Year: 2020

“Earth that gives to us this food,
Sun that makes it ripe and good,
Dearest Earth and dearest Sun,
We’ll not forget what you have done.”   Waldorf grace

“It’s a small planet, but so very beautiful.” The Green Devotional 

“Earth signs understand patience and strategy, and Virgo is a master analyst. Virgo savors the fulfillment of work completed, which is reached by shutting out the noise, and homing-in on practical achievement in the now.” Victoria Emory

Everyday,  at the end of the day I walk to a hill behind my house where there is a community garden. Two of the plots there are flower gardens – carefully and skillfully tended with brilliantly colorful nasturtiums, zinnias and snapdragons. It is a time at the end of the day that I get to share with butterflies, birds and a baby hawk learning to fly – whistling joyfully on his newly found wings  high up in the sky.

We are moving into a season governed by the Earth element as the Sun enters the sign of Virgo tomorrow  – joining Mercury – making this a particularly good time to visit and  appreciate special places in the natural world.

The Seven of Pentacles in Waite’s Tarot deck depicts a gardener, leaning on her hoe, looking down wistfully at a bush in her garden.  This image is a reminder of the natural cycles of time and that often we wish that things would happen more quickly than they do.

But Virgo is a mental sign that is good with planning and strategy and it wise to take this kind of patient approach now.

It also bodes now  to use and direct energy wisely  as Mars applies to a challenging aspect to Saturn. Mars is about action and Saturn is a planet of restriction. Best to avoid overwork and create a reasonable time line for reaching goals. Watch for impatience. Irritability also can be on the rise. This aspect will be in influence through mid October due to the retrograde period of Mars. And it will be in influence in mid December as Mars transits back in direct motion.

Mercury is moving into a harmonious aspect with Uranus – so watch for innovative and out of the box ideas and solutions. This influence  will prevail through the 29th.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A woman sprinkling long rows of flowers.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Life is simple and gay
The bright sun rings with a quiet sound
The sound of the bells has quieted down
The morning light hits it all
The footlights of my head are finally lit again
And the room I live in is finally bright.” Pierre Reverdy

“Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine
Let the sun shine in.” from  the musical Hair

The Moon waxes new on Tuesday August 18 at 10:41 PM EDT.  The Sun and Moon in the fiery sign of Leo bring hope, clarity, courage and support for new and creative ideas.

There is a joyousness contained in this sign which is illustrated on the Sun card in the Tarot Card deck. In this painting there is a young child riding bareback on a white horse. The child, symbolizing innocence and trust in the universe,  is smiling radiantly as they ride away from a wall. The wall represents the obstacles which had prevented progress. Brilliant yellow sunflowers tower over the grey wall symbolizing happiness.

This New Moon is a time for planting seeds for future hopes and aspirations – there can be big and bold plans now which can be tempered later in the week as the Moon, Mercury and Sun move into the pragmatic, organized sign of Virgo.

This is an excellent time for rejuvenation and for restoring and strengthening your inner light. We are living through challenging times which have provided  opportunities for personal and spiritual growth along the way. This is a good time to acknowledge them.

As I was taught when studying the symbolism of the Tarot, the light of the Sun shines in and illuminates all the dark corners of the room – things we haven’t been aware of can become more visible now.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”Daybreak- the luminescence of dawn in the eastern sky.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill