Hey loves,
I’m hoping that last week’s Venus-Jupiter conjunction and Mercury stationing direct gave you a little breathing room and sweetness in the midst of some truly intense cycles in the larger world.
Last Monday, the day of Venus/Jupiter coming together in Cancer and Mercury stationing direct, a couple things showed up:
In my personal life. so many friends and soul-family came out of the woodwork- run-ins in town, text messages, emails came flowing out and I didn’t realize how much I needed that. Venus is the planet of relationship, Jupiter expands what it touches, and Cancer is the sign of home, nurturance and family. Mercury direct with Venus/Jupiter made it feel like there was a thawing of relational energy and communication after weeks/months of it feeling tense and frozen with overwhelm.
After lots of hinting at it previously, that Mercury direct day was also the day when the Golden-Toilet president took control of Washington, D.C.’s police and brought in the National Guard. Federal troops increased street operations, including homeless encampment clearances and immigration checkpoints, setting a precedent for this martial law expansion into other cities. Astrologically, like I said above, Venus/Jupiter in Cancer suggests an expansion of relationships that “support/nurture the homeland”… which is just what Drumph says he’s doing.
These two happenings, both in my personal life and in the political sphere, are a good reminder about how astrological transits and energies are not “good” or “bad”, but rather exist on a continuum. Astrologers who promise “the luckiest, sparkliest day of the year” or “the worst week of 2025” drive me crazy, as it sets expectation to a universalized experience. All of these archetypes that we work with in astrology, human design, and beyond are dynamic, nonbinary, and can show up in a variety of ways. I believe they are helpful for contemplation of a quality of being, rather than an exact prediction of how something will manifest in a good or bad way.
I’m in a couple of groups right now that highlight this spectrum of existence, this fact that dark and light are two sides of the same sphere. One course is on Magical Activism & Trickster Citizenship with the amazing Caroline Casey (author of my favorite Visionary Activist Astrology). The other group is about Second Act of Midlife with Sarah Durham Wilson, centering on the shift in midlife from maiden/mother to enchantress/crone. They are both incredible containers for being in community with people who are feeling the call to both hold and release the grief, rage, despair, and also liberation potential and deep opportunity of these times. Both containers hold complexity, darkness, and not just “love-and-light ing our way thorugh” as the whole point, and I’m feeling really grateful for these spaces.
A couple of things came through these channels that I wrote down to share, and they reminded me of the shift from Leo Season to Virgo Season, which happens this week. As we evolve in the wheel of the year from heart-centered self-expression to gut-centered intuitive sovereignty and service, remember:
Hope is not a Feeling. Hope is an Action. (Caroline Casey)
The opposite of Love is Apathy. (Sarah Durham Wilson)
Embrace the dire beauty of our time as an inroads to personal evolution, a powerful sense of purpose, and greater dedication and service to what you love. (Caroline Casey)
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FYI:: The Virgo Season Guidebook (a 46 page e-book with journaling prompts and somatic exercises for each week of the next month) will be sent to inboxes of Embody the Revolution members this week.
If you’d like to get one of these workbooks every month (AND get free tickets to my monthly Zodiac Workshops & Breathwork Journeys), join the crew as a paid subscriber here:
I’ve also made the guidebooks available for purchase, so if you’d like to get one for yourself or a friend as a one-off, you can do so on my recently-updated Etsy shop!
In the spirit of Leo season, I also just listed some art, apparel, and hand-painted jackets there too- check it out at cosmicodysseyart.com!
Now let’s jump into…
This Week in the Wheel of the Year:
MEDICINE WHEEL Direction: WEST
WUXING Element: EARTH
PAGAN Season: LAMMAS/LUGHNASSA
ZODIAC Season: LEO (July 22-August 22) » VIRGO (August 22-September 22)
I’CHING Hexagram/HUMAN DESIGN Gate:
Sunday, August 17- Friday, August 22:
Gate 29: Water over Water “The Abysmal”, aka the Gate of SAYING YES/COMMITMENT/PERSEVERANCE
Saturday, August 23- Thursday, August 28:
Gate 59: Wind over Water “Dispersion (Provoking)”, aka the Gate of SEXUALITY
MOON Phase: New Moon in Virgo in the Gate of Sexuality
Wrapping up Leo season with The Gate of Saying Yes (Gate 29)
The final frequency (HD Gate) of Leo season wraps up the story of the Lion’s evolutionary journey with the theme of commitment, perseverance, and saying yes.
Thus far, the lion has journeyed through the energies of:
The Stimulating Storyteller >
The Radiant Influencer >
Retreating to the Den >
Wise, Democratic Leadership >
Formulization & Forgiveness….
and finally, Commitment.
Leo is associated with the heart in medical astrology and with our 20s in the human life cycle, and to me, the story of Leo season embodies an evolution into our heart-centered expression and leadership. It begins with us sharing what’s on our hearts openly, after the inwardly reflective season of Cancer the Crab. In doing so, we realize that our vulnerable truths and stories make an impact on others, influencing them. With this awareness, we retreat back into our caves, needing to process what this influence into the larger world means for us. We then re-enter the world with more deliberate leadership, knowing we must lead from within and listen to our hearts as well as the hearts of others. This leads to the formulization of questions: What if my heart is not aligned with the other hearts in the pride? These questions begin with a feeling of intolerance, but evolve to a deeper understanding about what true leadership-and true belonging- is… through forgiveness.
Finally, this week, after journeying inward and outward, Leo the Lion arrives at the conclusion of Commitment, of Perseverence, of Saying Yes to what is asked of him.
In the Gene Keys, this gate has the shadow of Half-Heartedness, the gift of Commitment, and the siddhi of Devotion. By this point in the journey, the lion knows he cannot wait to find perfect alignment between his heart and all other hearts, or waste time judging himself or others. He cannot lead with a half-hearted attitude or a desire for perfection. He simply has to commit to the path ahead, knowing that he can rise to the occasion as is required of him.
Richard Rudd, creator of the Gene Keys, says “True commitment involves a deep trust in where we are right now, with an ever-deepening commitment to the present moment…. At this stage, we begin to understand that to commit is also to surrender. Our frequency rises whenever we pour out our heart unconditionally to another in service of the highest. The more we love in this way, the more pressure we create within the heart of creation. Eventually, all of our love ruptures the time space continuum and the inexplicable occurs - subject merges with object, and Oneness is all that is left.
This week, the Gate of Saying Yes is not about saying yes to everything that comes your way, but about aligning with your own heart and committing to what is true for you, radiating devotion to your own path out of your heart space. By persevering in this way, you will attract and meet others who are naturally aligned. We enter Virgo season right after this gate, and the first gate of Virgo season is the gate of Intimacy/Sexuality. This is the first taste we have of the other in the human design mandala/wheel of the year, and the Leonine evolution to our pure commitment to our own hearts prepares us for real intimacy with the other. Say yes to yourself so that you may honestly and truly say yes to another.
In the I’Ching, Gate 29 is known as “The Abysmal”, represented by the trigrams Water over Water. It is also widely known as Danger, as pulled from the I’Ching phrase:
Repeating the Pit. Danger.
There is a connection to the spirits that will carry you through.Hold your heart fast! Success. Making a move brings honor.
The symbolism of this hexagram is akin to the proverbial Dark Night of the Soul- signifying danger but also the transformative power of the unknown. The image is of endless flowing water and repeated danger, symbolizing both hardships and perial and the wisdom- and heartfelt commitment- that we need to navigate it.
The sun is transiting this gate Monday-Thursday, so as we begin the week, tap into the wisdom of flowing water and the power of perseverance as you approach any challenges. Stay steady in your heart, follow your truth, and do your best to find a balance point between caution and action!
Then, on Friday, the month of Virgo the harvest maiden-goddess begins, immediately followed by her new moon.
Friday: The Season of the Harvest Goddess, Earth, and Emotional Maturity
As the sun sinks lower into the horizon and fall approaches, the Harvest Maiden, Virgo, steps into the golden limelight of harvest season. It’s all of our favorite back-to-school, back-to-work, get-your-shit-together time of year, and the Virgin is adorned in a glistening crown of wheat, welcoming us with open arms. This is the season of being of service- turning our expression into purpose.
As we arrive in this season of late summer/early fall, and in the Medicine Wheel we have left the season of flaming fire behind and entered the emotionally mature season of adulthood, represented by Water and the direction West. In the Daoist 5-Element (Wuxing) Wheel, arriving after the summer season of Fire, Virgo Season welcomes us to a season of the element Earth- corresponding perfectly with her modality and element in the Zodiac: Mutable Earth.
In the Wuxing Cycle, Earth not only represents the season of late summer/early fall, but also the transition time between all the seasons: Winter and Spring, Spring and Summer, Summer and Fall, Fall and Winter. In this ancient system, Earth is considered the central element, which has a balance of yin and yang. Its energy is stabilizing and conserving, and so is able to act as a pivot point for the transitions between each of the other four elements. Earth is associated with qualities of nurturing, stability, and growth, the foundation upon which life thrives and transitions. (I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some stabilizing and nurturing earth energy after all the fire and air of the past several months!)
In the Zodiac, Virgo’s mutable earth energy is associated most explicitly with the harvest - a time when the earth itself changes dramatically as we reap the living plants and leave fields ready for the season of death, winter, the underworld.
Mythologically, Virgo is associated with many different goddesses of harvest, fertility, service, and cycles of descent and ascent to and from the underworld. Babylonians called the Virgo constellation Ab Sin, which means “The Furrow”, and evokes virgin land about to bear fruit. The brightest star in the Virgo constellation is known as Spica, or “ear of grain”. This constellation and star were associated with the Sumerian goddess Shala, deity of grain and compassion, who was wife of the storm god Adad and was believed to bring bounteous harvests for the people of Mesopotamia. Shala was eventually merged with other deities, influencing later figures such as Demeter in Greek mythology and Ceres in Roman mythology.
Demeter is the Greek goddess of grain and harvest, but Virgo has also been associated with her daughter, Persephone. Persephone was abducted by Hades to the underworld while picking a narcissus flower, which could be seen as representing Leo’s pride. Persephone’s time in the underworld and the above-world creates the seasonal cycles, which aligns with the goddess of the changing seasons. Virgo is also about reconciling our conscious with our subconscious, our self-orientedness with orientation to the other.
But modest Virgo’s Rays give polisht parts,
And fill Men’s Breasts with Honesty and Arts;
No tricks for Gain, nor love of Wealth dispense,
But piercing Thoughts, and winning Eloquence;
- Marcus Manilius, Astronomica tr. Thomas Creech
Virgo is also associated with the greek goddess Astraea, the go of justice, who was the last deity to live on earth before withdrawing to the heavens when humanity turned corrupt, becoming the constellation Virgo. Isis, the great Egyptian mother and magician, also embodies Virgo’s meticulous care and healing skill. She reassembles what has been broken, restores life through ritual precision, and protects the vulnerable with fierce dedication.
In Roman tradition she echoes Ceres’ role as nurturer of the land, as well as Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth. Vesta mirrors Virgo’s quiet constancy and commitment to service, tending the eternal flame that keeps the community’s spiritual center alive. Both reflect Virgo’s archetype as keeper of the sacred, whether that sanctuary is a temple, a home, or the inner altar of the heart, where devotion, discipline, and love are acts of power.
Across cultures, these figures are not passive maidens but fierce and consistent keepers of order, fertility, and the sacred contract between earth and humanity, reminding us that sustenance and wisdom come from both service and discernment.
Saturday: New Moon in Virgo in the Gate of Sexuality (Gate 59)
The day after the sun enters Virgo, the moon joins and initiates us into the harvest maiden’s realm with the final “normal” new moon before September’s eclipse season. This new moon happens in the first Human Design gate of Virgo, Gate 59, known as the Gate of Sexuality or Intimacy.
In the I’Ching, Hexagram 59 is called Dispersion, with the trigrams wind moving over water, breaking apart what is stagnant so that life can circulate again (after traveling the depths of the abyss!). This energy speaks to dissolving divisions, clearing misunderstandings, and restoring the natural flow between people, between body and spirit, between the self and the world. This is not a reckless tearing down of walls, but a deliberate clearing, like irrigation channels opened to let water nourish the fields.
In the Gene Keys, Richard Rudd describes this as the Shadow of Dishonesty, the Gift of Intimacy, and the Siddhi of Transparency. The Shadow emerges when our fears of rejection, betrayal, or exposure cause us to hide our truth, often cloaked in small evasions or guardedness. The Gift transforms this by revealing that true intimacy is deeper than the physical: an energetic openness, a willingness to be seen and to see another without pretense, to welcome another’s heart into your own. The Siddhi of Transparency is a luminous state where nothing is hidden and nothing needs to be defended, and where union becomes a natural condition.
With this lunation in Virgo, the impulse to refine and purify meets the dissolving current of Gate 59. It asks us to become more precise about what real connection means for us, to let go of entanglements that drain vitality, and to invest our life force in relationships, creative projects, and inner work that thrive in honesty. This is a time to tend the sacred channels between yourself and the world, ensuring they are clear enough for love, truth, and desire to flow unimpeded.
How This Week Could Show Up for You
You might notice where you’ve overextended yourself and need to pull back.
Or you could feel the call to recommit in a grounded, day-to-day practice.
Some “yeses” will deepen. Others will dissolve because they were never rooted in your real energy to begin with.
A push-pull between wanting to protect your energy and wanting to merge with the right people or projects.
Realizing that the right “yes” feels like a soft opening, not a forced push.
A heightened awareness of where your commitments drain you versus where they feed you.
This New Moon invites:
Dissolving isolation: Breaking through the walls you’ve built out of habit, protection, or busyness.
Selective openness: Not all intimacy is for everyone.
Seed planting through trust: Virgo energy wants to grow something real, and Gate 59 asks, Who do you trust enough to plant it with?
Until next week,
Alison
Stay in touch!
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Cycles of Time is a weekly forecast that explores at the energies of the upcoming week through the lenses of astrology, the Pagan Wheel of the Year, the Daoist 5-Element Cycle, the Indigenous Medicine Wheel, and the 64 gates of the I’Ching/Human Design/Gene Keys/ mandala.
Each of these ancient, cyclical systems have the potential to connect us deeply with the changing seasons and also with the wisdom of our global ancestors. Viewed together, they reveal the profound interconnectedness that human beings have always held with mother earth. Thanks for reading & listening!
-Alison
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xox,
Alison
