about.com | September 15 2012 | Thanks, Constance

This is a time of extreme chaos and stress for so many. What can you strip away that will bring you more peace and clarity? Cutting out background noise is a great start. Combining errands, so you have more time to unwind. Leaving space for integrating — walking in nature, simply being, resting, exercising, purifying in the bath.

This is a great New Moon to commit mind, body and soul to your healthiest life. Virgo is a physically sensitive sign, and less is more.

Virgo turns cleaning into a daily ritual. That makes this New Moon a good one to open the windows, and sweep out the old cobwebby energies. It’s a way to move the energies trapped in the corners of a room, or under the bed (dust bunnies).

Many cultures and magical traditions use sweeping, to prepare for ritual. It clears the physical space, and also the energetic space. Sweeping and other random acts of cleaning are satisfying now, to clear out the old, and make room for the new. It leads to clarity.

“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.” Gandhi

Be here now. Virgo is the sign of sincere presence. The Sun and Moon are together at 23 degrees Virgo, and messenger Mercury is within orb to keep you sharp and alert.

My Take: It’s a big window for healing, especially for those overwhelmed, feeling anxious and at your wit’s end. There’s a mercurial flavor to the New Moon, with Mercury in a stellium, and Sun-Moon squaring (in a wide orb) Jupiter in Mercury’s own sign Gemini.

This is a fresh start portal for healing an over taxed mind, and tracing its effects to the body. Working backwards, taking time to digest your experiences calms the mind, and creates morespace. Big rewards (of well-being, mental brilliance, ability to change) come from creating that spaciousness.

Being able to come down from the mania of our time is a key to thriving. This may mean facing the root causes of your anxiety or fear. As you deal with personal demons, you’re freer to make wise choices, and act spontaneously on your guidance.

Many of the aspects in this chart provoke and support a new beginning that’s more alive, wild and colorful. And this New Moon is a preparation lunation, to integrate, fill the well, and set up daily routines that will see you through any dark or chaotic times ahead.

The last New Moon was in Leo, when the personal creative fire was stoked. Then came the Full Moon in Aquarius, two weeks ago, when the heavens opened and higher dimensional energies were downloaded. The universe hums with life, as everything is made of energy.

At the New Moon in Virgo, we get self-contained with these energies of change, even as the last in the summer trio (and mutable), there’s a sense of rearranging.

Nearing the descent of Autumn, it’s a time for sober self-reflection, to see how enthusiasms are being applied in the real world. We want to tie our dreams to a sense of service. We begin to go inward and want to contemplate things like health, purpose, steps toward a practical goal. It’s time for practical magic. Look to dreams for viable pathways. Ask for dreams in clear language you can understand.

It’s a New Moon to honor the people in our lives that we really count on day in, day out. They’re the ones that help us move, take care of our pets when we’re away, keep an eye on the house…and vice versa. It’s a good time to cultivate more of these kinds of helpful friends and neighbors.

As the Earth crisis intensifies and the money system breaks down, we can become more tightly knit, as friends or communities. We need each other to make it through this time of great anguish and possibility!

Today we can show gratitude and appreciation for the little things others do to make life better. And we’re happier ourselves, when we do our bit, too, for the common good.

I’ve been getting the Squirrel a lot in the Medicine Cards. My Virgo man and I pick one each day, and act them out — it’s a way to share the spiritual without needing to be too wordy.

Virgo rules small animals, and the nut gathering is very much like the rhythm of this busy mutable earth sign. It’s not just about prepping but also about lightening the load — letting go of useless, dead things. It’s also about bolstering your physical and spiritual health. You’re prepared for anything when you have a “safe place in which to put your gatherings.” More from Medicine Cards, “This safe place is an untroubled heart and mind, and that which is gathered to put in this place is wisdom and caring.”

“Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Unknown

It’s easy to let the day slip away. And sometimes it’s easier to do busy work, than make progress in areas that we find deeply fulfilling. Only you know if you’re spinning your wheels with productive busy work.

This New Moon is a challenge to center your activities on your true calling. Or to start carving out some time to dig into the goals that feel substantial and longstanding.

What’s crowding out the good stuff in your personal garden? What’s overgrown so much that it blocks the light. This can be a time of elimination, purging, detoxing. It could be quite dramatic because some weeds (as I’ve seen in my garden) become intertwined with the roots.

It could be behaviors that feel false, like being too nice or acting like everything is okay, if it’s not. It could be placing yourself below or above another in the pecking order. It could be undervaluing your worth. This is a potent time to gain clarity on your strengths, resources and allies. There’s probing insight, and perhaps an ah-ha or two, about what’s worth cultivating and building upon. Where’s your fertile ground?

We live in a fear-driven culture that’s turned worry into a precise art. But it’s a low vibe that makes us less effective, in changing whatever is wrong.

It’s a good time at the New Moon to surrender to the void and the possibility that things can change in unexpected ways. It’s a relief “not to know” how things will turn out, and to experiment with accepting uncertainty.

“I don’t know,” is one of the most freeing phrases around. When you find yourself fishing for an articulate answer to the world’s ills, try saying, “I don’t know.” It’s not only relaxing, it also allows you to bring the focus on what you can do right here, right now.

In the book about her pilgrimage across Spain, Shirley MacLaine talks about facing fear, and asking, “What am I concerned about?” With intense agitation afoot along with the ability to see all that’s wrong — a Virgo speciality — this could be the start of an effective campaign.

What’s within your control, that relates to this concern. What practical steps can you take to avoid this outcome you’re fearing? I like the word concern because of the conscientiousness and service-oriented attitude of Virgo.

How can you take that concern and turn it into action? This could be a powerful time to take an action, even if it feels like a drop in the bucket. The change of spirit comes from doing it.

Virgo is about wholeness, with a discerning eye for what’s missing or out of balance. Sometimes all it takes is being by yourself a little while, to clear your head.

This is an adaptable earth sign, meaning it’s very opportune for sudden flashes of another way to go, do or be. If you’re in knots, or at a dead end, put it all into the Dark Moon cauldron and surrender. Lie on Mother Earth and let her hold you awhile. In the untangling, new doors open, which could feel like a fresh start.