AUGUST 21-23: VERY GOOD VIRGO MOON

MOON ENTERS VIRGO at 4:25pm EDT on Monday, August 21 and remains here until Wednesday, August 23 at 4:02pm. LAST ASPECT OF MOON: Moon Sextile Venus in Cancer. Ruled by Mercury, this Mutable Earth sign indicates a period when we tend to have an analytical perspective which can range from being productively discerning or annoyingly nit-picky. Our drive for perfection can have our critical eye work for us or against us. With this harmonious Last Aspect, we're lookin' good! Actions initiated during this Moon period tend to have VERY GOOD resolutions. But there's more to this symbolism of our particularly Venusian Virgo Moon! Let's look more closely...

VIRGO AS MEDICINE MAIDEN

This Virgo Moon follows on the heels of the Leo New Moon Solar Eclipse, when the Moon and the Sun were both in the Sun-ruled sign of Leo. Virgo is one of the two major signs reflecting The Feminine Archetype; Cancer, the Moon's natural ruler, is the other. With the current Last Aspect Sextile Venus in Cancer, this Virgo Moon is abundantly ripe with expressions of The Feminine. So the Moon moves from the very Masculine archetype of Leo, King of the Castle, to Virgo, Healer-Priestess-Maiden. Before we delve into Virgo's symbolism, let me set the bigger context:

The Regulus Shift: A Paradigm Shift
We've been focusing on the Royal Regulus point of this Solar Eclipse, metaphorically magnifying its  power, both at 29 Leo (or minutes before). However, as the world turns, in 2011-2012 Regulus moved from Leo - where it has resided for some 4,000 years - into Virgo. The symbolic meaning of this transition is a power shift from The Masculine Archetype of Leo to The Feminine Archetype of Virgo. In other words, what power begins to look like is reflective of the Virgonian archetype. Or we could say Virgo's quality of power is what works now. This month's Moon movement into Virgo feels charged with mirroring Regulus' relatively recent shift. And the very positive Last Aspect of Moon Sextile Venus in Cancer is indeed affirming for successful outcomes! The Libra Moon, which follows Virgo in a few days, can remind us that the ultimate goal is Balance and Equality - or conjunctio, the alchemical Sacred Marriage of The Masculine and The Feminine archetypes.

Virgo's Archetype:
Virgo is associated with the feminine Maiden - the pure, innocent and vestal virgin, keeper of the sacred hearth fire. There is the true humility of service available to Virgo that most other signs don't access. Virgo also reflects the mother/daughter theme which carries a deeper feminine wisdom expanding into generations of women as in the Demeter/Persephone myth. Here we see a maturation process over time to the sensuous life-giving Feminine. She is a part of embodied Mother Nature whose orderly rhythm is in her being. Virgo's drive towards order is one of her most evident traits - as indicated through her attention to cleanliness, nourishment and health. She is the medicine woman who with her wisdom helps keep our bodies and environments as close to perfect balance as possible. Mercury's influence shows up in Virgo's attention to intelligent precise language. This is the ultimate writer, speaker, teacher. Her focus is on the details and she can get lost there and become overly critical and judgemental - if she doesn't occasionally pick her head up from the written page to be reminded of Pisces' (Virgo's opposite) bigger picture.

If we think of the 6th House, which is under Virgo's natural rulership, we also bring to mind the importance of daily work and the integrity with which we hold it. Our attention to details in this arena keeps us present and mindful of moment to moment choices. Virgo's 6th House also highlights the small animals which inhabit our daily lives and require our care. Finally, the 6th House is a space for the integration of the first six houses of the horoscope, the more personal hemisphere, before we step out to participate on the larger world stage. 

It is, perhaps, with the optimum expression of Virgo that we are likely to see success in our personal and collective lives. Let her inspire us to hold her best qualities dear and act accordingly in the world.
  
Total Solar Eclipse Political Last Thoughts:
Ancient mythology associates omen-ous circumstances with Eclipses - especially for Kings and Royalty in general. Death, a lost battle or some other fall from power and grace were feared. We've talked about the current connection to Regulus heightening the myth of regal power, leadership and courage. But there is an esoteric condition which must be met for success: that this power be used for the greater good and the ruler has an evolved sense of morality, integrity and intelligence.
Most of you reading this know by now that Trumpty Dumpty has his Ascendant or Rising Sign at this exact point. This was a strong indicator for his success in the presidential election and signified his rise to power, success and fame.
With natal Mars conjoining his strong Leo Ascendant, his Sun in Gemini conjoining his North Node and Uranus opposing his Moon in Sagittarius - all Masculine signs - he dramatically reflects the Masculine Archetype...in the most bravado, self-aggrandizing, loose cannon, wired, detached and least optimum kind of way. (Yes, he does have three planets in Cancer, but they are challenged by significant hard aspects: Saturn in Cancer tightly conjuncts his Venus and Neptune closely squares his Mercury.) Not only has his Regulus lost it's support, his morality has revealed itself and it does not fulfill the esoteric requirements for lasting success. Humpty Dumpty's wall is crumbling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xN_89uynqw

VIRGO SCENE FOR THE DAY: Elizabeth: The Golden Age, 2007; Director: Shekhar Kapur. The shift from Leo authority to Virgo's Feminine power can most dramatically be witnessed by the transformation of Queen Elizabeth I to the Virgin Queen. The visuals in this scene say everything - but the one line delivered does indeed execute the exclamation point! Cate Blanchett embodies this legendary character completely and we are awed by her. True power requires Virgo's humility, sacrifice and a relationship with the divine - qualities of which our caricature of a leader is devoid.