New Moon in Virgo. 9.15.23.
Image description: A gray stone carving depicts a woman seated with her legs bent beside her and one arm resting on top of her knees, her head turned sideways and her hair in a low bun. The zodiac sign for Virgo is shown above her to the top left of the image.
Happy New Moon in Virgo, beautiful souls!
And happy Mercury stationing direct, as well (which is happening today at 4:21pm ET) — something I know many of us have been looking forward to 😆😅
So let’s get into how to work with the energy of this New Moon and what it’s all about.
Late last night, at 9:39pm ET, we marked a New Moon at nearly 22 degrees of Virgo. And taking place right near Mercury as it prepares to station direct (after being retrograde since August 23)—this New Moon offers an invitation to set intentions for the upcoming six-month chapter with the benefit of all that we’ve learned while Mercury has been retrograding through Virgo for the past few weeks.
Virgo is a sign that’s associated with judgment and criticism (which can be super valuable at high vibrations, but in its shadow expression, can be like a tape of your inner critic stuck on loop in your head; think: mental spirals, anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism with no end). So, as I said in the last edition of Practical Woo, you can think of Mercury retrogrades (and especially the ones in Virgo) as an opportunity to redecorate our mental realms; to review our inner critic; release limiting beliefs and thought patterns that hold us back and keep us small; and revise how we speak to ourselves.
Awareness opens a portal which is the path to change and healing—like the lifting of a curse or spell we’ve been under. Recurring thought patterns, limiting beliefs, and that overactive inner critic that traps us in toxic perfectionism can be spells that keep us stuck, expending needless energy, and trapped in a loop.
Now, with this New Moon co-ruled by Mercury and Chiron (the wounded healer)—coinciding with Mercury stationing direct in Virgo—we’re being invited to reflect on what we’ve been learning about how our minds work and to set intentions for making the shifts we’re ready to make, in service of our own healing.
So, if you can, carve out some time today or this weekend to reflect on what has been coming into your conscious awareness since August 23rd when it comes to recurring thought patterns, limiting beliefs, and toxic perfectionist tendencies that no longer serve you. What have you been learning about how your inner critic speaks to you? (Does it sound like how you’d talk to someone you love?) What’s ripe for an edit?
Meanwhile, given Chiron’s special connection with healing and healers, this New Moon is also an especially powerful intention-setting portal for people who work in some way as healers, whether of individuals or the collective. In particular, it’s a potent time to set intentions around how we want to use our minds, words, and communication-related gifts in service of healing work in the next 6 months.
I’m sending you all good wishes and many blessings in this New Moon week, and without further ado, scroll on down for the 6-card tarot spread/journal prompts I crafted to work with the New Moon in Virgo energy at its highest vibrations.
XOXO,
Rebecca
Image description: A woman sits on a crescent moon. She is shown in gold with flowing hair and a dress, choker, and ballet slippers with dangling ribbons. The backdrop is a black night sky speckled with stars, and a halo radiates from the woman’s head.
How do I work with a New Moon?
In astrology, New Moons are the time for setting intentions and visioning new beginnings for the upcoming six months. (By contrast, Full Moons are a time of culmination and harvest, of reaping the seeds/intentions sown at the New Moon.) So: the intentions we all set now are what we'll be reflecting back on at the Full Moon in Virgo in late-February 2024. This makes New Moons a great check-in moment for long-term planning and conscious goal-setting.
New Moon in Virgo tarot spread .
Here are the prompts for the 6-card tarot spread I crafted to work with this week’s New Moon in Virgo energy at its highest vibration. (Why 6 cards? Virgo is associated with the 6th house in astrology). As always, feel free to use any/all of these as journal prompts and to skip the cards. <3
What have I been learning about my recurring self-critical thought patterns, limiting beliefs, and/or how my inner critic talks to me with Mercury retrograde since August 23?
What intentions do I want to set for moving beyond toxic perfectionism and self-critical thought patterns that say I’m never good enough?
How am I ready to revise my inner voice so it’s grounded in unconditional self-love? What intentions do I want to set around talking to myself like I would talk to a friend or loved one, in service of my own continued healing?
How am I feeling called to use my mind, words, and communications-related gifts in how I show up as a healer for others and/or the collective in the next 6 months?
What intentions do I want to seed now around my meditation/mindfulness practices to catalyze continued consciousness expansion over the next 6 months?
What intentions do I want to set for the next 6 months around my work routines, how I work, and self-care to create the conditions for me to stay in flow vs being “too busy” to ground, center, and check in with my higher self?
Much love to you all in this New Moon in Virgo week, and feel free to holler with any questions this edition of Practical Woo sparked for you!
To book a reading, click here for my October availability <3
