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virgo 2008 AS ONE BORN under the sign Virgo, you are keenly aware of your limits, your faults and the mental patterns that seem to trap you. Is this a curse or a blessing? If you are vaguely self-aware, I am sure you ask this very question. It seems a blessing when you are guided to excel or to improve yourself sincerely, and when you use your sharp mental talent to improve yourself and the world. It is a curse when nothing you do is ever enough, or good enough.
My point is this. The need, goal, objective or mission of your current astrology -- however you prefer to look at it -- does not involve self-improvement. It involves mastery. Self-mastery and also mastering what is called the Saturn principle: the principle of inner authority. Print this out and stick it to your computer, your mirror or the inside of your contact lenses, but do remember. Saturn is transiting your sign now, and its message to you is that you are your own boss. You are sufficiently wise to know that you know you need to be yourself, and that it's no bargain being anyone else -- nor is it possible. This is the ultimate consolation and the ultimate reward of your way of life. Deep in your soul you know that your journey and at times your struggle is purely and plainly human. You know the Goddess does not plan her works in vain, and you know that you are one of her most devout servants. It is now time to live that with every bone, every cell and every lobe of your brain. What would serve the Goddess? Indeed, you being free would. You living your life calling to the best of your talent and pleasure would. You accepting how much you are loved would be a huge plus. You understanding that you have a part to play in the great drama of life, and that it's a part you are uniquely suited for. Few astrologers would describe Saturn visiting one's sign as a picnic. For Virgo, this development comes as a relief, mainly granted by the miracles of maturity and perspective. A long and perhaps lonely phase of inner searching has come to an end, but now that you have graduated you can see that you have an entirely new sense of who you are. You seem to have recently woken up, and what is better, awoken with words to describe your experiences. While you may feel like you're still looking for those words, I would propose that you have most of them in your possession, and that what you are really waiting for is the confidence to speak. That, you can only give yourself. The key to working with your Saturn transit, one of the most important of your life, is simple: it's time to create conscious relationships with your seeming limitations. This way you can address them consciously; you can work with them; you can turn them into allies. Usually, limitations live below awareness. We think they are part of the landscape, like the ground we are standing on. In a sense they do provide much of the ground of existence for most people since few ever dare to consciously consider that they can exceed their limitations in any way. Saturn is traditionally one of the lords of time. Time can work any way we like: it can bind us, it can be a tool, or it can be a game. Rarely, it can be a thing we think of as having a choice in the matter of. By that, I mean there are many ways to think of time, and also of the value and length of a lifetime. Normally we find ourselves walking along the tightrope between birth and death, not knowing when we are going to fall off. But that is just one concept of time, and it's the most limited there is. You need, at the least, to give yourself reasons to remember that time is on your side; it is an ally rather than an enemy. If you pause and think about it, you would come up with plenty of them. Saturn is also the planet of structure. Most people experience structures as walls that bind them. Yet a door is also a structure, and so is an airplane and, for that matter, an airport. You can carry a stone around your neck, and you can cut the rope and make the rock the first piece in the foundation of your house. In all matters of structure and form, you must consider your choices as well and one of those is how you structure your idea of yourself, and your relationship to the world. Once you have a conscious relationship to your limitations, to structure and to time, you can put them all to work for you, and this is the story of Saturn in your sign, conjunct your Sun and for Virgo rising, in your ascendant. Far from being the planet of stuck, Saturn is the planet of inevitable motion -- of getting yourself free. Once you learn to negotiate its message, once you learn the art of boundaries and the related art of decision-making, Saturn becomes the first tool that you will reach for when you have a problem, and when you have an idea. Now, Saturn of course is one of the large worlds, indeed, the second largest and one of the most revered in ancient tradition. Another pretty big one factors into your relationship life, which I will address in the next section, and that would be Uranus. The stories of the small worlds mostly involve your work and the development of your talent, and I will get into them in the section on work and creativity -- your labors of love. Love and Passion: The Thundering Times, Continued VIRGO HAS BEEN dominated for years by activity in Pisces, your opposite sign, mainly the planet Uranus. One of the first lessons of astrology is that opposite signs are one system and always work together. Activity directly across the zodiac can represent one of several things: our environment, including people and their attitudes; what we project onto the world (that is, what we refuse to own or claim as our own); or parts of ourselves that we are dancing with, getting to know and integrating. Uranus is the revolutionary of the zodiac, and you have indeed been dancing with him. At times you are a low-voltage instrument, and you can have your mind blown by very little additional input. At other times you morph into lightning and thunder. At all times you are profoundly influenced by your environment, and in recent years that influence has been particularly strong. At times, you may have felt you could barely keep up with the pressure, the information, the influx of change. If you look back over these years, I am confident you will conclude that for the most part, all of that energy has worked for you rather than against you. You have also learned that under all this pressure, rest and taking care of your needs is the only way to navigate it all. Having so little to cling to, you've had to create something real for yourself, and find it within yourself. Confronted by so much originality, you've had to find the revolutionary or the artist within you; that is, the exuberant, energetic person that you are. Met with people who can be highly energetic but also erratic and at times untrustworthy, you have had to focus your intentions and your awareness on your own agenda -- and learn how to handle them. In truth, you have had to solidify your sense of existence. Saturn has the reputation for representing that which is stuck. Maybe it's my own Saturn in Aquarius, maybe it's my 200th lifetime as an astrologer or maybe I know that most relationships are what we make them -- but I have a very different experience of this planet, which is that it represents the energy of movement, depth and productive focus. If Saturn represents a limit, it's a limit we are learning to work with and more often, to go beyond. If recent years have come with the feeling that people were randomly pushing you forward, spurring you onward, you now get to take over the process in your own style, and keep making discoveries with those around you as well. People around you don't necessarily see how much progress you make using your own style of movement, nor do they understand a life where the focus is predominantly interior. That being said, there is something perplexing and yet entirely necessary about the qualities of the people around you. Being exposed to it full-on may at times be disconcerting. You are, however, getting accustomed to it, and at times crave that high, fast vibration of others to get your brainwaves, your chakras and your clitoris spinning. That energy is Uranian -- what Barbara Hand Clow described as the liquid light of sex. Most people really do experience Uranian and Saturnian energy as two entirely different things with no possible meeting place. You are about to become that meeting place, because Saturn and Uranus are about to meet in a full-on opposition at the end of the year. That is to say, the next four seasons have the feeling of something building a head; of an inevitable encounter; of the truth manifesting. There will be certain individuals born under your sign who are experiencing Saturn as the impulse to apply the brakes; to go into isolation; to avoid relationships entirely. That may be necessary for them and it will work, for a while. But I don't think this is the point. You are moving directly and with clear intentions. This is no time to stop, to retreat or to start guessing when you have finally got the crystal of certainty in your hand. The approximate timing on that is a little less than one year, when the exact opposition happens. The meeting of Saturn and Uranus represents one of a few possibilities: an attempt to reconcile two very different modes of existence within one relationship; a relationship changing radically as a result of those differences; an unusual synthesis of some kind, of unlikely opposites; or some form of opportunity for you to come out of your shell and exist in the world among people as a well-defined individual. As such, the high energy, full-strength qualities of many in your life will be things you welcome and embrace. To the extent that people with high energy make you nervous, consider that you are not quite feeling safe and secure being you. Rather than change them, take your project to the inside, reach for yourself within, or simply dare to plunge into the encounters that attract you. You have nothing to run from but yourself; nothing to embrace but yourself. A Spiritual Paramedic? Recently, a Virgo subscriber wrote in the following question that is very much apropos of Saturn in your sign: "I often have the feeling that I am not interesting or desirable to others, except for when I am needed as a kind of spiritual paramedic. Is it possible that some individuals are truly meant to be alone, without a life partner, in order to fulfill some other purpose, such as safeguarding or helping others?" Not being among one of the Masters of the Great White Lodge, I don't know all the ins and outs of karma. I imagine that some people are here merely to assist others. But we all have social, emotional and biological needs, and I personally don't buy in to any of the schools of thought that tell us we must somehow subvert those human needs. And there are a lot of entities and individuals putting out that message. With Saturn in your sign, you may well feel a need to cocoon yourself, to isolate yourself or to conduct a deep inner investigation. However, by the time November rolls around and Saturn encounters its opposition to Uranus, those days will probably be over. So if isolating yourself is your thing, make sure you enjoy it while it lasts. For most Virgos, that is not going to be your thing. You are stepping into your power, your sense of self-definition and your sense of mission. That is always attractive. You are also breaking through your conservative exterior. Well, your conservative interior. Of the many small worlds affecting your life, Pluto wins the prize for its profound, and I trust positive, impact on you. I will cover this in more detail under the section addressing career and creativity, but that same angle of your chart involves passion, sex and daring relationships. And it comes down to this. You grew up way before your time. You had responsibilities that no child should have had. You took this with you as an adult as an over-attachment to responsibility; a tendency to structure your creative tendencies and needs; and finally, a conservative approach to taking risks. This of course serves everyone around you well enough, but it's come to the point where it no longer serves you so well. As we both know, the impulse to loosen up has come from others in recent years. With Pluto entering Capricorn, you are about to encounter this energy from the inside at about 100 times the magnification. You must be aware of your tendency to emphasize form and structure; to live and work within restrictive internal boundaries -- the rules that you follow within your own psyche, seemingly of your own accord. Well, that structure eats energy, and it's energy that you need right now. The effect of Pluto through Capricorn will be to liberate that energy. The risk we always run with Pluto is obsession. Virgo is obsessed enough as it is, though you don't like situations that burn out of control. I think to handle this, you do need to let some part of your life go more than a little wild. You may not be feeling it now -- but you will be soon enough. I think that with Pluto, the key is to have multiple outlets and not plug up any specifically (i.e., get used to forgetting all the things you are not). You are more erotic, creatively driven and prone to taking daring risks than you imagined, and those tendencies are going to bust loose any time now. Second, use your discernment and be a character who judges well. No, it's never really possible to tell who is going to become what in your life, but if you recognize that you are seeking intense sexual and creative forces on the level of that which slays you so pleasantly, you need to use what you know and figure out what agenda people are showing up with. If you like that agenda, go with it. If not, try again with someone else. Career and Creativity The authentic life's work of most people chooses them, or that is what it seems. True, I am sure that there was one boy who, when handed the career book in the guidance counselor's office, decided to be a fireman in that moment and stuck to it. I am sure that one or two girls chose to be a nurse this way. In reality, we encounter what feels like destiny and are set on the path that opens up before us. Your life has been full of these meetings with destiny lately, and of this you can be truly grateful. Some of them have seemed outrageous, unlikely or perhaps lacking credibility. To the extent you are obsessed with service -- and you usually are, but in recent years it's been full-on -- you also need to be an inventor. You may not feel like you're particularly good at what you do, or like you're particularly successful. You can safely ignore that little voice. You need merely to open up your channel of energy and fire and let it pour through you. I strongly suggest that you take on small leadership roles rather than large ones. For example, managing projects, being in a problem-solving role, or teaching a skill that you have in a small group setting. The key to maximizing your astrology is specifically about not watering yourself down with bureaucratic duties, but rather sticking close to the work you do well. You have excellent leadership skills when people listen. I suggest that you never be in a position to lead too many people, just enough to get the job done. One of the most vital aspects of your astrology encourages you to serve in the capacity of what (in common language) we call a 'healer'. I don't like this word at all, but that is the word we use. What I mean is facilitator; one who helps focus energy that helps rather than divides; one who is a locus of energy and information. Perhaps the most sensible way to handle your work life is to not think of it as work -- think of it as life. Another sensible idea is to teach yourself to open up and be a conduit. For sure you need to have your research done, you need to know your facts and your anatomy and your numbers and your statistics -- and then, like Jesus, you need to let the power flow through you. You are a vessel of whatever energy you choose to direct. I don't suggest you advertise this fact; don't throw away your resume or your dictionary. But work consciously with the fact that you need, more than anything, to be a clear channel of perception and energy, and you will create and achieve great things. Remember as well that you have a clear sense of the consequences of actions. More than anything, this is what sets you apart from the rest of the human population. You get it: karma exists. Once you know that, and admit that, you have made karma your friend. Your Resources You are your own most important resource, and don't forget it. It is true that perhaps to the greatest extent of anyone you know, you feel a duty to share what you have; to have minimal impact on your world; to consume as little as possible. I would propose a different orientation: make sure that every time you spend or attempt to get resources, you do so in a beautiful way. Frugality is not a value. Beauty is a value. When you are making yourself available for work, emphasize beauty in every aspect of that process. I don't mean flowery: I mean balanced, with an aesthetic. Keep your work environment beautiful; organize your financial materials in an aesthetic way; present yourself in an attractive way when you are seeking a job or a gig. Those with whom you would share resources -- that is, who might pay you, finance your ideas or collaborate with you -- have strong personalities and you need to stand up to them. Speak clearly, but speak a little louder than you think is appropriate. Think clearly, but present your ideas with confidence, and be prepared to argue for them -- this may not have worked with your old boyfriend, but it will work in the world around you today cus this is now and that was them. You may be feeling particularly on your own lately in terms of whether others share with you; but that is temporary. Mars (one of your most important money planets) is retrograde, though once it turns direct it takes the energy of the sign in which it was retrograde. This is to say: in Gemini, money is a matter of that which flows. Part of the retrograde took place in Cancer, and that is a matter of that which takes care of people. Money has no other purpose. It is a device to feed us when we're hungry, shelter us, and to provide basic human needs. Forget about making it an end in itself. You will have a lot more of the stuff if you use it for what it was made to do. Conclusion An inner and outer invisible protective armor that you have become so used to is falling down. You are ready to enjoy all you have been missing -- including accepting your strength, your mission and your desirability. More than anything you are in a time of accepting your sense of presence in the world. You may not feel confident being taken so seriously, but that is precisely the point: to build your confidence, to run your show, to be the first person you inquire of for any form of self-understanding or understanding the world. It's as if you can finally drive the engine yourself, inviting others to the ride, because you now know how it works. For a long time you've felt like you were coming along for everyone else's ride, sometimes reluctantly. As you make friends with yourself, with your mission and with your strength, you will discover in increasing degrees that you are someone worth traveling with, worth accepting as a leader and as a teacher and as an example for how to handle life on our very challenging planet. |
