This year’s Virgo season begins with a bang.
Thirteen hours after the Sun moves into Virgo, Mercury stations retrograde in the sign of Virgo.
Meaning: the messenger planet will appear to be moving backwards through the night sky and things on Earth will start feeling a little wonky.
When the ruler of communications and intellect slams on their breaks, we typically encounter major delays and everything seems to feel like a roadblock.
The good news: It’s really not as bad as it sounds, and we have positive transits throughout Virgo Season that will help this retrograde go smoothly.
Astrology allows us to understand the energy ahead of time, giving us the chance to set intentions, make adjustments, and prepare to be patient and flexible.
Breaking It Down
Mercury goes retrograde on the first day of Virgo season in the sign of Virgo on August 23rd and will remain in this sign throughout the duration of the retrograde.
Virgo is the analytical perfectionist of the Zodiac.
It loves attention to detail, logic, and structure.
It’s the friend who makes excel spreadsheets for vacations and the energy you get to reorganize your entire life at 3 a.m.
This retrograde will be more of an easier trek because Mercury is at home in Virgo and has the right toolkit to handle disruption.
There will be a brief crossover between Venus and Mercury Retrograde with a total of 7 planets in retrograde until September 3rd when Venus stations direct, leaving Mercury to run the inner planet show until September 15th.
Mars will enter its detriment, Libra, on August 27th.
Reminder:
Healthy relationships are able to adapt and grow from conflict and disagreement.
Be wary of indecisiveness and procrastination, you don’t need to weigh every single possibility before taking action.
Uranus goes retrograde August 28th in the sign of Taurus.
The outer planets retrograde for much longer and their effects are felt over a period of time rather than sudden moments and events, as with Mercury Retrograde. Their energy is typically more heavily felt on a collective level rather than individual.
But keep in mind, Uranus is the planet of upheaval and revolution.
Wherever it falls in your chart will most likely feel a desire for freedom and evolution, even if it’s just feeling called to change your morning routine to give yourself more time in the mornings or building a different wardrobe.
A Super Full Blue Moon in Pisces takes place August 30th and will be the brightest and closest moon of 2023.
This moon will radiate the sensitive and fantasy-oriented nature of the imaginative water sign and aid you in releasing any emotional weights.
There will be a Mercury Cazimi on the 6th of September, which is the halfway point in the retrograde when Mercury is conjunct the Sun.
Just like an eye in the center of a hurricane, this moment provides a refreshing break during the storm of the retrograde and allows us to see clearly to connect a few dots.
Grab a pen or keep your notes app handy- the downloads on this day are going to feel like lightning! 🔎
Jupiter trines the Sun in Virgo on September 8th right after it stations retrograde in Taurus on September 4th.
This trine is going to give lagging Mercury some extra support from the planet of luck and wisdom.
The New moon in Virgo on September 14th will occur the day before Mercury decides to get back to business as usual.
This is going to provide the perfect energy for resetting after the Venus and Mercury retrogrades.
Welcome to your clean slate, set intentions based off of what you learned. 🧼
Keep in mind its shadow period is until the 30th, so be patient as you transition back to forward motion.
Virgo season ends on a positive note as the Sun trines Pluto and we shift into Libra season feeling more refreshed and empowered.
What did you learn from Venus retrograde that will aid you in your connections this Libra season?
Survival Guide
When Mercury goes retrograde, we often get launched into the past for our benefit.
It can bring up unfinished business that needs to be uncovered and excavated so that you can heal and move forward.
Sometimes it does arise in the stereotypical forms of the Mercury Retrograde scare: technological glitches, transportation reroutes, major plans falling through, and yes, that call from your ex.
So backup important files, triple check your planner and hit the block button.
But most importantly, be patient.
The key to smoothly navigating the rocky waters during this time is to simply allow life to happen. Your reaction and response to whatever is occurring in your physical reality determines what further manifests, which is why they say this is a time to think before you act.
Trouble arises when we give ourselves away to the uncontrollable nature of life.
Be sure to stray away from over analyzing situations and thought patterns too deeply. Virgo loves to tear away at every layer in order to try and understand more.
While this can be utilized in a healthy way, the retrograde causes fogginess and disruption, making it fairly easy for us to become too consumed too quickly.
It’s also recommended to not make any big decisions during this time. It seems annoying to have to pause on forward movement, but things don’t seem to unfold in the way we once believed they would after Mercury stations direct.
We don’t always see the situation from the right perspective or have all of the information we need when the lines are blurry.
On The Bright Side
It is a wonderful time to review, edit, and revise outdated systems, thought patterns, and habits.
Shake up your routine that doesn’t fit the person you’ve evolved into and remember what you’ve learned from your past to apply into your current reality.
Organize your mental space.
Dive into old journals.
Reevaluate who and what you give your energy to.
Finish that project you’ve been putting off.
Take inventory of what is working and what is no longer working.
When used as a time of retreat and introspection, Mercury retrogrades can propel us into exponential growth.
To understand the areas in your life the retrograde will be highlighting more specifically, look to see which house rules Virgo in your chart.
Crystal Toolkit
Grounding stones will help keep us centered during the turbulence, such as Hematite and Black Tourmaline.
Amethyst is also an extremely practical, spiritual stone that will help us stay anchored in reality.
Throat Chakra stones like Larimar and Blue Lace Agate will help us be able to communicate more effectively and add some emotional soothing when it gets challenging.
Chrysocolla with Malachite is also an excellent retrograde companion as it has the gentle throat soothing properties of Chrysocolla and the grounding transformation of Malachite that will help support our evolution throughout this cycle.
