As of Aug. 23, the sun officially moved into Virgo, marking the end of Leo season and the start of Virgo season 2019. Virgo vibes are for cleaning our lives TF up and embracing the pure, organized, healthy, and high-functioning energy that this mutable earth sign brings to the table. But this Virgo season is going to be full of some extra Virgo energy that will affect all zodiac signs — and not just because it's Virgo season! Also because there are quite a few other major planets that will also be riding through the sign of the maiden as we cruise through the end of the summer. When there are a group of planets in the same sign at the same time, this is known as a "stellium" in astrology — and in this summer's case, it means we'll be swimming in Virgo vibes.
Here's how the extra Virgo energy will affect us. I'm going to throw some dates at you now, but it's Virgo season, so your mind should be extra sharp and analytical —meaning I truly believe you can make sense of it all, k? So, on Aug. 18, Mars (planet of war/sex) moved into Virgo, kicking off the Virgo planetary party that would follow. Venus (planet of love/luxury) followed suit, moving into Virgo on Aug. 21. A couple days later, on Aug. 23, the sun joined these two planetary players, officially kicking off Virgo season 2019. And finally, on Aug. 29, both Mercury (planet of communication/intellect) and the moon will move into Virgo as well, meaning a whopping five major planets will be residing in this sector of the sky.
Bustle spoke with astrologer Lisa Stardust about what all of this means astrologically. "A stellium exists when there’s a cluster of planets in the same sign," she explains. "This time, it happens to be Virgo." Yep, that's a Virgo stellium if we've ever seen one.
While the fast-moving moon will only be in Virgo through Aug. 31 (making those last few days of August surrounding the new moon in Virgo extra potent), the entire rest of this planetary cluster will be posted up in Virgo land through Sept. 14 (when both Venus and Mercury move into Libra), giving us more than two full weeks of a full n' heavy Virgo load.
So how will the energy of these major astrology planets play out in the sign of Virgo? Stardust weighed in. "Mercury is the most dignified planet at the moment, because it rules Virgo, and it’s the final depositor of all of the planets," she explains to Bustle. "Mercury will allow us to communicate effectively[.]" Mercury is super high-functioning and happy to be in Virgo, one of its home signs, so we're going to encounter nothing but smooth sailin' when it comes to organizing our schedules and communicating effectively. It's a good placement — made especially enjoyable following July's messy Mercury retrograde period.
How about our resident love and sex planets, Venus and Mars? "Venus will allow us to express our emotions," explains Stardust, "[while] Mars will allow us to take action[.]" Venus in Virgo will find us trying to analyze and quantify our feelings when it comes to love and luxury — which is hard to do — so we're likely to turn to the power of words when it comes to expressing how we feel. Venus in Virgo can also make us a little cranky and nit-picky in love, so be careful of getting overly-critical of your crush or S.O. As for the hot-headed and passion-fueled Mars, it'll make us feel super assertive (and maybe even aggressive) when it comes to staying on top of our responsibilities and getting things done meticulously and perfectly. Basically Mars in Virgo can be a little bit American Psycho, but, like, in a good way?
And now for the ever-familiar astro bodies that we see each day and night: "The Sun and the Moon will add honesty and sentimentality to all of the above, even clarifying matters and feelings," explains Stardust, "as we are encouraged by the Virgo stellium to work out situations and speak from the heart." With all these powerful planets working together synergistically, this Virgo stellium is going to be highly productive when it comes to making positive changes in our lives. It'll help us clearly see and sort out what we want and what we need — as well as what we don't — and it'll give us the energy, drive, confidence, and communication skills that we need to make those changes happen for ourselves. This stellium is a major blessing to help us wrap up the summer productively and with a clean slate — a gorgeous way to enter a new season, as we will later on in September.
A Virgo stellium ain't here to mess around — this sign has a sharp eye for planning and an itch for improvement. Virgos get off on time-consuming, detail-oriented tasks, and they have the patience, diligence, and purity required to get it done. We will all have access to the earthy, powerful, efficient Virgo vibes this season, so if you notice a lot of uncrossed items on your to-do list, now's the time to start knocking them out.
