New Moon in Virgo

The first of two Virgo New Moons in the coming weeks. This one at the very beginning of the sign at 0 degrees 22 minutes of Virgo happening on Saturday, 23^rd August 2025 at 6:06 am UTC.

We are still in the light part of the year not yet hitting the equinox point in Libra, however that end of summer feeling is beginning to ripen. I’m not sure about you but the two weeks since the Aquarius full Moon have been a wild ride. Where I live in the north of Ireland the weather has been hotter than usual. For me personally Mars was very loud, from (expensive) car issues, being verbally abused on the street by a stranger, to being in bed for two days with a fever!

The outer planet configuration from two weeks ago is still operative in the sky. Saturn/ Neptune still speaking to Pluto & Uranus by sextile while Uranus trines Pluto. That sense of combustion is still there though exiled Mars has moved on from his exact testimony to the outer planets so this intensity is thankfully easing however we may still notice the feeling of bumpy turbulence.

Lúnasa

The Irish for the month of August is mí Lúnasa. Named after the sun god Lugh who is depicted as a warrior with many skills who overthrew his grandfather Balor. Lugh is a mercurial type God with Jupiterian qualities (being associated with the Law and oath) in the Irish pantheon and father to the warrior Cú Chulainn. Though the festival day marking the beginning of harvest season has passed this is the designated time of year for collection and preservation as the days begin to noticeably shorten. The unusual heat of late is giving me a sense of scorched edges. Regardless of the heat, the dark is beginning to lengthen.

Táimid ag ullmhú / We are preparing

Virgo is the sign of harvest, of preparation as we gather and fortify for the transition into the dark part of the year. This is the sign where we account for what we have and how it will see us through the dark months. How well have we tended to our crops, what is fruiting, what is ripening? What is appropriate to be preserved for later and what methods should we use in our preservation. There is an attention to detail in Virgo that accounts for at one level survival and at another level abundance. This sign precedes Libra and the judgement of how well we have prepared ourselves for the next part of the year. It’s worth considering:

Sorting the wheat from the chaff

This new Moon in Virgo is a seeding point in the harvest time which sounds counter-intuitive. She is co-present with the south node and square Uranus in Gemini. Both signs are ruled by Mercury who recently turned direct in Leo and is retracing his steps through the early part of that sign. The Mercurial and the Uranian indicates inspiration, new ideas or an upsetting of the status quo.  There is something very motivating to push us, someone else or something else to change or to release something. We are sorting the wheat from the chaff. Though the south node is co-present this is not considered an eclipse. The second new Moon in Virgo on 21 September is a partial solar eclipse as it occurs closer to the nodes. This current new Moon indicates that what we release now may be helpful during the following Virgo new Moon solar eclipse in September a removal of something visible or the making of something invisible. We may be asked to put something down to enable us to pick up something new. Clearing out what is superfluous now may make that process clearer when the eclipse comes.   

Mercury’s Leonine Review

Mercury is in direct motion. Still in his retrograde shadow moving through the degrees he has already passed through, getting another look at the topics you may have been considering in the Leo part of your chart. This new understanding along with this new Moon may bring new realisations about the Leo and Virgo parts of your life. There may be something in Virgo that you need to release to shore up or strengthen the Leo house. Virgo being Virgo this may involve perfection. An example in my case would be Leo rules my 6^th and Virgo my 7^th houses. Perhaps I could let go of a level of expectation (often of perfection!) of the people close to me. When I soften to the others in my life, when I am intentional in my communication I can find more support and freedom in my day to day activities. Mercury ruling both this new Moon and Uranus suggests innovation in communication how you speak it, how you ask it, how you think it.

A pair of Virgo Moons

The bridge of time between this new Moon at the beginning of Virgo and the solar eclipse at the end of Virgo is fascinating. In the days after the first new Moon Mercury returns to the degree of Leo where he turned retrograde (15° 34’) as Venus ingresses into Leo. The culmination of this Mercury retrograde is bound up with Venus as she enters Leo and into conversation with the outer planet configurations.

The release required by the new Moon will also be tied into a deep transformative moment for Venus in Leo. There is a possibly anxious element to this Venus who prefers to shine brightly in Leo but first must enter the realm of the outer planets to understand what is required of her. First she trines Saturn receiving a word of support wisdom before trining Neptune and sextiling Uranus. There may be a sense of anxiety of what is required of us in this moment as we have strong desires in the temple of the sun. There is a tense meeting with Pluto that follows which may deepen an understanding that we must change or shed in some way to seek what we desire in the Leo area of our life. She will traverse the early part of Leo as Mercury moves on into new territory. 

Fast forward 3 and a half weeks just before the New Moon Virgo solar eclipse Venus, hand in hand with the Moon, ingress together into Virgo. Virgo is a place of fall for Venus. She is farthest from her place of exaltation and is uncomfortable in the detail orientated temple of Mercury. It may well be a good idea to feed and resource the Venusian before she enters the scrutinising view of Virgo while receiving an electrifying overcoming square from Uranus.

I would love to hear how this all lands for you. Please let me know in the comments below.