As the Sun enters Virgo we’re likely to turn a critical eye on ourselves, others, and/ or our environment; the funny thing is, though we’ll have a helluva time finding common ground in relationships, with a little reflection we’ll know instinctively what actually needs to be corrected (in ourselves and our environment), what needs to ‘line up’, and what’s just a distraction produced by a restless imagination. We’ll also have the chance to see how well-meshed our empowerment urges and our real-life power situation truly are–and if we see a big gap, we are likely to experience which ever one we are most alienated from manifest as another person–so, we may have to deal with someone in authority, someone with whom we must negotiate, someone who takes a parental stance with us, or someone who feels slighted and so insists on exerting her power over us–whether it makes sense or not. Keep reactivity to a minimum, observe what’s outside you (because that’s either something you’re disowning or a warning of a direction you may be headed) and consider how that can be incorporated in a positive way. Use what you care about as an overall guide. (Venus contra-parallel Sedna and qnx Neptune, Juno parallel Ceres)

Today’s word image is a young man with a large tattoo of a lion that covers his right arm and shoulder. The Sun may have vacated Leo, but Mercury, the North Node, and Pallas are still there. That suggests our thinking, our idea of which way we want to be headed in life, and what’s wise, smart, or practical are somehow lagging behind the times, and the tattoo of the image is associated with the right side, the active, doing energy–so this may be about looking at what we can do to bring our own efforts and the way we see them ‘up to date’–that is, taking them beyond the highly personal viewpoint of Leo to a more objective Virgoan assessment.