Our best shot to start over

On August 23rd, 2025, at 2:06 AM, we’ll be under the bleached bathtub, cuticle precision of a brand New Moon at 0°23 Virgo.

Virgo is the sign of the sacred power of potential, and 0 is the degree from which all things are possible, pure future, no past, making this one of the most potent new moons of the year.

Virgo is synonymous with ritual purification, and the energy of this new moon is preparatory; it’s sweeping the temple floor, anointing the body, ironing the robes, and dipping the candles.

A new moon occurs when the moon is in conjunction with the sun and is no longer visible from our vantage point on Earth.

Energy peaks at a full moon and drops low and slow on a new moon, a celestial slate-cleaning that calls in a fresh lunar cycle.

The new moon always aligns with the zodiac sign the sun is moving through. In this case, that would be the mutable Earth, don’t-be-sorry, be-better sign of Virgo.

Virgo is ruled by silver tongued Mercury and lords over the sixth house of daily rituals, corporeal health and acts of service. Virgo is the sign of the hard edit and thus, this lunation is about redefining/refining our habits and how we relate to our bodies, support our bonds and stake our boundaries, making our efforts polished steps that lead to the high holy temple of tomorrow rather than a rickety ladder to resentment.

Because Mercury is the rational mind and the moon represents what can be felt but not seen, understood but not explained the energy of this moon encourages us to welcome silence and the strange currents that surface within it.

This new moon is also a summons to listen close to the subtle cues and adamant shouts of the body, which always knows the way despite our best efforts to redirect it.

Here, under this dark sky, words (Mercury), whether spoken aloud or to ourselves are medicine (Virgo), and language is the river that makes travelers of us all.

The New Moon arrives mere hours after the sun moves into the blessed dirt of this mutable earth sign, and during this lunation, the sun and moon will square Uranus, planet of the unhinged and the unexpected.

It could be a day of left-field friction, upended plans, and harsh gut checks, all of which are punishing/preparing us to implement new strategies to be better and do better in the weeks ahead.

Uranus in Gemini = chaotic air, and in conversation with the fertile earth of Virgo, we are reminded to return to the physical and the tangible when the mind runs roughshod or off the rails, that clairty is a cure-all and that ideas are only as valuable as their ability to be sewn into seeds.

This cosmic event ushers in the zodiac season that invites us to transform our relationship to ritual and devotion and translate our ideas and ideals into actionable, habitual purpose.

In the words of double Virgo word weaver Leo Tolstoy, “Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.”

Here’s to listening for and to that lifeblood.

This is the last lunation before the portal opens and eclipse season begins, and it beckons us to operate in service of the self, who we are, and who we can become.

This is the first of two Virgo new moons, the second comes a reaping and sweeping as a solar eclipse on September 21st, 2025, at 3:54 pm ET at a fateful 29° of Virgo.

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Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.