9 of Pentacles

Full Moon in Virgo

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Full Moon in Virgo

Felix-Hilaire Buhot (1879) Lady of the Swans

Full Moon in Virgo

The Full Moon in Virgo on March 9 illuminates the finale of the Mercury retrograde period we have been experiencing ever since Mercury stationed retrograde on February 16.  The Full Moon is in the exaltation and nocturnal home of Mercury, bringing amplified potency to Mercury stationing direct at 28°12′ Aquarius about ten hours after the Moon reaches its peak light. The Virgo Full Moon will center awareness within the streams of changing circumstances and relationships that have been taking place during the past three liminal weeks of Mercury looping retrograde. While the lunation may spark perception of concrete actions that need to be taken as well as adjustments that need to be made, the simultaneous conjunction between Neptune and the Sun in Pisces will cast a mist over proceedings we will need to clarify.

Virgo is the inwardly directed, earthy home of Mercury that facilitates analyzing, sorting, organizing, and synthesizing the kind of ineffable, immaterial insights we can receive when Neptune unites with the Sun in Pisces. The Virgo Moon can be a keen aid in discerning revelations and understanding regarding whatever has been shifting and rearranging during the past month of Mercury retrograde. In particular, if you have been feeling confused as if you have been swept out into a sea of illusion or excessive idealism, the Virgo Full Moon will provide dry  land for you to wash up onshore and regain your bearings. If there is melancholy to deal with due to disillusionment, there are galvanizing aspects to the Virgo Full Moon that will enliven efforts to reorient as needed to whatever has been unveiled about reality.

The Full Moon in Virgo is separating from an invigorating trine aspect with Mars in Capricorn and is applying toward a flowing and stabilizing trine aspect with Jupiter in Capricorn. The Virgo Moon weaving in between Mars in its exaltation and Jupiter in its fall of Capricorn will focalize attention toward the conjunction between Mars and Jupiter that will occur on March 20 during the Aries Equinox. There is extreme potency being stirred up between Mars and Jupiter that can be directed toward work and creative expression, and so it will be vital to set clear intention for where and for whom you wish to invest your energy and time.

The Virgo Full Moon is also forming a flowing trine aspect with the asteroid Pallas Athena, which is currently mediating in between Mars and Jupiter. Pallas Athena will form a conjunction with Mars on March 17 and then will slowly build toward an eventual conjunction with Jupiter on March 28 that will also be less than one degree away from Pluto in Capricorn. Pallas Athena accentuates our capacity for visualizing a blueprint to follow in achieving goals, yet we need to be prudent and wisely explore options. Rather than simply following the whims of desire for ambitious growth, work with the creative contraction of Capricorn and distill the essential work that is most deserving of attention. We will need to navigate volatile changes within collective events as Saturn enters Aquarius on March 21 while Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto come together in Capricorn, yet within the corresponding catharsis we can make significant breakthroughs and advancements if we have a clear target to direct energy toward.

jmw turner norham castle, sunrise

JMW Turner (1845) Norham Castle, Sunrise

Mercury in Aquarius rules the Full Moon as it is standing still and stationing direct at 28º12′ Aquarius. Mercury finally became visible again in its Morning Star phase in the days leading up to the Virgo Full Moon, and so the Star of Hermes will be heralding the rise of the Sun on the morning of the lunation as birdsong fills the air. It’s more important than normal to bring mindfulness to every moment when Mercury is stationing so that we can be alert to unexpected twists and turns in storylines brought by the tricky messenger planet. It will also be important to pay close attention to the symbolism of signs and omens within our daily actions and nightly dreams, as Mercury will be delivering guidance through a multitude of forms within nature.

Indeed, it will be vital to listen to nature and watch for signs as Mercury pauses in stillness as the Virgo Moon forms an opposition with Neptune and the Sun in Pisces. Contact with Neptune opens us to the wisdom found in the otherworldly and wherever we feel the presence of the interconnected, underlying fabric of reality. As the solar rays infused with Neptune prepare to emerge once again from the fertile night, as Mercury flashes its morning light above the dewy mist covering the earth as we awaken from dream, we can release ourselves from old illusions and engage with the arising inspiration that brings life to our imagination. Neptune injecting its mystifying qualities into the Pisces Sun may make us want to drift into daydream, lay near water, listen to rapturous music, or engage in any other way we can journey into imaginal fantasy. It may be harder than normal to take care of monotonous tasks, but the foggy mists of Neptune united with the Sun is a passing influence.

During the waning half of the current lunar cycle, Mercury will slowly begin to move forward again and will return to Pisces on March 16. As Mercury returns to Pisces, you may notice a return to some of the topics and themes you were especially immersed in during the retrograde movement of Mercury in Pisces from February 16 through March 4. Now that Mercury is shining in light again in the liminal space before dawn, it will be taking on a more active, diurnal quality of being curious about new information and actively forging new connections between ideas and developing plans. Mercury will pick up speed and return to moving faster than the Sun as it reaches its maximum elongation as a Morning Star on March 23, just in time for the New Moon in Aries on March 24. Thus as the light of the Moon wanes from its peak at the Virgo Full Moon into darkness, Mercury will be increasing in light and speed and in its capacity for initiating new lessons and achieving results.

Shields Lighthouse circa 1826 by Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851

JMW Turner (1826) Shields Lighthouse

As the Virgo Full Moon rises in the east following sunset, Venus in Taurus will be burning brightly in the twilight of the west. Venus is separating from a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus it completed on March 8, and so the Virgo Full Moon is providing critical insight not only into our relationship with Neptune in Pisces but also with Uranus in Taurus. This is only the second time that we have experienced Venus uniting with Uranus in Taurus (previously they conjoined on May 18, 2019), and so as Venus is receiving Uranus into its inwardly directed home we may experience an enlivening of flavorful aesthetics, sensuality, and sense of harmony. Within relationships, Venus combined with Uranus in Taurus can help in finding allies and forming fellowship with those who resonate with and support our authentic values and passions.

Furthermore, Venus in Taurus is also forming harmonious aspects with the transiting lunar nodes, forming a sextile with the North Node of the Moon in Cancer and a trine with the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn. During March, Venus shining bright as an Evening Star in her earthy home will be serving as a gift bearing goddess who can help in bringing balance within our relationship with others, with the divine, and with our own body and being. While Venus remains in close proximity with Uranus, however, there will be a greater likelihood for erratic or unexpected gains and losses in pursuit of goals. Fortunately, Venus provides a stable presence in the fixed earth sign of Taurus to regulate shifting elements so as to bring about eventual success. Moreover, under the emancipatory influence of Uranus we can feel motivated to take creative risks and discover innovative breakthroughs we would never find by doing things the way we have in the past.

While Venus is forming stabilizing aspects with the transiting lunar nodes, Chiron in Aries is applying to a catalytic and volatilizing square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes. Chiron at the southern bending of the lunar nodes will bring attention to recovering whatever you have felt you needed to abandon about your essential purpose to fit in with cultural expectations. A key aspect of the collective wound Chiron in Aries will be tending is the intersection between systems of oppression within civilization with one’s identity and core purpose. Chiron will form an exact square aspect with the true calculation of the lunar nodes on March 13, but the aspect will be in close proximity for all of March. In fact, the upcoming New Moon in Aries on March 24 will be conjoining Chiron while also forming a square with the lunar nodes. If you want to read more about the meaning of Chiron squaring the transiting lunar nodes, I recently wrote an article for astrology.com that you can read here.

pents09

9 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 2 Decan

The Virgo Full Moon arises within the second decan of Virgo associated with the Nine of Pentacles illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image is saturated with a golden aura, with an elegant woman covered in flowing, golden robes. On her hand sits a hooded falcon, its capacity for swift flight and hyper vision temporarily restrained. Surrounding her are ripening grapevines and a large estate upon which we can imagine numerous marvels of nature and art residing. Since it is a tarot card associated with gains in wealth and creation of beautiful works, it makes sense that Venus and Saturn are the co-rulers of the second face of Virgo. While Venus is like the guiding star of beauty and love that gives us an overarching reason to seek wealth we can share with others, Saturn functions as the force of necessity, discipline, and hard work required to seed, cultivate, and gather a bountiful harvest or shape primal material into rarefied form.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Hammer and the Anvil” to the second face of Virgo. Coppock described a theme of continual reshaping and refinement of matter in this decan that results in beautiful products and gains in wealth, yet “conceals the pain and toil utterly necessary for its creation.” Coppock concluded that this face brings alchemical “understanding of the many beautiful and repulsive states the matter attains throughout the Magnum Opus,” while the “residents of this decan oversee the ever-transforming world, guiding and shaping the Great Work on a microcosmic level,” inspecting and keeping track of how efficiently material processes are running.

Interestingly, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs linked the Moirai to the second face of Virgo. These are the daughters of Necessity, the goddesses of fate: Clotho the spinner of the threads of life, Lachesis the measurer of fateful threads, and Atropos who cuts the threads. These goddesses of fate appearing in this decan remind us to center within the actual currents of life so that choices can be discerned that will allow one to navigate accordingly. In Plato’s Myth of Er, the Moriai not only ascribe ones destiny but also the guardian daimon who can bring guidance in accordance with virtue and authentic character. While there are many upsetting events occurring in collective events we cannot change, we do possess the inherent character to respond with responsible virtue rather than in a way that goes against the nature of our higher self. Within the light of the Virgo Full Moon, shed attachment to the false, illusory entrapments of surface desires and ambitions to kindle connection with the primal, burning, daimonic light of your essential self and character that can provide guidance during the coming changes in season and circumstance.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Virgo Full Moon: Pisces Wave

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Rosette

India (1645) from Metropolitan Museum of Art

Full Moon in Virgo

Now all the truth is out,
Be secret and take defeat
From any brazen throat,
For how can you compete,
Being honour bred, with one
Who, were it proved he lies,
Were neither shamed in his own
Nor in his neighbours’ eyes?
Bred to a harder thing
Than Triumph, turn away
And like a laughing string
Whereon mad fingers play
Amid a place of stone,
Be secret and exult,
Because of all things known
That is most difficult.

To a Friend whose Work has come to Nothing by W.B. Yeats

The Full Moon in Virgo on March 1 is full of inspirational force, imaginal vision and emotional tidal waves.  The Sun, Neptune, Mercury, Venus, and Chiron are all lined up in Pisces opposite the Moon in Virgo, with the lunation’s intensity deepened by a harmonious aspect with Jupiter in Scorpio and catalyzed with explosive vitality by an amplified Mars in Sagittarius.   Ideally during the period of fully reflected light one can situate themselves in a place of stimulating learning or creativity where the dynamic force of the Full Moon can be transmitted into tactile manifestation or revelatory reception.  The potential conflict from Mars comes from dogmatic ideals and subjective projections within an atmosphere making the dry discernment of Virgo challenging.  Mercury rules the Full Moon as it applies to a union with Venus in Pisces and so we experience the Moon in Virgo under the sway of poetic richness, emotional reception, and the intuitive knowing of feelings within the body.

There is simply something sublime about the Moon in Virgo ripening full in reflection of light cast by the Sun uniting with Neptune in Pisces.  In Virgo we can sense the spirit in our flesh and the soul of the earth around us like nowhere else in the zodiac.  Virgo can both discern and analyze insight from difficult or confusing experiences, as well as weave together meaning into tangible forms of shared understanding.  Attaining calm presence in the moment amidst the tumult of ceaseless change is key to optimize the grounded, pragmatic wisdom available in the sign of the Winged Maiden.  The overflowing Piscean influence on the surrounding time period of the lunation makes it easier than normal to fall into illusory pursuits or projections, yet the combined earthiness of the Virgo Full Moon in harmonious relationship with Saturn in Capricorn brings the potential to make the magic of Pisces real, true, and embodied.

deer mandala of kasuga shrine
Japanese silk scroll (late 14th century)

The Virgo Full Moon is ruled by Mercury in Pisces applying to conjoin Venus and Chiron in Pisces, as well as applying to a stabilizing trine with Jupiter in Scorpio.  Mercury resides in Pisces in polarity to both its home and exaltation in Virgo, yet since it is being received by Jupiter it has the resources of Jupiter fully loaded in its tool kit.  Combine the fact Mercury is simultaneously uniting with Venus in its place of exaltation, and we have a deeply visionary and imaginative Mercury that can grasp understanding of one’s larger emotional environment as well as perceive creative solutions.  Flashes of intuitive, direct knowing may be received and the inward earthiness of the Moon in Virgo can facilitate processing perceptions in order to receive a harvest of important insight.

Most auspiciously, both Mercury and Venus are emerging as Evening Stars at the time of the Full Moon, regaling the twilight with their bright starry presence.  Venus has already been visible at twilight in the week leading into the lunation, but the fullness of the Moon rising is perfect for celebrating the return of Venus glowing bright on the horizon.  We haven’t been able to see Venus since she was in her Morning Star phase last November, and so her longly anticipated return to visibility is an omen of good tidings.  The following hymn “The Lady of the Evening,” adapted from ancient Sumerian text by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer, celebrates the re-emergence of Venus as an evening star:

At the end of the day, the Radiant Star, the Great Light that fills the sky,
The Lady of the Evening appears in the heavens.
The people in all the lands lift their eyes to her.
The men purify themselves; the women cleanse themselves.
The ox in his yoke lows to her.
The sheep stir up the dust in their fold.
All the living creatures of the steppe,
The four-footed creatures of the high steppe,
The lush gardens and orchards, the green reeds and trees,
The fish of the deep and the birds in the heavens-
My Lady makes them all hurry to their sleeping places.

The living creatures and the numerous people of Sumer kneel before her.
Those chosen by the old women prepare great platters of food and drink for her.
The Lady refreshes herself in the land.
There is great joy in Sumer.
The young man makes love with his beloved.

My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.
The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.
Inanna, the Lady of the Evening, is radiant.
I sing your praises, holy Inanna.
The Lady of the Evening is radiant on the horizon.

Fascinatingly, due to Mercury slowing down and then stationing retrograde in Aries on March 22, Venus and Mercury will remain in range of a close conjunction all the way through the waning half of the forthcoming lunar cycle, so that on the following Pisces New Moon on March 17 they will still have only one degree of separation between them in Aries.  This is an unusually long time to live with Venus and Mercury transiting in such close proximity to one another and so brings an opportunity to find greater alignment between inner values and outer expression and communication.  There will be a notable shift on March 6 when both Mercury and Venus will move into Aries, bringing potential to take the inner illumination received from their time together in Pisces into direct, courageous action in the world.

While Venus and Mercury are uniting at the end of Pisces they are also taken into a deeper dimension of perception by their additional conjunction with Chiron in Pisces.  Chiron is a celestial centaur who bridges the divide between Saturn and Uranus, the key holder who brings access to vital subconscious information.  Since Mars in Sagittarius is also approaching a challenging square aspect with Chiron, there is a collective trigger that reflects the gaping, aching wounds of trauma and oppression felt throughout the collective, injuries often brought about through violence and conflict connected to dogmatic paradigms of belief.  During the days following the Full Moon there is potential to journey within to both face and dissolve old wounds that are ready to be dislodged.  However, some wounds may still feel more painful than fully engaged in healing and if this is the case the over abundance of planets in Pisces can allow for a flow of emotive release.

One of the biggest factors in the Virgo Full Moon, however, is Jupiter in Scorpio not only forming a trine to Mercury, Venus and Chiron, but also beginning to station retrograde.  Jupiter in Scorpio will station retrograde a week after the lunation on March 8 and is barely moving at the time of the Full Moon, bringing its archetype into a stronger presence within the collective.  Whenever a planet stations its archetype saturates the landscape, so prepare for lessons involving Jupiter in Scorpio to become abundantly clear.  We have passed through a season of eclipses that formed a square to Jupiter in Scorpio, and so we are primed to receive direct knowing from the accumulation of recent experiences.  Although Jupiter and Mars are not in a major aspect, they are mutually exchanging signs with Jupiter in the home of Mars and Mars in the home of Jupiter.  With regard to the additional interplay between Mars and all of the action in Pisces that Jupiter also rules, Jupiter in Scorpio can help us shed attachments to old illusions of belief and ready us for a new influx of understanding.  Once Jupiter turns retrograde in the first week of March, it will move backwards through our zodiac until stationing direct again on July 10 at 13º20′ of Scorpio.

mount meru mandala
Cosmological mandala with Mount Meru (14th century China)

While Mercury and Venus are separating from a square with Mars in Sagittarius, Mars is applying to a trine with Eris and Uranus in Aries.  When we also factor in Mars being conjoined with the asteroid Vesta at the Full Moon, there is potential to utilize the fiery volatility of Mars in Sagittarius to not only explore exciting frontiers but also utilize the focus necessary to bring something worthwhile back to share with the wider collective.  Aspects between planets are multivalent in expression, and so while there is potential destructive conflict signified by the aspects Mars is making at the Full Moon, this same energy of Mars can correspond with separating yourself from previous limitations or oppressive circumstances and making visionary strides forward.  Mars in Sagittarius is fast moving and curious with ample stores of generosity and optimistic hope available to fuel striving for greater freedom and making real progress toward idealistic pursuits.

In addition to all of the watery and fiery dynamics previously mentioned, there is also a lot of the grounded earth element involved in the Full Moon.  As the Moon waxes full in Virgo it will form a trine with Saturn in Capricorn, and then following its opposition with the Sun the Moon will move toward a trine with Pluto in Capricorn.  When we also consider the placement of the asteroid Pallas Athene in the middle of Taurus, there is a stable earth triangle formed that also involves harmonious sextile aspects between Saturn with the Sun and Neptune in Pisces.  As a result, there is potential to find surrounding structures to stabilize and ground the insight available in correspondence with the lunation into tangible manifestation.  It also highlights the availability of outlets for grounding or compassionate support if the emotional waves of the abundant Pisces influence becomes overwhelming.

pents09
9 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 2 Decan

The Full Moon in Virgo arises in the second decan of Virgo associated with the Nine of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image is resplendent with a golden aura surrounding a Venusian figure, and fittingly Venus is the ruler of the second face of Virgo.  On her hand sits a bird of prey ready to strike out for resources, while ripening grapevines surround her.  This tarot card is traditionally associated with gains in wealth, and Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces analyzed how the hooded falcon (a symbol of spirit enclosed in matter) is a protector of the grapevine resources linked to her wealth since it feeds on the creatures who would damage the growth of the grapes.  Coppock found a theme of continual reshaping and refinement of matter in this decan that unveils the diverse extremes of experiences that unite within the final form of a created work that contains spirit:  “Alchemically, this face provides understanding of the many beautiful and repulsive states the matter attains throughout the Magnum Opus . . . . [and] brings one to inspect material processes and note the efficiency or lack thereof” (p. 146).

Interestingly, the fragmentary Hellenistic text the 36 Airs linked the Moirai to the second face of Virgo.  These are the daughters of Necessity, the goddesses of fate: Clotho the spinner of the threads of life, Lachesis the measurer of fateful threads, and Atropos who cuts the threads.  These goddesses of fate appearing in this decan points to the importance of centering within the actual currents of life so that choices can be discerned that will allow one to navigate with as optimal a flow as possible.  While there is incredible imagination available with the overflow of Pisces influence on the Virgo Full Moon, this visionary capacity needs to be grounded in the truly developing elements of life rather than dissipated through denial of what is actually happening.  Through a combination of grounding while simultaneously opening to the full range of possibilities available in the moment, the Virgo Full Moon can facilitate awareness of new choices freed from the limiting thoughts of the past.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah. (1983). Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Harper & Row.