New Moon in Virgo 2025: Ascent of the Royal Virgin

On August 23 at 2:05 am EST, the Moon will conjoin with the Sun in the first degree of Virgo. This will be the first of 2 meetings of the Sun and Moon in the sign of Virgo this year, with the second meeting on the 21st of September in the 30th degree.

The Mars/ Saturn (plus Neptune) opposition which was nearly exact at the Full Moon in Leo on 8/9 is slowly separating, with Mars now in the 11th degree of Libra and both Saturn and Neptune retrograding toward Pisces: this lunation will be significantly less charged than the last 2 lunations in Leo, especially for people with important placements in the early degrees of Cardinal and Fixed signs.

However, this is the beginning of eclipse season, which now is in the 19th degree of the Virgo/ Pisces axis, the Head of the Dragon is in Pisces and the Tail is in Virgo: eclipse season brings its own challenges, and these challenges are often hardest on established power centers. This lunation will sit outside of a meaningful orb of the eclipse points, but within the affected signs. The next Full Moon on 9/7 will be a total lunar eclipse well within the orb.

In the New Moon chart for the East Coast of the US, the midheaven/ IC axis- the highest and lowest points of the sky- will tightly conjoin the axis of Rahu and Ketu, the eclipse points, drawing attention to what is to come.

This lunation brings us to the first decan of Virgo, ruled by Mercury according to Triplicity, and by the Sun according to the descending Chaldean order. Mercury rules Virgo, and it is also the sign of his exaltation: it is the only sign where the ruler is also the exaltation ruler.

Ancient people knew that the tension, conflict and harmonious coupling between opposing and polar forces, the Masculine and the Feminine, was the generative force of the universe: observation and understanding that force is the source of both Magic and Science. The Great Goddess gives birth to Creation, and Mercury is the archetype who pursues her secrets tirelessly and humbly, and always positions himself to best understand her Magic.

Virgo is the season when many of the Goddess’ fruits come to maturity (Virgin). This is the time when the merchant must begin to dispassionately assess the coming harvest. The apples that are brown and infested must be discarded, the wheat must be separated from the chaff. Overly sanguine projections of any kind could land the merchant in deep trouble, as could a lack of diversification. Experimentation in new products as well as developing new markets are crucial elements of continued prosperity.

Hellenistic Astrology tells us that Mercury is allied neither with the Day Sect (Sun, Saturn and Jupiter) nor with the Night Sect (Moon, Mars and Venus). He remains mercenary and mercurial, able to couple with either sect. This gives him an androgynous nature, but not because of confusion about his identity or any other mental derangement; nor is it a childish gambit to gain attention or to transgress established norms.

My book, Venus in Virgo: Archetypes of Goddess Consciousness in Astrology, explores this idea in much greater detail.

This decan describes the philosopher/ scientist who observes the Natural Order as it is, and sees that it must unfold as Creation intended. The Sun gives us clear and totalizing vision with an understanding of Natural Order and Law, but it is never enough to simply declare that one sees the Truth in any particular moment of time. The nature of the Goddess is tidal change, a ritual of death and rebirth. One must clearly see the larger forces behind all of this.

Virgo is the territory of the Goddess who has become flesh: her flesh manifests as the sustaining gifts of nature’s bounty. The constantly changing and unfolding nature of Creation cannot be rushed or delayed. An excess of moisture or heat is as likely to destroy a crop as is a drought or a prolonged cold snap. Excess nourishment is often more dangerous than a minor deficiency.

The Sun looking through this Virgoan, Mercurial lens gives great authority, knowledge, practical wisdom and strength. Balance and presence are foundational to this territory: failure is quite possible when we lose sight of this delicate balance and over-insert ourselves into Nature’s processes.

This territory can be particularly harsh to those who claim solar authority yet live in artificially constructed worlds that deny Natural Law and Order. Modern Scientism that promotes heliophobia, fear of the Sun, proclaiming pharmaceutical infallibility, while denying the biological reality of sex, or claiming to truly understand genetics falls under this category.

The Dark Moon is the liminal realm of the Goddess Hecate. Hecate is the arch-Daemon who travels between worlds, much like Mercury: she is the archetypal magician protector who comes before and after Persephone, a mythic manifestation of the Life Force, as she moves to and from the Underworld. She is like Magic itself that exudes from the Royal Virgin.

The Royal Virgin is conceived as the conjugal meeting of the Sun and Moon conjoins the fixed star Regulus on the day of its heliacal rising, which has only recently entered the Tropical constellation of Virgo. The Royal Star brings visibility, fame and great power, but also certain warnings: the Hindu lunar mansion that Regulus belongs to warns of “A severe asterism belonging to the Shudra caste (low caste Hindu) and favorable for acts of disgrace, destruction, deceit, imprisonment, beating, burning and poison when containing the Moon” according to Robson- an admonition directed at those who are not of royal caste. This star figures prominently in the charts of many famous people: for example, Donald Trump was born with his Mars applying closely to Regulus and his ascendant almost directly on top of it. Notably, this mansion is called “Magha”.

Venus rules the 4th house, Libra, from the final degrees of Cancer, the ascending sign: the 4th house tells us about home, ancestry and family. This decan is ruled by Jupiter and the Moon and speaks of great abundance and wealth, and like all of Cancer, it draws us back to our place of seeking comfort, and an acute awareness of our feelings. Here we can explore our emotions that arise when we aspire to wealth, beauty and leisure- does our family accept success and abundance, or does it view it with suspicion and distain? Venus will attempt to diplomatically advocate for the love of beauty, and for justice and harmony, but Libra is quite equivocal and may be troubled by inequity.

Mercury will be in the middle of Leo in a Mutual Reception to the Sun in Virgo.

Exalted Jupiter will be conjoining Sirius on the ascendant, ruling the Midheaven in the 9th house, Pisces. Sirius gives Jupiter a sense of the otherworldly, the aspiration to become Godlike and eternal. Vic DiCara describes this mansion, Pusya, with the Lotus Flower, the topmost part of a thing; it is also associated with nourishment of a spiritual kind. This mansion is the highest and most exalted place amongst the mansions for Jupiter.