Virgo Full Moon Vibe Check: The Purpose of Paying Attention
Hello! Long time no vibe. To start with some housekeeping- I’m still trying to decide the frequency of these vibe checks. Initially, I wrote them on a weekly basis, but there were large swaths of time that were long term and difficult issues we had to face collectively. After a while, it’s sad and exhausting to repeat the same doom and gloom every week with a different spin. We’re still going through these periods, but now more energies in the mix and I feel interested in discussing them. Tides come and go, and major themes often span several weeks or even months of time. Of course every week there are astro nuances to consider, but for some reason weekly astro chats feel incongruent to my style of work. I incorporate so much more than Astro into my writing, and I never want to force them for the sake of regularity. So, I will continue to allow them to flow organically. Eventually a pattern will surface from it all.
And now, in the spirit of that vibe, let’s chat about the next wave of energy coming our way. This Saturday we have a Virgo Full Moon, and with it a pretty substantial shift in energy. As someone born on a balsamic Virgo moon (almost a New Moon, but not quite by degree), this Full Moon hits me hardest of all lunar cycles of the year. Typically, the Pisces Full Moon in late Summer is my most enjoyable. A Full Moon is like a giant spotlight on whatever themes that lurk in the dark. I’ve said it before, but the Moon doesn’t like being full! It’s terribly unflattering lighting, and steals precious darkness from the night sky. If you've got a very dark natal moon, the Full Moon cycle that lands in your sign is probably not your favorite either.
Every year, I find the painful, itchy, uncomfy feelings wash over me. The endless expanse of potential flaws to be anxious and ashamed about wash over me. Usually, this is the time of year I get to witness all the dust bunnies hiding in the corners of my psyche, fully illuminated in their dusty glory. The task is for me- and for this lunation everyone- to witness and engage with what we see, notice, and feel as we are shown the underbelly of our consciousness.
Pisces nature is the everthingness- the beauty, pain, suffering, hubris, generosity, and wonder contained within Divinity. Frequently, it’s overwhelming to take it all in at once. Truly “mind blowing.” Think too long about the vastness of space, the depth of the ocean, or what happens after death and we can be thrown into a spiral of existential dread and panic. Luckily for Piscean themes, Virgo is the balance. Virgo energy doles out this infinite contemplative inquiry into more manageable, bite size experiences our tiny corporeal minds can handle. It’s no easy feat to wrangle the vastness of existence into actionable lessons in the physical reality. What use is it to look at Divinity, unblinking and detached, hypnotized to the point of an out of body experience, eyes lolling in the back of your head? What use is that when we have no meaningful way of expressing, sharing, and embodying what we can learn from witnessing Divinity? As Divinity encapsulates all things, we are just as easily hypnotized by the vastness of evil as we are the wonder and joy of it all. Both in totality are fantasies we can become addicted to the exclusion of all else. Lose yourself in the Piscean fantasy fog and you may never find your way out. For many of us, we experience this most immediately as the internet. An infinite labyrinth of everythingness and self reflective algorithms, everyone is susceptible to straying from our daily life.
This week begins a cycle of noticing. Paying attention to how we engage with, discern, and interpret the infinite access to knowledge we have. Are we indulging in overconsumption in order to hoard information? To weaponize facts in arguments we may never have? Pay attention to what information you naturally seek out, the algorithms that feed you, and what your emotional responses are. Who benefits from these responses What do you do with the emotions that come up? How does this experience evolve into a pattern in your life? What patterns seem most prevalent?
I’ve talked a lot about lunar transits being great cycles to “cleanse your tech” by ritually sitting with each algorithm, purposefully noticing how they make you feel, and then unfollowing/blocking as necessary. Retraining your feed to show you what aligns with your goals for engagement. There’s no better time than this lunar transit to begin, or continue this process.
To do so, set some time aside for intentional tech clearing. Make sure you’re able to be focused and not distracted by what comes up before you start. Write down what you want to gain from Social Media and internet interaction, and how you want to feel using each environment. Spend some time on each app, website, forum, etc you frequent (set a timer if necessary) and write down the emotions you feel as you scroll/read. Go through your recently liked, replies, saves, etc and notice what themes come up. What repetitive messaging comes up? What products are being sold to you? What concepts and worldviews are assumed in the content? Now look at what you wrote down for your goals for engagement. How close are the themes you found in each space to your intentions? Block, unfollow, delete anything that doesn’t make you feel like what your goals. Pay attention.
Next, spend some time trying to find new content that aligns with your chosen themes and emotional goals. Begin to mindfully train your algorithms to widen your perspectives, show you art that inspires you, and find valuable sources of information you can trust. This is never a one and done situation, as these programs are constantly shifting in ways no one can pin down into a pattern. Purposefully confuse it! Your data and attention is your most valuable asset, so use it wisely and with tact. And, of course, sparingly.
During a Digital Literacy lecture I gave a few years ago, I had a question during the Q + A section that was “so basically you’re just telling us to pay attention?” And my answer was an adamant YES! The word “just” is doing a lot of legwork there; it’s almost jarring how strong it is. It’s no small feat to pay attention in a world constantly flooding your mind with as much stimulation as possible. If paying attention was so easy, the discernment and critical thinking that comes along with it would come just as naturally for everyone. Unfortunately for us, it doesn’t. Many people are fooled by Ai generated images, headlines, videos, across the internet every day. Not all of them are easily clockable. There isn’t an aspect of what we can access online that doesn’t have Ai generated content beginning to muddy the waters. Besides that, the very few companies who own the lion’s share of our media, publishing, and access to information have a vested interest in allowing us to see specific sections of the world at specific times. It’s never been more important - or more difficult- to pay attention! You’re going to get fooled, and probably already have at some point. It’s okay. Now is the time to move more slowly through the Piscean mist of ‘everythingness’ and noticing the pain points of it all.
The fact is, this Virgo Full Moon is a spotlight on all the finer details of your daily experiences, and how many times you allow yourself to be fooled to maintain your routines. How you personally hide from, work around, engage with and process the infinite complexities of the world. How do you compartmentalize everything we have access to? There are no right or wrong answers if you’re trying with genuine earnestness. We’re each willing to perform some degree of mental gymnastics make life tolerable in the wake of the endless paradox suffering and joy we have access to daily. It’s a matter of balancing physical survival while maintaining compassion.
Paying attention, purposeful consciousness, is an act of engaging with pain. Painful paradox and inner truths. The motivation to act that stems from engagement with this pain is what leads us through to insight and actionable answers. The option is always there to ignore and numb out, avoiding painful realities. Sometimes, that respite is necessary. That, of course, is addictive on its own.
Know thyself is a core tenant of life across multiple disciplines for a reason. It is the scariest and most humbling journey we can endeavor to take in life. And it comes from “just” paying attention when you’d rather not.