nd. I just need to know if it is Aug. 29th and 30th, or is it Aug. 30th and the 31st.?
Marilyn: Thank you for your question, but i’m somewhat at a loss to make a seamless correlation. Please do you refer to lunar events (we do have a Full Moon on August 29), or conjunctions of Venus and Mars (the first of which was in February, not March)? There seems to be a bit of a mash-up taking place here. The next Venus-Mars conjunction (in Leo) will take place either August 31 or September 1, depending on where you live. After that the third (and final) Venus-Mars conjunction (in Virgo) will be November 2 or November 3, depending on time zone. Please, does that help?
Thank you for this meditation on Virgo. I’m a Virgo sun/rising, and I recently consulted a healer who specializes in crystal gem meditation. One of the stones that came up in the reading was prasiolite, or amethyst turned green by fire. For me, this serves as an apt metaphor for Virgo’s mutable earth energy, especially after Jupiter’s journey through Leo this year. In the hands of a skilled craftsman, the stone (earth) becomes more brilliant, or what Eric has called “applied science” of Virgo energy. I feel that I am becoming more aware of this energy, but I am indeed the craftswoman, whether I realize it or not.
Kara: Thank you for sharing your experience with your healer and crystal gem meditation. i do not know much about crystals or gems (the Planet Waves authority on that subject would probably be Amanda Moreno, whose column usually posts on Sundays). i do, however appreciate how you took Eric’s perception of Virgo’s connection with “applied science” – it’s an eye-opener and mind-expander for me.
Oh boy, now we’re getting into the details eh Len? The nitty-gritty astrology. “Be aware of, think about and discuss change, possession and your relationship with both.” I admit, it is a challenge to think of Virgo as reality in form yet porous and/or elastic in concept when looked at from a cyclical perspective such as the birth, life, death of a body. Thank you for bending my sometimes brittle (rote) thinking toward a more expansive view of this sign. And thank you too Jupiter!
Another cyclical perspective that involves Virgo are the Uranus-Pluto conjunctions of the 60’s. As they took place in Virgo (16-17 degrees), this “changeable quality” would apply to the results of this outer planet cycle, as would “not really owning stuff”. I like that! Not owning the water or the seeds that produce our food, or the government or its elected leaders for example, puts a whole new face on the meaning of those 7 squares we are still reeling from.
I would also like for us to consider Ceres as among those who symbolically resonate with Virgo. Through her Eleusinian rites of passage between death and rebirth we can conceive of change and possession as part of an ongoing cycle of impermanence yet always moving forward toward evolution.
Your noting of Nessus opposite Sun (and Jupiter) in the sign which initiated the present Uranus-Pluto cycle, might be a clue to the rash of uncovered sexual misconduct that has recently exploded in mainstream media. Not just the rich and famous either, but local newscasts are ablaze with child porn and abuse stories. Makes me wonder if the Pope, in his upcoming visit to the U.S., might expand further on that subject. You’ve already got me thinking and discussing Len.
be
Barbara (be): One might say Virgo resembles the opening remark of your comment here today. Please don’t think of your self as ossified in your thinking – you are among the most open minded astrologers (and people) in my experience. Thank you for mentioning the Ceres correlation with Virgo, although the “Eleusinian rites” do resemble Scorpio’s energetic signature (perhaps giving us insight as regards to how Virgo’s and Scorpio’s are so often attracted to each other). Also, thank you for bringing up the Uranus-Pluto conjunctions of the mid-1960’s and the “reeling” we are experiencing in the wake of the recent continuum of opening square aspects from Uranus to Pluto. And yes, the recent public outings of what the media portrays as sexual scandal (even though such proclivities are nothing new) do have that sense of Jupiter opposing Nessus (with the Sun soon to follow) – once again, an excellent combination of observation and correlation that makes everybody at Planet Waves appreciate you so very much.
LOVE the Ceres resonance with virgo comment. Thank you, be. Farmers are rock stars in the book of me.
Len:
What we’re talking about here at Planet Waves and what you’ve done here IS the smooth transition onto the earthly plane. Such an elegant “grab” of a read for this week for me.
What I feel around this time is a kind of “quickening”, like a planting of an earth “seed” in my consciousness. Its the coming season, the harvest, and also the habit of a lifetime, especially childhood, around growing food, making food, and feel the earth’s abundance.
Even though I am in an urban setting, I still feel connected to that sense of the earth rising up and birthing form into nourishment. Only this time, for me, its creative nourishment.
Thanks for the reminder that: 1) we do have a body and 2) we are here to express the best of our existence within it!!
Fe: Thank you so very much. It’s very reassuring to know you did not perceive this particular column to be a proverbial “reach” on my part. i was indeed aiming for what you have read into my effort, and i’m very grateful you took the time to extend and elaborate on it with your own erudite perception and formidable experience.
Len you gave three exact dates. It is where asteroid Konto was in place. First you started something I believe it was around March 21st. The second date being 29th and 30th or 30th and 31st of Aug ( can’t remember which Aug date you gave of the 2 possibilities ). The last and final one would take place on Nov. 1st and 2nd. ( those I do remember). With your remarks for these dates ” you started something on March 21st, you’ll do the same thing in Aug., and after doing it again in Nov., it will never happen again. It will be all over with.
Marilyn: Thank you for following up. i do not recall writing about an asteroid Konto. Please give me some time to dig back into my columns in March to see if i can pick up the “string” you refer to. In the meantime. if you could point me toward a specific column, it would be helpful. i sincerely want to provide the response you are asking for, but (at this time, anyway) i’m at a loss to do so.
“You bring no tangible things, including your body, into this world with you – it is all acquired here. Neither do you leave this world with your body or any other tangible things. All you leave with is what you have done while acting as a custodian.”
Elegant simplicity, a great reminder…thanks as always Len!
gumbybug2014: You are very welcome.
Yes, yes, yes! I’ve had issues with Virgo — confrontations with self-serious and critical “others” — as virgo sits in my house of projections. I truly appreciate any and all attempts to take back these projections and integrate my own stuff. Thank you, Len et al.
What I am is what I think … as in law of attraction … Mercury in Virgo helps me more readily witness this everyday miracle of manifesting on the physical. With sun and Jupiter to focus this illumination, this is the perfect weather for abundance. Now we’re talking!
M2
Len, i don’t thank you enough for the masterly erudition you evince in your posts and correspondence. Today, with t.Mercury conjunct my n.MC in Virgo seems the appropriate time to make my sentiments manifest.
You have reminded me of that seminal 60’s phrase “you are what you eat” which became a consciousness-raising mantra in our concern and care for our planet during the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo. Thank you, and thank Goddess for all her bounty. May we never lose sight of our dependence on the harvest.