Sun in Virgo, Moon in Pisces.  The 180˚ opposition of a full moon, the pull of two opposing signs or energies, is what makes some people “luna-tics” at the Full Moon. This Full Moon highlights what is often one of the most challenging oppositions in the zodiac: the very analytical and precision-oriented Virgo energy versus the very dreamy, visionary and more non-specific Pisces energy.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, the last stage of human evolution. It is governed by Neptune, the planet that represents the unconscious or deeper parts of our selves. Neptune is our link to the beyond, to the place where our dreams and our awareness begin to meet, merge, and become more formless. The ultimate truths are the domain of Pisces: our consciousness and all we know that exists here in physical reality have actually sprung out of a larger energetic place, the world of psyche, soul, archetype and dreams. Not everyone who is a Pisces Sun may experience life in this way, but the sign of Pisces is in everyone’s chart somewhere, and is our connection to our spiritual path.

This, of course is all pooh-poohed by our “official” culture of materialism and acquisitiveness. It says nothing in the imagination is real, unless we can hold it in our hands, see it, analyze it, and grab hold of it with our thoughts, prove it. This is the domain of Virgo. Virgo is the 6th sign of the zodiac, the last sign that deals with the individual’s need to develop their own unique sensibilities: thinking clearly, working “smart,” and taking care of the body and one’s relationship to physical reality. The themes of the rest of the signs, 7th through 12th, (Libra through Pisces) deal predominantly with relating to others, our achievements in the outside world, and the world beyond physical reality. The energy of Virgo is necessary for us to be able to discriminate, to tell this from that, to make choices based upon the facts, and their possible results. How well we navigate this territory and learn Virgo’s lessons will affect our relationships and what we are able to accomplish, as well as prepare us for our transition out of this world.

As is true with any sign or energy polarity, too much emphasis upon either of these two signs will either put us in a state that is impossibly perfectionistic and critical, or so loose that we lose our sense of self and end up living in a dream world, retreating and escaping from reality and responsibility.

The Pisces Moon in this chart is one degree away from Chiron, the planetoid that represents the wounded healer of the zodiac. In the culture of violence that we have created on this planet, the people who carry our dreams, our intuitives and healers, have been so persecuted and maligned for centuries that the official society pays no real attention to them. We have come so far in the development of our relationship to the physical world that our egos have grown preponderantly large, controlling, and in many cases, drunk with the pursuit of power. Like the tower of Babel imagery, this overblown power has become inflated, and thus violent, cruel, sadistic, and indifferent to anything but its own desires and goals. Symptomatic of this is the gigantic emphasis in our media upon conquering with violence, guns, explosions and destruction of all sorts. The archetype of the Tower in the tarot deck offers compelling imagery that echoes the World Trade Center’s demise. When we believe our personal power is greater than the archetypal forces around us, the archetypes win every time, hands down. If we no longer listen to our dreams and our hearts, we cannot hear the calling of our deeper selves, urging us to connect with a larger vision, larger than our personal viewpoint to know what energies are forming around us.

At this Full Moon, the Sun & Moon both square (form 90˚ angles to) Jupiter (called a T-square). Jupiter is the planet of more and more, of expansion and growth. T-squares involve a call to monitor that energy, since it can be too strong, too out of control. We may have too much excitement, too much anxiety running in our collective nervous system. We may want to consider where we can hold back, use restraint, meditate, apply that analytical Virgo energy to our Pisces deeply feeling energy in a balanced way.

We’ve had a very challenging last two weeks of Mars being conjoined with Saturn. Tempers flared, accidents happened, anxieties mounted as the planet of action merged with the planet of limitation.  (See Leo New Moon). Mars has now moved on and is in Scorpio. Since it trines (forms a 120˚ angle) the Moon, Chiron and Neptune at this Full Moon, Mars is an important harmonious point in this chart for us to get in touch with our passion, for what turns us on and keeps the inner fires glowing. Emotional intensity is fine in short bursts, but there’s no need to get attached to it. We can let go of our intensity in order to gain groundedness and good common sense (Sun in Virgo).

We are headed for another exact square (90˚) of Uranus and Pluto on the 18th of September. (The first one was June 24th.) This will be #2 of seven squares, ending in 2015. Much has been written here and elsewhere about the importance of this event as a marker of necessary breakdown and rebuilding of the essential structures by which we do business on this planet, as well as opening to new levels of awareness. With the Virgo Sun trine to Pluto at this Full Moon, we are being asked to look at the dramatic changes around us as the keys that will open doors to new ways of living, new understandings of how to use (and not use) our power in the world. Linking our will to our heart is the key to operating with a sense of being guided by the larger forces around us, rather than battling against them and living our lives as victims of circumstances. We each have a hand in creating our reality. Knowing this is a huge responsibility, but one which empowers us to make choices that are beneficial not only to ourselves, but to all our relations.