Solar Eclipse in Virgo: Work It, Baby!

Greetings, Lovelies and Uglies and those who are a combination of the two:

We are fast approaching the final New Moon of summer (in the Northern Hemisphere), which will also be a partial Solar Eclipse. Exact September 13, 2:41 a.m. EDT, this lunation at 20 degrees of Virgo is a challenge to put on your cosmic hardhat and Get. To. Work.

This is one of those times when all work and no play will not make you a dull boy or girl. To the contrary, the more you work on yourself, the more rewarding you will find the New Moon / Solar Eclipse.

Even in modern-day astrology, when it is standard to sugarcoat the most heinous planetary aspects and placements as "great potential for growth," Virgo suffers from a bad reputation without the fun and intimidation points racked up by its cousin Scorpio. At least Scorpio is a seductive force to be reckoned with and can always get laid, whereas poor Virgo gets zero respect for being a prissy, perfectionist, nitpicking, overly cautious, submissive worker bee whose main weapons appear to be white gloves (handy for doing spot checks of dust levels in other people's homes) and an insistence on perfect grammar.

For those of you smartypants whose knowledge of astrology goes beyond Sun signs, you have doubtlessly learned that Venus placed in Virgo is the pits, and that if you are unlucky enough to attract one of those killjoys who give love a bad name, to run for the hills. Take that, Mick Jagger, Julia Roberts, Joni Mitchell, Roger Federer, Eminem, Mila Kunis, J. K. Rowling, and Kate Winslet! (Although speaking as a Venus-in-Virgo native, I will state here that I myself would probably flee from the likes of Sean Penn, Roman Polanski, and Martha Stewart.)

Now is the time to summon up and own those very qualities that consign Virgo to the dustbin of the Zodiac. Working on yourself can be a royal pain in the ass, and unless it involves a bottle of hair dye or a visit to a tattoo parlor, there is no guarantee that anyone will even notice. Working on yourself can take your entire damned life if you're doing it right. Virgo understands deep down that all worthwhile ventures can take a lot of time and effort, and that if you are in it for the long haul, you must be patient with yourself while pushing yourself.

As a Mercury-ruled Earth sign, Virgo also understands that thoughts are in fact things. To quote R. W. Emerson, "A man is what he thinks all day long." The self-loathing Virgo does itself no favors; the confident Virgo can win its version of the jackpot. This observation applies to all signs of the Zodiac, of course, yet Virgo in particular must be especially vigilant to monitor its tendency to self-doubt. A crippling degree of self-criticism will lead not to a jackpot, but a straitjacket of your own making.

Virgo's place in the Zodiac occurs at a critical juncture of humanity's evolution: self-consciousness. The immediately preceding sign Leo assumes it will be loved and valued simply for being its royal self; Virgo asks, What can I bring to the table? Plenty, actually: the symbol of Virgo is a wheat-toting maiden -- the purity of hard work culminating in harvest time. Even if you are gluten-free or on a low-carb diet these days, take the best page from this sign's thick book and work toward your own harvest. If you are less than thrilled with such Virgo-ruled areas in your life as job, health, diet, and/or wardrobe, use the energy of the upcoming Solar Eclipse to begin to change these areas. Although you may not see results immediately, at least you can make a definite start, and even starts can be very healing.

From Dark of the Moon to New Moon: The Siberian Express; or, Come On, Baby, Let the Hard Times Roll

New Moons frequently occur in the final degree of a sign. The one this past Wednesday at 6:47 p.m. EST, however, was so cuspy at 29 degrees, 54 minutes, and 54 seconds of Aquarius that by 6:50 p.m., both the Sun and Moon were in Pisces. This effectively gave us a New Moon across two signs.

Emotionally, things did seem to ease a bit once the Sun and Moon entered Pisces (and at the time, Mars and Venus were still in Pisces). That's just on a personal level -- water signs tend to breathe better with transiting planets in water, whereas fire signs may feel extinguished. However, much of the U.S. is still dealing with the so-called Siberian Express, many people at my temp gig are still wheezing and sneezing, and despite all the vitamins I am taking and hand sanitizer I am using, I am currently dealing with my fourth cold in six weeks (or maybe it's the same cold that I'm just not getting over).

We are now solidly into the New Moon period -- and I was honored to catch sight of the Moon-Venus conjunction this past frigid Friday evening as I walked west from my subway stop to home, as it was a truly beautiful sight, and I was jonesin' for beauty -- yet not much feels different. This is partly because Mercury, though direct now, still has a ways to go through Aquarius, where it was retrograde for a very long three weeks (and perhaps tied into the Siberian Express).

Another part of the lingering dark-of-the-moon feeling is due to the approaching Sun-Saturn square (exact Mon. 2/23, 8:56 a.m., followed just one minute later by another square, between the Moon and Mercury). This is the very first Sun-Saturn square to occur since Saturn entered Sagittarius at the end of 2014. The Sun squaring Saturn is a classic authority-clash aspect between man and The Man. Unfortunately, this aspect, especially given the signs involved (Pisces and Sagittarius) favors the type of bully of either gender who represents Law and Order, the status quo, or just looks good on paper while engaging in such cowardly, underhanded tactics as backbiting, trolling, and stalking while also being territorial and greedy. If you symbolize the Sun in Pisces (creative, intuitive, mystical, true to yourself), wait this one out. If you personify the worst side of Saturn in Sagittarius (cold, rigid, hypocritical, avaricious) go for it....

....with the caveat that just like you, karma's a bitch.

The Astrology of Valentine's Day

This year, Valentine's Day coincides with the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Tiger: Will you be a wildcat or a pussy cat? Or perhaps a pink panther?

We are approaching the New Moon in Aquarius, but most of Valentine's Day occurs with the Moon in Pisces (the ingress happens at 7:23 a.m. EST). This Piscean feeling is strengthened by the Sun/Neptune conjunction. It's an auspicious day to be emotional and downright mushy with both friends and lovers.

If you're not sure what to do with your sweetie tomorrow (other than the obvious), you might consider taking in a movie or three, having a photography or video session (use your imagination), sharing and perhaps indulging in a fantasy, a champagne-soaked brunch, liquor-filled bonbons, or evening wining and dining. However, be careful not to indulge too much in alcohol or any other substances that may affect your ability to stay conscious.

If you don't have a sweetie, but do have a crush, tomorrow is an optimal day to declare your feelings, as long as your crush is actually available to be amenable! Seriously, with elements of fantasy running so high, you should ask yourself before declaring yourself if you are infatuated with the actual person, or with the idea of him/her.

As I mentioned earlier, this is also a wonderful V-Day to spend with close friends. In fact, it is entirely possible that platonic feelings between friends may turn more, well, Plutonic. Again, as long as you don't let the fantasy aspect (it's pretty romantic to fall in love with a friend) and too much to drink overwhelm what's truly going on here, a wonderful time could be had.

Whatever your situation, Happy Valentine's Day!

Equinox: Not Just a Gym. Get Ready for Fall!

We've gone through some fairly stressful astrological aspects during the past week, as we reach the end of the Virgo period. As much as I wanted give real-time updates, it was too painful at the time. My self-identity is undergoing a serious transformation, courtesty of Saturn conjunct my Pluto and Asc. Basically, I am trying to cast out my bad habits and compulsive behaviors without being too hard on my imperfections. Also, an unconventional, relatively-short-yet-long-enough-to-feel-real relationship broke up (Uranus conjunct my Desc.) and although it ended pretty jarringly it's really for the better, and has also made me ask myself some pretty hard questions about relationships in general and the kind I've been trying to have in particular.

The Dark of the Moon period (9/16 to 9/18) was perhaps the darkest a Dark of the Moon can get: the Sun, followed a day later by the Moon, opposed Uranus and conjuncted Saturn. The Uranus/Saturn opposition is one of the more difficult aspects out there, so it's a good thing it doesn't happen very often; this time around (2008-09) it's manifested in the terrible economy, a repolarization in politics that culminated in the election of the first black president of the United States (black as a color is represented by Saturn; yet President Barack Obama, given his relative youth and his landslide victory, is more Uranian), the swine flu panic, and the health-care debate. Throwing a Mercury/Pluto square into this already uncomfortable mix, it's a wonder more of us didn't go postal last week: Uranus is all about reform and revolution, while Saturn is about structure and the status quo. The Sun highlighting this opposition made it a far more personal struggle for many of us, since the Sun represents our conscious sense of self. Egos were definitely trampled on by other egos, and unless you're an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) it was probably hard to detach.

The Jewish calendar is lunar, and so the Jewish holidays do not fall on set days of the year, but in accordance with the Moon. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, fell on this New Moon; the next two weeks will lead up to the Harvest Moon, in which we hopefully reap the bounty of all that has been sown this year.

We officially leave summer behind today with the fall equinox at 5:19 p.m. EDT, and enter the Libra period. Since the first major Solar aspect in Libra is a difficult square to Pluto at 0 degrees of Capricorn (exact Wednesday 9/23 at 10:21 a.m.), it will be a challenge to keep our balance, particularly regarding relationships (Libra) and authority, power structures, and the status quo (Capricorn). If you are currently employed, this would not be the best time to ask your boss for a raise or test his/her patience in any way. In fact, it might be better for everyone in your life, especially yourself, if you take a personal "mental health" day tomorrow. On a more positive note, light will be shed (Sun) on last week's unpleasant Mercury/Pluto square; even if you can't fix it or take back your words or your actions, at least you'll have a better understanding of what went down.