Perfection is an illusion: A Reflection on the Full Moon in Virgo
Perfection is an illusion. You can always go further. You can always do better. You can always do more. This doesn’t mean to stress out about what you are or aren’t doing (which is certainly a tendency of Virgoan energy), but the opposite. Don’t let your perfectionism interrupt your practice. Just start. If you can, run towards your destiny. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. If you can’t crawl, imagine you’re crawling and don’t forget to breathe. These days see no shortage of yoga bodies in perfect postures on beautiful beaches. But the only thing you MUST do in yoga, is breathe. Someone without arms and legs who’s bedridden can have a much more productive and beautiful practice than long-limbed ladies donning Lulu Lemon leggings, if they can find stillness, breath and a smile.
The moon is still very pregnant in Virgo — the Earth sign most prone to falling into perfectionism. Opposing Virgo is Pisces, with its ruler Neptune (conjunct Mercury) playing a significant role in this lunation. Neptune and Pisces are often considered the masters of illusion. But what, in this dynamic world, is more of an illusion than rationality … linearity? What is more real than the dynamic and uncontrollable realities of all ecological beings? Virgo — the ruling sign of the bodies we’re in and the one Earthly body we share — is a mutable sign. When it’s healthy, it is resilient, flexible, able to take on the most work and complete the necessary practicalities. Like my yoga teacher said last night, yoga is less about flexibility and more about stability. The more stable you are, the more flexible you can become. Virgo couldn’t agree more.
Taurus wants material pleasures to the skin. Capricorn wants structural alignment. But Virgo values the inner fortitude, each individual muscle between skin and bone that allows us to stand up fully on our own. Each sign of the Zodiac represents a different energy, a different phase of our evolution and a different point in our lives. Virgo represents the times in our lives when it’s time to break away from what we have known and what has been comfortable to stand on our own two feet. It’s the energy of moving out of your parents’ house, graduating from college, moving on from a long-term relationship, moving somewhere new to pursue your passions and embark upon your own journey and life. You know there will be freedom, but there can also be angst about whether or not you can actually do it. Virgo is a necessary energy to embody in order to reach the next phase, when we encounter the other, step out into the world and create partnerships with those who will, undoubtedly, have different ideas and experiences than our own. When you meet the other, will you be able to maintain your stance and remain open to change?
Virgo is the sign of service. Virgo is the virgin. In classical culture, a virgin was a woman who belonged to herself, not a chaste or abstinent woman. While virgins in classical culture practiced spiritual rites that required immense sacrifices — among which, were often periods of abstinence — ultimately, they tended to have more power and freedom (social, political and sexual) than many men, let alone other women. A virgin did not need a man to protect her or support her. She could do it herself. Virgo does not need you.
Each sign of the Zodiac rules over a different anatomical system or area of the body, but Virgo also represents health as a whole and the rhythm and discipline required to keep bodies healthy, whole and satisfied. Virgo taps into the natural rhythm of the body. Virgo is natural. Virgo experiences the inner-workings of the body in a way that’s completely unique. Virgoan energy is not impressed by your outer attempts to adorn yourself or appear a certain way. Virgo will strip you of the suits you put on to slim and shape yourself. Virgo will peel away your layers of foundation and remove your jewelry and clothing. Virgo wants to know, what do you really look like in your natural state? In your natural habitat? Have you REALLY done the work? Are those muscles pumped temporarily? Is your inner core strong, or do you just have a 6-pack? Virgo can tell whether or not you’ve been practicing every day.
Virgo looks for what is real. Because it is an independent sign, it’s an energy that is not easily impressed. But where and when this energy finds alignment, it lends its own daily devotion with a commitment unmatched by any other sign. If you’re aligned with your truest and most honest self during the period of this full moon and beyond, you might find or recover your own sense of devotion, too.
Virgo represents the outer and practical structures necessary to facilitate spiritual transcendence and communion. Virgo knows that both god and the devil are in the details. A subtle change can make an immense difference. The tiniest shift can open up an entirely new world. Virgo is discerning. Virgo can separate the wheat from the chaff — and the more closely they seem to resemble one another, the more obvious the distinction from a Virgoan point of view. Complexity and chaos are no match for the fine-tooth comb of a Virgoan mind. On the one-hand, this can be nit-picky. On the other hand, it can give name and distinction to that which previously seemed invisible — and the power of naming is a liberation project all its own.
At the exact time of the full moon, the moon was at 0°of Virgo — this denotes a new beginning — most likely, in the area of life Virgo rules in your chart. Neptune and Mercury were conjunct at the time of this full moon and that makes for powerful dreams and visions, even if some confusing messages in the waking world. Don’t try too hard yet to discern the messages you think you’re receiving. Virgo fasts. Virgo detoxes. Virgo detoxes. Let go! Connect to the messages you receive in your body. Your body doesn’t lie.
Saturn and Venus were also conjunct in Capricorn — this can feel like challenge to your abundance. It can also look like the beauty of mastery. No one else knows how hard you’re working. When Venus and Saturn conjoin, you may feel like you’re putting in every effort and getting nowhere. But in reality, most likely, people surrounding you are in awe of your strength, your grace, your form, your content, your mind, your love, your body, your gifts of all kinds. If during this time, someone tells you something amazing about who you are or what you do, BELIEVE THEM! And then, KEEP DOING AND BEING THE THING! Virgo keeps doing the thing. Virgo will hold on when the thing is way past its time. But this is a new time. Keep doing the thing.
Allow yourself to receive a breakthrough this week about your own sense of self-worth. Full moons are culminations, not releases — but Virgo is a sign of release. If you’re going to release anything this week, let it be everything that prevents you from seeing your worth, your value, how much you have to offer the world. As I wrote previously, Virgo is devoted. Virgo is the sign of service. You are here to serve the world, but you’re unlikely to do so well if you can’t see everything you have to offer it. You can’t serve the world well if you can’t see and feel your own sense of worth. You are worthy. You are worthy. You are worthy of everything you desire. You are a bright light here to serve the world in ways that no one else can. See how valuable you are. Your entire being is a valuable energetic resource. Let go of whatever depletes that resource and maintain everything necessary to continue allowing it to regenerate.
You are stronger than you know. So now it’s time to take the risk and put yourself out there in the world in a new way. You can stand there on your own two feet (or one or whatever else you might use to ground yourself and remain upright). You can do the thing you’re most afraid to do — this I can absolutely promise you. Now go do it! I love you all. Keep living the life that’s calling you no matter what!
AT-che!!!
Lots of love under the light of the Virgo Full Moon,
Hilary
**If you’d like to learn more about how these energies affect your chart and can help change your life, email me at Hilary@instituteforearthbasedliving.com or schedule an Intuitive Restoration Session at www.instituteforearthbasedliving.com/intuitiverestoration.**
