August's New Moon in Virgo

This month's New Moon comes on the 28th, a Sunday, at 8:04 PM PMT, at 5 degrees of Virgo. Conjunct this union of the Sun and the Moon is the planet Venus at 8 degrees Virgo. If you have access to your own natal chart I always suggest locating the house placement of this New Moon and take notice if it's near or in major aspect to any personal planets.

For example in my chart this New Moon falls in my 7th House (house of marriage) and is in close opposition to my Sun which is now conjunct Neptune. I have my natal Neptune in the 7th House along with the North Node of the Moon. This makes for some dramatic focus for me on the business of the 7th House--important close relationships on an equal or peer level. These are the intimate relationships that challenge us to consider the other person in the equation, thus grow in self-awareness. The transit of Neptune to my Sun should encourage more willingness give high consideration to others, to see things from the other's point of view.

Since Venus has an influence on this New Moon I would suggest that it increases the likelihood that a longing for peace and harmony both within and with others will be sparked in this Moon cycle. Saturn is about half way through Libra and this sign placement continues to keep us all interested in harmonious relationships, in personal growth through the practice of partnering.

Added to those placements the New Moon chart shows a Grand Trine among the New Moon's Sun and Moon and both Jupiter and Pluto. This can only bode well for any plans or actions that harmonize with the dominant earthy Virgo energy. Some examples: simplify your life, resolve to spend more time close to nature, work on improving your health in some way, such as improving your diet, add some new trees or perennials to your landscaping, reorganize your living space for improved functionality, tackle some task that puts things in better order. Due to the overall harmony of this New Moon chart I would expect these types of efforts will come with a boost of optimism and will be rewarded.

My first impulse when creating the collage for this New Moon was to focus on the simplicity and orderliness of Virgo energy. I pictured a retreat that would be comforting in its quiet and natural aesthetics. I couldn't locate enough images to put that into form so I next began to see the caring and service aspect of Virgo and saw this as an attribute of the archetypal feminine. And so my collage uses symbols of community (the Pueblo), of nurturance (the corn) (the hands of the Goddess). The raised hands coming from the top of her head I saw as making a connection with the Divine Source of all life, of which the corn is also a symbol. And so those who grow corn, prepare corn for eating and those who cook meals are all channels for sustaining life, co-creators/sustainers with the Divine.

It's possible we may be coming to a time when work becomes more directly linked to sustaining ourselves, as opposed to making money which allows acquiring things we need but have not been involved in creating. A Virgo conceived world would be driven more by practicality than fads or extravagance. Recycling would be highly valued and the purity and viability of soil and water and air would be high priorities. In that spirit we can view this next month as a time to appreciate an earth-centered point of view. By the end of the month Mercury will be picking up some forward momentum and plans and projects can again move forward.