New Moon in Virgo: Awaken Your Inner Shapeshifter (9.14)

Thank you for joining me for a closer look at the lunar cycles.

What is a New Moon? A New Moon is when our two luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, are in the same sign, at the same degree, on the same page. The New Moon begins a cycle of creation as the Moon is dark and allows for possibility. The sky opens up for our intentions and may bring in tools for a little beginner's luck. Every month, we have a New Moon kicking off a two week cycle where we may be presented something new or we may be the active creators ourselves. It will also, simultaneously create a 6 month cycle that, again, will feel the most potent at the time of the New Moon, but will then continue working in our lives in the background until we reach its Full Moon counterpart in the opposing season.

Sometimes a New Moon theme is obvious– say you are moving to a new city around a New Moon, this is your New Moon story. Sometimes the themes aren't obvious at all because you are given some kind of creative control or you simply have to know where to look for the new beginnings available to you.

The New Moon in Virgo perfects on September 14th at 8:40pm CST. The Sun and the Moon are conjoined at 21º of Virgo creating a New Moon.

The Major Aspects:

• Sun-Moon at 21º Virgo trine Uranus rx at 22º Taurus (1º orb)

• Venus at 14º Leo square Jupiter rx at 15º Taurus (1º orb)

• Venus at 14º Leo sextile Mars at 11º Libra (3º orb)

• Sun-Moon at 21º Virgo opposite Neptune rx at 26º Pisces (5º orb)

Additional Chart Features:

• Mercury retrograde exalted in Virgo is at its station degree preparing to start moving forward. This is the ruler of the New Moon

• Venus reaches its final square to Jupiter after making contact on June 11th and August 22nd, this time with Jupiter retrograde

• Essential dignity: the Moon has triplicity in Virgo, Mercury is exalted in Virgo, Mars is detriment in Libra; Jupiter currently has bound support; Saturn has decanic support

Delineation:

Virgo New Moons are portals. They are mundane, unsuspecting, doorways. And you often won’t know you’ve passed through one until much later.

I always feel sick around Virgo lunations. Though, certainly not just physical sickness, it’s a depletion of the entire spirit. Virgo, the sign of health and the Moon, the luminary that rules the gut and instinct. When these two combine, they tend to rattle the toxins in our emotional, spiritual, and physical bodies trying to expel and extract them from where they’ve been hiding for days, months, or years.

Last year on the Virgo New Moon I became celibate– funny, as Virgo is the "virgin" and while I am certainly not one myself, this was about healing for me. The New Moon before that in 2021 was a gateway into a particularly leafy virus that wrapped itself around every area of my life (i.e. I made a lot of poor decisions that I ended up regretting). At the same time though, just days before that lunation, I began a new job that I wasn’t at all sure about and it was supposed to be temporary, but it ended up being so much more than that. A truly unforgettable experience that– not to be dramatic– changed my whole life.

Before that, in 2020, it was the sickness of expectation. That was the beginning of a school semester that had me in tears every. single. night. I didn’t menstruate for four months (until after final exams) because I was so anxious.

Virgo New Moons for me have indeed gotten much better over time, but only as I’ve been willing to let go more and more and more of what I *think* will make me happy, of what is “supposed” to be, of distractions and disorder, and social conformity. The annual New Moon in Virgo may very well be about learning what works and what doesn’t, what others have a tolerance for and what we are intolerant to… and what happens when we try to choke down the things that we are having an active negative reaction to. I imagine the Moon rolls her luminescent eyes as we vomit up the same thing our body has rejected since the time we arrived on earth. She’s truly just waiting for us to put two and two together. Like, “Hmmm, if this hasn’t worked all of the other times, is there a reason why it would work now?” This is pronounced this year with Mercury retrograde in the same sign.

A sickness comes in many forms. You can be sick with anger, pushing too hard, too much, too fast. You can be sick with grief or sadness that you refuse to let out. A relationship can make you sick. A job can make you sick. The New Moon in Virgo is the unsuspecting doorway, a moment of purge and cleansing, to enter the next chapter.

On the other hand, it’s also a doorway into those life changing experiences that start out as something simple, maybe even something annoying or mandatory. Virgo, ruled by Mercury, is a trickster. Virgo is the best kind of trickster because you would never guess that practical, boring Virgo is actually Heyoka the healer, the Virgin Mary carrying a savior, Mulan disguised as a warrior, or the king who became an eel to seduce the goddess Hina. The things that seem boring are exciting, grandma is actually a wolf, and yes, if you kiss a frog it will turn into a prince. Virgo always has a logical explanation for why it is that way– don't be fooled by what is seemingly mystical.

This New Moon is in a tight trine to Uranus, the other trickster god who is surely the best friend of Mercury, if not simply another face of him. Breakthroughs and unexpected changes are likely. If you’ve been waiting for your situation to change, I’m guessing that it will, but not the way you think it will. Uranus does not reveal the trick, it only tells you the general timeframe of the trick. It’s like knowing your sibling is around the corner about to jump out to scare you, every step is treacherous, but equally hilarious as you anticipate the eventual scream that will surely rise from your throat. If that metaphor gives you too much anxiety (per Virgo), you can imagine a surprise party instead if you’d like. Uranus is about much more than surprises, though. It is electric with ideas and potential, it sees the future, it conceptualizes things before anyone else has. For that reason, Uranus is the mad genius– I suggest taking note of any brilliant (but slightly insane) thoughts and realizations you have this week. Uranus is in Taurus after all, even the ridiculous has the potential to ground itself in your tangible reality.

With the New Moon opposing Neptune, it’s important that you know that something must be given up. Oppositions usually require some kind of compromise and on the Virgo-Pisces axis, sacrifice is likely. Maybe that means putting aside something that is non essential– celibacy or diet changes are actually really great examples of this, but it could also be an endless amount of things. This week my grandparents, who are in the process of building a house, are pretty frustrated because the construction workers did not properly align the sheetrock where the apex of the roof meets. There’s this ugly, asymmetrical line on the ceiling, so now they are receiving one of those grand wood beams (that are usually like a bajillion dollars) for free to cover their mistake. This is sooooo New Moon in Virgo opposite Neptune, it’s not even funny. There’s sacrifice, there’s surprise, the details are all mucked up, and there is honestly, a bit of an upgrade among the chaos.

So, things may not “align” just right at the moment. Know that the New Moon is working to make corrections, but patience and a good sense of humor is required over these next two weeks. This is also the same week of the final Venus square Jupiter contact of this year– risks are being taken, resource issues are seeing a big conclusion and maybe even a solution. Whatever the tension has been between these two areas of your life (the Taurus and Leo houses), there’s one more thing being added to the story. Remember that any frustrations are ultimately making things happen and moving things forward.

I hope that whatever portal you step through this New Moon is one that changes your life in the most magical and inspiring of ways. Please don't forget to take care of your health above all!

Your friendly neighborhood astrologer,

Katie