Whenever the Sun and the Moon reach the same degree we have a New Moon. This generally occurs once a month and marks the start of a new Lunation Cycle. As the Sun moves through the 12 signs of the zodiac it conjoins the Moon in each sign. The Sign of the conjunction is the theme or archetype we are specifically working with in that month.

On September 5th we have a New Moon in Virgo. The archetype of Virgo is that of the helper, the apprentice or in more modern terminology, the administrative assistant. The function of Virgo is to take the information and data collected in Gemini, the feelings garnered in Cancer and the creative self-expression of Leo, analyze it and ultimately synthesize it into a workable model.

As the sign that is sandwiched between highly self oriented sign of Leo and highly other oriented sign of Libra, it is the job of Virgo to make us aware that it isn’t all about the self, but that we are here to be part of something bigger and more inclusive. We could liken Virgo to the old practice of going to elocution school. Learning all about society and how to work within it before actually getting there.

Another useful image is that of the sorcerer’s apprentice, spending some time in instruction and a lot of the time in cleaning up, sometimes the sorcerer’s mess but mostly their own!

Virgo teaches us the value of service and the willingness to put in the work to perfect our creations (Leo). Virgo also teaches us the necessity of humility as well as persistence.

The chart for this New Moon is a tad less dynamic than some of the more recent New Moon charts, yet no less important. There are two major aspects connected to the New Moon. An inconjunct from Uranus in Aries and an opposition to Chiron in Pisces.

The inconjunct to Aries further stresses the theme of working out the details of those exciting and revolutionary ideas that were seeded back at the end of March when the Sun and Uranus were conjoined in Aries. Revolution is an exciting, somewhat romantic prospect, yet the reality on the ground (Virgo) is rarely romantic, it is often terrifying and cataclysmic for those on the front lines. This inconjunct reminds us that before we “dive in” we need to go over the details and gather the facts to come to thoughtful decisions.

The other aspect is the opposition to Chiron. Oppositions are always about expanding our awareness and an opposition to Chiron creates an awareness around the theme of victimization.

Within the culture the idea of victims and victimizers is ubiquitous. It’s as if you can only be one or the other. In being the victim we seem to get more sympathy and when we are the victimizer we get more antagonism. Yet no matter how much sympathy or antagonism we garner it doesn’t seem to change anything. The victims continue to pile up and the victimizers continue to victimize. And to add an even finer point, who’s to say who is who. That generally depends on your point of view.

The mental/emotional construct of victim/victimizer has been glorified during the last 2000 years of the Piscean Age. Jesus, the central figure of this age was Sacrificed for our Sins, in a way he has been held as the pinnacle of holiness. The Ultimate Redeemer through the ultimate act of Masochism? Yet that was only part of the story of Jesus. Jesus preached love and equality and peace, all very Aquarian ideals, yet the culture has chosen the sacrifice of his life as the primary symbol. It is time to let go of the notion that the greatest gift you can give someone is to lay down your life for them. The greatest gift we can give each other and the world is to be the best most whole person we can be. So instead of being Holy(hole) we are becoming Whole.

This is part of the realization and promise of the New Paradigm. In order to get there we need to make the mental adjustments (Virgo) so that we can experience true and lasting peace (Libra). Step by step we move forward into our new reality, creating as we go. Loving ourselves(Leo) on the way to loving others. This is the path to Peace.