New Moon & Partial Solar Eclipse in Virgo Horoscopes

What urgently requires refinement in your life right now?

Consider for a moment how maple syrup is made. The average understanding is that a spout gets tapped into a sap-filled tree, and out it pours. This is a reasonable, yet wrong, assumption. What comes out of the tree is actually 98% water and 2% sugar, and must be painstakingly distilled to become the thick amber goodness we pour on pancakes.

Every aspect of our lives requires our sacred collaboration to be fully realized; but when we expect perfection, we bypass alchemy. Here lies the razor edge of Virgo: the source codes of possibility are everywhere we look, but the answer is not simply handed over as a finished product; what would be the point of incarnating if someone else did your homework for you? The secret is that this life is an open-notes test.

Virgo New Moon Partial Solar Eclipse on September 21 at 3:54pm Eastern Time U.S.

Chris Abatzis

What in your life requires urgent refinement that can no longer be put off, ignored, internalized, or postponed? What is the conversation you’re tired of having (with yourself or others)? How many times have you punched the same equation into the calculator hoping for a different answer? Name it, face it, integrate, then refine it.

29° degree transits require all hands on deck, one hundred percent of your cooperation; it is the approach of finality. Imagine the midwives gathered round, arms outstretched for the ten centimeter push; the moment here becomes there, teetering on a precipice where life looks irrevocably new. (I don’t say this to imply “transits dictate your life;” I mean you can make your life look different now.)

Full timeline of eclipses on the Virgo & Pisces axis:

1. September 17, 2024: lunar eclipse at 26° Pisces

2. March 13, 2025: lunar eclipse at 24° Virgo

3. September 7, 2025: lunar eclipse at 15° Pisces

4. September 21, 2025: solar eclipse at 29° Virgo

5. March 3, 2026: lunar eclipse at 13° Virgo

6. August 28, 2026: lunar eclipse at 5° Pisces

7. February 20, 2027: lunar eclipse at 2° Virgo

Solar eclipses activate the south node; what’s been bothering you to the point of repetition and fixation? The Princess and the Pea comes to mind in the way that the same grain of sand that is inconsequential to the naked eye is also big enough to cause a blister. Nothing is too small to name right now.

“The same grain of sand that is inconsequential to the naked eye is also big enough to cause a blister. Nothing is too small to name right now.”

That is the simple distillation of a 29° solar eclipse in Virgo. It’s the clink clink before the chain falls off the bike, the moment the gears stopped shifting and the pedals get stuck. You don’t need to meditate, you need a damn wrench.

A little humor to get us through the week.

Personal note — about a week after the last eclipse in Pisces, I restarted The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron — and I kid you not, the first day of morning pages, spirit dropped the entire plot of a three-book fantasy arc in my lap. That eclipse was the exact same degree as my Venus, so I was expecting my creativity to become illuminated… just not necessarily with a project so unanticipated or outside my current area of expertise. But if I’ve learned anything it’s to trust the nudges you’re given, and so here I am now, 8,000 words deep in the first draft of a fantasy novel. To start a project like this during eclipse season has been revealing. I went from words pouring out faster than my fingers could type to three days with barely 100 words amassed. I’m realizing more and more that the art of showing up is the love language that gets you across the finish line, but showing up is allowed to look different every day. (All but one of my personal planets fall between Virgo and Pisces, in their natural houses) — and I only just now realized how much energy it takes me to find my way back to center when the scales tip too far towards one.

Without incremental refinement, many ideas become too broad, overwhelming, flimsy, or intangible. Where have you shorted yourself the gift of refinement by expecting perfection or a finished product too soon? What has been revealed to you this month that would benefit from creative refinement?

Horoscopes:

What is in need of refinement in house of 29° Virgo? Check my tutorial if you want help finding it!

(These horoscopes draw influence from the Herbal Astrology Oracle Deck, which I wholeheartedly recommend for plant magic babes who want to learn how to blend herbal wisdom with astrology. It felt like the perfect companion to this post.)

1st house | Damiana, The Beloved: How lovable do you consider yourself to be? Do you treat yourself as a quest for perfection, making small adjustments here and there depending on the gaze you seek? Can you put down the sculptor’s tool for just a moment, and consider if you’ve been a little too fixated on self-improvement lately? You are your own beloved, and it’s important that you recognize your inherent perfection. That doesn’t mean you’re without growth edges or shadows, it’s simply a reminder that no pieces were left out of your puzzle box. What could be refined to help remind you of your innate wholeness? “Damiana reminds us of the importance of shaking off rigidity that often depletes creative reserves and sacred play. Nourish your creative centers.”

2nd house | St. John’s-Wort, Radiance: Does it really provide the most value if it compromises your radiance? If you had a dry erase marker and your life was the whiteboard, what would you wipe off to make space for desire? What’s been stuck up there for so long it might require some elbow grease to get off? The card of St. John’s-wort is the reminder that abundance must also be joyous, and that “avoidance and distraction from this great knowing are unconscious habits that build up and manifest a scarcity.“ The shadow of the second house is the tendency to fixate on what you don’t have; whether that’s a dollar amount, publishing deal, follower count, sense of belonging… This is your invitation to refine your sources of abundance by prioritizing what rejuvenates your radiance. They are inextricably linked (Jupiter rules joy & abundance as two sides of the same coin for this reason).

3rd house | Mugwort, Psychic Healing: Your foresight seeks and craves refinement. Where have you been distracted or squabbling over the past, steps halted? Your brilliance is countered only by the broken records that oscillate back and forth in your mind. If you’ve been stuck in a narrative recently, consider psychic healing as a path to refinement. “Confront that which is unworthy of your devotion. Eradicate destructive forces. You are not lost. Intuit aspects of your life that may still lay in darkness.” Which is to say, this solar eclipse is revealing the repetitive stories ambling around in the background of your mind like a runaway train. Sit down like a loving editor, pop off the cap of your red pen, and strike them from the record. How can you refine your mental capacity and areas of focus?

4th house | Echinacea, Destiny: Family patterns are feeling the heat right now, and you might get dizzy trying to categorize habits or people into binary terms. In truth, it’s fluid and ever-changing. You are of service to your lineage in ways both known and unseen, with a ripple effect that you may never directly encounter. Instead of fixating on the people you can’t change, consider how the wheels of fate turn with every intention you plant; every moment you choose to respond differently than the people before, is the new blueprint being carved. You set an example just by putting one foot in front of the other. This card serves as a reminder of evolutionary consciousness, and maybe also a bump of encouragement if you read this on a day when you feel like you’re not doing enough for or about your loved ones. How can you refine your home systems and boundaries to the elevation of all?

5th house | Passionflower, Surrender: What projects have you been holding onto so tightly with a white knuckle grip that you’ve crushed the life and joy out of them? This eclipse is attempting to release the vise of expectation placed around your art and creativity so that it may have room to wiggle, breathe, and shift. When you relinquish control over the process, you liberate the outcome. “Passionflower symbolizes surrender, sacrifice, and the crucifixion of the ego. Passionflower resembles the need to sacrifice in order to make space and move forward.” There might be an iteration, draft, or version of your dream that needs you to soften your grip or let go completely. What aspects of your creativity can you refine through surrender?

6th house | Calendula Reversed, Purity: Stop playing purity politics with your own life. You dislike when you see that on the news or with a friend, and yet behind closed doors, you hold yourself to impossible standards. You give other people allowances to be in-progress, so why is that never extended inwards? This expectation of perfection is polluting the purity of your channel, service, maybe even your body. With calendula reversed, you might be “resisting new beginnings” or feel jaded around manifestation. All the self-help books and horoscopes might be bleeding together right now into one big blob of “what’s the point.“ Do not let cynicism rob suck dry the purity of your creations. Since the astrological ruler of this plant is the sun, and this is a solar eclipse, I’d like to emphasize the importance of you remembering what charges your life force. What would genuinely fill your cup right now? I should also note this card came flying out of the deck when it was the sixth house turn. What part of your daily life is in urgent need of refinement to return to what makes it special?

7th house | Dandelion, Wounded Healer: You have a tendency to treat people like projects. The catch is, whatever you seek to fix in others is an extension of your own healing. This solar eclipse is revealing the ego required to think you can be the reason someone changes, or that you yourself are exempt from the microscope. This is a loving reminder that it takes two to tango, and you might need to soften your grip a little bit. “Take ownership over your wounds. Don’t let your pain define your personality.” I would take this a step further specifically for this horoscope and say, don’t let your pain define your relationships. You look for patterns as a way to protect yourself, but when combined with hyper-vigilance, you risk pushing people away by digging for signs that might not be there. How can you refine your relationships by taking ownership of your own wounds and return the choice to heal back to the other person?

8th house | Bobinsana, Trust: What aspects of your life could be refined with a bit more trust? Trust in another, in yourself, in an outcome, in ultimate alignment? I’m guilty of waxing on and on about psychological development in the eighth house; shadows, paranoia, sex, inheritance. All the obvious players. I feel called to point out that the more you trust yourself, the more powerful you get. In times of massive overhaul and transformation, you might try to plan your way around big surprises… and the psyche can get stuck in “freeze mode.” How can you honor what is trying to transform or purge in your life, by refining through trust? “Bobinsana assists us in rediscovering forgotten places within ourselves […] awakening the inner pathways to unconditional self love.”

9th house | Cacao Reversed, Initiation: When you board an airplane you don’t tell the pilot how to do their job, so why are you doubting your vision and the height it’s capable of? This solar eclipse could be revealing lack of self-trust or where you’re currently in your own way. Overthinking the logistics, the practicalities, or not thinking about them enough; either way, if you’ve felt like a stalling car lately, this would explain why. How can you refine your big picture by getting out of your own way? Consider your studies, explorations, and ideologies. Where are you blocking a process of initiation? “Step out of your own way, and allow your heart to blossom.”

10th house | Skullcap Reversed, Stillness: Your work is stagnant because you’ve milked the cow for all she’s worth. You’ve cut down the last tree in your forest of reserves; the mill must pause. The earth must be allowed to replenish itself within you. In other words, you are experiencing burnout. Despite all of this, there’s an indication that you are having trouble moving on. Perhaps it’s the simple fear that you don’t know where your career goes from here, or that this is all you’ve ever known. The silly little ego of the south node being illuminated is the story that through sheer effort alone, you prolong the necessary evolution of your purpose. How can your career be refined through stillness? “You’ve just weathered or are weathering a storm. Ground deeply into the present moment. If you feel fear, find consolation in stillness as it re-adapts. Take the time to birth a new structure that supports a new vision of yourself.”

11th house | Rue Reversed, Protection: It’s time for a friend group recalibration, digital detox, and aura clearing. You’ve been trying to be everything to everyone for a little too long now, and an unfortunate side effect of being a do-gooder is that your actions can still be taken the wrong way. You cannot keep everyone happy, and some people stay committed to misunderstanding you. With the added interpretation of this card, you could be affected by “parasitic energies, judgment, or self-hatred” at the moment. “Don’t allow parasitic negativity to darken your field, which can create perpetual states of self-criticism.“ How does your circle and outside access to you require refinement?

12th house | Tobacco, Offering: It’s time to refine your gifts! You are an esoteric jack of all, you have countless creative outlets, all of them deserving and worthy of you. Refinement rooted in joy asks, “what do I feel called to elevate through increased care and dedication?” You don’t have to abandon other avenues of spirituality or art, but this is a message to get clear about your offering. Allow this eclipse to strip away anything blocking the alignment of a deeper purpose. “Offer your actions as a divine gift, selflessly and in-service to the sacred. Grandfather tobacco’s protective and powerful energy lovingly opens the doorway to the spirit world to those who ask with humility and respect. Don’t allow the illusions of power to ignite destructive behaviors or propel you toward addictive habits.” How can you refine your offering and spiritual practice at this time?

To the moon and back,
Ocean