Sixth Sign of the Zodiac: Virgo the Sovereign Being of the Harvest
Element: Earth
Modality: Mutable (re-organizes)
Guardian Planet: Mercury (same as Gemini)
Polarity: Yin

Seasonal Connection: Sign before Equinox
Harvest Cycle Stage:
Core Question: What are you refining and being of service to?

Listen to the original transmission:

This Lunar Zodiac Series is an exploration of the The Hermetic Principle of Correspondence “As above so below” which speaks to the connection of inner and outer worlds, and the interplay between the cosmos and earth where the microcosm reflects the macrocosm and visa versa.

Let’s be real, the moon doesn’t “make” you feel something, but when you are in resonance with the energy of each sign, it can assist you in accessing a dimension of the archetypal energy within yourself.

Get ready to make an appointment with the moon entering Virgo…

the mood of the moon in virgo

After the fire and fun of Leo, it’s time to get back in formation. When the Moon enters Virgo, there can be a desire to put things in order. This is a wonderful time to practice winnowing.

Winnowing has several meanings, one is literally blowing air through a grain: wheat, rice, millet, corn in order to remove the chaff. This is a process of accessing the kernel of what is useful and discarding and composting the rest.

To winnow down means to reduce the size of something so that you keep only the most useful ones. This is Virgo.

The energy can help support getting organized. Perhaps organizing the files on a computer, organizing and deleting any contacts that you are no longer close to, sorting mail, organizing papers, recycling documents, and putting the skills of discernment to service.

Doing something practical to get things in order in the outer reality, may help bring an inner calm.

The following excerpt comes from the book called Cosmological Koans: a journey to the heart of physical reality by Anthony Aguirre. It is a book about physics and the great mystery of life, and in this passage it seems to speak about the role of Virgo in the universe without ever mentioning astrology.

Chapter 19: Instructions from the Cook

On a crisp autumn afternoon of falling leaves, you overhear the master Zenjo talking with the monastery Cook, also one of his most senior students.
Zenjo: The Honored One states that all ordered things are impermanent and tend to fall into disorder.
Cook: Indeed look at this moldy Rice!
Zenjo: The world is old. Why has the kitchen not long ago dissolved to dust?
Cook: Perhaps order arises from disorder.
Zenjo: Does the kitchen clean itself?
Cook: It does when I am in the kitchen
Zenjo: But where does the dirt go?
Cook: There is plenty of space behind the shed to empty the dirty water.
Zenjo: So there is. But where does your breakfast come from?
Cook: The sunlight and the rain.
Zenjo: Why does the sun shine?
Cook: Because it was born.
Zenjo: Who gave birth to the Sun?
Cook: The universe
Zenjo: And who cleans the universe?

I might answer: Virgo does. Virgo is the energy of fighting entropy. Putting in the work and effort to move things from a state of disorder into order. There is a purity and purification that Virgo teaches us to have quality control and not settle for less than the best. Trusting the natural order of life from entropy to regeneration knowing that everything can’t be perfect all the time, and yet there is a perfection within the seeming chaos.

Virgo is associated with the harvest and the transition time from summer to fall in the northern hemisphere.

Because Virgo is a mutable sign she has the gift of taking something in one form and transforming it into another.

To pick the fruits and preserve them as jam, ferment the grain into beer and bread, or to take an idea and turn it into something useful. To digest food and break it down into nutrients. To digest life’s experiences and glean the useful lessons.

Virgo is the energy of fertility, self-sufficiency, and the harvest: Isis in Egypt and Demeter/Persophone in Greece, and the Sumerian goddess Nisaba along with many many more. These goddesses can be virgins and mothers because their power comes directly from within, not from a consort.

Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac and although it is an earth sign, she is ruled by Mercury, and the connection to the mind. When the moon is in Virgo there may be a tendency to think our feelings, to analyze our feelings. Because the moon reflects our inner experience, Virgo may come to help to sort out the emotional messiness of life.

Or perhaps Virgo invites us into the messiest messiness of life, to feel in a way that does not have to be nice and tidy all the time.

There is an exacting nature to Virgo, to be precise and concise.

To edit and get granular (like the grain) and pay attention to the details. Sometimes Virgo needs to be reminded to see the forest for the trees and not get fixated on only what is right in front of you. Occasionally this “mouse mode” can be very helpful for focusing up close with scrutiny, and offering the ability to compartmentalize.

Virgo connects us with the daily rhythms of life, the kinds of rhythms that support well being and health: bathing, hair brushing, cleaning the skin and teeth, oiling the body, meditation, movement, hydration, regular check-ups and healing modalities that support mind-body-spirit.

Virgo does well with having a routine and sometimes needs to be reminded to not be too rigid.

What are the routines in your life that feel supportive?

You might ask yourself during the time the moon is in Virgo: What is the emotional state that you want to be harvesting and feeling, and what are the rhythms or daily activities that can help to support that?

self-study noticings

One experiment you can do when the moon is in Virgo is to observe the mind-body connection.

Describe the mood of the days with the moon in Virgo.
Did you observe any themes related to this sign show up in your life?
Were there synchronicities that caught your attention?
Notice what is true for you through self-study in relationship with cycles.

As you track lunar astrology, a relationship with each sign begins to deepen over time. You many begin to notice patterns related to how you are integrating the lessons of the sign and how this archetypal energy shows up in your life.

Virgo wants to know how your daily life reflects: What are you refining and being of service to?

tools for transformation

Attuning to lunar time is a way to be more present with all the seasons and stages of our lives. It’s a form of meditation.

Practicing lunar tracking and following lunar astrology adds a layer of meaning to the elements are archetypal energy.

The Lunar Wall Calendar is designed with a color-coded zodiac wheel by element to make it easy to know what sign phase the moon is in each day. This is exactly the tool that would have helped me when I was first learning to follow the moon and lunar astrology! If you want to track the moon in a simple and beautiful way, order yours in the shop.