Relocating to Stockholm for four months has been a monumental move. Clothing for three seasons was made doable by my handsome and handy (Mercury in Virgo) husband’s packing cube system – genius! Packing up our five person household and making it tidy for our temporary tenant was both satisfying and wearying and I was never so happy to sink into the seat of a fifteen-hour flight than I was that day. To hop on a plane is easy, but to journey without losing your mind and passport is not. Luckily, the productive Virgo Sun and Mercury were holding space for us, providing clever solutions when we needed them, economizing efforts with smart systems, and honing us in on the details when we truly couldn’t afford error.

At Virgo season there’s always pleasure to be found in productivity, and this year I’ve found the many years of husband-and-family-house-training has paid off: there’s nothing more gratifying than basking in the end results of having one’s house in order. It emboldens the kind of clarity in oneself that few other things can. As we left our house in its most sparkling condition to date, I wistfully remarked that with its clean angles and polished surfaces (or at least as polished as an 85 year old house can be) I’d like to be a guest in this house. Is it a woman thing? I’ve never met a woman who didn’t appreciate a clean house. We tell our partners, “An untidy house affects me mentally.” When the house is messy, by extension, our lives are, too. We lose clarity and focus in our lives. We feel overwhelmed, too tightly wound, as if the toaster going on the blink could topple our sanity. It’s a Virgo thing.

The housekeeping is starting all over again, now, with the Virgo New Moon. There’s a new apartment to fill with the handy things you always use but never think about: bedding, bath towels, cutting boards. And being in a new country, there’s so much to learn! From the transportation system to language, currency to telephones, we are on a huge learning curve. The adage “progress, not perfection” will go a long way for us, as will the que sera sera of the opposite sign of Virgo –Pisces, what with leaky bottles, razors down the drain, broken travel mirrors, items forgotten and internationally locked cell phones, we’ve already pulled on many times.

This Virgo New Moon is assisting all of us in putting our lives in order, taking steps to finish what we’ve started, finding solutions that are natural, essential, economical. Virgo season is a time of transition; with the flurry of back-to-school activity, planning of autumn schedules and new educational pursuits, life is busy and focused on the work at hand. Which also affords us the opportunity to look at the systems and routines in our lives, to decide whether they are truly elegant ones.We are ready to streamline, clarify our lives:  we may decide to learn a new skill, schedule an outstanding health appointment, to fix something.

Virgo seeks maximum efficiency, especially in health and habits, our work lives, and daily routines. We are looking for elegant solutions in our lives. Not in the fashion sense, though she can be that, too, but in precision, quality, succinctness. Elegance is a balance of simplicity and precision honed to gracefully deliver maximum results. With ability to quickly spot problems and hone in on the details, Virgo is a learn-it-so-you-can-fix-it kind of gal but we needn’t be so self-reliant. Caring, compassionate Jupiter in Cancer is sextile this New Moon so instead of feeling ashamed or self-isolating, do ask for help, especially with health issues.

If you are ready to start your next project and need a little traction and help, look no further than this Virgo New Moon. To solicit the Goddess’ help in any endeavor, start small, or start with something not related at all. Begin with the practical magic that doesn’t, at least at first glance, resemble magic at all: housework. You can do this by throwing out expired toiletries, organizing all of the nick knacks in your office drawer, grooming your favorite small creatures, replacing unattractive old socks and undergarments. As you eliminate the clutter, tend to the details and organize the spaces in your life, the constellation of Virgo showers you with golden seeds of new beginnings. You’ll find the space in your self to start projects you’d like to begin next.

An Earth Goddess, during this next lunar cycle you will want to work with the Earthly realm to receive Virgo’s grace. Tidy up, finish up, systemize, organize, schedule appointments, learn, pull it all together to earn the appraising approval of the Virgin Goddess.