A Collective Oracle for the Novilunium in the Mercurial Sixth House
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The Moon has now entered the mutable earth of Virgo, conjoining the Sun in the silence of the novilunium. A new cycle opens at the exact point where the zodiac consecrates the sixth house to Virgo under the mercurial sign, opposed to the twelfth house of Pisces, mutable water and the zodiac’s final degree. This lunation carries within itself the promise of culmination in Pisces, since at the plenilunium it will unveil a total lunar eclipse on the seventh of September, in the fifteenth degree of Pisces within the Egyptian bound of Jupiter.
That eclipse will be opposed by Mercury in its own dominion in Virgo, as Uranus turns retrograde in Gemini, the other mercurial house. The entire cycle resounds with the voice of Hermes. The eclipse occurs beneath Jupiter’s measure, but opposed to the planet of the Word. The mercurial current moves through the waters of Pisces, seeding visions, dissolutions, and revelations, whilst the earth of Virgo offers an opportunity of purification and order.
The reading of the cards took place shortly after the exact New Moon, at the hour of Mercury on the day of Saturn. The planetary sequence placed the rite under Elohim, beneath the weight of Zaphkiel and the gentleness of Gabriel. The four directions were honoured with incense of myrrh and the reading of Psalm sixty-two, so that the Spirit may descend and sanctify the act.
I. North: What Must Be Purified In the Roots?
TEN OF CUPS
The northern point, aligned with the Imum Coeli, revealed the Ten of Cups. This card belongs to the world of Briah, manifesting as Malkuth within it. It is culmination and dissolution, the last decan of Pisces where Mars stirs the mutable waters. The angelic seal of Asaliah and Mihael hovers above the scene, with transparency and the power of union.
This brings forward Pisces, the very place of the coming eclipse. In the roots lies the necessity of release. The Ten of Cups points to a fullness that tips into transcendence. It is the overflowing chalice that cannot be contained, urging the soul to offer what has ripened back into the Divine ocean. The roots in this case are watered by the same current that will dominate the Full Moon. The question of purification is about surrender. The fragments of the past must be dissolved in the Piscean sea so that the Spark may rise unburdened. Mars in Pisces grants the courage to cut away illusions, but also presses the soul to embrace the path of compassion where the sword becomes a chalice.
The northern foundation calls for an offering of memory. The hidden ancestry of the soul must be given over to the living waters. This is the work of baptism renewed, the immersion of the old self beneath the flow of grace.
II. South: What Is The Visible Mission of This Cycle?
MAJOR ARCANUM IX – THE HERMIT
In the southern point, aligned with the Midheaven, the card that rose was the Hermit, Arcana IX. This is the twentieth path upon the Tree, uniting Chesed, the sphere of Jupiter and the realm of Sachiel, with Tifereth, the solar heart ruled by Michael. It belongs to the Column of the Father, the column of expansion and mercy, and then extends down to the sphere of the Logos itself. The Hermit is the figure of Virgo, the very sign where the New Moon was seeded, and bears the strong letter Yod, the hand of the Tetragrammaton.
The question of mission finds in this card a profound answer. The Hermit bears the lamp as a guide for others, a beacon drawn from the fire of the Sun within. In the context of Virgo this becomes the call to service, the humble work of embodying the Word through precise acts, gestures, and words that heal and order. The mission of this lunar cycle is not the display of external triumph but the quiet and relentless practice of the inner discipline. The Hermit reveals that the true glory of Virgo lies in fidelity, preciseness, in service that never falters.
The mission under this card is solar in essence but mercurial in method. The Yod is the seed of fire, the spark that begins creation. It appears as the smallest letter, yet within it lies the entirety of the Name. So too the work of this cycle is hidden and small, but contains within it the whole power of the Spirit.
III. West: What Shadow Arises in The Mirror of the Other?
SEVEN OF CUPS
The western point, aligned with the Descendant, gave forth the Seven of Cups. This is Netzach of Briah, the victory of Venus expressed through the watery depths. The decan is Scorpio’s last, where Venus moves through fixed water. The angelic powers present are Melahel and Hahuiah, both belonging to the order of the Thrones.
The shadow that arises through this card is that of fascination and distortion. The seven chalices appear filled with mirages, each offering a different temptation. In the realm of relationship this means that the Other is met through the lens of desire and fantasy, and the danger is to lose sight of the true form behind the veils. Venus in Scorpio brings passion, intensity, and a profound magnetism, but also draws forth the poison that lies hidden beneath.
Placed in this reading, the Seven of Cups confirms that the only minor cards are both in Briah and both in water. The northern Ten of Cups in Pisces and the western Seven of Cups in Scorpio form a watery dyad, preparing the stage for the lunar eclipse that will arrive in Pisces. The element of water dominates the relational and hidden aspects of this cycle. It signals that the shadows will be encountered through emotion, projection, and the lure of fantasy.
The mirror of the Other becomes a vessel of alchemy. The illusions seen in the chalices are symbols of what the soul projects outward. By recognising the false image, the Spark becomes freer to perceive the true Light. Venus is again at work, weaving the threads of attraction and danger, compelling the soul to discern between the false and the true.
The Thrones who guard this card represent firmness and protection. They remind that, even within confusion, the Divine guardianship remains. The task is to see through the haze, to name the mirage for what it is, and to allow the waters to purify desire rather than corrupt it.
IV. East: What Form Must the Spark Assume in the Body?
MAJOR ARCANA IX – THE DEVIL
The eastern point, aligned with the Ascendant, revealed the Devil, Arcana XV. This belongs to the twenty-sixth path of the Tree, connecting Hod, the mercurial sphere, with Tifereth, the solar Logos. It stands upon the Column of the Mother, Imma, and moves toward the heart where Archangel Michael presides. The path is associated with the sign of Capricorn, the cardinal earth, and is marked by the Hebrew letter Ayin – the Eye.
The presence of this card at the gate of the body is striking. The Devil signifies bondage to form, the chains of matter, and the seductive power of the image. But, in the higher reading, it reveals the necessity of incarnation itself. Ayin, the Eye, is the faculty of perception, the capacity to see the world. The Spark must take on a body, must enter the limits of flesh, must learn through the eye of matter.
The Devil in this spread joins the mercurial sphere of Hod with the solar sphere of Tifereth, repeating the theme of Mercury and Sun that runs through the whole cycle. In its physical presence, Mercury provides language, gesture, and style, whereas the Sun offers the radiance of the Logos. The Devil insists that the embodiment will not be free of struggle. The eye perceives beauty and distortion alike, the body feels ecstasy and bondage. But this is the chosen vessel through which the Spark may shine.
Capricorn, as earth cardinal, frames the task in terms of structure, responsibility, and endurance. The form demanded is disciplined, capable of bearing weight. In this way the Devil becomes paradoxically aligned with the Hermit. Both call for discipline and structure, one inward, the other outward. Together they show that the liberation of Spirit requires a body strong enough to carry it.
Placed opposite the Seven of Cups, the Devil forms an east–west axis of temptation and form. On one side illusions, on the other bondage. But both both test perception. Raphael stands over Hod, guiding the intellect, whereas Michael radiates from the Christos-Tifereth, guiding the will. The tension compels the Spark to enter matter without losing Light.
The four directions weave a cross of water and earth, love and discipline, illusion and embodiment. At the centre stands the Logos, the hidden Christ, who binds the axes together. This New Moon in Virgo opens a cycle deeply mercurial, demanding purification, discipline, discernment, and embodiment. It is a passage where the Spirit is invited to shine through clay, the Word through silence, and the Eye through the veil.
Fiat Lux.
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