The (reluctant) realism of Virgo season

The new Moon in Virgo on September 3rd signalled a shift for me, as we move from summer into autumn. Our summer travels came to an end with a visit to us from extended family, giving an opportunity for some local exploring and reconnection with “our” places. I find myself considering the managing of time and energy as I finally get back to “proper” work days, after a summer of juggling family and work and even some Leo season play. I’m very aware this week of the changing season, of the next steps both of my children are taking as they expand their educational horizons. For me, as well as a new teaching term, MA studies will start again soon and I’m wary of the “back to school” energy which tempts me to make endless plans and lists, to let ideas and visions of what I might do carry me away. Virgo energy is not about that, instead it’s about realism and practicality. I’ve already had a reminder of that, with illness hitting literally on the day school started for my youngest. So we are settling into a new rhythm slowly, making space for the bumps along the way.

Virgo season goals - taken at the Brussels Planetarium.

There’s a coming down to earth, with Virgo reminding us what we actually need to do, on a day to day basis, to achieve those goals, to fulfil the potential of the expanding horizons. We don’t reach those horizons all at once, we reach them a step at a time. The slowing down is reflected in the other planets too, with Mars moving into Cancer a couple of days after Pluto teeters back into Capricorn for the final time. Cancer is sometimes considered a point of creation, a bringing to birth, as in the mythical Thema Mundi, the horoscope for the birth of the world, which has Cancer rising. The portal into beingness comes from that Cancer energy of feeling and flow. A place where Mars is traditionally not so comfortable, but a place where we can allow our feelings to drive our actions, moving from a place of instinct.

Meanwhile the Sun in Virgo is moving towards its opposition with Saturn, and then a t-square as both Sun and Saturn square Jupiter in Gemini. So the visions are our goal, the apex of the pattern. But the Sun in careful Virgo and Saturn, setting boundaries around the numinous in Pisces, are the driving forces towards those visions. It’s about getting clear not just on what we want, but where our priorities are. About how and why we direct our energy, our attention. About figuring out where in the fantasy city we want to go, and setting out on the path that will take us there.