On Thursday, September 14, 2023 (6:40 PM PDT and 9:40 EDT) the moon begins a new cycle in the grounded, practical, and service oriented sign of Virgo. Shortly after the New Moon, Mercury will turn direct leaving us with six planetary bodies (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Chiron) still in retrograde. The retrograde energy is asking us to reflect on the past, slow down, and turn inward. When several planets are retrograde it can feel as if life is at a standstill and it’s hard to move things forward.

Keep in mind that any time a planet stations direct, we tend to feel that energy increase. Since it’s Mercury, pay extra attention to your communication, prepare for delays, read the fine print, look for the details, and be ready for any technological glitches on September 15th. You may also want to pay attention to the messages you receive around this time and remember they can appear in some of the most unusual ways.

With the arrival of the Fall Equinox on September 22nd, Eclipse season just around the corner, and a Full Moon in Aries on September 29th, we have just under two weeks before the pace picks up, and we experience some significant shifts. This New Moon in Virgo can be seen as the turning point, so use this lunation as a time to perfect, revise, strategize, discern, and use your skills in the most effective ways.

You’re preparing a foundation for the changes that are coming. It’s important that you use this time to tend to the things that need to get done. In other words, we’re in the strategic planning phase. Get organized, declutter, make lists, reconfigure your routines, and analyze what needs to change and how to do it. You don’t need to implement the changes just yet, in fact, it’s better to wait until the Fall Equinox. You’ll know when the time is right.

The mystical and dreamy planet, Neptune, plays an important role in this lunation. The challenge will be on how you attempt to integrate your dreams and visions in a practical way. You will likely find opportunities appear so that you can be of service to others, there will be chances to perfect your skills, you might even be thinking about your own soul growth, or find an area in your life you’d like to fine tune. Of course, with Neptune involved, the challenge is to not get swept away in the ideal or in some dream that can’t fully be grounded into reality. The other way this might appear is that you see where you’d like to be, but you’re frustrated that you’re not there yet. This may lead to self- sabotage, missing important deadlines, or being overly critical of yourself. If any confusion surfaces, find ways to connect to your inner wisdom.

Uranus, the planet that is known for shaking things up and being a catalyst for change is quite active during this New Moon. This can trigger feelings of instability or fears about how things are changing. Maybe you’re feeling a little unsure about the future and what it is you need to be doing. Maybe you can’t even see the changes. Maybe you’re afraid nothing will change. Maybe you don’t know how to change. It helps if you remember that Uranus wants you to experience freedom and be more aligned with who you’ve become instead of who you’ve been. If you’re not sure about what needs to change, look to where you feel some resistance and this should give you some more clues.

If this feels overwhelming, try to surrender to the flow and trust in your adaptability to change. This lunation doesn’t seem too intense so you may just feel a little more scattered, distracted, or confused. If you begin to feel this way, then just lean into the Virgo energy, and you’ll feel more supported and grounded. This lunation is an excellent time to refine our creative vision and look for new directions on how we want to move forward in the coming weeks.

While we all might feel pulled during this New Moon to get prepared, we will each experience this lunar energy differently depending on where Virgo is located in your chart or if you have a natal planet associated with it. If you’re interested in a more personalized reading, I’d love to set up a session with you.

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