With the new moon in Virgo happening at 17 degrees on Sunday, September 9th at 2:01 pm ET, this precision, health-driven, detail-oriented sign, partners up with the cosmos to offer us the perfect opportunity to set intentions for this upcoming year.
I know what you’re thinking… “Jenn, the new year isn’t for another three-and-a-half months!” And yes, that’s true. While it’s technically not the new year, September does provide a fresh start. And for the Jewish religion, the new moon in Virgo corresponds with Rosh Hashanah, the religious new year, and first of the high Jewish holidays. L’Shanah Tovah!
New Moon in Virgo: September is the New January
So, to those following the Gregorian-Christian calendar, the concept of a “new year” in September may cause a bit of a cultural jolt, the Hebrew calendar operates on a lunisolar basis, meaning, essential holidays sometimes link up with the lunar calendar. And in this case, Rosh Hashanah 2018, which commences a ten-day period or repentance, corresponds perfectly with the Virgo new moon.
With that out of the way, welcome to Virgo season! A call to start anew, a season of service, a time of year when the desire to establish the healthy, productive, routines boosts ambition and focus.
I lovingly refer to Virgo as the “protector of purity,” as Virgos have a refined sense of precision in all that they do. Given that the root word to Virgo lies in “virgin,” which means “unto self,” this new moon kicks off the season of high holidays perfectly. It initiates a time to return to personal sovereignty, moral alignment, and vision for where to head next.
So, regardless of your religion, we can all lean into this Virgo new moon, and treat it like a beautiful fresh start, and a new beginning. Indeed, this new moon initiates a new chapter.
New Moon in Virgo: Auspicious Transits Abound
This new moon in Virgo occurs with many auspicious alignments. For starters, it’s the first new moon after a season of retrogrades and eclipses. Translation: after straight-up cosmic chaos, it’s time to solidify focus and concentration. This new moon provides the perfect opportunity to plant seeds for where you wish to head from here. Since the last few weeks provided a ripe opportunity for learning, this new moon offers the most potent opportunity not just to integrate, but firmly assert where you wish to go from here.
Saturn Direct in Capricorn: Discern Your Truth
To amplify this, Saturn, the disciplinarian of the sky, and the planet that most profoundly relates to life purpose, just stationed direct on Thursday, September 6th, 2018. Having been retrograde since April 17th, 2018, Saturn in Capricorn has taken all of us on an internal deep-dive to discern who we are, what we need, and what we are committed to. It’s been a period of deep soul-lessons, which (hallelujah!) begins to clear up simultaneously with the new moon in Virgo.
Interestingly enough, Mars—who also just exited his retrograde journey, stationing direct on August 27th, 2018—gets ready to exit Capricorn on Monday, September 10th, 2018. Mars won’t return to Capricorn again until February of 2020. While Mars has already traveled in Aquarius for an extended period this year, he only reached 9 degrees of Aquarius (a shadow period that began in mid-May 2018) before stationing retrograde and moving back into Capricorn.
This combination of Saturn stationing direct in Capricorn—granting us green lights to go after a long-term vision—and Mars exiting Capricorn until Feb 2020 hammers home an important point this new moon.
Now’s the time to declare, unequivocally, what you intend to create, transform or conjure in your life.
This new moon in Virgo bids farewell to the time of stalled energy.
Awesome.
To make matters even more interesting, Saturn stations direct with a perfect trine to Uranus—meaning your breakthroughs will last.
Even more so, Saturn trines Mercury, too—combining Saturn stationing direct with a Grand Trine in Earth. This full-speed-ahead energy asks you to trust the foundation you have laid and get to work on behalf of your dreams. (Period.)
Even with this new moon opposing Neptune (which could bring a wee-bit of blurry energy, given that Neptune is the ruler of Pisces and consequently of dreams and intuition), I’m unconcerned. Many of the other planets work incredibly favorably with this new moon: Pluto (ruler of our subconscious mind) trines it, and Jupiter (the bringer of good luck) sextiles it, making this an incredibly fertile and favorable new moon in Virgo.
New Moon in Virgo: Turn Your Action Inward
This is one of my absolute most favorite new moons of the year, and I highly suggest creating time to do a ritual within 48 hours of the new moon.
The new moon is a blank page, a fresh start, a moment to turn inward and consider what we want to call into our lives and what we need to let go of. It’s indeed time for rest and reflection so that the whole ritual would be in the comfort of your own home.
How to Begin Your New Moon Ritual:
1. Set the environment.
Before engaging in any ritual, clean and organize your space. Straightening up and getting rid of clutter sets the tone for the ceremony. I like to burn sage, light a candle, turn on soothing music, and clear the energy. Keep a few pieces of sacred paper and a pen on hand for writing. Given that it’s a new moon in Virgo, attention to detail is even more critical.
2. Conjure a connection to the Divine.
Call upon a connection to the source energy you feel supports you the most: guides, angels, or any other divine connection. I like to connect with each of the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth. I correlate each one with a direction on the medicine wheel; East, South, West, and North. Then, I honor the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine via the sun and moon.
3. Sit comfortably and write.
Grab those pieces of scrap paper and write down the things in your life you either wish to call in or are ready to release. This could be certain feelings, fears, or barriers—anything you know is not serving you. Consider what you want to call into your life. This could be a job opportunity, a relationship, more financial abundance, an adventure—you name it.
4. Declare.
The next step is to read your desires—the stuff you want to call into your life now—out loud. Speaking them aloud plays a crucial role in bringing them to life. You may notice that they evoke even more emotion when spoken, and that feeling is essential to manifestation.
5. Meditate and complete.
Now that you’ve let go and made space for what you genuinely desire, sit quietly, follow your breath, and visualize your desires coming to fruition. Set the intention to stay open to these elements and experiences entering your life, and any other growth opportunities you may need along the way.
Get Ready to Reap Your New Moon in Virgo Harvest
Virgo season falls at the same time as the harvest—your practical skills and hard work are needed to haul in the bounty. To reach your highest potential, it’s important that you channel that detail-oriented brain of yours toward things that honestly matter; not just for you, but to serve the greater good.
Now over to you. What did you learn over the summer that’s supporting you to lay a solid foundation in your life with regards to where you’d like to go next? What intentions are you setting this new moon? Leave me a comment below!
9 Comments
Julie Ratinoff 09/09/18
Thank you so much for all of your beautiful writing. I have always seen September as the start of the new year for all of the reasons you mentioned and I’m a Virgo and I’ve always associated September with the start of a new school year being a former teacher, having kiddos for 15 1/2 years, and now back in school myself. I will be 43 on the 19th and I am ready to let go of the perfection of having to do things just right. Being in grad school for art therapy has rocked my inner world, allowing me to work deeply on myself and my inner psyche. I am in my last year and seeing clients at my internship clinic, which has allowed me to step out of uncertainty and lack of confidence into a place of leadership and self-assuredness, and stepping in as a role model for all of the younger women in my program. I guess I am in the right field being a Virgo (and Pisces moon). Having two teen-aged girls and an absolutely insane schedule has made self-care essential for survival. Epsom salt baths are must and I’m brining in the intention to start moving my body more, because that seems to be the first thing to go when overwhelm sets in.
Every day I visualize putting on my priestess cloak while holding my goddess staff and bring that energy into work when I sit with clients. I’m ready to step into my power and stop playing small. I can feel the energy settling with this new moon and am ready to rock this new year!
Sorry if this was too long of a comment, I have truly been inspired by your words.
With love,
Julie
Vaishnavi 09/09/18
As a virgo I made notes from the article and am so in love with the way you have interpreted, Love. So excited for this new year ❤🌲🌴
Niamh 09/09/18
Such a blessing to have the luxury to rest and look inward today. Without realising the day I’d cleaned my clutter and cleared a lot of space. Shortly after finishing the ritual you so generously shared, a shift within unveiled a delusion I’d been sitting with today, just one incomplete thought I’d let run me all day in the background, not even in my awareness as I began the ritual. After as I watched the sun go down, there it was the gift of unity with Self I prayed for, salvation in One Self. Truth shining on us all. Thank you so much Jennifer, Virgo and New Moon 🙏🏻
Musarat 09/09/18
Love reading your blog posts, so helpful to learn about the cosmos and the wisdom they can offer. Muslims also go by the Lunar calendar and our New Year also begins with this new moon. This Islamic New Year is also marked by a historical event that is a reflection on justice/injustice. So I love to see the “coincedence” of the two and in so many ways it’s a time to reflect. Personally having been confused on what to focus on, the summer has brought me clarity and I will be focusing on relationship healing. Thanks!
Natasha 09/09/18
No better time than now and again, your blog speaks to where I am at right now. I am embracing the ugly me, the part of me I hardly share, the real deal, honest Gal that would get pushed into a corner when a boy walked past. And now I want to be selfish, and live in my own thoughts and feelings albeit any expectations. I am trying to be so present that I don’t even have thoughts about things, just living as life unrolls in front of me. My intention for this New Moon is to cement the task to just do, do not think, just trust your gut and inner guide and do it. Don’t second guess or analyze the various angles of said action under others’ “eyes”, just dance to whatever happens. Which is hard because I am a Scorpio, planner, need to control….but this is me working to try another path, another strategy. Let go. Here we go 🙂 Thank you Jennifer!!
Jacqueline 09/09/18
Love your wonderful email and post, so helpful and deep as always. And I love these comments!! So inspiring. I sat down to write tonight (first time in forever) before seeing your suggestions for doing so. I was surprised that I was writing about themes of streamlining my focus before I even read this post and learned about this particular new moon. How I love synchronicities and signs showing me that my inner and spiritual guides are present even though I have a hard time detecting them. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with us!!
suzanne 09/10/18
Jennifer! I was not able to do a new moon ritual yesterday. How do you feel about the success of it if I do it today?
jracioppi 09/10/18
Not a problem! Go for it…
suzanne 09/10/18
I’m on it! Thanks for taking time to reply!