“...there is a fitting tradition which says that the point of the Zodiac which ends the sign Leo and begins the sign Virgo carries the symbol of the Sphinx. This mythical creature . . . had the body of a Lion and the head of a Virgin.”
“Look at me” - says the Sphinx -;”become like unto me. My lion like passions are strong. I am a huge feline in whose groins ardent power lies. But my head is that of a virgin. I am still, waiting for that which must come. I behold the stars. I wait for my time, which is written. In me, there is no pride and no haste. In me, power and purity are polarized toward the fulfillment of purpose and destiny.”
“The night force [the rising darkness of the autumn and winter] is the power of more-than-individual purpose. It is the womb of greater Selfhood, of vaster life-organizations. It gathers-in the small selves in expectation of a Greater Self, which will come at the appointed time. The message of Virgo to the sufferers is therefore: “Look beyond yourself. Re-organize your desires, re-polarize your emotions, re-orient your impulses. Your energies are not yours; they are life's. You hold them in trust for humanity as a whole. Be sure they serve a purpose greater than your littleness, greater even than home and family. Consecrate them to the Greater Whole.”
Dane Rudhyar “The Pulse of Life”
We begin our Virgo journey with this image of the Sphinx, confronted by her riddles, “Who are you?” and “What is the purpose of [your] human life? By the time we get to the sign of Virgo, we have learned the price we pay for our Leo pride and ego creations – aloneness. Our individuation has no meaning if there isn't a social purpose for it. Hopefully we learned this lesson while Saturn traveled through Leo and opposed Neptune in Aquarius. If not, Venus is traveling back to retrieve the knowledge for us.
All signs have their positive and negative attributes, but Virgo often gets defined by its negative side – hypercritical, hypochondriacal, controlling and perfectionistic. But Virgo is all about being virginal, about belonging to yourself. The positive attributes of Virgo are a sweet humility, consideration for others, a discriminating mind, a deep understanding of life, a mastery with words, a talent for investigation and analysis [which goes with Her love of studying], a skillful creativity which finds practical applications for whatever Virgo focuses on, and most wonderfully, a real connection with the mysteries of nature. The purity that Virgo is known for is a purity of purpose – it's all about spinning straw into gold. What needs to be integrated into your life, and what do you need to let go of? Separate the wheat from the chaff please!
Virgo is all about the harvest – the harvest of the fields and of our lives. It is the energy that takes stock of our resources and make plans for the months ahead. There is a practicality to its planning and activities. How can we make the best use of who and what we are? Are you a zucchini or a radish? Know who and what you are and your purpose becomes clear. If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of Light.
This is why Virgo is also known as a the sign of discipleship and initiation. It is our willingness to let go of our individual life for the greater service to our collective life. It is where we are confronted with the Sphinx and Her riddles. “What is the purpose of my life?” is a question I hear all the time in my practice. The only help I can offer is to ask, “What do you love?” For surely it is in what we have an affinity for, what we are drawn to, that will reveal our purpose. Virgo is the part of each of us that is willing to discriminate between what is essential for us and what is not, and then to integrate those characteristics which are most essentially our own into an organized whole. It is not perfection we need to seek. It is wholeness. And not only our individual wholeness, but the knowledge that we all are One and part of the wholeness of life.
We are having a Solar Eclipse in Virgo on 9/11 – 6 years to the day when our world changed forever. I remember thinking as I watched the Twin Towers collapse: “This is the reason I was born. To be here now and take responsibility for what comes after.” Although I have done what I could - politically, emotionally, spiritually, physically – I must bow to the times and to our collective destiny. We have to go through the darkness to get to the light. There is no easy fix to our problems; we incarnated to transform long centuries of misguided beliefs and actions. We must transform ourselves first so the change is real and not just a touch-up, air-brushed job. As we collectively go through the darkness of this solar eclipse, stay open to how you can be a source of light in these dark times. Meditate on your life's purpose during this eclipse and see what messages come through to you.
A Solar Eclipse is a New Moon when either a portion or the complete disk of the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is temporarily blotted out. The dark body of the Moon passes in front of the Sun and its light is blocked. It has been proven scientifically that the Earth's electromagnetic field is effected during an Eclipse. Since the Sun's electromagnetic energy is the major source of energy for the Earth, when it is suddenly blocked off, it creates vast changes in the electromagnetic field of the Earth – and of the human body and psyche. We are affected through our nervous system. And as you will see later on, this Virgo eclipse is part of a grand cross in mutual signs – which affects our nervous systems anyway. We're in for a double whammy! So take care of yourself, rest up, take some vitamin B complex for your nerves.
Without getting into astro-talk, each eclipse is part of a series of eclipses. This eclipse on 9/11/2007 is part of a series which began on July 19, 1917. The original theme of that eclipse could be stated as: Finding new ways to express our love for family, country and self, and finding more appropriate and imaginative ways to speak up for our values and the truth. Bernadette Brady, an Australian astrologer, says about this eclipse series: It is “concerned with bringing to the surface of long-term worries about loved ones, health or issues to do with paperwork or communication.”
The 9/11 eclipse occurs at 19 Virgo. Where is that in your chart? What type of news might you be expecting? Look to the news – what new deceptions will be exposed? What will happen with oil? What about our soldiers? And the weather? What news will emerge about our health care system? Will there be another attack? The ancients did not know the scientific explanation of what happens during an eclipse, but they knew the repercussions of solar eclipses and held them in awe.
So during this eclipse, when the Sun's energy is blocked and the energy fields can shift more easily, remember that old patterns can be dissolved, karma balanced and life reconfigured. This marks a time of major endings and new beginnings. Try to remember back to September 10, 1988, when there was another eclipse in this series. Whatever was important that year is coming to an end. What new aspect of your life do you want to begin? Do you know what house the eclipse is affecting in your chart?
There are many factors that will make this eclipse especially powerful. Saturn leaves Leo and goes into Virgo on September 2nd. And a few days before the eclipse, two planets which have been retrograde, will turn direct, intensifying the need for change. On September 7th, Pluto will turn direct at 26 Sagittarius. All retrograde phases represent a time to review, release, and realign the energies of that planet. Pluto has offered us a time to reassess the beliefs that have blocked our progress. If we have done so, we can move forward in creating meaningful change in our lives. And as I stated in the last newsletter <www.wisdom-of-astrology/piscesfullmooneclipse.com> Venus is turning direct on September 8th at 17 Leo. Venus' retrograde has asked us to look at how our lives reflect our values. Are we loving and taking care of ourselves as well as others? How are you handling your relationships? Your creativity? Where does 26 Sagittarius and 17 Leo lie in your chart?
For the eclipse, there are other factors that come into play. Uranus the planet of sudden changes, freedom and upsets is opposite the New Moon eclipse. Uranus wants to liberate us from our old sense of self. It also says that if you try to hold on to the old, the bigger the shock will be to move you forward. This opposition is part of a mutable grand cross with Jupiter in Sagittarius and Mars in Gemini. This is an energy configuration that leads us to either new discoveries and understandings, or makes us nervous and anxious.
The symbol of 19 Virgo is: A swimming race. The stimulation that comes from a group effort toward a spiritual goal.
Maybe it's time we took back 9/11 from the politicians and made it a day of peace and understanding. I believe there's a general strike on that day. Whatever your beliefs, this is the day to stand up for them.
Blessed Be.
Cathy Pagano