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The Miraculous, Close In - Virgo
Why Then Do We Not Despair
Everything is plundered, betrayed, sold,
Death’s great black wing scrapes the air,
Misery gnaws to the bone.
Why then do we not despair?
By day, from the surrounding woods,
cherries blow summer into town;
at night the deep transparent skies
glitter with new galaxies.
And the miraculous comes so close
to the ruined, dirty houses —
something not known to anyone at all,
but wild in our breast for centuries.
– Anna Akhmatova
The Leo-to-Virgo transition can be a difficult one. Even after a summer that has been decidedly too hot in many parts of the country and the world, summer has still had its perks. I include among these the faithful chorus of crickets that serenade at night, and the gentle stretch of the sun’s rays into early evenings –a welcome invitation to relax and commune with the light in the sky at the close of day.
In the human realm, these past weeks under the Leo vibe here in Sonoma County have served up multiple joyful opportunities to hear live music (bluegrass is the thing!), including dancing, picnicking, or a stroll through a majestic redwoods park. Despite the chaos, violence, and uncertainty we’re all too aware of on the global stage, summer fun has prevailed.
Enter the magnificent Paris Olympics! It was an amazing event, brimming with peak displays of determination and athletic prowess—and overall good feelings about humanity, albeit mixed reviews on the opening ceremony, which some loved, others found abominable (regardless, it was very French!)—surely a testament to our polarized times. The women gymnasts’ camaraderie with both teammates and opponents, and their determined mastery under pressure was tear-jerking. As to Leonine style, I was enamored of the exotic yellow eyeliner from Brazil’s gold medalist, Rebeca Andrade!
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With little time to catch our breath, it was on to the Democratic National Convention, another great spectacle, featuring verbal, rather than athletic prowess, and a new Queen aspirant in Kamala Harris. Michelle Obama’s elegant yet playful long ponytail evoked an African priestess, and 100,000 red, white, and blue balloons poured from the skies at the end of this feast of powerful and passionate speeches that synced with Mars conjunct Jupiter (two ‘fire’ planets) in communicative Gemini in the heavenly arena above. While the planets do not ‘cause’ worldly events, they describe the archetypal emanations that we imbibe—in the DNC instance, a glittering cocktail of Geminian elocutionary excellence, expressing Martian fight and determination, and Jupiterian optimism and vision (with Michelle’s meme, “Do something!” perfectly partaking of the ‘take action’ Mars energy afoot), all served up with meticulous Mercury messaging. |
Down to Earth
The last day of the convention, Aug. 22, coincided with the Sun’s ingress into Virgo, which is the archetypal topic of this missive, and an influence that reflects the ‘difficult transition’ I speak of. Because, after the outward displays of Leo, Virgo season calls us inward, both into our own complex mind-body stew, and as well, back into ‘take care of business’ mode. It’s back to school, to our To Dos, and, of equal import, to going within, stepping back from Leo’s pomp and honing in on what really matters. It’s a bit like what Monday feels like, after the weekend…
But being the Moon’s day, perhaps Mon-day is not all bad! Earth sign Virgo is linked with the Virgin goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, Artemis, as well as with the Egyptian Moon goddess Isis, who also ruled the harvest. One could say that returning to Moon-day, after spirit-ual ‘Sun-Day’, with the energetic shift from Sun-ruled Leo to another Moon-affiliated sign (like Cancer), with Virgo, we are called ‘down to earth’, to the practical, feminine, imminent matters, that of sowing the seeds of spirit in the everyday—all of which is Virgo’s business.
I talked last month of how in the Celtic calendar, the goddess Demeter is associated with the August 1 cross-quarter day of Lammas, thereby linking August to the harvest. But in the Gregorian calendar, Septembe—and Virgo, too heralds the harvest. Indeed, the harvest is a two-month affair, starting with wheat, and culminating with the fruits, especially those we have in such abundance here Northern California.
After reading a Substack blog by UK writer Charlotte DuCann that beautifully illustrates her earth-connected life, I was inspired to get out to pick blackberries before it was too late. I’d not yet done so this summer due to the prevalence of hot days. But despite the heat, picking offered its usual meditative delight beneath sky and sun, transporting me to childhood days of picking blueberries on the moors off Cape Cod. The sun’s light danced around the berries like so many gems Warm breezes blew, and birds softly called. A piece of late summer bliss.
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Charlotte talks of the inherent circle of reciprocity between earth and humans, one too sorely forgotten in the modern ‘winner take all’ mentality with which capitalist greed views the earth. It’s not about us simply harvesting the fruits of the earth to enjoy with a smile, but about sharing the bounty with friends, family, and neighbors. I’m blessed to have a neighbor who generously shares her garden fruits and veggies with me, and making my favorite, locally sourced blackberry-apple crisp was a way I could offer a little something back, both to her and to a friend who came by for tea.
On my way home from the blackberry patch I stopped at our community market to pick up some local Gravenstein apples, but as I made a beeline for the display, I saw a new Sebastopol Area Time Bank friend who admonished, “You don’t need to buy apples in Sebastopol! I can show you a secret spot where you can get some for free, not trespassing on anyone’s property.” She went on to say she too had just harvested blackberries and was now steeped in her annual blackberry/apple pie-making project. She’d been promising pies to friends and Time Bank members right and left. I loved how this lively manifestation of the reciprocity theme appeared right on cue, in the marketplace. (The next day I went with her to her special apple-picking spot, and my crisp was birthed soon thereafter.)
Egyptian goddess Isis was also considered a healer, which is another quality associated with earthy Virgo, particularly in the realm of medicinal herbs and plants, and healthy foods. This is one of the ways that “Earth Angel” Virgo marries ‘spirit’ with ‘matter’, through caring for and harvesting the plant beings, and from them making medicines, nutritious meals, and body care products. So if you feel called at this time to undertake a self-nourishing DIY project, such as making a facial scrub out of ground almonds, oats, rose petals, and lavender such as I have, you’ve caught the Virgo vibe! (My esthetician told me these homemade exfoliants are much gentler on the skin than store-bought ones.) My go-to site for fabulous recipes, and ingredients, is Mountain Rose Herbs, based in Eugene, Oregon. Here are some DIY gift ideas (including a facial scrub) to tickle your fancy, if you’re feeling the call of the earth goddess!
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Inner and outer work
I’d mentioned the difficult seguey from Leo (yang) to Virgo (yin): while every sign compensates for the potential ‘excesses’ of its predecessor, there are some successive pairs that are more notably opposed than others. This is one of them. While Leo’s is a proud dance of abundance and creativity, Virgo is guided by simplicity, humility, and self-restraint. Just when the celebratory Leo volume gets turned up, trumpets blaring, dancing in the aisles (such as during courtside changes at the Paris Olympics Men’s Tennis final!), along comes quiet, discriminating Virgo to poke holes in those brightly colored balloons. “That’s a lot of plastic waste,” she might quip. Good news, one might retort—those 100,000 DNC balloons were made of natural latex from rubber trees! “Well, that sounds pretty good, but are we sure that latex is actually recyclable?” Way to rain on the parade, Virgo!
So yeah, it’s a bit of a rough landing, arriving in Virgo-landia, where the magic dwells in the small stuff (so we might feel we have to sweat it!), where small is beautiful, and humility reigns. Virgo’s queendom is in the Ordinary. Methinks Kamala was taking Virgo’s cue when, after receiving the prolonged Leonine rounds of cheers she met when she took the DNC stage, she finally cut to the chase with, “Okay, let’s get to work!”
Like the other two earth signs (Taurus and Capricorn), Virgo takes her in-life work seriously, but as well, hers is the work of tuning in to spirit—as there’s a deeply devotional theme to this archetype. It takes some discipline perhaps to “recenter in the midst of your busy day” as a recent, on-topic email from a Jung center advised, so that we can hear the quiet voice of the Creator as the Earth Angel does.
First it requires dropping below the mind, and into the body, with the breath, the senses, and focused awareness, and then, simply listening, with no expectations. And then, we might pick up on earthly emanations such as the gentle afternoon breezes tickling the cheeks, the miniscule flowers on the creeping weed, or the lone bird call after dark. The capacity to find beauty, and a sense of well-being, by attuning to the commonplace, and to find joy in the work of maintaining life, these are Virgo’s gifts.
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Taming the beasty mind
The Virgo archetype is preoccupied with discernment—seeking behind all the mundane travail to both connect to the Divine, and to draw it down to Earth in a refined manifestation. So in its own quiet way, like Scorpio, Virgo is a transformer, whether that be of landscapes, of one’s inner being, or, of one’s thoughts and perceptions. Ruled by Mercury, at her wisest, Virgo accesses the power of words, of how they’re framed, and of the yarns they spin about the past and present. These determine our reality.
Lately I’ve been dipping into a book called The Course in Miracles Experiment, by Pam Grout— the ‘fun’ version of A Course in Miracles (CIM), which talks of how one can change one’s life by rewiring the mind. This is a medicine that seems well-suited to Virgo, who can tend to fall into glass-half-empty thinking, whether it be expecting the worst, or focusing on what’s not working, or didn’t work, instead of what is, or could come to pass. Looking for flaws is part of how we perfect things—part of the Virgo drill—but in the end, negative thinking does not well serve any cause. Here are some thoughts from Pam Grout on this:
The quantum field is an infinite mashup of possibilities. It contains countless waves, dancing around in countless states, countless positions, countless possibilities. Each has its own energy and frequency. It isn’t until the waves are measured—or chosen—that they coalesce into one material reality, thus destroying the original configuration where “all is possible.” Once we decide that, say, “life’s a struggle,” or that “people always disappoint me,” we collapse that wave and lose touch with all the rest. [CIM] explains that I have invented the world I see. So do I want to continue inventing a world out of my complaints?
The material world as it’s currently configured is based on fear. It’s based on the belief that everything is out to get us: our politicians, our food, our bodies…other countries… Every news report, commission, political speech, and self-help book is based on our unending fascination with “what’s wrong.”
As no doubt we’ve heard, what we focus on with our mind, we attract. In New Age circles, this has been dubbed the Law of Attraction, and is too often used for self-serving ends. But there is a beautiful truth herein, which addresses Virgo’s negative mental tilt. To grow the transformations we seek in our life, we benefit from adding a splash of ‘uplift’ to our morning (and midday!) brew – whatever that may look like (but likely not the news headlines!).
Perhaps it’s stepping outside and imbibing the fresh morning air, the birdsong, the early sun’s rays. Perhaps it’s tuning in to the calming, unitive breath as it moves into our body, or to the pleasures of connecting to the rhythms of the day, the elements, or and the seasons. Regardless of how we get there, it’s helpful to find a sense of peace in the body, to shift the mental frown by remembering ourselves back into the greater whole, and finding patience, tolerance, and trust in the way life unfolds…warts and extreme heat and political distress and all…!
Another great way to honor Virgo energy is to receive astrological counseling, as the lens of the horoscope assists one in not only better understanding one’s challenges and shadow parts, it provides solace as well, because it puts things in a big picture perspective that helps us carry our burdens with determination rather than fear or resentment. Check out my website’s Sessions page if interested.
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Along with the other mutable cross zodiac signs (Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces), as a flexible mutable energy Virgo is called to learning, growth, and change. For Virgo in particular these pursuits require periods of retreat—for reflection and metabolizing of all that has been absorbed from life’s experiences and exchanges, whether conscious or unconscious. In terms of the wheel of the Zodiac, Virgo’s is the task of reconciling all that has come before in the first five signs towards building a self.
Aries was about arrival—here I am!; Taurus about getting established (acquiring food and a roof, and some creature comforts!); Gemini plays with communication; Cancer finds emotional security and belonging from mother and nest; and Leo rejoices in their creative accomplishments—ROAR! But now, before moving on to the second half of the 12 zodiacal signs, where we begin the journey of relatedness to others with Libra, we have Virgo, who seeks to integrate and temper all that has come until now. Consider an electrical transformer, which has to ‘step down’ the power coming from a transmission station in order to have it be safe, functional, and practically used, and you have Virgo!
Retreat and receive
It’s actually quite a job, which is why Virgo is one of the most complex (and yes, most maligned) signs. Virgo needs to connect deeper than the conditioned ego manifestation—what it puts out into the world— and does so through both communion with the more-than-human worlds, and examining and integrating her mental frameworks, and shadows, so as to awaken her divine spark of authenticity.
This requires receiving the Light and integrating it within one’s being, often in a hidden way. Saints Hildegard von Bingen (12th Century Germany) and Julian of Norwich (14th Century England) beautifully illustrate this theme. To Hildegard, humility was the supreme virtue, requiring a recognition that one’s connection to the Ultimate Reality exists beyond human understanding. In other words, only the Divine, or transcendent Self knows how to follow the path of ‘true nature’ that Virgo aspires to.
In this respect, humility takes a leadership role not by assuming command, but by submission. I learned this decades ago taking theater improve classes, where I discovered that the follower, in expressing her unique impulse, can become a leader! In her musical play, Ordo Virtutum (the world’s first opera), which pays tribute to all the Virtues, the song to Humility runs 24 minutes—much to say! We sang an excerpt from it it a few weeks ago in my Hildegard singing circle, but I couldn’t find it online, so here is an excerpt from the “Circle of Virtues” announcing themselves, Humility being the very first.
When she was 30-years-old and on the brink of death from a serious illness, Julian of Norwich experienced 16 visions (which she called ‘showings’). Hearing Jesus speaking to her for several hours, she had a revelation of ‘unitive consciousness,’ after which she felt compelled to remove herself from ordinary life in order to reflect on her profound experience. She asked the bishop at St Julian’s Church in Norwich, England to build a hermit’s enclosure for her, where she spent the next 20 years in contemplation and prayer, seeking true understanding of her visions. Eventually, Saint Julian wrote Revelations of Divine Love, which Franciscan spiritual teacher Richard Rohr describes as “full of delight, freedom, intimacy, and cosmic hope.” An excerpt from her Showings:
And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus, ‘It is all that is made.’ I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God.
In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.
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The Divine light penetrates through all creation, from great to small. And while the daily round of serviceful operations is Virgo’s ‘in life’ role, Virgo energy calls for the necessary periodic retreat from the work of ‘matter’ to gain access to clarity about one’s essential nature. This is a never-ending undertaking of continual refinement—an interior, creative process of transformation, of sifting and winnowing, in order to determine what really matters, and to what one must dedicate oneself.
It can be at times a delicate ground to tread, sorting through one’s responses and thoughts about others and the world, navigating between owning one’s projections (e.g., the blame we’ve thrown on others), claiming self-responsibility where it is due, yet being careful not to get mired in self-deprecation or self-doubt. For while Virgo is known for its critical nature, the greatest object of critique is itself.
Bitter medicine
Virgo and Pisces – polarity partners, being 180° apart—are on the axis of service, as well as that of ‘seeking the ideal’. So the challenge is to both listen for and hold the awareness of perfection within, without getting caught in despair over the fact that the Ideal as we might imagine it cannot be landed by us here on earth. We need Virgo’s humility to accept and submit to the sometimes not so sexy, but organic ‘humus’ that is earthly life.
Not a propos of sex!, Virgo has associations to the Virgin Mary. In Hebrew the root mr means “bitter,” which is fitting, because Virgo, while being a loving nurturer of beings, treads a somewhat bitter path, plagued with worry, doubt, and self-critique in the ‘self-purification’ endeavor. We can refer to this as an archetype of ‘crisis’, as this process of refinement does indeed involve a type of alchemical ‘cooking,’ to which one doesn’t always respond gracefully! The best medicine to ease a challenged Virgo heart is to invoke feelings of connectedness to a transcendent oneness, which is to imbibe from the medicine of Pisces, its polarity partner.
The late Virgo Sun/Pisces Moon musician Leonard Cohen struggled at times with depression and loneliness. As quoted by depth psychological astrologer Safron Rossi, from his autobiography, I’m Your Man, Cohen writes poignantly of how the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca helped him find ‘big picture’ solace in his personal mental health struggles.
‘The universe he revealed seemed very familiar,’ his words illuminating ‘a landscape that you thought you alone walked on.’ Part of that landscape was loneliness. ‘When something was said in a certain kind of way, it seemed to embrace the cosmos. It’s not just my heart, but every heart was involved, and the loneliness dissolved, and you felt that you were this aching creature in the midst of an aching cosmos, and the ache was okay. Not only was it okay, but it was the way you embraced the sun and the moon.’
This ‘embrace of sun and moon’ is in fact part of Virgo’s work – the integration of the blazing Leonine Sun essence, with the shadowy, internal realms of the feminine Moon nature. Here perhaps we can understand the ‘virginal’ nature of Virgo. Associated with Hestia’s Vestal Virgins, Virgo is not necessarily always chaste, but she is instinctively lord over herself—not in need of a marriage partner or male counterpart to complete her, or give her direction, as she is set to the work of the sacred marriage within.
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Grounded feminine wisdom
This is one reason why another Greek virgin goddess, Athena, is also associated with Virgo. Very unlike Artemis, who lives in the forest and is kin with its creatures (as is Virgo), Athena is a city girl, and prevails in a competition with Poseidon for the patronage of Athens. She wins because her offering in the contest is the planting of the world’s first olive tree on the Acropolis, an offering hailed for its great value in that it could be cultivated, and facilitate the ongoing nourishment of the people.
In addition to caring for the development of civilization and culture, Athena is traditionally depicted wearing a helmet and shield as protection – something that resonates with Virgo energy, which does have a protective air about it, as well as a fierce bent towards Justice. Warrior Athena is also the goddess of practical reason, and handicraft, Virgo skills as well, being known for achieving mastery in her endeavors.
In invoking Athena, I cannot help but circle back to the potent speeches of the women I watched at the DNC—including of course Kamala Harris—all of whom spoke with sharp intelligence joined with the fire of the Woman Warrior, and the wisdom of the Mother who offers both care and guidance. In fact the two most prominent voices, those of ‘dark feminine’ leaders Michelle and Kamala, invoked the powerful words and stories from their mothers, emanating from South Chicago, and India. Pure and practical women’s wisdom, that has endured the test of time. “Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are,” Kamala quoted her mother.
In this light, perhaps the voices of these women leaders signify a royal moment, a convergence in time of the Leo and Virgo archetypes shining from above, for strong women speaking out with strength to protect and defend a nation, in defense of women’s rights and freedoms. While I know there are those among my readers who may not be aligned with the Democratic party for valid reasons, at this perilous time when womens’ right to choose (among other important rights) is under threat, I would like to invoke the powers of Virgo, and thereby Athena, to support us through this critical political moment in the U.S.!
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Astrology of now
At the New Moon in 11° Virgo on Sept 2, the Sun-Moon conjunction is opposed by Saturn, giving a rather serious flavor to the weeks ahead. With hard-working Saturn opposing the luminaries in equally diligent Virgo, and Mercury newly gone direct, it is a time to focus on our goals. This may not mean flying fast into a project, with Saturn in gestational Pisces still (until May 2026), but it’s certainly a time to set intentions about what we want to dedicate our energies to in the coming year. (In the pagan calendar, Oct. 31 marks the New Year, which is right around the corner!)
I’ve written about the very important Saturn in Pisces previously, but in short, it asks that we connect and surrender to Source, allowing our conditioned ‘knowing’ to unravel, and through time and patience birth insights and creative impulses that inform our earthly endeavors to come. This pairs beautifully with the Virgo vibe.
Pisces energy can, however, bring up feelings of deep loss, necessitating periodic phases of grief, which are essential to the work of both letting go of the past we cherished, and of perhaps unrealistic dreams of the future. Processing our grief with active awareness, perhaps through creativity, helps release an energy and clarity that had not been accessible when buried by repressed pain. This paves the way for a deepening into whatever spiritual or creative service we may offer ourselves to.
Meanwhile, with Mercury squaring (an aspect of 90° that creates inner tension) its ‘higher octave’ planet Uranus at this New Moon, we may see moments of aha! insight breaking in unexpectedly. The ‘thinking’ Mercury mind is going one way, and the ‘evolutionary leap’ Uranus mind sends down a lightning bolt! On the ordinary level, this could mean that communications can be disjointed and unpredictable, so tolerance and flexibility with interruptions and uncertainty are advised!
A more enduring square in the sky at this time is Jupiter in Gemini squaring Saturn, which will be with us to varying degrees until next year. A square asks for certain adjustments so that one can proceed effectively with the two energies at odds with one another. In this case, we could become mired in an excess of information, friends, plans, or big ideas, and need to adjust using Saturn’s discipline to focus on that which aligns with our vision and purpose. Virgoan discernment will be helpful here, as well as stilling the mind and simply listening to our heart and body-mind.
Jupiter in Gemini can also invoke uplifting dreams and visions, such as of Freedom, as the Dem’s are newly invoking. This is a noteworthy shift in the news headlines, Jupiterian optimism and faith having entered the political dialogue and consciousness! Faith does have the power to ‘move mountains’, so this might just be the ticket to combat the scourge of darkness.
Also at the New Moon, retrograde Pluto will have just moved back into Capricorn, where it resides for two final months doing its ‘last call’ review and harvest of any obsolete systems and structures that have to date informed our personal narratives and worldview. Come November, Pluto goes back into Aquarius where it stays for the next 20 years.
The Pisces Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on Sept. 17 is conjunct Neptune, emphasizing a receptivity to feelings and intuitions. The New Moon chart features a harmonious ‘kite’ shape involving sextiles and trines that include the Sun, Pluto, Uranus, and Mercury opposite Saturn. All of this indicates a mystical quality, a sort of window to higher emanations. We will be more receptive than usual at this time, but may as well need to work harder to lay down boundaries so has not to get scattered or thrown off course.
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Links For Further Meandering
Mountain Rose Herbs – DIY Gifts and Gift Tags: https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/diy-gift-guide-with-homemade-gift-tag-template
Hildegard Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum – Circle of Virtues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmgnqY3TKH0
Richard Rohr on Julian of Norwich: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-showing-of-love/