Full Moon in Virgo
27 February 2021, 08h17 GMT
GENERAL THEMES & ENERGIES
ELEMENT:
Mutable Earth: Feminine, Yin Energy = Adaptive and yielding. Responsive rather than initiating, this combination of feminine mutable earth energy is all about accepting and yielding to shifting circumstances. This fits well with the zodiacal face of the February snow moon, which you can read about in more depth below. Think of the famous ‘Serenity Prayer’ which talks about the need to ‘accept the things we cannot change, to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference’.
It’s also about being pragmatic in the face of change, and making the most of whatever fate deals us. This is likely to be an important skill to master in the face of pretty substantial paradigm shifts being catalysed by outer planets, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto.
FEEL:
Clarity, precision, self-discipline in the face of potential emotional confusion or overwhelm, c/o a grand cross involving the luminaries to Neptune and the nodes. In many ways, we are being challenged to upgrade the tools or techniques we use to make decisions, and to exercise discernment when it comes to personal choices.
Making healthier choices. This is also a full moon, which makes it a good time to make diet/lifestyle/emotional changes. Virgo is all about health and wellbeing. Letting go of unhealthy habits or ways of life that are holding us back, is therefore strongly favoured.
Moon Sign
Following on from the Aquarius New Moon, it’s time to use your head to direct the heart, or rather override the sub-conscious mind, in order to make healthier, less knee-jerk-based decisions. Sharpening the Virgoan sword of mental and emotional discernment will help us to overcome any paralysing, confusing or self-deluding beliefs, emotions or situations that might otherwise threaten to overtake or engulf us.
Sword over Cup
One of the tools for doing this, which fits quite well with the idealistic Virgo-Pisces polarity, involves sharpening the sword of discernment. By identifying our highest aspirations and goals, and affirming what’s truly important to us, we develop a solid set of criteria by which to assess the value proposition of any particular offer, situation or set-up in order to ascertain whether or not it is right for us. By drawing up a Virgoan-style list of dealmakers/breakers, we actually give ourselves a shot at achieving the Piscean ideals or dreams we want for ourselves.
Navigating ideal vs reality
The key is not to be too rigid about how exactly this happens or expect a 100% success rate. Virgo does have a tendency to perfectionism which can make us overly self-critical or worry a lot over what are often small details. By allowing a certain degree of latitude and compassion for ourselves when we/others fail or fall short, we also give our more dreamy Piscean side room to breathe – and to keep us supple and fluid so that we can adapt to changing circumstances easily, rather than sweat the small stuff or freak out if everything doesn’t go exactly according to script.
PERSONAL MOON MESSAGES
As with any Full Moon, this is a a great time to seek balance between the two life areas activated by the Pisces Sun and Virgo Moon. To establish more PRECISELY exactly which AREAS OF LIFE offer YOU the best opportunities for making changes during the next two weeks of the waning snow moon cycle, consult the chart below. Find your Rising/Ascending Sign and it’s corresponding pair in the opposite column to see where you are likely to feel/witness personal culminations, climaxes or endings.
Wheel of Fortune: Zodiacal Degree & Face
LUNAR degree: Sabian SYmBol
The Sabian symbol is a series of messages channelled by the medium, Elsie Wheeler, and interpreted by the astrologer, Marc Edmund Jones, during the course of one day in 1925. They give a set of symbols, word associations and images for each of the 360 degrees of the tropical zodiac. The duo believed that they had managed to tap into what Jones called ‘ancient mind matrix’ of the Sabian Brotherhood of ancient Mesopotamia – an occult sect from the city of Harran that was keen to preserve the original Chaldean traditions, centered around moon worship (the name Chaldean literally means ‘moon worshippers’), which underpinned the very earliest beginnings of astrology. This included talismanic or sympathetic magic, which Michael Baigent describes as “the magic whereby a deity’s power is attracted or coerced down to be concentrated into a physical object” using resonant symbols, metals, colours and numbers. We see this continued in texts such as the Picatrix – and later in the natural magic of Marsilio Ficino.
The Sabian symbol is asking us to turn our gaze towards the future and focus our creative imagination and emotions on our highest aspirations and what we want to create for ourselves, our community or our family. March is going to be a power month for manifesting and taking action, so we need to start refining and formulating our plan of action by giving ourselves a strong visual image of what we are aiming to achieve. This is a great time for creating vision boards, making to-do lists and writing out some new affirmations for ourselves.
LUNAR FACE
Rather than use the decans, which divide each zodiac sign into three sub-groups, I want to get more specific. So I will be zooming in 2X to look at what Alan Leo – known as the father of modern horoscopic astrology – called a‘ demi-decan’. As an analogy, think of it as being like the five-minute intervals we have on the face of a clock. Together with the Sabian symbol, which uses a channelled image to describe the nature of each individual zodiacal degree, I think that that this offers us a great way to get more and more specific about the ‘quality of time’ – the specific energies and themes of each two week moon phase. I think it’s far more useful and accurate than just looking at a generic zodiac sign overview that repeats almost every year.
Coming within days of the scary but empowering Mars-Pluto trine, this particular lunar phase is likely to feel like an exciting time filled with high octane, dramatic bursts of progress and momentum. Change is one of the key themes, thanks to the influence of both Pluto and Uranus on this particular waning moon phase.
With such large forces in play, it’s best to adopt a flexible attitude to whatever occurs. Rather than resist, the key is to mimic the mutable nature of this lunar phase and embrace whatever occurs. How apt then, that the ‘face’ of the Virgo Snow Moon is adaptation. James Burgess advises us that, in the face of inevitable cycle changes, there’s a need to remain open and non-judgemental, and go with the flow until we are in possession of enough information to be able to make some informed choices about what we want to do next.
Adaptation
In 360 degrees of wisdom, James Burgess describes this particular demi-decan the five degrees of adaption:
VIRGO 6 – 10
Cyclical processes are universal, so we have to meet new dawns, new moons and new situations as a matter of course. If for no other reason than simply adapting to these changes, we need a significant degree of flexibility. Additionally, the mind-set that evolves from such an approach is fluid and non-judgemental, so it tends to see both points of view – thus facilitating individual intelligence, harmony, and efficiency, and is of real benefit to the common purpose. First and foremost, people want to heard, so they need listeners who have no agenda or dogmatic philosophical standpoints about good or bad.A superabundance of opportunities exists for our joy and self-expression, and typically we need to surrender our attachment to any particular one in order to enjoy another. We gain significant advantages from being receptive to guidance about how best to assimilate these new things, so that we learn why, how, and when to be guarded, and also when to open up. Instead of always straining to compete within a world seen as mostly punctuated by danger and scarcity, we come to understand and trust that sometimes we can offer all we have, and all we are, within a world more correctly seen as abundant, easy and safe.
James Burgess, 360 Degrees of Wisdom
Prominent Fixed Stars
At this particular full moon, we are likely to encounter some form of test to see if we have discovered how to work with our own personal GPS – do we trust ourselves to make good decisions, or are we continually deferring to an external authority?
Most of us are taught to put our trust in one of two sources: traditional solar/masculine figures such as community leaders, government officials or even a male partner or parent – a paternal figure that we may be hoping will take care of us. Alternatively, we take the more lunar route, which could take the form of seeking approval from our friends or peers, or possibly even a maternal figure. These are usually people we have an emotional connection with – someone we believe can offer us that emotional encouragement or affirmation we often feel we need in order to get confirmation that we are ‘on track’.
However, this can leave us open to manipulation and also keep us stuck in unhealthy loops just because we are afraid of courting disapproval or upsetting the status quo. This month’s solar fixed star aspects serve to remind us about the importance of personal sovereignty and what can wrong when we don’t trust our higher selves to make those all-important decisions.
One of the things I learnt in 2020 was about Human Design, which put forward the idea about personal authority, and how we are all fairly unique in terms of the way we go about making choices. Interestingly, rather than the usual assumptions about head vs heart, Human Design asserts that in actual fact, UNLESS you have the crown or third eye (ajna) chakras permanently activated/turned on, your centre of authority i.e. the place you make the best personal decisions from, is, usually NOT the mind. Instead, it tends to be either the intuition/reptilian brain (splenic authority), the gut (sacral authority) the will or the emotions. You can watch this short video on Authority in Human Design by Chetyn Parkyn if you are interested in understanding this in more depth.
With Uranus positively aspecting this Full Moon, it’s important to really tune into your inner voice and develop or strengthen your connection to your personal authority. By doing so, you will make better decisions in a way that feels both natural and authentic to you. Not only can this be very liberating, but also potentially very empowering – freeing you from the social conditioning and sometimes even control of external sources.
Planetary Aspects
POSITIVE CHANGES
Uranus + Luminaries – At this Full Moon, the Sun & Moon will form positive aspects to Uranus, making it very likely that during the next two weeks, we are likely to find ourselves driven to make positive changes to our personal lives, whether this be through a perspective shift that leads us to make more sensible choices, or a desire to be physically healthier, which could lead us to let go of bad habits or make tweaks to our lifestyles.
With Uranus in Taurus, these could highlight areas such as material security, money or banking, food/diet or farming. Much will depend upon where Taurus falls in your chart.
In some cases, we may be responding to sudden changes in circumstances that affect our home, family or personal circumstances. Some of these may involve deciding what to cut out or eliminate from your life in order to make room for the new and better. You could choose to leave something or someone behind, or to finally ‘seal the deal’ with regards to a situation that, up until now, may have been delayed or blocked, perhaps due to Mercury retrograde. Full moons are as much about culminations as they are about endings.
Some of these opportunities/developments may come out of the blue, and catch you off-guard – but only if you aren’t on top of your astrology! Although you may feel a little shell-shocked, the message of the Sabian symbol is that the future you’re moving towards is so much brighter and better than what you could have imagined. So if you’re forced to detach and let go of situations or habits that deep-down, you knew were not really serving you, then try to do with grace.
CROSSROADS & KARMIC TESTS: ELIMINATING CONFUSION
Mutable Grand Cross with Neptune & Nodes – The Full Moon will also be forming what’s known as a mutable Grand Cross with the lunar nodes in Gemini-Sagittarius, and Neptune in Pisces, on the other. As a result, we could be faced with some form of karmic test in the form of a major temptation or moral dilemma which is designed to establish whether we’ve really learnt our lesson when it comes to making healthier choices and wiser decisions.
With the Virgo-Pisces axis activated, the way forward is likely to involve tools or techniques that help you to eliminate confusion or overwhelm and gain emotional clarity. With the North Node still in Gemini, we’re being asked to ask questions, enter into negotiations and ascertain facts rather than rush to judgements or simply go on faith alone.
As we’ve seen from the sign polarity and fixed star aspects, there’s a strong emphasis during this waning moon phase on HOW we make decisions, particularly during times of stress or crisis or when we find ourselves faced with mixed messages, moral relativism, fake news and information overload. With sneaky Neptune and unpredictable planet Uranus set to throw a few spanners in the works that could create some jitters, the key is not to panic but instead keep your cool and make decisions that are in your best interests. March is going to be surprisingly positive, so just be patient and bide your time until then.
Sneak Peak Ahead…
Sun – Venus conjunction – By spending the next two weeks of this waning moon cycle eliminating what’s not healthy or no longer working, you’ll free yourself up to making the most of late March’s dreamy Sun-Venus conjunction which could coincide with romantic unions and/or creative/spiritual partnerships. Dream job offers are another possibility – again, much will depend on where Pisces falls in your birth chart.
Their slow dance towards each other begins just before the Full Moon and will culminate on 26 March. This is likely to create a magical air of anticipation, one that could feel exquisitely but also maddenlingly drawn-out. Just as with the zodiacal face, the key is to allow things to unfold in their own time. This is one of those slow-burns that you can’t rush if you don’t want to spoil things.
In between are some very favourable dalliances with Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, which could lead to some rather promising if unexpected developments. With such a promising turn of events just around the corner, the key will be not to psych yourself out or self-sabotage. As the tests surrounding the mutable grand cross suggest, it is very important right now to gain control over any sub-conscious habits or patterns and close out self-destructive cycles so that you are ready to welcome in what’s waiting for you just out of sight. In summary then, by making the commitment to choose healthier options that are more in line with your future goals and aspirations, rather than give in to short-term gratification or personal weakness, you may be pleasantly surprised by what awaits in a few weeks’ time. The Universe is ready to reward those who are willing to do the work.
