When Your Harvest Has Rats

It’s the New Moon in Virgo!

The Moon entered Virgo yesterday afternoon at 12:35 PM as she empties herself to be renewed once again. This new moon cycle carries a little more weight, with two other planetary ingresses and an outer planet stationing retrograde. 

Most importantly, in my humble opinion, Venus, our planet of love, connection, and values, entered the intensely private waters of sacred Scorpio in the small hours this morning. And yes, I know the ancients told us Venus cannot give us her best in Scorpio, and she is applying to a tension-filled, somewhat dangerous square with Pluto in Aquarius, but I am obsessed with her fixed-water guise. She’s also opposing Chiron at the very beginning of Taurus, so we get an insight here about what’s healing, or what is in need of attention. 

Remember that ye old astrology was designed for kings or people of privilege and power who want to keep it that way. Despite Venus’ implied debility, I know her sojourn through still water contains gifts for those of us attuned to grief. If you are one of Venus’ children devoted to rituals of laying something or someone to rest, or at least not turning away from the lessons of endings, your cup will be filled by Venus in her mourning garb. 

Venus will station retrograde here in Scorpio on October 3rd, and I have much more to say about that, so stay tuned. But let’s get back to the topic of the day.

The ruler of this New Moon, messenger and master diagnostician Mercury, enters the sign of diplomatic Libra, and harmoniously activates the outer planet configuration of Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus. So while we still have the Virgoan sensibility and discernment with this lunation, we’re also gifted new connections, ideas, and opportunities to create beauty through its carefully measured steps, aided by ease in digesting novel concepts and determining the best course of equitable action. Its creation meeting follow-through, a match made in heaven. 

Then, before noon Pacific Time, our resident rebel Uranus in variable Gemini stations retrograde, where it will retrace its steps to 1°40’, before stationing direct once more on February 8, 2027. The outer planets (and even Jupiter and Saturn) spend about half the year retrograde, and whether it's personally impacting you depends on your chart, so it may not be something you notice. 

At last, the Virgo New Moon is here

This evening at 8:26 PM PT, the Moon, representative of our emotions and embodiment, is renewed in the vitality of the Sun in Virgo at 18°25’  for the New Moon, and we’re blessed with knowing the changes we need to make in this part of our lives. The ruler of this face of Virgo is Venus, so it helps us see the details of what we value. This is the part of us that knows everything about what’s here: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

You see the sumptuous vineyard you’ve spent years tending and crafting, all ripe for harvest, and as you make the wine for future enjoyment, you’re also acutely aware of the growing rat problem.

It's not perfect, but it's true. 

You could ignore the rats, but their colony will only grow. The discernment here is to take care of the harvest, then deal with the rats, because it's not a quick fix. 

Watch your internal dialogue. Do you assign a meaning of failure to the rats' presence in your vineyard? Or is it an indicator you’ve done the work and grown something of value? Will the wine taste any less sweet?

The Virgo Moon’s last aspect is a sweet sextile to Mars in Cancer, just before bedtime. Mars is the planet of action, and in nourishing Cancer, it helps us to create intimacy and protect what we care about. Sounds like you’ll get a resolution on the course of action to take, so pay attention to your dreams. After which, Lady Luna is void of course until she enters Libra, Friday afternoon at 4:51 PM PT.

How to work with this energy

As we approach this lunation, reflect on the boon you received resulting from August’s eclipse season. This resource or opportunity materialized from what’s been composting since September of 2024. 

This evening, and in the days following, you’ll have a chance to “invest” this resource, though it's not a sure thing and does involve some risk. It's asking you to trust your gut instinct and roll the dice on what’s unknown. Mystery herself has come to ask you to dance. It may not seem logical or practical, and herein lies the paradox.

I’ve got it on good intel that if you say YES, grace will take 10,000 steps toward you. Open your hands, and the energy behind it will move quickly, so you will need to give it direction and put it somewhere, like a lightning rod grounding a fast and powerful electrical charge. Likely you already know where that is, and if not, contemplate what you’ve desired in the part of your chart that contains Virgo. 

I feel this outer planet configuration in the sky, what people have called the ‘basket,’ but I think it's a kaleidoscope (more on that another time), coupled with Mars’ help, will give this a boost. 

My friend Jana and I were talking recently about Neptune in Aries, and I shared that while spiritual or esoteric interpretations abound, literal, material interpretations have been harder to come by. And I think it's because of their inherent nature. Neptune is a big ass gas cloud. Aries is the strike of a match that starts burning that fuel immediately. It uses it up, and then POOF! It's gone until it refuels and ignites again. So it’s hard to pin down because it's been and gone before we even know it happened. It’s likely happening underneath your nose right now.

So attune to its ignition, and take action and watch how quickly your invested resource takes on a life of its own.

You already have a sense of where this energy belongs because you’ve felt that pull for weeks. If you are staring at your own chart and the pieces don’t connect, or you want a second opinion, bring it to me.

I’d love to witness your vineyard, call the rats what they are—data, not failure—and help you direct that energy into the soil where it will take root. If you are ready to tend to your life, book a consultation with me. Let’s look at your chart together and decide exactly where to anchor that lightning rod.