By Amanda Painter
Tomorrow the Sun enters Virgo, at 6:02 am EDT (10:01:52 UTC), and begins the last sign of the current season. Speaking as one living in the Northern Hemisphere, I am wondering where the hell summer has gone. I’m not quite ready for the cooler nights we’ve had lately where I live, or for the Sun to be setting closer to 7:30 than 8:30 in the evening. But ready or not, here we are — along with the benefits of this part of the season, namely the harvest.
Bumblebee on a bachelor’s button; photo by Amanda Painter.
Along with the literal harvest of vegetables, grains and fruits, the sheaves of wheat in the arms of the Virgo virgin also symbolize what Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker describe as “the wisdom that is harvested in the fields of experience.”
They add that one lesson of this sign is that “although the body must serve the mind, ultimately the mind must serve the spirit.”
I wonder if this idea about Virgo relates to its association with healing professions and processes — not simply in the sense of one part of Self being ‘in service’ to another part. But rather, in the sense that when we get those various parts of ourselves working together in such a relationship, healing occurs. With our own inner healing and harmony, we’re able to hold space for others to do the same and can model how it feels and what it looks like.
One of our Planet Waves readers, Kelly Grace Smith, commented on the Monday Astrology Diary that three keys for humans in our quest for healing and growth are connection, balance and creation. In other words, there’s the inner balancing of polarities that we must do (such as inner feminine and masculine, receptive and active, etc.); the essential connecting with our own bodies, with nature, with our sense of spirit, with other people (in person); and then there’s all the ways we can be artistic, curious and passionate (sexually and otherwise) to bring our life force into tangible form.
If you’ve ever met someone — or been in community with many people — who are consciously working at and playing with those three keys to life, it can be a powerful experience. It might be a little destabilizing or off-putting or even feel threatening the first time, if their way of living contrasts starkly with how you experience yourself and the way your life is unfolding.
Meeting someone who’s actively and consciously in this process can also be incredibly inspiring and motivating. I think part of the trick, especially at first, is not to assume that only ‘special’ people are the ones who can get this going in their lives. That’s a form of projection.
Just as we often ascribe dark and hurtful traits only to ‘others’ and ‘villains’ — yet possess our own shadows and potential to cause harm — we can also forget that all of the light and loving traits we see in others also reside within us. Sometimes, it’s a matter of learning how to tap that potential and draw it out. That’s where other people modeling behavior and decision-making can be useful.
Other times, intensive therapy is an essential tool. There can be a lot of pain, disappointment, resentment and inherited beliefs that get in the way of recognizing and reconciling the various facets we contain within us. Simply watching other people living well might not be enough for you to connect the dots within yourself, especially if your initial response is one of feeling alienated or envious. Yet those emotions are never signs of being ‘broken’ beyond repair; rather, they’re signals of likely starting points for getting to know yourself better and growing, possibly with some outside help.
About four-and-a-half hours after the Sun enters Virgo tomorrow, the Moon enters Gemini. The two luminaries square off for the last quarter Moon at 10:56 am EDT on Aug. 23 (14:55:59 UTC). This is the waning Moon phase leading to the next New Moon — suggesting that you put some energy toward moving a project toward the next stage, or toward completion.
Overnight Friday into Saturday, the asteroid Juno also leaves Leo and enters Virgo. One description of natal Juno in Virgo that I’ve seen lists it as preferring ‘clean’ and healthy partners, and having high expectations of them.
While I see nothing wrong with wanting to associate with healthy people, you may want to track your expectations of those close to you. Everyone has their own journey of healing and growing, and getting overly critical of where someone else is on their path (or getting self-critical) is unlikely to help either of you or make anyone happy. That said, sometimes we need to make difficult choices about whether our relationships are supporting our own health goals — and whether we’re supporting and serving those of our loved ones.
Finally, on Saturday, Venus and Mars meet for their conjunction in early Virgo. That is exact at 1:04 pm EDT (17:04:25 UTC).
As mentioned in this week’s Monday Astrology Diary, this aspect offers an opportunity to feel out some level of integration between your inner feminine and masculine, your receptive and active sides, or your yin and yang — however you prefer to think of that duality. What behaviors and emotional postures do you claim as ‘yours’? Which do you see as belonging to someone else in your relationships?
What steps do you feel ready to take in recognizing and reclaiming the parts of yourself that you tend to project onto others? Or, to put it another way: what wisdom from your experience do you feel ready to harvest and put into greater service in your life?
It is difficult to feel good these days; it’s challenging to focus on your growth and self-care, or even to relax. We are pulled out of ourselves constantly, and often distracted from our core purposes. IN THESE TIMES, the Planet Waves autumn reading, will help.
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