My life wasn’t beautiful and creative before I became politically active. My life was totally changed when I began to struggle.- Assata Shakur
On Sunday, March 16th at 17:08:19 UT, the full moon will bloom in Virgo. Oh, Virgo, possibly the least understood earth sign of the zodiac by pop culture. It gets such a bad rap. I think in part the misunderstanding stems from how deeply we devalue the earth and anything associated with it. Virgo speaks to the time of year that is in-between summer and fall. Virgo represents a time of letting go of one possibility in order to prepare for another; one that is yet to come and completely unknown. We call this a mutable or double bodied sign, Virgo mentally moves in many directions, has the humility that Leo may lack and the grounding that Libra forgot to take with her. Virgo adjusts, makes room for, fixes, works at, perfects, purifies and tries and tries and tries again. When Virgo has her wits about her she knows that perfection is no answer to the question of how to live a good life. When she doesn’t she will work herself like no other. Nothing that she does is good enough, worthy enough or ever, quite simply enough. Virgo comes to know (or suffers the consequences) that it is the act of attempting something that is sacred. Virgo knows that in the process of attempting something there is the potential to find our value, our talent and our gifts.. One of the best things about practicing actually becomes the antidote to Virgo’s freak-outtedness. When we practice all the time we don’t have time to worry about whether or not we are doing it right because we are already on to the next practice session. Practice becomes sacred ritual. Virgo brings the discernment, order, routine and the container for its opposite sign, Pisces and all the spiritual, poetic and ethereal experiences it can bring.
Without Virgo, Pisces becomes like that young man who has done too much yoga and goes to too many new-agey self-helpy, woo-woey things and then walks around like he’s floating above the human experience. That blissfully oblivious guy complete with a vapid perma-grin that you would (at your worst moments) like to slap off of him. Pisces with no Virgo is a spiritually, self-indulgent nightmare. A good Pisces/Virgo combo says “I am looking for the intersection of spirit and matter, of politics and meditative practices.” A Pisces/Virgo combination says, “I will not check my critical thinking at the door of your yoga class, your church, your temple, your Vipassana retreat or your ceremony.” I live in a world that is a complete picture. When I go to worship at the altar of my choosing, I do so knowing full well that there are more African American men in prison today then there were slaves in America in 1850. I do so without checking my suspicion that 12-Years a Slave and Fruitvale Station could never be nominated at the same time for an Academy Award in this America, the parallels drawn between the two films are too self evident. I consider what I am practicing, if I’ve appropriated it from another culture and the ramifications that may have, because being spiritual is being thoughtful, kind and considerate. I remember the importance of consistently engaging in the practices that remind me of the eternal and unchanging compassionate nature of my being. If I don’t pray and meditate the injustices of this world will eat up every last drop of the sanity that I do have.
I bend at the waist uttering the name of Divinity in the temple of my choosing. I do so not forgetting that Trans folks are harassed (if not murdered) on the street everyday while their attackers all too often run free. I sit on the cushion and get quiet, counting my breath without forgetting that young black men can be gunned down in broad daylight for no other reason than they are walking outside. I sing and dance and sway with my congregation without forgetting that if many politicians had their way it would be illegal for me to use my female anatomy in whatever way I choose to. Yet it’s that same system, the system that violently condemns, criminalizes and brutally treats people of color, the poor, women or anyone who isn’t of the dominate cast, that affords me many privileges. The privilege I receive from this system gives me the space that I need in order to go off and have an existential crisis in the first place. It’s this same system that repackages spiritual materialism as something subversive. In actuality all it really does is support capitalistic greed-mongering, furthering this sickness. It breeds spiritual-warrior-hipsters who celebrate “feeling happy all the time and being super-duper spiritual chic” as if that’s the answer to all of what ails us.
Virgo whispers to Pisces, “No, no. Don’t disassociate from this world. Stay, I’ll teach you how to do the ritual that will keep you in your body and on this planet. It can’t keep you “safe” but it can help to keep you sane.” And Pisces whispers to Virgo, “No, no. It’s not only the physical world that exists or that we exist in, you can’t waste your life trying to get everything right. That’s not living and you deserve to live. You prepare the space and I’ll teach you how to let go and more importantly how to be in loving relationship to life. Generosity, magnanimity and loving kindness are your true nature” The opposing sign is always the best lover for us. Consider the sign opposite of you and see how you can cultivate its attributes in your life more.
Saturn is up to a couple of tricks this week. First on Tuesday it receives the last of three squares from Mercury in Aquarius (the first two where on January 25 and February 18). This asks us to take responsibility for how we use our minds, our words and all the ways in which we communicate. Saturn will trine the sun and sextile the full moon. Both are friendly aspects; like a supportive parent teaching us how to ride our emotional bicycle. Saturn makes things sturdy, steady and produces when it’s being helpful.
This full moon is also the Jewish holiday Purim. Jewish festivals revolve around the moons. Purim is the counter point to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. As such the holiday is filled with wine, costumes, the rowdy retelling of the story (Megillah) of the nasty Haman and the righteous rebel, Queen Esther followed by an insanely festive feast. It’s like Halloween at Burning Man (hopefully without the cultural appropriation); pure chaos with everything flipped on its head. Dressed up as our alter-egos we get to join in on the meshugas with total abandon, until we can no longer distinguish who is good and who is evil. We need chaos (right now the sun, Neptune and Chiron are in Pisces). It helps us understand, appreciate and integrate the structures that help us live good, fruitful lives. Interestingly Yom Kippur fell on this year’s Virgo new moon and Purim on its full; this generally happens but sometimes it switches to Libra. This is interesting because Virgo is so fixated on purity, order, right ways of doing things and ritual. Chaos is Pisces, pure, fluid, free-associating creativity. We need both, we are both.
This is a petite pause before the spring equinox (March 20) and the hair-raising new moon in Aries (March 30). That new moon ushers us into an apparently anxious April where there will be two eclipses and a grand cross begging the question, Are you ready to rumble? The theme of consistent effort this week is a much needed practice throughout the astrology of April. We need to know how to show up every day. We need to remember to pray (or your equivalent) that when the rocks get rolling we stay calm and get quick on our feet.
Love all around you, like rings round the full moon.
xc