The devil is in the details...

A funny thing happened while writing this.  I completed the draft yesterday afternoon, I just wanted to take a moment away so I could make sure I was clear in what I wanted to share with you so I left it overnight thinking I would return to it this morning, clean it up and send it out.  

This morning lo and behold, it was gone, it had vanished somehow from my computer so I had to begin again. 

Completely.

I had to choose what was the most important thing at this moment.  And for the most part, though I too struggle with it at times, I don’t believe there are any accidents. As Plotinus said, “The stars are like letters that inscribe themselves at every moment in the sky. Everything in the world is full of signs. All events are coordinated. All things depend on each other. Everything breathes together.”

For me personally, the most valuable thing I have received practicing astrology is a fairly unshakable belief that everything is connected, including us. I see it demonstrated every day as I work in my work.  It is a daily reminder that we are part of the greater unfolding fabric of the ever-weaving universe. All of the threads are interwoven together.  

Even my blog disappearing. 

To be frank, what I believe happened is I accidentally cut and pasted a section of an article I wanted to think about more deeply over it and then automatically hit save  In other words I wasn’t paying attention. 

Rather ironic as my thoughts about this New Moon is Virgo (exact on September 2 at 9:55 pm DT/6:55 pm PDT ) centered on paying attention and organizing your life around this question:

What is most important in your life?

One of Virgo’s superpowers is to focus and pay attention to the details.   When we focus we can create a container of sorts, a place that holds something we value. 

When we pay attention to the moment at hand (one of the muscles the practice of mediation helps us develop) we become more fully embodied.  We become more conscious and aware. We can, if we choose, awaken to our own life. Including what we have either consciously or unconsciously placed at a point of worship in our daily lives as we are essentially devoted to the places we spend our time either in thought or deed.

When we slow down and become aware we consciously contribute to the moment at hand. We grace life and life is graced with our presence. It is reciprocal, that is the basis of everything is connected including us.  

Have you taken the time to pause and ask yourself what is the most important thing in your life?  If we are honest most of us haven’t, and as a result, our lives become organized around unconscious habitual priorities that are driven from concepts we were taught about life. Take safety and security for example.  That’s a common one. 

Life is brief.  It is unlikely that any of us will be lying on our deathbed wishing that we had been more secure.  Not that there is something wrong with seeking security, but often if we haven’t thought about it we are usually heading down dark alleys in search of it. It is a response driven by our fear and when this is its root, it is not the thing that is going to bring us a sense of joy or connection. The irony is legitimate security is a byproduct of seeking things that give us heart. 

Virgo takes place at the time of the harvest.  No matter where it lands within our chart, it teaches us to sort.  To cut the chaff from the grain. To know what is useful and worthy of our time and attention.  It mentors us in the art of paying attention. 

When I was in my twenties, my grandmother who was in her late eighties shared with me that she was shocked at how quickly her life had passed by.  While she still felt the same as she had at eighteen, it seemed like a mere moment had passed and she now looked in the mirror and saw a stranger, someone she had never imagined she would become. I remember her saying that she wished she had taken more risks and let herself have more fun. In other words, she wished she had allowed herself to enjoy the experience of life more fully.

At the time I believed I understood what she was saying, but that was only a half-truth.  I was in my twenties and thirty years seemed like an immense amount of time. Now, I know that it’s not.  Time passes so quickly, it feels like I barely caught my breath and here we are. 

In the energy of this New Moon take a moment to pause, breathe and contemplate in your heart; what is the most important thing?  The thing I would regret not paying attention to at the end of my life.  

Then ask yourself if your life as it is currently constituted is organized around that concern that matters the most.  Have you made it a priority?

Life is a precious gift. This New Moon in Virgo offers us a moment to remember the devil is in the details. Use it to sort, to sift, and to create space in your world that is worthy of your time in this all-too-brief life.  Pay attention, if for no other reason than having to begin again at the eleventh hour.