This New Moon is at 11:26 am on Saturday, September 28th, happening at 11 degrees sidereal Virgo, in the star of Hasta. Hasta is where we awaken to a new dawn. It is ruled by the deity Savitr, who is the aspect of the Sun that inspires us with a new day, bringing our dreams into reality. Here, with a practical mind and the element of Earth, we are able to create, make and do. Hasta is symbolized by an open hand; the doer, the freer and the manifester. Here we tap into the part of Virgo that has already drawn up the plans and contracts and needs only to make it all happen. Virgo itself is a neat, organized, healthy part of the sky that is focused on purification. Here we want to make things new or clean again by physically organizing our space, cleansing and healing our bodies, and attempting to control anything and everything that seems wrong, dirty or out of place. This is a sign that can bring out our neuroticism, and self-loathing. It is also a place where we can be extremely critical of others, as they reflect the images we are judging of our selves.


Both Mercury and Venus have been in Virgo for a few weeks, showing these qualities strong in our relationships and capacity to be happy but these two friendly planets are moving into Venus' sign of Libra this week. Mercury, will move on Sunday, right after the New Moon. We are moving into a time where communication and relating will feel more pleasing and the goal will be creating something beautiful and harmonius. This can be especially powerful for artists, musicians and writers as the artistic nature of Libra is unmatched and both Mercury and Venus are in excellent intelligence in this sign. While it will certainly be a pleasure to connect in a more romantic way as well, don't lose the insight you may have had while Mercury was in Virgo, on what things are not working for you and why. We sometimes compromise in Libra, in favor of getting along and feeling love.


Mars is now in Virgo also, creating a New Moon that has a pile-up of planets, just as we did last month with Leo. Except now, the anger and passion is channeled into straightening out, attending to the details and cleaning and purifying anything that doesn't feel “right”. We also now have a situation where Mars is moving into a two-way dristhi with Saturn and Ketu. This happened in the beginning of the summer, when Mars was in Gemini, joined Rahu. This time the anger won't be so amplified (minus Rahu, the north node) but it will be lacking the strength and courage it needs to really fuel that energy into right action. We can get very caught up in the details here and lose sight of the big picture. For now, the degrees are far, but as we move farther into October, we will see that militant part of ourselves, others and the greater society starting to march in. When Ketu and Mars connect, we see cold, cutting and militance. When Saturn and Mars connect, we see Fear and Anger collide. With our anger coming from a place of nit-picky perfectionism and our fear rooted deep in our beliefs, we can expect some massive public displays of “sides” and of course our own private ones as well. The Moon and Sun are closer to Saturn/Ketu in a one-way gaze right now, putting some fear and disdain directly in our mind and consciousness.


Take the time to do the physical practices that help you connect to something higher right now, as direct Saturn in Sagittarius will help you follow through with that which inspires you and Jupiter in Scorpio an opportunity to dive deep in. Remember to take time to be still; meditative and prayerful, as the big picture can be lost with all this Virgo energy. Mantra and song can be quite powerful now, as well as painting, crafting and the healing arts.


This New Moon also marks the start of Durga Navaratri. The nine nights of the Divine Mother. We will celebrate beginning on the first day after the New Moon and continue on for 9 nights until the 10th day, dasami, where the Goddess' victory over the buffalo-headed demon is celebrated. This shape-shifting creature is reminiscent of our own inner demons, whom take on different personas so they are hard to pin down and defeat. At the end of the epic tale, the Goddess breathes in the slain body of the demon, showing us that even he is a part of Her. She accepts even our ugliest parts and those of humanity and through prayer and devotion we can integrate those aspects into the rest of us. Before she rides away from the earth plane, she reminds her devotees that they can always call for her and ask for her help and that she will return every fall to bring harvest both in the physical and in the spiritual sense.
Jai Ma! Victory to the Divine Mother!

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This Friday the 13th, at 9:33 pm PDT, the Moon will be directly across from our Sun, still in sidereal Leo at 26 degrees 58 seconds of Aquarius in the star of Purva Bhadrapada. This is a star of great spiritual awakening and a lightening flash of what truly is in a constellation that makes us think about the future and how much greater it can be. Purva Bhadrapada (the “early blessed step”) is ruled by Aja Ekapada, the one-footed goat, who is on the mountain and can see its peak, yet cannot climb to the top on one foot alone. This is a sign that while we are close, we are not there yet. The deep spiritual work takes place in the next star, Uttara Bhadrapada, where we entwine with the serpent and draw the poison out, allowing us to take the final journey home in the final nakshatra of Revati, where the full moon will be next month. In the Aquarius part of Purva Bhadrapada, we are visionaries and idealists who can dream up a different system and way of operating that serves everyone, as opposed to just a few. Here we are humble, intelligent and part of the larger world community. The Sun across the way, and our New Moon a couple weeks ago in the sign of Leo is the opposite, singular, strong and proud, we have been trying to rule whatever domains we can dilineate, but with the Moon in Aquarius and both Mercury and Venus moved on to the earthy and detail-oriented sign of Virgo, we are moving in a different direction.
Venus is actually debilitated in Mercury's sign of Virgo, because here we are nit-picky, self-conscious and craving a clean slate, a purity that can never actually be again. The planet of pleasure, relationships and happiness does not do well in Virgo's matter-of-fact categories that judge everything based on how close to its most pristine state it is. Watch out for fault-finding, self-doubt and nagging. On the up-side, we are prone to plants and healing through natural healing arts here and can balance out all the water and then fire that we experienced the last few months with some Ayurvedic or other holistic and plant-based practices. Go on a date in nature, get massages and specially-concocted herbal remedies from local practitioners. Enjoy organizing your space at home and work and learn some new super-healthy recipes.
Since Mercury is also here in Virgo, in fact in exact degrees with Venus, we will have a better chance at communicating in our relationships. Mercury is exalted here in its own sign of Virgo, and we are likely to use precise language that aims to tell what is true here, helping us create healthy dialogue with others. This is especially important because Mars in still within 3 degrees of the Sun in Leo, and super combust. Our anger fuse is still short and lion-ey, so we gotta find the right words to get us out of the den.
That Mars is still giving dristhi to Jupiter in his own sign of Scorpio, also within 2 degrees, so especially watch out for fiery outbursts that feel founded in your principles. Use your discipline and get it out through a physical practice, then allow yourself to see the ways in which you might also do whatever it is that you suddenly feel self-righteous about. Find peaceful resolve through a humble mind and heart and clear language skills. This could be an opportunity to find the truth in both yourself and the world around you if you don't let your anger get the better of you.
With Saturn and Ketu, the south node in exact degrees again, we are looking at bitterness and fear beneath the surface that is likely the root cause of the anger. Try to meditate. Saturn is actually stationary-retrograde at the moment and moving direct on September 18th, so allow yourself to observe the “stuckedness” of your fear and just breathe into it. It is all beginning to move forward and by the end of the year, we will feel much better. If we do the hard work now, we might even feel better for the long haul, not just until the next intense alignment gets us. Cultivate peace.
Happy Full Moon! Namaste

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