Virgo season is upon us, rejoice!

After all of the annual pomp and circumstance of the LEO season, the SUN quietly and humbly enters the sign of VIRGO. In the Northern Hemisphere it arrives as we begin to dip into the autumn

season (who's gateway we entered on Lammas, August 1).

VIRGO is a mutable earth sign that is entrusted with the care of ourselves and our lives in a day to day manner. VIRGO is health and well-being (our own and being in service to others for theirs).

VIRGO was the original grain/agrarian/harvest Goddess and although modern astrology can lose sight of her ancestral roots, a Goddess she remains.

VIRGO is us caring for ourselves by working the land, bringing in the harvest and sifting through the seeds to decide what over the winter we shall consume and what we shall set aside for the seed stock for planting next year's crops.

This is a very serious endeavor and if not done properly, (in olden days), could result in deaths from starvation. This is why VIRGO takes work seriously and strives for excellence and perfection.

VIRGO knows that God meets us halfway and our sacred job is to get in there and work with what we have been given. VIRGO knows that God wants us to intervene and that is part of the perfection. Quality control and standards in the way we do anything is one of VIRGO's gifts.

Hovelsrud Farm Historic Garden Reconstruction in Helgoya Island, Norway

VIRGO understands that everything is a series of interconnected systems and if everyone does their part and gives it their best, then all of life will flow and work.

Viking Woodcarver, photographer unknown

Conversely, if anyone down the line defaults on their responsibility to do their part well, it results in systemwide dysfunction. This is where VIRGO's tendency to be critical and controlling stems from. It's actually also in service of the well-being of the life force.

VIRGO does 'alone' better than any other sign and even if a householder, there is always something monastic and scholarly about them. For their sanity and for the health of their families, they must have periodic time alone to recalibrate. Even a short little time alone, a walk or a meditation in the woods, can perk them up something fierce. If you love one of these magical creatures, keep this in mind as if you find one grumpy, that can nearly almost always help set them aright.

Amanita by Phred Petersen

We begin this VIRGO season fresh from the mighty American Eclipse and everything is still super-charged from its passage. Also we are in a MERCURY retrograde in the sign of VIRGO, opposite NEPTUNE. The medicine of this retrograde is to remind VIRGO to not get too rigid in her search for perfection. PISCES reminds VIRGO that there is perfection in the imperfection. Keep a little wabi sabi, a little natural funk to allow the magic to seep in.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In its retrograde motion MERCURY (who is the ruler of VIRGO) will retreat back into LEO and will turn direct on September 5, at the same degree of the eclipse! That is significant. VIRGO helps us to integrate what we just received as a global download.

The period between now and then is best used doing what VIRGO does best: cleaning, clearing, purging, making space, allowing for fresh energy and chi to flow through your space, and prepare for the hunkering down of winter. Take advantage of these beautiful warm days and open all the windows and doors, even the ones you normally leave closed.

Sage your space, tackle a closet or kitchen cabinet; attack that random recycling pile or slowly accumulating dump run. Clear and clean it out! It is so therapeutic.

RHS Garden, Harlow Carr

VIRGO is paving the way for LIBRA, when we emerge from our hermitages and rediscover other people. Once we reach SCORPIO, its one holiday festival/party after another until January. Take this time now to really be with this time of your life. What is the harvest that is unique to this time and place? Don't miss it for nostalgia or future tripping... you can never come back to

THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. Drink it in.

And now, time to get to work! Chop wood, carry water, for winter is coming!

Wishing you vibrant health! Paetra Tauchert, Astrologer

http://www.paetratauchertastrology.com/