This year’s Virgo Full Moon is very close to the September Equinox point. This is due to the Sun, of course, being near the time when it crosses the projected equator from the south to the north (meaning longer days in the Northern Hemisphere and shorter days in the Southern Hemisphere). The Full Moon happens on March 18th at 12:18 am PDT / 3:18am EDT. On the same day, Jupiter in Pisces rises into visibility for the first time since the evening of February 19th, this time emerging in the early morning sky just prior to sunrise.

Only two days before the March Equinox, the Sun is near enough to the equinox point that we can get a feel the change of seasons beginning to take place and Full Moon presents us with a beautiful opportunity to “see” the September Equinox point, opposite the March point.

Celebrate the March Equinox with this free webinar at the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School here.

The exact Full Moon is important to recognize, it is just as important to be aware that the Moon appears “full” to our eyes for about a 3-day period. It is this 3-day window that is our experience with the Moon that help our understanding of the lunar pattern, in its dance with the Sun and Earth. All major phases of the Moon (New, 1st/last quarters) can be experienced in a three-day window. The Full Moon, though, is bright enough to enhance our experience of night enough to see by (outside of the streetlights).

Astrologically, the Virgo Full Moon gives us an opportunity to illuminate the patterns in the world and our own individual lives. Virgo is a sign / archetype that symbolizes the Priestess/Priest in us. Virgo has a sensation awareness of greater patterning of life and the cosmos so that we can better understand those patterns. In the same vein, Virgo is bringing in of the sacred into the patterning. We can then see what may be “outside the pattern” to make healthier choices in our lives and communities, then collectively as well.

Virgo is drawn to understanding the chaos to see the patterning, therefore the order in it all. Examples include various megalithic structures across the planet including famous sites such as Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids in Egypt. Virgo plays the role of the one who sets the ceremony and its flow. Virgo sets the table and cleans the space for the sacred space to be created.

This year’s Virgo Full Moon includes a sense of balance of light and the absence thereof as it is only a little over two degrees from an equinox point. In the sky, this equinox point is at the edge of the Priestess constellation and the brightest star near it (and conjunct where the Full Moon is) is called Zavijava, a star that has had several other names in history. The star is part of the “Lady in Heaven” and sometimes depicted with angelic wings.

From various parts of Asia, the star Zavijava and by other names, had a general symbolic connection to decisiveness, benevolent celestial authority and a guide of law. In the figure of the Priestess constellation, it is part of the head, shoulders and alternatively the southern wing. As of 2022, the star sits at 27°28’ Virgo.

Jupiter’s Heliacal Rise in Pisces

Later in the morning before sunrise of March 18th, Jupiter makes it’s first appearance in about a month in the opposite side of the sky as the Full Moon. Most planets can be seen when they are 10 degrees from the Sun (a closed hand’s width away), while others that are not as bright, can be seen when 15 degrees away from the Sun. For Jupiter, it is usually the 2nd brightest planet from Earth and so can generally be easily seen when it is 10 degrees away from the Sun’s glare. March 18th is the date when the largest planet in the Solar System separates from the Sun by 10 degrees. Whenever this happens in the morning sky, it is called ‘heliacal rise’.

Jupiter is still transiting through the sign of Pisces as it has been since the end of December, 2021. Jupiter is nearing its single conjunction with Neptune on April 12th, being only five degrees away from Neptune when it becomes visible on March 18 at 18 degrees Pisces. Pisces is a sign that assists us with ecstatic experiences of the heart and spirit beyond the mind, healing for others, migrating away of reality and its complexities, dreaming into the connection with the divine heart and opening empathy without egoic judgment. This sign is one of the two traditional signs Jupiter resonates with (in some astrology circles is a sign that Jupiter “rules”).

The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction is getting stronger from this point until red-eyed planet ingresses into the sign of Aries on May 10th. At this time, the Jupiter-Neptune alignment being opposite the Full Moon in Virgo shows a potent activation of the Virgo-Pisces archetypal polarity. Together, this polarity is about being of service. Both Virgo and Pisces are powerful “giver” signs and their higher-level of activity involves bringing spirit into matter, either through the awareness and working with the patterns or through healing and being where help is needed to be.

The totality of this alignment (Full Moon, Jupiter-Neptune) can also create a time of confusion and doubt interspersed with the focus of being of service. The Full Moon is reflecting the light of the Pisces Sun near the alignment of Jupiter with Neptune, fully illuminating this Virgo-Pisces polarity.

In the early morning of the 18th as the Full Moon sets and Jupiter is briefly seen rising before the Sun, we can take a few moments to ask how we can be of service, what patterns we are tuned into and what we are feeling around us? In the midst of a chaotic world full of crises, it can be helpful to utilize those moments to connect into the order and to be of help.