Inner Virgo - Mastery in the Moment

by Guru Rattana, Ph.D. - Issue #109 - August 22, 2005

Planetary Alignments

• The Sun enters Virgo harvest time August 22nd at 5:46pm PDT, (August 23rd at 12:46am GMT). The Virgo Harvest ends September 22nd.
• The Virgo New Moon is September 3rd at 11:46am PDT (6:46pm GMT).
• The Pisces Full Moon is September 17th at 7:01pm PDT (September 18th at 2:01am GMT).
• Mars is in Taurus July 28th through February 17th, 2006

Virgo New Moon September 3^rd

New Moons are always a time to add another dimension to the area of life that is brought into focus. This New Moon will be particularity potent. Pluto turns direct the day before the New Moon, after being retrograde since March 26. Pluto retrograde is a time of internal awakening. We become aware of aspects of ourselves that often escape our conscious knowing. Becoming aware of the programs and stories that sabotage our intentions allows us to clean out misinformation, revamp our beliefs and create a more appropriate paradigm from which to navigate our soul's journey in the world.

Every planet slows down as it prepares to shift direction. Approximately the week before and after this New Moon is such a time for Pluto. (Actually if feels to me like this is already happening). We are encouraged to slow down as well, and to prepare ourselves to integrate new knowledge, to realign with our authentic selves, and to launch a new phase of our lives. We are waking up to a new reality. Our job is to integrate this awareness into our actions, thoughts and feelings. There is now an opening to expand our role in the world, with thoughtful preparation and heart-felt care.

Virgo's Gifts and Challenges

We can best use the time while the Sun is in Virgo to work on the issues that confront the Earthmother. The typical Virgo issues not only present themselves; the energy to resolve them is available. While the Sun is in Virgo, we need to assess how well we are taking care of our body, our emotions and our daily routine. What is demanding our attention? What needs to be listened to, thanked and appreciated?

Virgo brings our attention to the details of daily living on Planet Earth. Virgo has the capacity to focus on what is important, that is if she doesn't use her discriminating abilities to knit pick herself into neuroses. Virgo symbolizes the human quest for wholeness and personal integration. The sixth sign of the Zodiac, Virgo is the last sign focusing strictly on personal development. Virgo is our launching pad into the world of relationships, community and other worlds.

Virgo, depicted by the Virgin, originally symbolized an independent, unmarried woman who has found her satisfaction and completeness within herself. She was not necessarily chaste; however she was in no way dependent upon or subservient to men. In ancient times, Vestal Virgins initiated men into sexual mysteries and served as healers for men returning from war.(1)

Virgo's talent of discernment, helps us determine what is essential and relevant, and what is superfluous and a waste of time. Recognizing the body as a temple of the soul, the earthly Virgo teaches us the art of being fully present to the human journey of our soul.

The End and the Beginning of our Journey

Virgo is the completion of the first phase of our journey. We are also launched into the beginning of the next phase of our life. Ideally our integrity, purity and worldly competence will support us in our life adventures above the horizon. If we have done our work with the first six Zodiac mentors, we will take a strong sense of self into the world. A grounded identity in our body is necessary in order not to lose ourselves in altruistic or need driven sacrifice. Virgo is here to serve, but not to become a martyr. We must be able to use the Virgo qualities of concentration, focus and discrimination in our worldly pursuits. Otherwise we will feel scattered, our energy will be diffused, and we will lose ourselves in mental ambiguity.

One of Virgo's challenges is to direct the energies that manifest as impatience, frustration and restlessness. Virgo's goal is to use perseverance and endurance to cultivate patience and calmness. Virgo teaches us that we can only relax if we focus on our current step, and not lose our concentration by giving too much attention to our final goal.

Virgo offers us the resilience that helps continue our journey to the end. Yet, there is no end. There is only a state to be attained, which must be continually perfected. This is a state of contentment in the moment - with who we are, what we have and what we are doing. It is a state where wanting has ceased. It is a state of appreciation of the sacredness of all aspects of our life. It is a state of mastery of the moment when, through the depth of our attention, we cross into infinity.

Perfection is a Process

We are always going to be busy. We will always have something to do. There is always something going on in our lives that we have to think about, handle or take care of. So how do we achieve peace?

The immature Virgo suffers from illusions about perfection and mastery. We usually think of mastery in terms of a skill or craft. But what about mastery of the process of life? Virgo teaches us that mastery (perfection) is not a static state that we can achieve, but a never-ending process in which we are constantly involved. Mastery is to be fully present to our participation in our evolutionary awakening.

Authentic involvement requires being present in the moment. In the moment we often get in touch with anxiety, tension, constrictions, tightness and numbness. We also experience levels of satisfaction and contentment. Whether our experiences are comfortable or uncomfortable, they are forever changing. There is always movement. The shifting sands of reality never remain still. The question is, how do we achieve a state of peace amidst the discomfort and the continual flux?

Mastery of the Moment

For Virgo, dispersion of energies is an issue. A lack of focus creates an internal pressure, which results in tiredness, and a desire for distractions and stimulants, such as sugar, coffee, junk food, sex - anything to use the energy that is using us. The earth aspect of our humanness wants to feel whole, to complete what we have begun and bring new creations into existence. Our endless drive and sense of purpose must be channeled or we will squander our energy, not only in our actions, but in our mental and emotional reactions and expressions.

Virgo presents us with these challenges, as well as the qualities for their resolution. Virgo's mental agility helps us figure out what to do. Virgo's stable earthiness can be used to ground our energy, so that we can be very present in our bodies. Virgo's calm endurance assists us in taking things to completion, without knowing or understanding until the end. Virgo's grounded presence can move us out of mystery into a state of mastery.

Although Virgo encourages us to acquire many skills, our journey is not about mastering a skill or crafts. It is also not about asking what we should be doing. It is about being present to what we are doing, and concentrating completely on the moment. And the moment can only be experienced within ourselves.

Going deep into our own essence is where we achieve mastery. If we do not have knowledge of ourselves, all else remains a mystery. When through our itchiness, impatience, fear or unwillingness to put forth the effort, we refuse to look deeply into our mind, we avoid feeling deeply into our emotions, and we refuse to listen deeply into our heart and never get to the level of our original self. This avoidance keeps us closed and superficial. We remain shallow, naïve, confused and gullible. Only by persevering to the core of our being can we know ourselves. It is from the purity of our own core that we penetrate to the core of the many dimensions of being human.

Attraction - Mars in Taurus

Connecting profoundly to our essence means that we stay where we are and feel deep into the core of our being. The more we stay present to ourselves, the more things come to us. We do not have to run after them. Of course, we all want to live in this state of attraction.

Virgo energy is now facilitating the opportunities opening up with Mars in Taurus. Virgo and Mars in Taurus create favorable conditions for financial gain and monetary rewards. Mars is in Taurus July 28th through February 17th, 2006. Usually Mars remains in a sign for a little less than two months. However, Mars will be retrograde from October 1 through December 9th, prolonging its sojourn in Taurus to almost six months.

Our job is to take advantage of this earth energy to ground our energy in our bodies, to stay very present to the flow of our emotional energy, and to use our body to cultivate a feeling of stability and aware presence.

Kundalini Yoga - Meditation and Grounding Breath

This month I recommend continuing the meditation at the solar plexus given in Issue 108. We want to go deeper into our solar plexus, so we are simultaneously aware of the subtle energies that course through our body and our awareness is solidly present in our body. We need to feel our body as a sacred container for the energies that flow through it. In this way we will embody our soul energies, and cultivate an awareness of self in our physical form. Focused breathing is an essential practice for creating mastery in the moment. All of the above will enhance our manifesting powers.

The breath below can be done anytime during the day. Include this breath every day after your yoga and meditation practice. Practice this breath while Mars is in Taurus to take advantage of the abundance that is available to you. It is also highly recommended to practice the Green Energy and Opportunity Set for Prosperity which can be found on pp. 118-119, Relax and Renew 2nd Edition.

Instructions

• Inhale and fill your whole torso (hips up to your neck) with energy.
• Exhale and feel this energy go down to the base of your spine and into your legs and feet.
• Continue this breathing from 2-11 minutes.
• On each inhale expand the area of your body that is being nurtured with the breath.
• The breath should actually expand both front and back of your body.
• Make sure your breath expands the area of the kidneys.
• On each exhale include your pelvic floor, and more of your legs and feet.
• The feet will begin to have the sensation of connecting with the earth.
• Feel your feet, legs and then whole body merge with the earth.
• The connection with the earth will stabilize you and make your feel very present.
• You are making yourself available to receive the gifts from the earth.
• Allow yourself to feel that you are giving to and receiving energy from the earth. Eliminate any mental thoughts of needing to receive, or urgency to give. Simply allow a pure loving exchange to take place. Let it happen vs. make it happen. It is all so natural. Enjoy the process and the unfoldment. Stay delightfully present to what is transpiring. You are not in charge. You are simply willingly participating in the natural process of living.

References and Footnotes

1. "Virgo New Moon", Stephanie Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #122 Aug/Sept 2005, p. 119.

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