For years, I’ve associated Virgo season with home. I often chalk this up to my upbringing. My mom is a Virgo, my father was a Leo with a Virgo stellium, and my little sister is a double Virgo, Sun and rising. Her chart ruler? Mercury in — drum roll, please — Virgo.
Also of note: Of the five or so times I’ve moved houses throughout my life, all but one happened during Virgo season. I’m writing this newsletter from my new apartment, a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone I now share with my girlfriend. We moved here last Saturday, August 28, when the transiting Sun was exactly conjunct my natal Inner Heaven, or IC. I didn’t elect that date, I promise. I truly couldn’t make up more on-the-nose astrology if I tried.
These experiences are unique to me, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so many Virgo stereotypes involve one’s physical surroundings in some way. The image of the neurotic Virgo tidying their room comes to mind. Virgo’s reputation as the detail-oriented perfectionist of the zodiac does, too.
The Sun’s movement into Virgo marks the transition from summer to fall, at least in the northern hemisphere. It’s a mutable sign and an earth sign, two qualities with ostensibly different energies. Mutable signs are all about transition and flexibility; earth signs, consistency and physicality.
It’s tempting to write off this tension as a weakness. However, I’d argue that Virgo’s greatest strength comes from the sign’s complex nature. You can’t get from Point A to Point B without planting your feet firmly on the ground first. Virgo placements get that on a cellular level. They’re stereotyped as “detail-oriented” because they have the capacity to assess their material surroundings, refine their tactic, and move forward accordingly. This sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how unintuitive it is for many people.
Practicality isn’t glamorous. It’s still necessary.
Maybe it’s my Virgo IC in the 3rd House talking, but I truly believe “tidying your room” is a gross oversimplification of what this sign and this season are good for. A house or physical dwelling is one thing; a “home” is something else entirely. Virgo reminds us that anything and anywhere can be a home — a source of comfort, of stability — so long as we tend to it with care and intention. Whether we view this as a mundane task or a reverent ritual is up to us.
I’ve decided to incorporate some ~astro insight~ at the end of these newsletters. You know, as a little treat.
Lunation du jour: Today (September 6), there’s a New Moon in Virgo. It’s kind of a weird one. Virgo risings, Pisces risings, Sagittarius risings, and Gemini risings will likely feel the effects of this lunation most directly. (Look to the house where Virgo falls in your chart, as well as your natal Mercury placement, for more personalized insights.)
New Moons usher in new beginnings and are typically good for initiating things, but I don’t love the Moon’s co-presence with Mars. This signals disruption or volatility. Luckily, Virgo lends Mars a more exacting quality to its edge — think trimming the fat. Mercury, this New Moon’s ruler, is also getting a beautiful boost from its co-presence with Venus (in her domicile, no less). If you’re the crafty type, this bodes well for starting an art project. It’s also excellent for any refining or editing processes. In the event that you absolutely *must* launch something totally new and Very Important, I’ll leave you with one of my dad’s favorite proverbs: Measure twice, cut once.
Recommended listening/reading/viewing: The Astrology Podcast’s deep-dive into Venus's meanings and significations was a lovely listen. Also, if you didn’t tune in for Fresh Voices’s final summit last weekend, what were you doing?! I especially enjoyed Pallas Augustine’s insightful talk on living astrologically through planetary cycles.
Fave astro tweet du jour: Ace really came for my debilitated benefic ass with this one.