The sign Virgo is one of the most significant in the zodiac for its symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process, which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality. — Alice A. Bailey
The Sun leaves Leo and enters Virgo today just before 1:07 pm EDT, about ten hours after Mercury leaves its echo phase and the Moon enters Scorpio. The Sun in Virgo it signals the beginning of the last sign in this current season (summer in the northern hemisphere, winter in the south).
All seasons end with a mutable sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), after having been ‘fixed’ by the previous sign. The mutables can behave like a fixed sign or a cardinal sign, though when the Sun passes through, there tends to be a palpable sense of the season gradually releasing its hold in preparation for coalescing again in a new form.
This year, the Sun enters Virgo and immediately squares the lunar nodes, which reminds us that there are eclipses coming in about three months.
The Sun opposes Neptune, and then several days later, Chiron. At its best, Sun opposite Neptune can provide a kind of push-pull dynamic that spurs very imaginative, creative achievements. Sun opposite Neptune can feel like an extra mystical Full Moon (the Sun is opposite Neptune instead of the Moon.) However, this aspect is also known for its propensity for delusion, projecting one’s own emotional ‘stuff’ onto a partner, and subsequent disillusionment. It is key to use the creative, dreamy, idealistic power of Neptune in Pisces in service of some sort of artistic process. If you can use your creativity for some larger purpose in some way, all the better – you’ll be enlisting the power of the Virgo Sun in this opposition.
Chiron’s presence in the equation gives a greater sense of purpose (potential healing) to your ability to harness your dreams and creativity. It also emphasizes the need to be honest with yourself and others in the process. Chiron is going to lend some focusing power to the Sun’s light in the face of Neptune’s attempts to diffuse it, and will make sure we see just what we’re dealing with, if we let it. If we don’t, Chiron will remind us again down the road – possibly with less art to the message.
Notably, Chiron is strongly associated with Virgo, accounting for that sign’s ‘higher levels’ of dedication to healing and service better than Mercury can. In fact, in 2004, Eric wrote a landmark article on Virgo and Chiron, in which he explores just what exactly AAB meant in the quote at the top, and its deeper implications. We’re republishing the first half of it below, and will post the second half in tomorrow’s Daily Astrology.