Virgin Territory : Full Moon in Virgo
It is incredible to think that the blindsiding behemoth that was the full moon in Leo eclipse - and all the chaos and change it has wrought - was just a mere month ago. How different does life look now? Quite the lunar cycle it has been, one whose stops included two staggering eclipses, a solar system entirely in forward motion to ensure we bolted through this mad season and a significant shift in energetic gears as we moved from Aquaria to Pisces. Equal parts exhilaration and exhaustion and constant trammelling change.Although eclipsia itself is nearing completion, the ripples continue to impact our lives. As well they should given that eclipses usually extend their tendrils six months in either direction and kick into longer nineteen year lunar cycles. They play short, they play long, they play hard to like. This particular Leo/Aquarius eclipse frenzy is not nearly done yet: it is mid process and one that sees us working towards our 2020 vision. Casting our eyes around yet another ground zero, it is clear that the cosmos is conspiring in our evolution: as individuals and as a species. Sure it feels destabilising and at times just like a steaming pile but true evolution is never a question of upgrade lite. It does not come without struggle and it is not easy to submit. Perhaps we wouldn't surrender to its peculiar magic unless we were forced. Enter a brutal eclipse season and a hideously depressing world news cycle. Be horrified and then galvanised and then make change. Contribute and evolve. Stop, drop and roll may well be the new self care as sandpaper cosmic loving works its magic: the sharpest edges have to smooth first.The full moon is an energetic crescendo that can can be relied upon to bring crisis or drama to a head. In the mansion of the virgin however we are grounded and guided, provided we do not bow to Neptunian imperatives and anaethetise ourselves from her magic. Virgo is a common sense sage whose boundaries are clear and plans are well thought out. Order is everything and chaos is cryptonite. Their virginity is a personal sovereignty that finds them beholden only to themselves and speaks to firm boundaries to ensure it. After an eclipse season with an unashamed focus on new relating - to self, to others and to our world at large - this full moon can be expected to test the uncharted waters we find ourselves in. Virgo is pragmatic, their practicality a foil to the Piscean oceans of emotion. The Virgo imperative offers cut through clarity, like a ship steaming through a foaming ocean. How harsh that feels depends on whether you are the ship or the sea.
The virgin's underbelly is criticism and judgement, unchecked skepticism and cynicism which can overshadow compassion and their inherent devotion to service. This kind of righteous pessimism does little to lift spirits, clouding both intuition and connection. An emphasis on details, if expressed as nitpicking and too focused on the little things, can mean failing to see the bigger picture at play. The processes we are enmeshed in are long players that require our constant commitment and vision. Virgo energy is wonderful for this if you choose to take the high road. Similarly it could white ant those same dreams in the face of relentless over-analysis, where head rules heart.This full moon may well illuminate issues within relationships, particularly those regarding speaking your truth and how we connect (or disconnect) with others. Eclipse season has shown us the discordance in no uncertain terms. If you were vague or deluded before, now you can be very clear who is for you or against you or worst of all lacks the passion to be either. Mercury mired in Pisces can muddy communications even further, or fuelled by Mars' square to this lunation in tell-it-like-it-is Sagg could force conflict. You may well end up having the conversation you need to have but actions always speak louder than the most eloquent argument, no matter its volume.
As the last full moon of the astrological year, a sense of completion takes hold now. In the northern hemisphere it is the first day of Spring, the traditional time to plant seeds for what will grow and blossom over the coming months. In the southern hemisphere the first day of Autumn heralds the descent into the cauldron space of Winter, a time to take stock of what worked and what did not. Here we must wait for the magic that arises from the darkness. The equinox beckons, our next spoke on the wheel of the year and a tipping point from one season to the next. It changes our mood, our bodies, our world and you can be sure of that shift, written into your cells just as it is every other creature of this earth.In the face of so much change and uncertainty, it is easy to feel like you don't know where to go or what to do next. Maybe the toughest ask of all is to sit in the space of not knowing. To wait patiently for answers to come and to trust that you will know the right thing when you see it and feel it approach. Surrender is the toughest master for a post modern culture that prides itself on having all the solutions worked out. Can we each sit in our own uncertainty and let days and nights, moons and stars pass us by until we know what we need to do next? Dwell in this uncertainty. Mainline possibility as the formless wonder it is. Play into potential and the magic of creation that rises from the unknown and unseen.It is the Virgo control freak's worst nightmare. It is all too often the Piscean dream. This full moon is their unholy marriage and we are changed simply by bearing witness. Sometimes there is nothing to do, no ritual to enact and no special songs to be sung. Sit down, right where you are. See it through. Words © Kerrie Basha, 2018 | 📷 The full moon silhouettes the statue of the Virgin Mary. Picture: Robert Franklin/AP | Crown of Stars by the incredible artist @shewhois | Final stock image uncredited via Google