On February 24th, 2024 we have a Full Moon at 5° Virgo.

The Full Moon is opposite Saturn and Mercury in Pisces, and trine Jupiter in Taurus. The Full Moon in Virgo is an opportunity to examine our limiting beliefs about the role we play in this world.

Are we just born to work, eat, and die, or there’s a deeper purpose to our existence?

Thankfully, the trine to Jupiter will give us a helpful hand to make practical improvements to find a greater sense of fulfillment in our lives.

A Full Moon is fundamentally an opposition, inviting us to integrate the dichotomy of the signs involved in the opposition.

We are currently in the Pisces season. To fully embrace the Pisces agenda, we need to integrate the opposite qualities of Virgo.

What is Pisces’ agenda? To attain divine consciousness. Pisces’ goal is in a way our life’s purpose. When we elevate our individual consciousness, we elevate the consciousness of the divine.

But we can only achieve this Piscean divine, 5D mission if we embody Virgo: if we find meaningful, 3D ways to contribute. If we do something that makes the world a little bit better than we found it. If we are of service to the world.

Full Moon In Virgo – Being Of Service

The word ‘service’ oftentimes has a negative connotation. It doesn’t sound as sexy as Leo’s spotlight.

Being of service is often associated with being burdened with responsibilities. But that’s not what being of service is about – at least, not in Virgo’s books.

Being of service is not about being nice, giving things for free, or fulfilling a duty to appease our dharma (or unconscious sense of guilt).

Being of service is a natural aspect of our individuation.

Once we have discovered our true essence in the previous sign (Leo), being of service – or turning our uniqueness into something purposeful – is the natural next step in our evolution.

When we follow the natural flow of life, we can’t help ourselves but turn our talents into something that creates some sort of value in the world. That’s Virgo’s superpower: Virgo just ‘knows’ what something is good for.

Virgo, just like Gemini, is ruled by Mercury. With Virgo, we don’t have the Gemini intellectual, cerebral approach. Virgo’s knowing is anchored in nature and matter. If Gemini is our brain, Virgo is our gut – also called the “second brain”.

We have trillions of microorganisms in our gut, all coexisting in a complex ecosystem, each with its particular role in maintaining our health. We could extrapolate and say that being of service is knowing what our role in the big ecosystem of life is – and then acting according to that role.

The Virgo/Pisces axis is the axis of service. Pisces’ way of being of service is being compassionate, holding space, or even sacrificing individual needs for the greater good.

Virgo’s way of being of service is more concrete. Virgo will help in ways that are practical and measurable. Virgo’s way of helping is by improving something in material, tangible ways.

Virgo is also associated with work and harvest. Doing the Virgo work should not feel like hard work, but more like reaping the harvest. If something feels like hard work – if we resent doing it – then it’s likely not rooted in a genuine intention of being of service.

It’s faking “being of service” that become the shadow Virgo qualities: criticism, nagging, resentment, or intellectual snobbery.

But how do we embody the natural qualities of Virgo, and don’t get lost in the shadow expression?

Virgo – The Next Step Of Our Individuation Process

If someone is born with a Virgo signature this doesn’t mean that they naturally excel at all things Virgo. On the contrary. They were born to learn about, and embody these qualities. This goes for all the signs of the zodiac.

A ‘baby’ Virgo is still a little bit of a Leo. When the qualities of the sign are under development, there is a tendency to fall into the patterns of the previous sign.

We know that Leo is the unique creative expression of the Self. Leo needs to be seen and appreciated. So when we try to be a Virgo, but we’re still a Leo, of course, there will be some challenges.

My favorite example is Virgo’s proverbial “But I’m just trying to help” to justify harsh remarks, criticism, or unsolicited feedback.

When we say “I’m just trying to help” to justify criticism, we are not really trying to help. More likely, there’s some intellectual superiority, “look how smart I am” motivation behind Virgo’s ‘advice’ which reminds us of Leo’s need for validation.

Integrated Virgo energy is naturally helpful. How do we know that? Because it fixes a problem, rather than creates one. Because it improves something, rather than damages it.

Virgo energy is one of the most underestimated drivers of progress and well-being.

Thanks to Virgo, we have agriculture and food on our tables. We have cities and sanitation. We have public transportation. We have organized systems and efficient processes.

In Virgo, we tame our inner lion with self-reflection and self-awareness. Mercury (Hermes in Greek mythology) who is Virgo’s ruling planet, was the only deity who could freely travel between the underworld and the world of living.

Thinking and communication – which are Mercury’s domains – are facilitated by the process of introspection and reflection. With Mercury, we internalize something we perceive with our senses. We go inside.

Therefore, to harness Virgo energy we need to travel into our inner underworld, integrating the conscious with the unconscious.

Full Moon In Virgo And The Abduction Of Persephone

This process is reflected in the Abduction Of Persephone myth, which is a metaphor for the Virgo state of consciousness.

The myth starts with Persephone trying to pick a narcissus flower. As she reaches out to pick it up, the ground suddenly opens up, and Hades (Pluto), the god of the underworld, emerges on his chariot and abducts her.

Is it a coincidence that Hades abducts Persephone exactly when she is trying to pick the narcissus? Not at all.
What does this metaphor tell us?

The narcissus flower (narcissus – narcissism) is a symbol of the ego-driven qualities of Leo. Leo energy has its purpose: to bloom, to shine brightly.

But there are such things as cycles of nature, cycles of life. Nothing lasts forever – at least not in our 3D, material reality. That flower will eventually fruit. We can’t be Leos all our life. Time moves on. So does nature. So do we.

There comes a time when we naturally outgrow our Leo-ness. And in the Perspephone myth, this is symbolized by the abduction of Persephone – exactly when she was about to pick out the narcissus flower. Something like “You’re no longer a child”. “Time to grow up and descend into your inner underworld”.

We can find this Virgo/maiden archetype in myth, fairy tales and folklore. “Sleeping Beauty” for example is a metaphor for the Virgoan state of our consciousness (with the integration of the Virgo polarity, Pisces).

While asleep, Sleeping Beauty goes into the underworld – just like Persephone follows Hades – to meet her unconscious. When she is ready, the prince comes and kisses her, awakening her. She can now move to the Libran state of consciousness.

Coming back to the Persephone myth.

Persephone is taken to the underworld, where she becomes Hades’ queen. Over there, she eats a few pomegranate seeds offered by Hades. Eating food from the underworld bound her to that realm, preventing her from leaving permanently.

Meanwhile, her mother Demeter, consumed with grief over the loss of her daughter, neglects her duties as the goddess of agriculture.

Zeus eventually intervenes and as a result, Persephone ends up spending half a year with her mother in the world of living, and half a year in the underworld with Hades.

This arrangement created the cycles of seasons.

Virgo – Integrating The Conscious With The Unconscious

When Persephone eats the pomegranate seeds, she can’t go back to being an innocent maiden unaware of the underworld. Psychologically, this is when she integrates her conscious and her unconscious.

With her descent into the underworld and alternate living arrangements, the 2 worlds are united, and the 4 seasons are created.

The earth becomes fertile again, but in a seasonal, conscious way.

While the myth portrays a distraught Demeter, there is no reference to Persephone being distressed by being Hades’ queen and spending 6 months a year in the underworld.

She naturally shapeshifts (Virgo is the Mutable Earth sign of the zodiac) between the 2 realms. This comes naturally to her.

That’s her purpose, as a manifestation of pure Virgo energy.

This Full Moon in Virgo is an invitation to reflect on the Virgo step of your individuation process.
Where do you need to restore balance in your life and get in tune with your natural seasons?

In which area of your life do you need to ‘graduate’ from Leo-like self-sufficiency and find a deeper meaning in your actions and contributions?

How can you be of service in a way that comes natural to you and leverages your unique skills and talents?

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