August 27, 2022 at 3:17am in San Miguel de Allende—Saturday’s New Moon in Virgo packs a powerful intent to begin straightening up at least one area of our lives. However, creating efficiency and peace of mind will require negotiation, compromise and navigating a surprise hurdle or two. In considering Saturday’s New Moon, let’s start with Mercury, the ruler of this lunation currently in the sign of Virgo.
Mercury Retrograde
Mercury will be turning retrograde in September giving us an opportunity to rethink and revise the most prudent way forward. As of August 21st, Mercury entered his shadow. He’ll return to the same degree—24° Virgo—when he stations direct on October 2nd. This matters because Mercury in diplomatic Libra is the ruler of the New Moon in Virgo. What begins during this time will most likely be baked into the DNA of the new beginnings being seeded at the New Moon.
Also on August 21st, Mercury opposes Neptune at 24° Pisces indicating we don’t have all the information we need right now. We may feel a little murky, uncertain or even deceived. When Mercury clears Neptune, the planet of communication will enter the harmony seeking terrain of Libra on the 25th and travel almost a third of the way into Venus’s sign before turning retrograde on September 9th where he trines Mars. Moving backwards from Air (Libra) to Earth (Virgo) might see some of us changing our course of action or at the very least, considering alternatives. The harmony we sought at the New Moon in Virgo ruled by Mercury in Libra might go through a few reiterations before grounding into actionable compromise once the retrograde ends.
Once Mercury stations direct in Virgo on October 2nd, he’ll oppose Neptune again, but he’ll also be trining Pluto. So whatever precarious ambiguity that exists now will be met with the truth serum that is Mercury trine Pluto. We’ll be able to more confidently root out the reality of the matter so that our actions going forward accurately address what needs to be done.
The New Moon
Mercury’s movements and condition provide the context for the New Moon in Virgo taking place early Saturday morning. As we know, New Moons signal new beginnings in at least one part of our lives. In Virgo, this is a call for cleaning up and streamlining processes which in turn give us a stable spaciousness and a sense of order. At the heart of Virgo is a desire to be our best selves. With the New Moon squaring Mars in Gemini, we can be mentally preoccupied to clean up a situation. There’s a tension that’s not letting us rest. The desire to find a solution compels us to take action.
Word to the wise: wait. It’s quite possible that with today’s Mercury’s opposition to Neptune and subsequent retrograde, we don’t have all the information at our disposal right now. Additionally, with Uranus turning retrograde on Wednesday, August 24th, we could discover eye-opening insights that will be worth factoring into our next steps. It’s also helpful to remember that Mars entered Gemini just yesterday. In an Air sign, the entry of Mars can kick up mental agitation and reactivity. It would be better to sit tight if that’s an option to see how things play out.
The New Moon at 4° Virgo lands in a part of the sky that understands timing like a veteran editor. Rather than jump on an expose, the editor—like the first decan of Virgo—practices restraint until enough of the puzzle pieces emerge that undeniably tells a story. As we work with the strong desire for a best outcome and a clean house, we can temper reactive impulses by remembering that all good things take time. Come March of 2023 when this New Moon becomes Full, our diligence will pay off.
Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash.