Happy Virgo New Moon! Happy solar eclipse! This is the time of year when we begin a new lunar month in support of health, wellness, acts of service, humility, and getting our lives organized. Plus, this new moon is a solar eclipse, which means that we’re starting a powerful six month chapter that will underscore Virgo themes of purity and craft — until the next solar eclipse. This one will be exact on September 13, 2015 at 2:41 am EDT, 20 degrees Virgo. For those farther afield, that’s 11:41 pm in LA on 9/12, 7:41 am in London, and 4:41 pm in Sydney on 9/13.

I’m fascinated by eclipses. You want to see me nerd out on astrology? Get me started on solar and lunar eclipses. They form these nested, interconnected energy patterns that we interface with over an unfolding period of time. Further, eclipses are the engines of fate; they are cosmic imperatives. Like a clock striking a new hour, they announce that it’s time for a change. (For a review of what we’ve been working on the last six months, check out March’s post on the Pisces solar eclipse.)

Now we turn our attention to Virgo, a bit of an underrated sign. True, it lacks the glamor of Leo, the sign that precedes it, but humble Virgo teaches us the selfless power of service. As an earth sign, this encompasses the more mundane areas of life, from work and rituals to managing the flow of the day. Virgo is the to-do list, spreadsheets, organization, hygiene, and taking care of the body’s needs. See, doesn’t quite have that romance and sparkle. Make no mistake, however, Virgo reveals a powerful and necessary function that we cannot ignore.

So, how does this apply to the solar eclipse? Over the next six months, especially with Jupiter in Virgo, we’re going to have to turn our attention to our health. Do we need to get in shape? Make changes to our diet? Go on a cleanse? Eat better? We’re going to have to look at where we need to be more selfless. What is our relationship with service? Are we too proud to help others? Where does ego get in the way? We’re going to have to get organized as well. How will you streamline your day-to-day life? What messes have you been neglecting? What’s on your to-do list? Ready to work?

There’s a poignant side to this solar eclipse. It tightly opposes Chiron and Mercury, the ruler of the eclipse, and squares Pluto and oppose Uranus. This tells us that the coming six months will touch on the emotional, spiritual, and psychic knots we carry — the tenderest parts of our soul. In short, this eclipse will press our buttons, revealing where we still have deep work to do. And oppositions are inherently confrontational; we cannot put this off any longer. Additionally, Uranus and Pluto in the mix will mean that we will have the power to transmute these knots once and for all — but we have to do the work and we have to do it for something greater than us (Virgo/Pisces).

I know people are tired, but we live in a critical juncture in human history. Something has to shift. We no longer have the luxury to ignore the imbalances in our own lives as well as the world. We’re being powerfully called upon to do our part. If this era of astrology teaches us anything, especially with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, is that we’re all connected. Whatever work we do on ourselves we do for others. Whatever space we open up in our lives empowers other to do so.

Under the banner of Virgo, let us lead by example, humbly so, in loving service to the collective and spirit.

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