The Virgo Last Quarter Moon is when we hand our big, messy, Sagittarius draft over to our inner editor, who breaks it down, decides what’s realistic and essential, excises the excess, and tightens the prose.
Revive What’s Broken
I have a theory that everything and everyone has someone who is uniquely designed to love it. You see this reflected in our hobbies, our collections, and our passion projects. What is it that we love, that brings us pleasure? In a birth chart, that question is answered by the sign and house placement of Venus. And the journey of transiting Venus through the signs each year tells us what might catch our tastes for a month or so.
This week, Venus enters Scorpio (Dec. 4, 2023, 10:51 am PST, through Dec. 29). Scorpio compels us to love what is not conventionally lovable. To treasure cactus instead of roses, snakes instead of puppies, funerals instead of christenings, movies with complicated heroes and sad endings.
While Venus in Scorpio, the sign of resurrection, we’re called to love what scares us and to revive what’s broken.
The Big, Messy Draft
People who enjoy reading but are not themselves writers might imagine that the process of spilling words out onto the page is as effortless and enjoyable as it is to read them. But in fact, most writers write big, messy, awful first drafts that you wouldn’t enjoy reading at all, and that they probably didn’t love writing.
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what you want to say until you see some version of it written out, complete with every scrap of inspiration or half-formed idea, every half-finished sentence and mixed metaphor.
Now, you don’t hit “publish” on the blog post or send it to a publisher or agent in that desperate condition. You have to go back and address the punctuation issues, throw out what doesn’t work, and generally tidy things up.
While the Sun is in Sagittarius, we write a big, messy first draft of our big ideas and adventurous schemes for the new year that’s just around the corner. The sky’s the limit for our Sagittarius imaginations; our quivers are filled with arrows of ideas.
The Sagittarius season’s Virgo Last Quarter Moon (Dec. 4, 2023, 9:49 pm PST) is when we hand this big, messy draft over to our inner editor, who breaks it down, decides what’s realistic and essential, excises the excess, and tightens the prose. We don’t want to give up any of our Sagittarian arrows, but our only hope of making any dreams come true is to decide which scheme shows the most promise. And in this, Virgo excels.
Recovering Deeply
Venus in Scorpio trines Saturn (Dec. 5, 2023, 2:51 pm PST, 1º22’) on the Sabian symbol 2 Scorpio: A broken bottle and spilled perfume. Venus in Scorpio loves deeply and, when its heart is broken, grieves ?commensurately. After an emotional setback, the time will come to get back on our feet; but usually, it’s wise to first lay low and recover our emotional strength.
Hence the trine from Venus to Saturn, on the symbol 2 Pisces: A squirrel hiding from hunters.
In its most positive sense, Venus’ trine to Saturn can mark the deepening and formalizing of a relationship, and if that’s the case for you, warmest congratulations. But if you’re feeling hurt, unloved, undervalued, even betrayed… take this transit as a prescription to spend time alone to recover and to protect yourself from further harm. When we love deeply, and grieve deeply, we need time and space to recover deeply.
The Tide Comes In
Neptune, when it’s retrograde (as it has been since June 30), is like the beach when the tide is out. The landscape looks a little stark, littered with ropes of kelp, chunks of driftwood, and birds scavenging for something to eat.
It’s easier to walk on the compacted sand at the waterline, though. And Neptune’s retrograde times seem, to me, to be a time when we walk on more solid ground, with a clearer view of the inner and outer landscapes.
And then, when Neptune turns direct again (Dec. 6, 2023, 5:22 am PST), the tide comes in and we’re pushed back to the shifting sands of the shore – to sit, spellbound, lulled by the sounds of the waves. Enjoy their watery music, but keep a safe distance.
Never Give Up
There are those who don’t consider themselves especially inspired, but who manage, through sheer dint of determination, to reach the upper echelon of their chosen profession. The key is, simply, to never give up. That’s the gift of Mercury in practical, earthbound Capricorn as it makes a trine to abundant Jupiter in Taurus (Dec. 7, 2023, 8:09 pm PST), scooping up a jackpot as it stops by.
On the other hand, what worked yesterday might not succeed next week. Remember to raise your head up from your work now and then to see what’s going on around you, and take your cue from those who are moving forward in new ways. Especially now, as Capricorn’s ruling planet, Saturn, is in artistic and intuitive Pisces, let your eyes and your mind drift gently off course from time; there’s nothing wrong with adding a little woo-woo to your bag of tricks.
Diving Deep, Having Adventures
Venus in Scorpio opposes Jupiter this week (Dec. 9, 2023, 7:35 pm PST) on the Sabian symbol 7 Scorpio, Deep-sea divers. If there’s any place Scorpio likes, it’s someplace deep. One Scorpio man I know spent his career submerged up to six months at a time in a naval nuclear submarine; another Scorpio spent his deep underground in a nuclear missile silo. It takes a particular psychology to manage that kind of depth.
Venus in this sign is designed for similar depth in relationship. This is not a Venus for light chit-chat or one-night stands; it’s a Venus for soulful conversations and penetrating gazes.
However…its opposition to Jupiter attracts adventurers and philosophers. No sooner does Venus in Scorpio attach itself to someone important, than Jupiter is headed to the airport for an exotic adventure.
In an opposition aspect, we’re actually both people in the interaction. We want to form deep, transformation connections with others, but we may also want to have adventures, our own home, and separate bank accounts. It might take a while for it to sink in, but together, our deep connections and our independence combine to make us feel safe enough to indulge in both.
Writing and images © 2017-23 by April Elliott Kent
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