Our last lunation before the Fall eclipse season, this cycle opens with a call to get our ducks in rows. This is, after all, a core Virgo skill, not to be scorned as we sail toward a Full Moon eclipse in Pisces followed by a New Moon eclipse in Virgo, both in September.
At this New Moon, we find the Sun and Moon at the very beginning of Virgo, the opening of the first decan, which Austin Coppock describes as a place of “humility before creation.”
This is a particular kind of humility. Not bowing before high and distant gods, nor bending the knee before powerful men, this is a recognition felt in the body of the systems–the ordered systems–of the Earth herself.
This first decan of Virgo is associated with Themis, a Titan and therefore an ancient power in the Greek pantheon.
Through the centuries, she became associated with Justice, and our current images of Justice wearing a blindfold. But Themis was never blind, nor is she associated with human law, which is the province of Dike, one of her daughters.
Themis embodies the deep understanding that life itself holds certain principles that may not be set aside. In this sense, Themis represents karma, not as Buddhist doctrine, but as the felt sense that choices and actions have consequences, and nothing can change that.
This knowing about how all of life is connected brings Themis powers of prophecy, especially with oracles related to the Earth. Themis presided at the Oracle of Delphi, following Gaia herself, before Apollo took over.
This New Moon invites us to align with natural order, a great place to be, when all the aspects to the New Moon point to the big changes happening.
Yes, this Sun and Moon are aspected by Uranus, Pluto, and the Saturn–Neptune conjunction in Aries.
The aspect to Uranus is clearly the strongest, being a tight square. Uranus, thrilled to be in Gemini, where he can indulge his love of quick and constant change, challenges the orderly, slower preferences of Virgo.
Yet this Sun and Moon, allied as they are with natural order, are not against change, they simply want to be properly prepared for it. Uranus, too, after all, is part of the natural order. Changes he brings may seem disruptive and unexpected from our viewpoint and yet must be part of larger cycles.
Uranus has been a revolutionary and change agent throughout history, a well established pattern. In Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas names this planet “the cosmic trickster.” And tricksters too are part of the natural order, which although it might seem contradictory, includes upheavals as well times of stability.
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The New Moon also sits at the apex of a yod with Pluto and the Saturn–Neptune conjunction at its base. A yod is a tall triangle with quincunxes along each side. These connect the Sun and Moon to the change agents who form the base. Pluto connects to Saturn and Neptune via a sextile, which has been in place for some weeks now.
Pluto in Aquarius is fine with great change, but in the sign of fixed Air, wants change to proceed in orderly fashion and be based on firm principles. In other words, the change itself can be very weird, it just needs to be clearly organized.
Saturn and Neptune are in more of a muddle. In Aries, they want to act, yet Saturnian action and Neptunian action are very different. Imagine two people building a house. Saturn, plans in hand, lines already measured, everything tidy and level, says, “OK, where’s the front door going?” Neptune, gazing off into space, says, “I had this dream last night and I think it means we need a totally new plan.”
Somehow, the Sun and Moon must find a path through this particular maze. We can see immediately how the skills of careful, systemic Virgo can help with this. And yet, dreams do have their place: The “answer” to a yod is said to be opposite the apex, so, in this case, at the beginning of Pisces. We may find ourselves in a new part of the cosmos we’ve never seen before.
With all this big change energy, we might wonder if a humble, quiet New Moon in Virgo is up to the challenge. Yet the New Moon does have support.
First, this Virgo New Moon is ruled by Mercury, currently in mid Leo. In Leo, Mercury is ready to stand up in public and have his say. He understand the value of good performances. The Virgo New Moon may not seek out the spotlight, but she is willing to do whatever she must, and with Mercury as coach, can even stand up and be counted on the public stage.
It’s also interesting to note that the Sun, the Moon, and Mercury gain a bit more influence through what are known as minor dignities.
In the decan system, the Sun rules this first of Virgo, as a bright light that is thoughtful, insightful, humble, and patient (though not always patient with people).
The Moon is triplicity ruler of the beginning of Virgo, wherever the New Moon occurs at night. Here she is likewise modest and diligent, good at keeping her life in order, and tends to be self contained.
Mercury rules the beginning of Virgo in the system of terms, or bounds, bringing a keen intellect, an eye for detail, and a sense of calm and order.
Last, but far from least, this New Moon is conjunct the fixed star Regulus, the king maker. Regulus is one of the four stars named the Guardians of the Sky. Associated with the direction south and the culmination of the Sun, Regulus stands for kingly glory and great power.
As with all four of these Guardians, Regulus requires good action, solid principles, and honorable behavior. Yet these are all qualities the Virgo New Moon can well supply.
So instead of a small, quiet New Moon, we have a humble yet highly capable New Moon, ready to engage with great powers in order to understand the changes to come, and prepare for them.
Now, I used to have a practice of looking for an electional chart to go with each New Moon. This chart was timed to create a good window for setting intentions for the lunar cycle to come. What I found was that this was really difficult to find for every single New Moon, and so I gave up the practice.
With this New Moon carrying such a strong message of preparation, though, I decided to see what I could find. And I did find a surprisingly interesting electional chart, as long as we’re prepared to understand that big change is likely to be part of the package.
So, setting intentions at a New Moon is something not to be done at the New Moon itself, when the Moon is completely dark in the sky, but rather a minimum of 16 hours after the New Moon, which is the earliest time at which the thin crescent of the Moon can be seen in the sky again.
I began checking for an electional chart 16 hours after the New Moon. I found one, and it is included with the New Moon charts here.
The chart is set for Sunday, August 24, at 6:57 am in my time zone, which is EDT. The chart is set with the Sun and Regulus conjunct the Ascendant, which places the Moon conjunct the South Node in mid Virgo also in the Whole Sign First House.
Note that the Midheaven is set in very late Taurus, with Uranus in early Gemini conjunct the top of the chart. In an ordinary way, one would not choose an electional chart with such a prominent Uranus, because it would introduce too much uncertainty into the outcome.
In this case, Uranus represents the big change energy built in to this New Moon. Uranus the cosmic trickster is part of the natural order.
The Moon conjunct the South Node would also not be considered generally desirable in an electional chart, because this represents something that’s going away, things we’re letting go of.
Usually, an electional chart is chosen as a good time to start something, not let things go. But my take here is that working with this Virgo New Moon is a time to release what we don’t need, to let go of attachments to patterns of the past, and that is exactly what we need to consider as we move into a time of change.
The Moon in this electional chart is already moving into a sextile with Jupiter in Cancer, the Moon’s own sign. In fact, the Jupiter sextile will be exact before the conjunction with the South Node. We have Jupiter’s support and blessing.
Also, the Moon at 15º Pisces is exactly where we’ll find the Sun at the upcoming Full Moon eclipse in Pisces. So, this electional chart is pointing us right where we’re headed.
Is this a typical electional chart? No, it’s not. Yet it feels uniquely designed to create an opening for whatever intentions we have as we prepare for the Fall eclipse season, in the understanding that everything we seek to do is aligned with the natural order of the time in which we find ourselves.
I don’t think we can ask for better than that, as we seek to herd those cats and get those ducks as lined up as we can.
Let’s wish for only good surprises.
