New Moon in Virgo: The Truth Will Set You Free

Originally posted (9/19/2017): https://www.mystichermitwitch.today/2017/09/new-moon-in-virgo-truth-will-set-you.html

The eclipse energy is slowly winding down and beginning to morph into something new. This is our last opportunity to work directly with eclipse energy before it moves on. Last Full Moon, we got a glimpse of the seeds that were planted during the eclipse. Did you like what you saw? Did you dream along with Neptune and envision your new future? Good. Hold on to that vision because now you're going to get a cold dose of reality.

This New Moon is in Virgo. Virgo is the sign opposite Pisces. Where Pisces is dreamy and otherworldly, Virgo is earthy and practical. What they both share, as opposites, is a strong sense of how things should be. Pisces dreams it up. Virgo makes it happen. As with most opposites, they need each other. They complete each other. In this New Moon, we turn to the practical Virgo question: "How do I get this done?"

The eclipse stirred up old issues that we thought were dead and gone. Or maybe we knew they weren't dead and gone, we just wanted to pretend they were. They came back with a vengeance. Thankfully, we've had the combined energies of Uranus, Saturn, and the karmic North Node working together all year to get us ready to handle their resurgence so we weren't completely caught off guard. We can start putting those ideas to the test to see if they work.

Virgo is good at that. This New Moon has the additional energy of the asteroid, Vesta. When you think of the energy of Vesta, think of the Vestal Virgins of Rome. They were in charge of keeping the sacred flame that represented the essential life force of the city burning. That job required their complete dedication and focus. Vesta has a natural affinity with the sign of Virgo.

I simply must take this opportunity to expound more about the concept of "virginity" since Virgo is the sign of the Virgin and Vesta is in Virgo right now. Our modern use of the word "virgin" refers to a woman (yes, a woman, because there's no premium placed on men's sexual abstinence) who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. But back when the Goddesses ruled, a "virgin" was simply a woman who was not married and was therefore sexually free. She could do what she wanted. She was "pure" because she followed her own inner principles and lived her life according to her own standards. That is the essence of Virgo. Virgo energy is considered picky and perfectionist because it is self-determining and will not settle for anything less than what it wants.

The ministry of the Vestal Virgins was based on the idea of personal integrity and purity derived from the matriarchal past. The Vestal Virgins were specially chosen by a high priest called the Pontifex Maximus. Vestal Virgins occupied a special place in Roman society in that they had more rights than other women in that society. For example, they could own property and vote. I believe the Vestal Virgins were the precursors to the Nuns of the Roman Catholic Church.

However, those rights were bestowed upon them, and could be taken from them, by the Pontifex Maximus. Vestal Virgins who were found in violation of their duties were often beaten. As part of that patriarchal society, they had to be sexually abstinent (they were chosen between the ages of six and ten) and if they were not, they would be buried alive. Because of who they were and the power of the spiritual energy they were believed to carry,  even when they were punished there were special protocols. The beatings were not public to preserve their modesty and keep their esteem in the eyes of the populace and they were buried alive in special sealed rooms below ground and left with a small supply of food.

Therefore, the energy of Vesta is related to the special dispensations and privileges that rulers bestow upon certain classes of oppressed people within a highly structured and brutally repressive society.

The juxtaposition of the Virgo and Vesta energies is pertinent to us at this time. We have recently been reminded of our dirty issues from the past which we thought we had overcome. But actually what has happened is that we have gained a position of relative privilege in a system that has remained essentially unchanged. The temptation is to remain in that position. It's comfortable and it feels deceptively safe. But we would be living a lie. Just because we are in a special room and have been given some measure of sustenance doesn't mean we aren't being murdered. The truth is we are in grave danger. We are being called to break out of that inertia and move into the fullness of who we are. The truth of who we are.

Let's not remain entombed in our own complacency. Let's remember who we really are and move into our greatness. We have our vision and all the tools we need at our disposal. We only need to act on the courage of our convictions. We can make the choice to truly live or merely survive. Are we Vestal Virgins or Virgo Goddesses?