The New Moon at 2 degrees of Virgo on August 25th brings a heightening of many collective goals, dreams, visions, and actualizations that have been percolating over the past several months. Opposite of Neptune, we are stirred by the sense of touching and attaining the impossible.  Although focused in an Earth sign, this is a highly spiritually charged new moon, bringing us into alignment with the timeless values of its polar opposite, Pisces. We’re challenged to let go of what our rational minds so desperately seek to survive us by. Mercury in Virgo several degrees away opposes Chiron in Pisces, enabling us to understand our wounds in a new light, and to communicate more clearly and calmly in situations we would otherwise be too influenced by either physical or emotional pain.

Virgo being the sign of the earth maiden can easily take the role of a temple priestess, bedside nurse, or a city janitor. Her work is done quietly, efficiently, and with a certain level of self-sacrifice. Many people are inspired under her strong influences to take better care of themselves,  or to devote some of their time to helping others who are ill or troubled. This New Moon and the days following are optimum for beginning a new health regimen of some sort. All forms of cleaning and decluttering are also favored.

Mars is tightly conjoined with Saturn in Scorpio, emphasizing a need for correction of the use of power and its direction in our lives. The conjunction receives  a square by Venus  in Leo and a trine by Chiron. Our ultimate empowerment must be infused with love, otherwise we unfortunately destroy others and ourselves rather than appropriately destroying the harmful tendencies of our egos. Meanwhile Venus’s trine to Uranus helps us to broaden our perceptions of and capacity for love in its myriad expressions, from whatever forms and walks of life we may happen to find ourselves.

The Sabian symbol for this Moon is “Two guardian angels; invisible help and protection in times of crisis”

We are reminded that even in the midst of catastrophe, war, and devastation there is an invisible life force energy from which we all came and are all a part of. It can be called God, the Universe, god particles, infinity, or the great void. When we tap into this life force energy we can overcome the challenges of gravity, stasis, and the status quo. We can seemingly move mountains and  ride the waves of the wind rather than be knocked down by them. Most of all when we trust in a power that is greater than our ordinary sense of self, we come to understand a far greater depth of a reality that is normally obscured from view.

This is a New Moon where practical meets mystical, discipline meets devotion, and many of the solutions we seek are found within our problems – as though questions answering themselves. Virgo has a tendency to highlight the flaws that make us feel ashamed and unworthy of the good that life has to offer, but we need not be harsh drill sargeants or bullies to ourselves in order to effect change in our habits or health and to refine our character. Actually, we need a more gentle approach…. as Anita Moorjani states in her book Dying to be Me:

“Cherishing the self comes first and caring for others is the inevitable outcome…our world suffers from too little self-love and too much judgment, insecurity, fear, and mistrust. If we all cared about ourselves more, most of these ills would disappear”