February 24 Full Moon in Virgo, 7:32 a.m. Eastern U.S. time. This same day, Venus in Aquarius squares Jupiter in Taurus. The Sabian Symbol for this Full Moon is: “(VIRGO 6°): A MERRY-GO-ROUND.” If the day feels like the same old, same old, look again. Are you really back where you started? Or is that merry-go-round a spiral journey? Are you on a higher or deeper level? Virgo asks us to explore the details before jumping to conclusions. This could initiate a high energy month that combines earthy hard work with magical portals opening to other realms.
Virgo Full Moon, 2/24/24, 7:32 a.m., Washington, D.C.
Since early December, I’ve had 2/24/24 circled as a highly charged date. Mars and Venus remain tightly conjunct at 8-9° Aquarius, with Pluto still around 1° Aquarius. The Washington, D.C. chart puts all three in the eleventh house–the house most associated with Aquarius, which is a sign of friendship, brotherly love, and groups. Passions run high. Whatever transpires will have systemic–not just individual–impact.
The D.C. chart also puts Mercury, the Sun, and Saturn opposing from Pisces, all in the twelfth house. This is the house most associated with Pisces–and the D.C. chart also has a Pisces Ascendant and the chart’s ruler Neptune in the first house of identity. In layman’s terms, these energies suggest a dissolution of structures and information, triggering profound shifts in group identities, relationships, values, and the collective unconscious. Many of these changes will occur in ways we can sense but not articulate. Confusion seeps in as old parameters and self-conceptions dissolve.
With the North Node still tightly conjunct Chiron in Aries–also in the D.C. chart’s first house of identity–we can expect this dissolution to bring divinely ordained course correction and healing. A new identity arises as old deceptions, confusion, illusions, and delusions fall away.
I’ve written of the Washington, D.C. chart because U.S. events continue impacting the world, but these energies also affect us as individuals, depending on our personal transits. Collectively, we can expect surreal shifts that alter the normal structures, understanding, and overall “glue” of what we expect from life. If you feel disoriented, find ways to ground yourself. Walk in nature, hug a tree, meditate, and/or focus on your breathing. All of these can ease some of the static and anxiety that big, nebulous shifts provoke.
Virgo is a detail-oriented, mental Earth sign, so this Virgo Full Moon will require more grounding than usual. Beware of burnout. A supportive trine from Jupiter in Taurus allows us to expand our energies into tangible, earthly steps, but slow and steady wins this race. Discernment and efficiency become more important, as does organization. If your sock drawer, closets, and pantry have no rhyme or reason, now might be a good time to remedy that mess. Ditto any dietary indiscretions. Virgo rewards discipline.
Anyone with natal planets or points in the 1-10° range of mutable signs (Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius) will feel this Full Moon more than most. Many people born in the first few years of the 1960’s will have natal Uranus and/or Pluto triggered by this Full Moon. How exactly depends on which Virgo degrees these heavyweights happened to be in when you were born.
Anyone born between December 1960 and May 1961 will have their North Node destiny point and natal Pluto pinged in a big way. Heads up: this could usher in a major course correction. If you have habits, people, or situations standing in the way of you living your most authentic, natural life, you might want to release them on or before the Full Moon. It’s easier to upgrade than eliminate, so consider whom or what you’d like to add as a replacement. Nature abhors a vacuum. Fill yourself with good changes and habits, rather than numbing out with food, drugs, or alcohol. This could be an empowering time, but you’ll need to make real effort.
March 7 Full Moon in Virgo at 7:40 a.m. Eastern. Less than an hour later, Saturn enters Pisces. Dane Rudhyar’s Sabian Symbol for this Full Moon point is: “(VIRGO 17°): A VOLCANIC ERUPTION. KEYNOTE: The explosive energy of long-repressed contents of the subconscious. … The Keyword is EXPLOSION.” With Saturn–Lord of Karma–making a big move into the last and most spiritual sign, we might expect some kind of poetic justice. Situations left unsatisfied by legal courts may experience divine intervention. This is particularly true for anything involving fraud, deception and illusions. Details and thorough research (Virgo) also support breaking through (Moon trine Uranus) carefully crafted “spells”and cognitive dissonance (Pisces). Something major could play out between now and the April 6 Full Moon in Aries, but Saturn will demand responsibility in all Pisces areas over the next three years. (You can find more on Saturn in Pisces here.)
Of course, the elephant in the room with this Sabian Symbol is all the toxic explosions occurring around the US. Hopefully, the Full Moon in Virgo will trigger more of a metaphorical explosion, rather than a 3D one, but keep extra situational awareness between now and the April 6 Full Moon in Libra.
modified from original astro-seek.com chart
In the chart set for Washington, D.C., expansive Jupiter tightly conjuncts the Ascendant. Whatever VOLCANIC ERUPTION occurs in the US, it will be big. With transiting Chiron less than one degree away, we’ll find healing, but probably through a healing crisis. Also in the Full Moon chart set for Washington, D.C., centaur Pholus conjuncts the Midheaven (the top and most public part of the chart). Pholus is the small thing, BIG EFFECT trigger, alerting us that even a tiny shift can cause unexpectedly massive results. The Full Moon energies continue through the next month, so it might not all occur on March 7. Pay attention to tiny details that grab your attention around this time. They could become important later.
Asteroid Lilith closely conjuncts the Full Moon in Virgo at 17°. Not to be confused with Black Moon Lilith (aka lunar apogee), asteroid Lilith symbolizes the teenage rebel. She’s a feminist and activist, protesting in the streets. Her sexuality remains untamed. If she learns to harness and transmute her rage, she’ll go far. If not, she might just “burn it all down.” The Moon’s trine to Uranus amplifies this potential for messy breakthrough. Subconscious energies erupt and demand whatever they’ve been denied ’til now. At the time of the Full Moon, transiting Mars–god of action and war–exactly conjuncts the US natal Mars for the third time since Mars entered Gemini in August 2022.
All of this occurs just two weeks before Pluto bursts into Aquarius–the sign of revolution–for the first time since 1798. Fortunately, Venus brings love to the mix as she approaches the US natal Chiron wound. Some kind of massive purge feels inevitable. If it doesn’t happen all at once, count your blessings. I know people “want it now!” but multiple eruptions are easier to integrate than a collective supervolcano blasting all to smithereens. Hopefully, Saturn in Pisces will bring at least some compassion and restraint.
The idea of divine intervention or poetic justice shows up again with the centaur Aphidas conjunct the Full Moon in Virgo. My December 7-8, 2022 Full Moon in Gemini post shared about Aphidas:
Ovid, writing in Metamorphosis about the chaos that occurred during the wedding of Pirithous, had this to say: “Aphidas was one of the Centaurs who attended the wedding of Pirithous, became drunk on wine and, following the lead of Eurytus, who assaulted Hippodame, began to assault and rape any women they could grab. He passed out drunk before the Centuromachy started but was seen by Pirthous who took advantage of the situation and threw a spear at him, piercing him through the neck and killing the Centaur in his sleep.”
Basically, Aphidas, exhausted from attacking and raping several women, and drunk from too much wine, passed out, and was killed in his sleep. His executioner, Pirithous, saw this as fit punishment for his crimes.
The meaning of the name Aphidas is not certain, but most likely meant, “Not sparing”, as even this centaur, fallen asleep, was not spared from death.
We’re looking at a kind of poetic, vigilante justice that transpires through chaos. Two other figures from the December 7-8 Full Moon in Gemini return–also with a conjunction this time instead of a square from Virgo. Whatever friction these characters triggered in December 2022 will now come home to roost. My Gemini Full Moon post shared about Orcus:
The Plutino … Orcus energy is somewhat similar to Pluto, another God of the Underworld. Orcus wants to go deep and challenges our integrity, especially if we have taken oaths. This could apply to the Hippocratic Oath, military and police oaths, or the political Oath of Office. Anyone involved in these areas would be wise to reread any oaths you’ve taken and honestly assess if you’re doing what you swore to do. It could also include journalistic codes of ethics. Make course corrections before Orcus forces your hand, because “just following orders” won’t cut it. As information continues to spread worldwide, things could get interesting!
In mythology Thereus was the bear-hunting centaur that dragged the poor creatures out of their dens, rudely carried them home very much alive and certainly with sore heads. Thereus experienced a big shift in orbit in 1924 due to [its] proximity to Saturn, Zane Stein observed at that time Lenin died, while Stalin had been waiting patiently in the wings. He called it “Lurking, then pouncing”[1]. …
[This lurking is] a little more subtle than utter stalking. With Thereus he is quietly observing his prey, trying to influence their thoughts, a voyeur, not physically doing anything to depose them. Thereus types wait patiently for years until they finally get their prize. …
Thereus is patient, but a bit sinister, like a vulture wishing [its] dinner would just hurry up and die. …
I think that means being in the right place at the right time, maybe this is someone who inadvertently benefits from the misfortunes of others. It’s not deliberate!, they just happened to be there when the lead singer fell of the stage and broke his leg, or when those plasma screens fell off the lorry… Still if you are always there. …
Panning back on the world stage, we may wonder, “What’s really going on here? Are we being prepped for a big switcheroo?” We’ve certainly seen a lot of recent changes in leadership. One world leader retires and a non-elected someone immediately pops onto the stage. Think of the UK’s string of leadership changes, or Jacinda Ardern retiring in New Zealand. I expect to see more of these sudden exits with understudies waiting in the wings.
On a personal level, this “waiting in the wings” energy presents as upgrading the people in our lives. Background connections could reveal themselves in more obvious ways. The Cosmic Dealer shuffles the deck. Affirming “if not this, then something better” will help us align with and benefit from new people in our immediate surroundings. If you have a message or role in the New energies, now’s your time to step forward, as there will be a power vacuum.
Remember, Full Moon energy unfolds over the next four weeks. While we can’t predict exactly how all of these aspects will play out, we feel the rumbling. They say, “Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” or in this case a bunch of hot lava pulsing to explode. Liberation energies abound, but things could get messier before any real cleanup occurs. Don’t live in fear, but do practice situational awareness. Pay attention to your intuition and affirm, “I am always in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.”
I’ve heard from so many people, beginning late last week and through Tuesday, especially this past Monday, who expressed extreme despair, darkness and even horror at things they were learning, Shadows being revealed to them, and a feeling of complete disconnect from any sense of Divinity. Monday seemed to bring the worst of it, hitting many people who usually manage to find the positive in even the direst circumstances. I did my best to field sessions, emails, texts and in person conversations, but it struck me just how intense that period was for a lot of people!
Then, yesterday (Wednesday), I heard from everyone who’d been having such struggles who wanted to share that the negative, oppressive energy had mysteriously lifted and not to worry about them anymore. Like clockwork.
Today, we have a Full Moon in Virgo, which helps with analyzing what stays and what goes, what serves and what harms. We also have powerful, detailed communication opportunities, as well as a chance to ground deeply into the Earth. Virgo is an Earth sign ruled by airy Mercury, so this Full Moon favors expression about the Earth, along with messages to and from the Earth. I don’t have an explanation for why this past weekend and Monday were so incredibly intense for so many people. By contrast, those I know who’ve done a lot of Shadow Work seemed to find all sorts of openings occur right around that same time. I suspect we just experienced a massive cleanse, so if you felt like you were losing it this week, I wanted to share that many others were, too.
Instead of criticizing yourself for the emotions, I’d suggest using the clarity of this Virgo Full Moon to assess what you learned from the recent upheaval. The current energies favor a new found clarity and the lightness that comes from permitting yourself to make a long withheld decision. You don’t need to take immediate action on that decision, but if you’ve recently felt new found clarity after the maelstrom, give yourself permission to enjoy the new calm.
Happy Full Moon! Lots of good information about Virgo and the ongoing T-Square: “Where to we need to be more selective in our lives? And where do we need to be more accepting? … Where can we find collaboration with other people? … How can we be the peacemaker?” Look for the opening, the opportunity to release habitual beliefs and replace these with something new.
From YouTube:
Join Sonja as she shares about several upcoming Astrological events:
* Full Moon in 26 degrees of Virgo (on March 16th, 2014 at 1:08pm EDT)
* Uranus in Aries making a square to Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn
* Mercury (ruler of Virgo) in Aquarius
* T-square to the Galactic Center (27 degrees of Sagittarius)
Where do you need to be more selective?
Where more accepting?
Laura Bruno's Blog 