Insights by Kerstin Hern of The Mirrored Lantern / Original art for J. Southern Studio by Spirited Animals
Greetings, all! We are in the beautiful medicine of Virgo season, where tuning into your physical and mental health and the well-being of all will bring healing and connection opportunities. We then enter the sweet season of Libra, where every vibration of love wants to be felt!
Speaking of balance, we have another sabbat approaching on the 22-23rd, the autumnal equinox, or Mabon. This is the second harvest celebration, where there is equal day and night. Think about the theme of balance in terms of light/dark and yin/yang energy… Reassessing and readjusting where needed in your life will help promote equilibrium. Virgo season is great for this cerebral but compassionate introspection. Mabon is also all about beginning to harvest the ripest fruits of your labor. Reflect on and make note of all of the changes, growth, and goals you have accomplished. Go through your personal to-do lists with a fine-toothed comb to be sure you are as best aligned as you can be, with what is in your control.
As you can see, we have several notable transits that offer us celestial tough-love friction for the purposes of new opportunity, fresh insights, and growth. This is good! It is getting honest and clear to help us move where we can thrive. In addition, I LOVE a Virgo new moon! This is like getting down and dirty in your personal garden and weeding out all the bullshit. Think new perspectives, new goals, new routines. Following that, the most emotional and potentially cathartic full moon of the year: the full moon in Pisces, arrives just a few days before Mabon.
Get ready for rituals around both the new and full moons with themes, symbols, and tools to use for your manifestations and releases below. Also make note of which house will be most affected for you, per lunation. September blessings to you and your loved ones, and lots of love and comfort to any who are affected by these major storms and fires… What a year. Wishing you all a cathartic yet gentle month ahead.
Notable Dates and Transits:
THEMES & SYMBOLS: reflection, pruning, focus, organization, grounding, progressive thinking, planning changes, adjusting life blueprints, practicality, well-being, curiosity, intellect, service, thoughtful communication, Earth, wheat, corn, plants, pentacles, caduceus, moss green, terracotta, taupe, sienna, dusty blue, silver, fox, bear, feminine energy, The Maiden
This new moon (and upcoming full moon) falls on a Monday = Moon Day! Although this lunation is ruled by The Hermit, this moon also feels like 7 of pentacles energy which harnesses pausing, reflecting, and noting accomplishments, but also getting real about where our deficits lie… After this honest reflection, use this new moon energy to create a detailed plan to get yourself on track using the inner and ancestral wisdom of The Hermit. Like the 7 of Pentacles tarot card shows, the person is paying close attention to the plants in front of them, seeing where pruning is needed, where some water is needed, and where straight up plucking is needed. Some intention-setting themes could be: calling in focus and concentration, creating long-term security, uncovering truths, and getting organized and clear on your expectations and goals without being too scrutinizing of or inflexible with yourself or others. This could mean adjusting your previous plans. Virgos are also humble and are of service to others, so thinking about how you can give some of yourself to feel more whole may be beneficial on a soul level. Mars opposite Neptune close to the moon can kick up low self-esteem, but if you hang solo (like The Hermit card) and find creative ways to get organized and focus on new beginnings, you can feel centered and spark inspiration along the way. Plus, the new moon will be in a loose trine to Uranus, bringing flashes of insight and quick, beneficial changes when you get focused on details.
YOUR NEW MOON LUNATION HOUSE
Find your sun or rising sign below to see what area of your life will be most impacted by this new moon:
RITUAL + ALTAR INSPIRATIONS
NEW MOON PETITION
Write your intentions as specifically as possibly on a small piece of paper, in the present tense, as if they are already happening. Fold it 3 times toward you, symbolizing bringing energy to you, and place on your altar under your crystals. You may also place your petition under your earth element candle or chime candle before you light your candle.
SUGGESTED MANTRA
“I am centered, grounded, and connected to Gaia to receive her deep wisdom from within. I am focused, clear, and patient, and I see all necessary details with a keen eye and open mind. I am moving forward on my soul path with confidence and truth. I call in all insights and information with ease from my ancestors and ascended masters for my highest good. My path is now clear, I am aligned, and I claim all abundance that is mine. So mote it be.”
NEW MOON MEDICINE
Virgo rules the eyes, ears, pancreas, and digestive system. Take some time off from screens to let your eyes rest, listen to beautiful music, and eat herbs and root veggies that ground you and move all “rubbish” through your system, cleaning out debris. The South Node aka Ketu can be thought of as where/how we expel waste, so eating mindfully is key for this sign that rules health. Also doing body twists, the Rock and Sphinx yoga poses, sitting on the earth, and walking barefoot on earth can get your body feeling good!
Also highly recommended for this Mercury-ruled sign’s lunation ritual: Communication & Connection Crystal Kit.
THEMES & SYMBOLS: major closures, big releases, cycles ending, heavy emotions, letting go of baggage, softening, renewal, catharsis, forgiveness, soul shifts, art therapy, abstract creative expression, escapism, sensitivity, tears, floodgates, rain, fish, mermaid, ocean, all forms of water, sea green, ocean blue, turquoise, all blues, lavender, fantasy, dreams, spirituality, intuition, pineal gland, pinecones, Neptune (planet and god)
This full moon is a major cycle-closer because it falls in the final sign of the zodiac: Pisces, ruler of the 12th house. There will most likely be hypersensitivity to your environment and heightened intuition, making for one of the most emotional full moons we’ll have this year… Engaging in creativity as therapy to release built-up or repressed emotions will serve well. Also, setting intentions to release what and where you feel weak, passive, or small can help increase your sense of Self and move through insecurity. Your magick comes from within, so actively participating in clearing out what no longer serves by naming all emotions that come up will help you. Use your imagination and spirit guide whispers to move you through both fantasy and reality to understand what needs to go and make conscious choices to sever the baggage, releasing it into the ocean of emotion. Since Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, prepare for these final and big releases to leave powerfully and a big cycle of some fame over the past year to wrap up. There is also a grand air trine around this time, acting like the strong wind needed to push the waters into a typhoon flow, washing away your releases. If you can hold the clarity and take the action around what needs to be done, this can feel extremely cathartic and soul nourishing.
As always, it’s auspicious to call in and recognize abundance leading up to the peak of the full moon, then take action around releases and forgiveness after the peak.
YOUR FULL MOON LUNATION HOUSE
Find your sun or rising sign below to see what area of your life will be most impacted by this full moon:
RITUAL + ALTAR INSPIRATIONS
Also suggested for your altar on this water moon: mermaid figurines/statues, shells, sea glass, seaweed or any other ocean offerings, as well as a pinecone to represent the pineal gland.
FULL MOON PETITION
In Pisces, a water sign, you can write out your full moon releases or those you want to forgive on a small piece of paper, speak them aloud facing west (water direction), and then submerge them in water (ocean water if you have access) overnight. If you are getting rid of MAJOR releases, like… big time rubbish, my favorite water moon ritual release is flushing that shit down the toilet! Be sure you use toilet-friendly paper to write down your releases.
SUGGESTED MANTRA
“I am powerfully attuned to my intuition and inner guidance. I heed all calls for the endings of major cycles over the past year for my highest good. I intentionally release all emotional weight that keeps me stagnant, all relationships that weigh me down, and all situations and thought patterns that make me feel small. I call on the power of the ocean to wash away what no longer serves, bringing in healing waters that carve new pathways for me. I am transformed. I am in divine flow. I am healing myself. So mote it be!”
FULL MOON MEDICINE
Pisces rules the feet, melatonin (sleep hormone and connected to our circadian rhythm), and endocrine system, including the pineal gland (our consciousness gland and our third eye!). The pineal gland was dubbed “The Seat of the Soul” by French philosopher Descartes, and connects us to creativity, spirituality, and lucid dreaming. If you work with plant medicine, this is an auspicious albeit powerfully emotional full moon to activate your pineal gland (where we naturally produce the hallucinogenic compound, DMT). Sun gazing at sunrise or sunset can also activate your pineal gland. Breathwork and aromatherapy are great accompaniments to third eye activation, as well.
Do a foot soak in Epsom salt, foot reflexology or massage with lavender oil, sleep in an extra couple of hours, drink mugwort tea before bed then record your dreams in your dream journal the next morning, and meditation, meditation, meditation!
Wishing you all a productive New Moon and deeply healing and cathartic Full Moon this September!
Kerstin from The Mirrored Lantern has practiced right hand path magick and tarot for over 28 years and has been a lover and learner of astrology for just as long… She is currently in graduate school for Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Spiritual & Depth Psychology. Follow her on instagram @themirroredlantern for witch tips, occulture, and depth psych tidbits!
