Creating magical ritual for everyday living

To help you make the most of this Virgo season and the sometimes dissociative energies of Virgo and Pisces combined (truly, it’s a wild axis), here are two lunar tarot spreads.

If you’ve paid attention to moon transits in astrology or you’ve read my “Working with the Moon” blog post, you know that Virgo season always has a New Moon in Virgo and a Full Moon in Pisces. (Every few years, there’s a second one of those in the season too because there are 13 lunar cycles in one solar cycle through 12 signs.)

I’m continuing the tradition of posting the New Moon spread first because the New Moon is always in its own season. But keep in mind that the Full Moon in Pisces will be happening first this year (2023).

New Moon in Virgo

This season we have the New Moon in Virgo (21º Virgo 58') happening September 14, 2023 (9:39PM US Eastern Time), but you can use this spread for any New Moon in Virgo. The fundamentals are the same.

Clearing: What part of me have I left overexposed for too long?

Transitional pause: Where will editing allow for focused brilliance?

New seeds: What intentional habits will reap a great harvest?

Light in darkness: When is my nervousness an opportunity for growth?

Planetary boon: How will keen observation and clever thinking help me this cycle?

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This is a great time for The Lamp Lighter Workbook. It includes 10 exercises for exploring your bigger life mission through divination alongside your astrological chart with Virgo’s analytical precision. Plus there are some touch points for creative expression, leadership development, and shadow work.

Or perhaps you’d like to celebrate the Full Moon in Pisces with The Moon Dreamer Workbook with exercises to help you dive deep into your psyche.

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Full Moon in Pisces

This season we have the Full Moon in Pisces (7º Pisces 24') happening August 30, 2023 (9:35PM US Eastern Time), but you can use this spread for any Full Moon in Pisces. The fundamentals are the same.

Fuel: What flashes of insight are ready to become dreams I can manifest?

Magical peak: What bright light shines from the depths of my unconscious?

Purging: What unrealistic fantasies can I let float away?

Clear mirror: How can I embrace positive escape without succumbing to escapism?

Dancing luminaries: How can the wonders of belief enhance even mundane tasks?

Creating the Spreads

(The first and last parts of this are largely the same explanation I provided in the original New Moon in Capricorn / Full Moon in Cancer tarot spreads blog post.)

Each of the spreads is based on five core categories that will be the same each New Moon or Full Moon. There are certain aspects of a New Moon or a Full Moon that are fundamental to that particular lunar phase, regardless of sign. If you’re curious how I created the spreads and want to use some of my techniques and thought processes to create your own spread, go for it! Be sure to share it with me so I can see what you’ve created. Comment below with the questions or share a link to your own blog or Instagram post. Others may want to work with the spread if you’re open to it!

New Moon

Every New Moon is coming from a clearing energy thanks to the waning phase. For this spread situated in a short period of time, that position is informed by the previous astrological sign. (That’s different from working with a full six-month lunar cycle, where the overarching energy is all of that one sign.)

The Dark Moon is then the point of sacred pause where you really need to let the energies of the old sign end and the energies of the new sign form before you act. It’s contemplative and quiet and internal.

And the first sliver of the waxing phase allows you to start planting new seeds in the primary strengths of that sign.

Those three facets of the New Moon make up the first three positions and the central line of the spread. For many folks, that’s all they really need. However, I like to take tarot beyond the basics.

The fourth position, below the main events, is tied to the shadows of that particular sign and offers a way to turn seemingly negative experiences, emotions, or habits into something more useful for the querent.

And the fifth position, above the main events, is something positive based on the planetary ruler of the sign in which all of this is happening. That’s because the Moon and Sun are both in that sign, so they are both influenced by the same planetary ruler. Let’s see what that planet has to offer.

Full Moon

Every Full Moon is at the height of its power in the sign opposite the Sun’s sign. It’s coming from a place of building energy that passes through the previous sign on its way to its brightest point, so it uses that sign’s energy to help it grow and move.

Then at its Full phase, it’s a pure and light expression of the sign. For this short-term tarot spread (rather than a six-month lunar cycle), the card position offers a fleeting magical quality that is a celebration of all that can be achieved through the sign.

After that, it quickly shifts into a waning phase, and you’re able to eliminate negative aspects of your life through the positive characteristics of that sign. This is similar to the New Moon’s Clearing card position, but it’s proactive rather than reactive.

Those three facets of the Full Moon make up the first three positions and the central line of the spread. For many folks, that’s also all they really need. But as you know, I like to take tarot beyond the basics.

The fourth position, below the main events, is tied to the conflict of the Sun and Moon’s signs that is made more obvious thanks to illumination from both sides. It can help you see and eventually address the conflict to help you heal through the light of the Full Moon.

And the fifth position, above the main events, is a positive interaction between the two opposing energies that house the luminaries (Sun and Moon). Oppositions are often seen as challenging, but there’s as much positive potential in them. The same conflict seen in the fourth position is also a combining of complementary energies that can be used for a positive outcome.

Creating Questions for the Signs

What changes in each of those two basic spreads is how the astrological energies affect the question inspired by that core category.

In the New Moon in Virgo spread, I needed to consider Virgo, Leo, and Mercury (the ruler of Virgo). Virgo is the sign of analysis, detailed processes, hard work, refinement, and service. Leo, which is the sign the Moon has most recently left, is about self-expression, confidence, and creative play. It’s exciting but also overstimulating sometimes. Mercury, the ruling planet of Virgo, is the quick-witted and clear-eyed planet of communication and thinking. But too much internalization of that energy can lead to obsession, anxiety, and harsh criticism.

In the Full Moon in Pisces spread, I needed to consider Pisces, Virgo, and their areas of contrast and complementing. The two signs seem worlds apart, as one is rooted in dreams and the others in details. But both have a tendency to lose sight of intentional everyday living with purpose. Virgo needs to look up from the page. And Pisces would benefit from regular check-ins with lived experience. Aquarius, as the sign preceding Pisces, also gets a nod in the first question. It is the sign of the unconventional thinker, so that’s how it adds fuel.

Layout

As for the layout, I’ve placed the five cards for each spread in a classic cross position. I like five-card crosses because they offer up multiple points of interaction and symbolic patterning without creating something that’s totally overwhelming for the reader.

You have five one-card readings in response to five specific questions.
You also have two three-card readings, a horizontal spread that is based on a classic three-card trajectory and a vertical spread that helps demonstrate the highs and lows or the above and below aspects of the spread.
And you have one big picture of five cards that will likely reveal interesting underlying patterns when you look at the cards all together.

Want help creating your own layouts?

You’ve got options! Join my upcoming semester of tarot and take advantage of 20+ office hours, where we can talk through your ideas and how best to ask the questions that matter most and create a custom signature layout for you.

Can’t wait? Sign up for my intensive fundamentals course for new and experienced readers, Read Tarot like a Nerd, where we get into the heart of asking questions that matter, along with a dozen or two other valuable topics to take your tarot readings beyond the basics. Or check out my Saturday seminars, including past recordings of Reading the Big Picture and Getting Intentional, which will help you create your own spreads.

And if you’re curious about the astrology of tarot, I’ve got a course for that.

Tarot Spreads: New Moon in Virgo and Full Moon in Pisces