The Antidote to a Virgo Overdose
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
The antidote
This week’s Pisces Full Moon (Sep. 20, 2021, 4:54 pm PDT, 28.13 Pisces), conjoined empathetic Neptune, comes not a moment too soon. During Virgo’s season, the world of work beckons with such allure that before we know it, things can get out of hand. Suddenly our calendars are packed far too full and we are wound far too tightly. We look at the world and see only its imperfections, an endless Dead Sea Scroll of tasks that need Virgo’s capable hands to sort it all out and its methodical brain to analyze the root causes of the problems.
But when you begin to look at the world as a problem to be solved, you may forget that it’s also an enchanting mystery that defies both logical explanation and our best efforts to keep it tidied up. Fortunately, the world does its best to remind us, delivering shape-shifting numbers that stubbornly refuse to be wrangled, or trickster hard drive malfunctions. When we’re too entrenched in Virgo’s linear mindset, even our keen minds begin to rebel, refusing to stay focused. When we overdose on Virgo, our wise spirits instinctively reach out for a gentle antidote of music, beauty, and daydreams – all of which can be found in its opposite sign of Pisces, the sign of this Full Moon. (Read my full essay, “the World Around Us,” here.)
Nobody gets to the top on their own
Has a matter been resolved, or is there still space for negotiation? Depends on whom you ask this week, as Mercury in Libra meets Pluto in Capricorn in the first of three squares (Sep. 22, 2021, 6:11 am PDT – the other two are on Oct. 1 and Nov. 2). Libra loves to explore all sides of a matter before making a decision, while Capricorn prefers unilateral, executive determinations about which course of action to pursue. With a square aspect, both planets have to figure out how to work together to make each of them stronger. So we need to listen also to Mercury in Libra’s side of the story, which is that nobody gets to the top on their own. Nobody.
Lay down the burden of the Sun
This week brings one of the year’s seasonal turning points as the Sun enters Libra (Sep. 22, 2021, 12:21 pm PDT). Traditionally, the Sun is considered weak – in its “fall” – in Libra. This only means that the Sun’s work – the realization of one’s individual genius and soul power – can be difficult to manage in a sign that’s specifically designed for partnership.
On the other hand, we learn things about ourselves in relationships that can’t be learned any other way. Whether it’s a romantic partner, a creative collaborator, or a dear friend, we’ll feel most alive sharing the shortening days with a companion. If we’re alone – and many are just now –it’s a time to make a conscious effort to reach out to others in whatever way we can. In Libra’s season, our personal Sun shines brightest in the company of others.
There is a soothing, romantic quality to Libra’s season; it’s a relief to lay down the burden of the Sun’s zealous self-discovery. Even the world itself seems lovelier. When the Sun is in this sign in Northern Hemisphere’s autumn, its light rests warmly, gently, on the fall trees changing color, the straw bales in the field, the newly-picked apples in bushel baskets. It’s a time of magic, when the softness of the light makes strangers more attractive, and the crispness of the air makes us long for the warmth of another’s arms.
The genie’s bottle
I have picked out my dream house. It’s a tiny, dowdy beach house on a desirable stretch of beach in a small, rather remote village on California’s central coast. Let’s say the gods someday saw fit to grant my wish. And one wintry, rain-soaked morning, perhaps a gigantic mudslide closes down the main highway through town, essentially trapping me in the situation I wished for.
We have our desires, and even if we succeed in summoning them, they can be complicated by hard realities that we didn’t see coming.
This, in a nutshell, is Venus in magical Scorpio opposed Uranus (the unexpected) in down-to-earth Taurus (Sep. 23, 2021, 2:41 am PDT). The desires we’re intent on manifesting could possibly end up cutting us off from connecting with others, and with the world at large. We may just wish for a change in our current circumstances which, if it happens, opens a genie’s bottle of drama.
The ultimate objective of this opposition is something in-between – a dream that satisfies our desires while keeping us from becoming too complacent. As Venus in Scorpio opposes Uranus this week, it will find a way to demonstrate that even magic has its limitations, and is subject to the visible world’s unforeseen interventions.
The strategy
Like all of us, I have some planetary aspects in my chart that I don’t love, and some that I do. The trine between Mars and Saturn in my chart definitely falls into the latter category. I’m not the best or smartest at everything I do, but I know how to formulate and deploy a strategy.
If you struggle with doing likewise, this week offers a little taste of it for everyone to enjoy. As Mars trines Saturn (Sep. 25, 2021, 2:50 pm PDT) in the airy signs of Libra and Aquarius, it’s just a little easier than usual to outline a plan for how best to use your gifts and mental acuity, and tap into your network to help you get where you’re trying to go. Apply yourself methodically in the first part of the week, and Saturn is likely to reward you in the latter part.
Naptime
Mercury turns retrograde this week (Sep. 26, 2021, 10:10 pm PDT). At the beginning of each calendar year, I try to plot my major projects and obligations for the next twelve months. But I always forget to include Mercury’s retrograde periods.
It’s not that we need to shut down and stop doing everything while Mercury appears to be backward in his orbit. But overscheduling and moving at a hectic pace is not even close to being the best use of Mercury’s retrograde times. Ideally, we’d schedule retreats during those three weeks, three or four times each year, the better to do retrograde Mercury’s best work: reflection, retooling, recalibration.
Maybe Mercury retrograde is best imagined as naptime. It’s when our brains thumb through all the bits of information we’ve been cramming into them for the past few months, categorize what’s useful, and delete what isn’t. Ideally, we would slow down during these times and let our brains do their work. It does take some planning ahead, though; so put the next Mercury retrograde (Jan. 14, 2022, 10.20 Rx Aquarius) on your calendar now, and make sure you plan a little downtime then.
Writing and images © 2007-2021 by April Elliott Kent
More about this week’s planetary highlights in this week’s DAILY podcast episodes – we’re celebrating our 2nd annual Podathon!
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