The Full Moon in Virgo on February 22 illuminates the polarity of Pisces and Virgo,  a meaning synthesized in the image of a woman fully present in the moment, in touch with her soul and body, filled with the spirit of surrounding nature.  Virgo is the inwardly directed home of Mercury, the exaltation of Mercury and the place of self examination, analysis, and reflection.  In Virgo we grasp for language to express the ineffable, systemize and organize chaos into concepts, and through bridging soul and personality, mind and body, discern right choice and action that aligns with natural justice and law.  At this Full Moon, Mercury in Aquarius is weaving together the meaning of myriad issues that have arisen from internal and external sources over the past couple of months.  Ahead is the unknown outcomes of deep shifting signified by a strong activation of the mutable signs of astrology. Any sense of clarity that can be gained at this time will be valuable treasure to take into the eclipse season that follows this Full Moon, as the following two lunations will be a Total Solar Eclipse in Pisces on March 8, and a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Libra on March 23.

The Full Moon is anchored by the Sun in Pisces in range of conjoining Ceres and Neptune, while Pisces is further amplified through Chiron closely conjoining the South Node of the Moon in Pisces.  Pisces is the inwardly directed home of Jupiter, further connected by modern astrologers with Neptune and the oceanic field sourcing our personal and collective consciousness.  Pisces is a sign of soul and spirit, imagination and vision, and yet in the face of unseen realms and the chaos of creation that Pisces can attune with, many turn towards obsession with identities, pursuits, and desires that bring a sense of security and control.  Rather than open to a realm with no boundaries, many instead hold tight to fixations which bring a sense of controlling and organizing chaos.  The month following this Virgo Full Moon will feature a plenitude of Pisces placements, and with the Sun applying to a conjunction with Neptune and Ceres now, we can expect many of our old attachments to dissolve and wash away. Standing on the shores of any receding disillusionment, this Virgo Full Moon will illuminate the new choices and desires that resonate with the current development of authentic growth being experienced.

The Sun, Neptune, Ceres, South Node of the Moon, and Chiron being in the home of Jupiter, with Jupiter conjoining the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, means this Virgo Full Moon will trigger all underlying issues surrounding our desires for growth in the unknown future.  One of the biggest dangers of the Virgo side of the polarity is that we can easily resist the potential available for change, regeneration, and liberation from past patterns by resisting opportunities because of judging the circumstances to not be what we feel they should be for us.  Virgo can cling to an ideal or want things to look a certain way as a coping strategy in the face of the formless unknown signified by Pisces.  However, if we resist taking a dive and risk into situations that are not perfectly ordered the way we feel comfortable with, we can guarantee that we will be perpetuating the same old underlying patterns in the future.  Jupiter traveling in conjunction with the North Node of the Moon can open windows to a sense of destiny that if fulfilled would bring vibrant meaning into our lives.  Yet the choices available that align with our soul’s evolution are not necessarily in the circumstances that look and feel like our comfort zone, or that enable our old attachments and complexes.

Look to the house position and aspects made by the first five degrees of Pisces and Virgo to note how this Full Moon is directly impacting you. If you have any placements in the first ten degrees of water, earth, or mutable signs you will acutely feel its effects.

This Virgo Full Moon opens us to a long period of time in which the mutable signs of astrology will dominate, an atmosphere of tempestuous storms brewing that will completely alter reality.  Everything is shifting into unknown outcomes, and while it is natural to grasp for old attachments and the desires that have given us a sense of security in the past, clinging to our old ideas of what stability means will no longer guarantee stability.  It is vital to realize that so much is changing on such a deep level, that making choices based on our old security needs will lead to missing out on the opportunities that will bring the deepest fulfillment. In this transitional, mutable time period, the entire foundation is shifting and so what used to bring security is changing fundamentally.  Following desires rooted in the heart and soul hold the greatest potential for ultimate security, even if the circumstances surrounding them seem uncertain now.

The Full Moon is in the home and exaltation of Mercury, illuminating connections with our mind, mental expression and comprehension.  Mercury is in the middle of Aquarius at the time of the Full Moon, being received by Saturn in Sagittarius through a sextile.  In addition, Mercury is in a wider range of a sextile with Uranus in Aries.  However, the closest aspects for Mercury are with the asteroids Pallas Athene and Juno, being conjoined with Pallas Athene and in square to Juno in Scorpio.  Demetra George described Juno and Pallas Athene as galactic activators who help mediate the personal realm of astrology with the transpersonal, and so the myriad aspects Mercury is making at this Full Moon suggest a bridge between the personal and transpersonal is available to traverse.  There is a brand new, future-oriented path to take we can now envision, yet it causes friction with old relationship patterns to such an extent we could resist it.

With Venus also in Aquarius in range of a conjunction with Mercury and Pallas Athene at this Full Moon, there is liberation available from the old complexes that have caused us to repeat endless loops of certain relationship projections, going back all the way to early childhood.  Yet to experience this liberation we have to take risks sourced from our heart with a willingness to go into an unknown that does not appear to fit our perfect vision of how things should be set up.  Unfortunately, it is also easy to rationalize resistance to the liberated choices based upon the old attachments that have brought us comfort and security in the past. To receive the full potential of this Full Moon in Virgo, be open to opportunities that do not fit your ideal parameters, yet do resonate with your soul in the evolving moment.

With both Mercury and Venus in Aquarius, the home of Saturn, it is also important to realize that we are approaching a last quarter square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Virgo.  At the Full Moon, Jupiter and Saturn will be within five degrees of an exact square, and they will ultimately form their exact square at the time of the Lunar Eclipse in Libra that is coming on March 23, 2016.  On the one hand, this signifies the deep “crisis of consciousness” developed by Dane Rudhyar that culminates myriad past issues into a crescendo that will require the release of what no longer serves our deepest meaning and purpose.  Mercury as the ruler of this Full Moon is in a mediating role now, however, as Mercury is in sextile to both Saturn and Uranus, while Saturn and Uranus are simultaneously in trine.  Furthermore, Mercury is the ruler of the second face of Aquarius where it now resides, adding additional support to our capacity to connect the known with the unknown.  Altogether, these aspects support the ability to create and find the resources we need to stabilize ourselves in unfamiliar directions, despite the current circumstances not appearing to already have the resources established.

The most exact, intense aspect of this Full Moon is Jupiter in Virgo conjoining the North Node of the Moon, opposite Chiron in Pisces conjoining the South Node of the Moon.  Jupiter will become exactly opposite Chiron a day after the Full Moon, forming the second of three oppositions they will make in the current cycle.  On November 3, 2015 Chiron and Jupiter were opposite at seventeen degrees, currently are opposite at twenty degrees, and on August 12, 2016 will form their final opposition at twenty-four degrees of Virgo and Pisces.  As a result we are in the middle passage of their oppositions, and this one in particular may be the most intense of all as it falls along the nodal axis of the Moon.  As a result, Jupiter in Virgo is aligned with the new choices and strong desires signified by the North Node of the Moon, and Chiron in Pisces is aligned with the letting go and release of old patterns and desires signified by the South Node of the Moon.

Chiron as well as Virgo becoming activated often can coincide with a crisis that necessitates readjustment and resiliency.  With Chiron conjoining the South Node of the Moon in Pisces now, one issue that could come up is the level to which past rejection is influencing current reactions and responses to adversity.  There is nothing quite like the wound of rejection when you have opened your heart with complete devotion to another.  Feelings that you are not good enough, or overwhelming sorrow that the value you feel sure you inherently possess is not seen, desired, or respected, can seep into one’s perceptions and choices and cause restriction and restraint.  Yet the experience of distress, hardship, and tribulation can provoke us to push past limiting thoughts and awaken the unrealized potential from within.  Whatever wounds are being triggered, the opposition of Jupiter to Chiron signifies that vital vision and meaning in life can be regenerated through going into the feelings rather than denying them or distracting ourselves from them.

Pluto in Capricorn is currently mediating the opposition between Jupiter and Chiron, forming a trine with Jupiter and the North Node of the Moon, and a sextile with Chiron and the South Node of the Moon.  The shadow side of these Pluto aspects is about attempting to cope with emotional insecurity by controlling people and as many aspects of our surroundings as possible, or resisting the paths and choices that do not fit our controlled, idealized picture of the way we want things to be.  However, if we are able to nourish our own emotional security from within, the trine from Pluto to Jupiter and the North Node of the Moon can coincide with opening to a soulful path forward that will ultimately bring us intrinsic validation.  If we stop resisting and instead open ourselves to receiving what will come by deciding to commit to the new direction, we will find Plutonic wealth and resources emerging along our trail that will be enough to get us through any difficulties arising.

Virgo I Decan 

This Full Moon falls in the first face of Virgo, associated with the 8 of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In the image we see an artist and craftsman fully engrossed in the moment with his art, concentrating with full attention to one direct focus in the moment.  This image resonates with the astrology surrounding this Full Moon in Virgo by evoking the importance of taking things step by step, one task at a time, completing each aspect of the process with loving care and attention.

Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Tree Bearing Fruit” to this face, noting the prevalence of images associated with “fruitful works” developed through “humble observation of, and careful tending to, the created world” in ancient texts:

The first decan of an earth sign, this face provides initiation into the mysteries of incarnation.  It teaches the difference between the touched and the untouched, and the prudence of postponing delight until the fruit is ripe.  It makes for careful craftsman, thoughtful merchants and wise farmers, though many other transformers of the prima materia are here as well.  Though the formulae of this face is one of humility, it results in works of surprising glory.  Creation ripens for those who can hear and heed its voice.

— Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, p. 139-140

The Sun rules the first face of Virgo, giving the Pisces Sun added emphasis at this Full Moon. The Pisces Sun conjoining Neptune and Ceres lends additional imagination and nurturance to this decans emphasis on humbly devoting oneself to creative manifestation.  This Full Moon can help us attune to a grandiose vision and dream for our future, while simultaneously drawing our focus to the next critical step needing to be addressed in its creation.  The more you can get away from others in your surroundings, including influences coming from media sources, the more you can center within and listen for naturally arising messages pointing toward the calling aligned with the highest good.  Focusing on the task at hand and pouring personal energy into artistry of one sort or another will also help to purify the old wounds and delusions toxic to perception.  There is solar insight into our current place in the intersection between the collective unconscious and our personal consciousness, lunar insight available into our mind and body in its current situation and what to prioritize with our time and attention.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.