Sept 13, 2023 | by Daniel Giamario |
The New Moon at 21Virgo59 occurs at 6:40pm PDT on Thursday, September 14. This new Moon is worthy of consideration in its own right, but I would also like to explore here several other notable factors. For an understanding of what the New Moon yearly seed point for Virgo can be, see this Vlogcast and the Virgo section in the Shamanic Astrology Handbook.
The New Moon time is actually the dark of the Moon, not just the exact conjunction. It includes the tiniest crescent of the oldest Moon of the month all the way through to the initial visibility of the tiny New Moon crescent in the evening sky, just after sunset. A great example of this is that the first appearance of the “new” Moon this month is Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year. The Islamic lunar calendar maintains the same tradition. And TOTAMS too has always felt that the first tiny crescent is the real New Moon, not the abstract conjunction.
At least five additional factors amplify and punctuate this New Moon in Virgo. Let’s see what they are!
Mercury Stationary Direct
At 1:21pm PDT on Friday, September 15, Mercury is stationary direct at 8Virgo00. This marks the beginning of a brand new Mercury synodic Overstory, that of Virgo, which will be the larger archetypal context for the next 109 days. Mercury will end up staying in Virgo for 68days! Remarkedly, within the same few days, a New Moon can be seen after sunset and a new Mercury can be seen in the morning sky. Mercury in Virgo is the master of the Pattern of the web of life, the web of Wyrdd, and of grandmother spider, weaver of the fates and destinies. The essence is of discrimination, and of impersonal service to spirit.
Moon Conjunct Mars
At 12:53pm PDT on Saturday, September 16, the very young Moon aligns with Mars at 13Libra08, in the evening sky. This opens the portal of the eighth and final Mars challenge on his way to the underworld, entering around September 30. This month’s video blog is a deep dive into this eighth portal and the stars that Mars encounters before his surrender.
Third Venus Jupiter Square
Also, on Saturday, at 11:10pm PDT, is the final Venus square Jupiter configuration, with Venus at 15Leo18 and Jupiter at 15Taurus18. Last week’s media post was on this remarkable 2023 triple square: June 11, August 22, and now the third, September 16. This can certainly add additional tension to these unprecedented times, or even some sense of a resolution if we are awake for it. Venus can be seen blazing away at magnitude -4.7 while Jupiter is way out ahead of her in the morning sky.
Lunar North Node Conjunct Eris
Eris is a dwarfish planet far out in the outer reaches of the Kuiper belt. It moves really slowly and I only use it with exact aspects. It has wild card status (along with Sedna) in our Divination Card Deck. I perceive her as a cross between Scorpio and Gemini, acting as an agent of chaos that is occasionally intentional, should she not be invited into the circle. There is a VERY exact aspect happening now. From about August 29, 2023, through December 14, 2023, the North Lunar Node is within 1degree of Eris. At this New Moon, the North Node is 25Aries12 and Eris is 25Aries01Rx! The North Node can be seen as the forward flow of the in-breath of global humanity. Clearly, somehow, this agent of Chaos is to be part of the plan of Great Mystery. Resistance is futile! The overall theme here has resonance with the Jupiter-Uranus alignment building towards its April 2024 exact conjunction. Isn’t it interesting – to say the least – that exactly at this same time a new variant of an alleged virus emerged and has been named “Eris”? Hard to make this stuff up! I wonder if the next “new variant” will be called Chiron!
Denebola and the Sphinx
This Virgo New Moon of 21Virgo59 is extremely close to an important star of the Lion constellation: Denebola at 21Virgo55; a star which has been seen as the Lion’s tail. This location, being the junction between the Lion and the Priestess constellations, has an interesting history. There has been a tradition, followed by occultists and even Dane Rudhyar, that this is the region of the sky which inspired the creation of the Great Sphinx at Giza, depicting it as a Lion with a woman’s face. Because of its importance during the current Great Turning of the Ages as being the region of the sky that currently lies near the September Equinox point of 0Libra, one of the introductory essays in the Shamanic Astrology Handbook concerns this junction. It seems to symbolize two different versions of sovereignty and autonomy that happen to lie right next to each other in the sky: the Priestess’ “virginity”, i.e. the Yin feminine integrity of being “one unto one-self,” next to the Yang sovereignty and creatorship of Leo, for both men and women.
Sabian Symbol
More often than not, Dane Rudhyar’s interpretation of the Sabian symbols offer great insight and advice for a lunation. This one for the Virgo New Moon certainly offers hope for a positive outcome to the immense current global and personal challenges. It reminds us of who we really are, as sovereign creators connected to our divinity. Following the views of Rudhyar, Jung and Steiner, evolution can only occur through the individual, and never through the collective.
PHASE 172 (VIRGO 22°): A ROYAL COAT OF ARMS ENRICHED WITH PRECIOUS STONES.
KEYNOTE: The certification of aristocratic status, at whatever level “nobility” expresses itself in cultural eminence.
Once more a reference to ancestral achievements occurs among these symbols for the sign Virgo. It is seen here in its most exalted character, for “royalty” is spoken of. Traditionally the king is the spiritual symbol of unity of an integrated nation; as a coat of arms is visualized, we are dealing with a status that is not merely personally acquired but has its roots in a notable past. Every great Adept has come out of a line of human beings who have made their marks upon human evolution. Spiritual attainment is the result of a series of long, repeated efforts; it is the end of a “royal road,” (raja yoga) in the broadest sense of the term, raja, meaning king.
This second stage symbol contrasts with that of the first in that it refers to heredity rather than to the training of youthful raw material. Gautama the Buddha was known occultly as “He who comes after his predecessors.” The coat of arms represents the collective status, the Spiritual Office. Whoever wears it assumes the responsibility of an Office. As the French say, “Noblesse oblige.” NOBILITY confers upon a man exacting responsibility. The question implied in the symbol is, are you willing, able and ready to assume a “royal” office, at whatever level it may be?