For me, Virgo season always conjures the smell of sharpened pencils and fresh paper. Maybe there’s an open window with the tang of fallen apples and wet leaves coming in. We’re in the golden hour before dusk, before the world loses color and all crisp edges soften. This is a time of readiness, every sense still awake and alert. I like to imagine the fresh paper in front of me as not exactly a second chance but a return. Whatever was on this desk before has been cleaned away, recycled, carried out of the field of vision. What remains is clarity.

If you can’t tell, I’m a Virgo child of the ’80s and back-to-school was legit my favorite season.

I often describe Virgo energy as being able to see both the real world and the ideal world at the same time — holding one in each hand, as it were, and trying to move them closer together, make them overlap a little bit more. This takes not only vision, but action. Virgo is an analytical Earth sign — theories are only as useful as the practices they inform. A core Virgo question: Is this useful? Another: If something is broken, how can I mend it?

In this time of retrogrades (we begin the month with Mercury and Venus both retrograde, as Venus goes direct Jupiter will move retrograde) we may feel more stuck as we hold our pencils ready, encountering this blank page. We may need to close our eyes and smell the breeze coming in, or even wander outside and lie under a tree for awhile to look at the sky. But because this is Virgo season, we are doing this in service to what we’re trying to envision, create, or solve. The shadow side of Virgo is a kind of non-stop hustling, where each small task accomplished offers a rush of endorphins but doesn’t map onto a larger goal or plan. You can look productive, feel accomplished, but be deeply out of touch with your real ideals and what actions help bring your real world closer to that ideal. From that perspective, these retrogrades are a welcome corrective. Wander out into an orchard, not to distract yourself or forget what you’re working toward, but as a necessary part of knowing yourself. There is much in this world that needs mending, but you are only one of many, many menders. Remember this if you get stuck feeling like you just need to write these last ten emails before you can wander outside and remember who you are. The golden hour is now.

And as we complete this Venus retrograde cycle and begin the Jupiter retrograde, we have the first few days of this month to integrate our Venus lessons (relationship needs, how we think about money and resources, how we create art, how we seek out beauty and pleasure) and then turn the page and start asking ourselves Jupiter questions: What do we believe in and why? Are we overly optimistic and ignoring red flags? Or are we veering towards cynicism and quiet despair?

Belief systems can run deep, and when I talk about belief I’m not just talking about believing in a certain religion or astrology or aliens, all the things people ask about when they say “Do you believe in…?” I’m talking about how you might walk around every day believing that you don’t actually deserve love so you should take what you can get. Or the belief that other people are inherently untrustworthy so you need to watch your back and fend for yourself. Or the belief that a certain baseline misery is the best you can expect from life. You get the picture. We pick out certain experiences and wrap a narrative around them, and then project that narrative on the world to protect us from being hurt. Jupiter retrograde gives us a chance to reexamine what experiences we’re extrapolating from, add new ones to the mix, and rewrite some core scripts.

And as this Jupiter retrograde is happening in Taurus, a sign Venus rules, what we’ve been learning throughout Venus retrograde will directly inform how we reexamine our belief systems during Jupiter retrograde. If you and your partner have been fighting about money during Venus retrograde, Jupiter retrograde is going to open a space for you to reconsider what your core beliefs are about money, or capitalism, or what it means to live “a good life” or to reach for security. If you’ve recently broken up with someone, Jupiter retrograde will prompt an inquiry into who you want to be now that you’re single, and what parts of your own worldview might have been hidden and now need to come forward.

Jupiter retrograde helps us reexamine the meaning we make from our lives. Now is an excellent time to ask yourself: Do I still believe X? What is this belief based on? What impact does this belief have on my behavior and happiness? What new experiences have I had that might complicate this belief? How might I expand or change this belief?

Above all, Jupiter in Taurus invites us into the process with luxurious slowness. Don’t let Virgo season hustle you. Lie down under a tree and let the tangled threads of your thoughts gently loosen themselves.

Before my usual sign off this month, I also want to share that my sister and I have created a new oracle deck called Wild Chorus. We’re currently crowdfunding, and we’ve got great rewards including live and pre-recorded card readings with me. If you’ve had an astrology reading with me in the last two years, I’ve pulled a card from this deck for you. I’m so excited to release this magical tool into the wild and start using it more regularly in my client work. You can pick up a deck and support our campaign here.

And on to the usual sign off! I am available for readings so please get in touch. As always I get into far more astro details, including astro weather for important days all month long on Patreon, and to keep up with all the things follow me on Instagram.

Aries

Offer yourself slowness in: Taking action, especially if you’re anxious. Deep-rooted security needs could be waving their arms wildly at you to get your attention, but what you need to feel safe is NOT to rush around putting out a million small fires. Notice what isn’t actually urgent and treat it accordingly. Give yourself room to experiment, try and fail, try again, and give up for the day. Taking a walk to address your restlessness is a far better idea right now than implementing what seems like the perfect solution from a place of anxiety.

Taurus

Offer yourself slowness in: Getting it right. This Jupiter retrograde highlights both your fear of change and your desire for change, but you don’t like to make big changes unless you’re sure what you’re moving toward will be better than what you leave behind. Seems reasonable, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get it right. Give yourself permission this month to move at a slow enough pace to have a good sense of what needs changing and how to do it, but also allow plenty of room for adjustments and adaptation to imperfect conditions. Most importantly, don’t get paralyzed at any part of the process and just give up on what will improve your wellbeing. It may not be perfect, but it could be a little better.

Gemini

Offer yourself slowness in: Healing from something hard. There is no timeline for this, so don’t bother looking over your shoulder at someone who seems to have a similar experiences — whether it’s grief, illness, existential panic, or anything else that’s cropped up in the last year, give yourself the time and space to mourn and to heal. Be gentle, be patient, and flip off anyone who implies you should get over it already or pretend to be for their convenience. Remember, slowness isn’t the same as paralysis and so much healing happens under the surface and in erratic cycles. Give yourself time to encounter your depths and get comfortable there.

Cancer

Offer yourself slowness in: Creating community. If you’ve felt more isolated over the past year, if you’ve moved and still haven’t found your people, or if you’re surrounded by relationships that sometimes feel suffocating or like you’ve outgrown them — whatever your social map looks like right now, you’re reaching for something new in how you feel togetherness. It’s a long process and you may not be anywhere near where you want to be yet. Best practices as you navigate the need for community include a deep dive into how your needs may have changed, and how you’ll recognize your people when you’re with them. Focus on how you want to feel, and what you want to be giving and receiving with others.

Leo

Offer yourself slowness in: Rushing to critique yourself. You can have high standards for yourself and others, but this isn’t the best time to demand perfection. You may be caught up on definitions of success or accomplishment that aren’t right for you, and this is keeping you from seeing what’s alive and interesting and right in front of you. Stop stressing about living up to your highest potential right now or being your most impressive self, and there maybe be something generative and important in the cracks and failures you find. At the very least, this is a time for deepening into self-compassion.

Virgo

Offer yourself slowness in: Knowing what comes next. You are not, in fact, a train conductor peering into the fog while hurtling towards a blank horizon. Knowing what’s coming up right now may soothe your anxiety, but you’ll be missing out on a kind of creative co-participation in your life — your capacity to look within and understand what direction you’d like to head, whether or not that path seems scary. There’s a larger picture that you’re missing right now as you hyperfocus on possible threats and challenges — it’s how to work with what is glorious and powerful and complicated right here and now.

Libra

Offer yourself slowness in: Rebuilding what’s been broken. You may want to rush over the steps of repair to get back to a feeling of calm, but that won’t do you or your relationships any favors. Really take the time to feel what’s changed, and the pace at which rebuilding can happen without bypassing your needs and your boundaries. More importantly, you’ve changed through this process so what you’re building next will be for your future self, not your past self. Measure and cut accordingly.

Scorpio

Offer yourself slowness in: Building trust. You tend to hold people at arm’s length indefinitely or let them in immediately, it’s hard to find a middle ground. Jupiter retrograde is inviting you to slow that process of deciding you’ve got a new bestie or soulmate or domestic partnership when you haven’t lived into that relationship long enough to see all the different angles of how you two connect. Because intimacy for you can feel like it’s all or nothing, this is a beautiful time to find out how it feels to take things one step at a time and peace out if things aren’t going in a direction that feels good to you. Of course, the flip side is that when you are compatible and you take the time to really build trust together that relationship can withstand a lot.

Sagittarius

Offer yourself slowness in: Wanting to start over. I know the idea of permanence can make you feel trapped, and that stressors can trigger a flight reflex — like you know what would be better than dealing with this mess? Going literally anywhere else. Your ruling planet Jupiter going retrograde can create a little bit of a panic around not being able to move as fast or with as much forward momentum as you’d like, to offer yourself this reminder: You are not stuck, you are exploring, investigating, trying things out and gathering data for making a major decision later. Ideally anytime after December 31st, when Jupiter stations direct.

Capricorn

Offer yourself slowness in: Coming back to life. All the fun times aren’t in the past, there’s still more to enjoy—but you’ve let some part of you heart fall asleep like how your leg might fall asleep if you sit the wrong way for too long. You’re not to blame for this — it’s a necessary response at times when your personal life or the whole damn world feels hard and overwhelming. But this month brings back opportunities for joy, for romance, for mischief, for creativity — for all the fun things that came more easily to you in the past. Find your way back to them, but move at a pace that makes sense to you. There’s no rush, they’ll still be there.

Aquarius

Offer yourself slowness in: Many small moments throughout the day. Your daily life, your home, your inner world are all calling to you right now. Hit the snooze button again on your alarm. Linger over your lunch. Make room for all sorts of internal experiences to swirl and settle. There’s something about how safe (or not safe) you feel at home that needs paying attention to and sorting through. There’s something about your family of origin or your chosen family that can be up for healing right now. Make time to notice what’s changing and cheer it along.

Pisces

Offer yourself slowness in: Understanding your story. Don’t be too quick to jump to easy answers about what’s true for you, and resist the urge to explain yourself to someone who can’t or won’t understand you. Release deep-seated fears about not sounding articulate or smart enough, or needing to be more rational, and let yourself sink into some deep inner weirdness. Get curious about parts of yourself that you haven’t gotten to know yet, and ask them what they have to say for themselves. Their answers may fascinate you.

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