Virgo III, The Sarcophagus (as named by Austin Coppock), begins on 12 September 2025 at 8:24 am EDT. Ruled and administered by Mercury (who’s still a day away from entry), it is the home of Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. This decan is associated with the 10 of Pentacles, showing a wealthy old man surrounded by the fruitful material benefits of his intentional wealth-building, and T. Susan Chang called this decan Return on Enfleshment. The Sun will be here for ten days, five hours and fifty-six minutes, moving into Libra I The Blindfold and Sword, on 22 September 2025 at 2:20 pm EDT.
I’ve written about Virgo III previously, in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and home. At a time when cooking and preserving food was an all-consuming task, she represents the labor at the heart of the family, and several core questions: what shall we eat? How shall we eat it? How long will it be until we next eat?
As I write this, my wife is off at the grocery store. In the near future, I will unload the groceries and put them away. Then she’ll make lunch for herself, then I’ll make lunch for myself, and wash the resulting dishes from those individual meals. Sometime later today, she’ll begin the process of making dinner, and we’ll eat it together. I will then do the washing-up of the plates and cups and silverware, and clean any pots and pans. Hestia, the woman at the fire, will be present through all of these processes — as I clean and sanitize with hot water, as she cooks over a stove or with the oven, as we figure out what we want to eat from our pantry and refrigerator and spice rack. And we will have to do variations of this task, for the rest of our lives.
There something to the idea that Hestia’s Orphic Hymn from the 1st century CE has an incense associated with it — from Aromatics. This would have been a blend of spices in the ancient world, but for many culinary cultures from around the world today it refers to some combination of root vegetables and herbs and spices sautéed in fat. For me, it’s often carrot and shallots and onion and celery and garlic sautéed in butter; sometimes it’s ginger and scallions and chili pepper and lemon grass in sesame oil. Sometimes it’s carrot and celery and garlic and bell pepper in olive oil. Often salt and pepper accompany this mix — but sometimes I’ll add in some cayenne, or cardamom, or chipotle pepper. Sometimes it’s turmeric. For a more mediterranean profile there will be capers and bay leaf.
It’s not a great deal of extra work to recite a little prayer to Hestia, to keep your hearth safe, as you caramelize your minced onions.
That same care can also be extended to your city, your state or province, or your country. For the Romans, Vesta was not simply the private goddess who kept the home-hearth safe, but also the keeper of the state’s perpetual fire. In June each year, the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta was extinguished so that the Vestal Virgins could clean up the ashes of the previous year and collect them in jars and buckets. They’d be carried down to the Tiber River, and ceremonially dumped into the river, washing away the previous year’s endeavors. Then a new fire would be laid and kindled, and torchbearers would process through the city, carrying the new fire to private residences. In this way the state’s spiritual security was honored and protected. With the risk of fire properly managed and domestic order assured through annual ritual, Rome’s leadership was believed to be able to act for the public good.
In the methods that I practice (about which I’ll say more in my Patreon), I use the season of Virgo III as the time to honor the Greater Mysteries of Eleusis. Celebrated sometime during the month of Boedromion, corresponding to sometime between mid-September and the end of October, the Greater Mysteries were a ten-day commemoration of the giving of the secrets of agriculture to mortals from Demeter. These included a lengthy and secret ritual reporting the marriage of Persephone and Hades, and involving a powerful but today-unknown formula of initiation that had been the same since before the Mycenaean era (later, although still in the pre-classical era, the Lesser Mysteries were added in March to prepare future initiates).: I have fasted, I have washed, I have purified myself; I have drunk the cup; I have received from the box; having done, I put it into the basket, and out of the basket into the chest; I have feasted with the gods. Like all the ancient mystery cults, there was an emphasis on three formal secrets: things said, things done, things seen. I do my own version of these during the season of Virgo III, and for me at least, they serve as a reminder that I am a child of both Earth and starry heaven — a creature of both flesh and blood, and eternal soul.
That initiation, and the mystical truth that lies behind it, are definitively Mercurial — we have no proof that there’s life after death, or transmigration of souls, or reincarnation. They’re byproducts of language. We’re not aware of any other type of animal on Earth that has assumptions about the eternal nature of the soul, and it’s kind of a preposterous claim to make without evidence. A great many people in the world assert that it’s fraudulent at worst, deluded at best, to make such claims. However, a considerably larger number of people have some sort of belief in the eternal nature of the soul — and they do so from a foundation of widely reported but scientifically unverifiable experiences in which the soul’s eternal nature seems to be present. From this comes the name of the decan The Sarcophagus — which the ancient Egyptians regarded, not as a coffin, but as a kind of immortality machine, which separated the decaying body from its imperishable mind.
The dodeks, or twelfth parts, of Virgo III are Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and Leo. These may be compared to the way that a person sets out to hold a dinner party. First they rouse themselves from their resting place with a desire to make good food and good entertainment both for themselves and their others. They then think through two issues simultaneously — what food to prepare, and for whom to prepare it. They send out invitations, and go about their shopping as well, simultaneously delighted and disappointed by who agrees to come, and how their intellectual menu must be modified by the real ingredients available. At the last, like a lion roaring, they display their offerings to the guests and are rewarded with praise.
Dates to Watch
All four of the outermost planets will be retrograde for the whole decan — Saturn in Pisces, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, and Pluto in Aquarius. Mutable signs will be more harshly affected by the square of Saturn and Uranus, which is characterized by the breakdown of systems of orderliness and rigidity; be aware of how the mutable signs (Pisces, Gemini, Sagittarius and Virgo) tend to seek change for change’s sake these ten days. However, both Cardinal and Fixed signs are likely to face their own difficulties. Pluto in Aquarius requires you to risk resources you may not have, in pursuit of uncertain value or reward; while Neptune in Aries throws cold water on your passionate fires and douses your ambitions.
19 September — Mercury leaves Virgo for Libra, dropping from rulership and exaltation, to a mere triplicity ruler. Where analysis and deliberate intention fails, you may have to use economic persuasion and market forces to ‘jolly’ yourself or others into doing work they’re reluctant to do.
20 September — Venus leaves Leo for Virgo, dropping from a state of being peregrine to being exiled. Your creative gifts may be powerful, but sooner or later you have to decide not to get lost in details, and actually finish your projects.
21 September, there’s a solar eclipse — partial, only visible over Antarctica and in the Southwest Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. It’s the seventh in Saros series 154, which began in July 1917. This is approximately the time that the last Queen of Hawaii, Lili’uokalani, fell ill with the mix of dementia and paralysis. that finally killed her in November 1917. The mid-point eclipse of this series, in July 2530 AD, occurs over the territorial waters of Hawaii, and I suspect that this Saros sequence has a great deal to do with Polynesia. Meanwhile, the next eclipse in this cycle will occur in 2043, with only a few regions in southern Africa and Madagascar able to see even a partial eclipse. This is a South Node eclipse series, meaning that it began over the south polar regions, and it will consistently offer LESS of whatever area is governed by the house where the sign of its current eclipses may be — often in the form of crap and trouble. Currently, that’s Virgo… which for me is career and reputation… A change of life direction is probably coming for me before July 2026 and the end of the current sequences of south node eclipses in that sign.
23 September — Although it happens after the end of this decan, Mars enters Scorpio, rising from exile to assume his domicile throne as sign-ruler. Whatever part of the chart Scorpio represents, you can expect to have new ambitions and forces at work there — and new risks of injury and challenges coming in ‘hot’. Remember to keep your cool!
House Delineations
The First House of self and self-presentation is Libra, ruled by sextile Venus in Leo from the 11th house. It will be valuable these 10 days to define yourself in terms of your friends, and to make a point of connecting yourself to them in personal meetings; but also making the effort to connect them to each other through introductions. The presence of Mars here means that there are risks of you being upset when some of your friends turned out to be better friends with each other than they are with you; try not to give into the heat of jealousy. Jupiter, as one of the Triplicity rulers of air signs invites you to make a point of connecting your professional colleagues to your acquaintances who are relevant freelancers.
The Second House of money and possessions is Scorpio ruled by inconjunct Mars. The Moon and Venus, the other triplicity rulers, are in the opposition or square. It’s best to keep your financial matters to yourself over the course of these next 10 days, but there will be emotional stressors around your obligations; and a genuine desire to help your friends out of their own difficulties. Resolving these is up to you, but it’s better to do nothing, than to complain about being poor or being rich.
The Third House of extended family and intimate friends is sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter in aversion. The Sun and Saturn, the other triplicity rulers, are both square. Relationships with siblings and extended family are somewhat fraught, and it is easy to trip yourself up while dealing with underlings and subordinates and hired help. Making sure your pets are drinking enough water, and enough of the right water, is an important goal. Mean what you say, but don’t over-promise
The Fourth House of home, household, and parents is Capricorn ruled by sextile Saturn in Pisces from the sixth house. Making some daily effort on keeping your house clean and orderly is valuable and brings contentment, but it’s important not to become obsessed with cleanliness or orderliness recognize that there is a hierarchy to cleanliness, as well. It’s more important that the dishes, kitchen and bathroom get cleaned regularly, than that all cobwebs are swept off of the porch.
The Fifth House of children, pleasures and pastimes is Aquarius, ruled by inconjunct Saturn (triplicity rulers Mercury and Jupiter are also inconjunct). Pluto’s retrograde presence means that your pleasures and joys cost more than expected; tools may be damaged and need to be replaced in the course of pursuing hobbies; your children’s back-to-school clothes and supplies cost more than planned. There’s much to be annoyed by when shopping for goods, but it’s not yet time to turn over the tables in the marketplace for your fun.
The Sixth House of daily routines, pets, and injuries is Pisces, ruled by trining Jupiter; Saturn and the North Node are present. Of the triplicity rulers, only the Moon makes an aspect, a sextile from Taurus. Austerity can feel like ambition, and getting rid of what does not serve you may feel like a sacred sacrifice. Yet it’s worth remembering that asceticism is often lived in community rather than in isolation. Before trying to adopt an eremitic lifestyle, ask yourself, who is in my community?
The Seventh House of spouse, peer partners, and rivals is Aries, ruled by opposing Mars. Neptune is present and retrograde; triplicity rulers Sun and Saturn are inconjunct, while Jupiter is square. Professional obligations may throw water on your emotional attachments to spouse or significant others; and personal standards may blow out the flame, too. However, these should not be regarded as permanent states of affairs — the coals are still hot, and can be refueled in the near future. Treat this as a low point when you may have to walk on coals, but know the fire can burn bright again.
The Eighth House of obligation, duty and legacy is Taurus, ruled by squaring Venus. The exalted Moon is present, and triplicity ruler Mars is in aversion. Practice a kind of emotional cleanliness these ten days — you have duties and responsibilities you must carry out, but you don’t have to be weighed down by them. Honor the task list, do them, but don’t suffer from it.
The Ninth House of higher learning and long-distance travel is Gemini ruled by squaring Mercury in Virgo. Uranus is present; triplicity rulers Saturn and Mercury are both square. Actual travel during these ten days is likely to be tumultuous and carry delays; higher education settings like colleges and grad schools will have the craziness of first weeks of school. Long-term planning is likely to require aligning multiple schedules with students, higher-ups, peers and your own inner vision. Don’t over-schedule, or too far in advance. Things are changing fast.
The Tenth House of career and professional reputation is Cancer, ruled by the sextile and exalted Moon; Jupiter is present and exalted. Triplicity ruler Mars is square. Your workplace may be considerably more touchy-feely than usual this week, but learning how to manage the flow of responsibilities in a way that is both genuine and compassionate will be a real asset. Taking on team, leadership roles, whether formally or informally will require you to learn new “soft skills” that are better accomplished with some level of privacy than loudly announced in public.
The Eleventh House of friends, associates, and allies is Leo, ruled by the Sun in aversion. Venus is present. All three triplicity rulers are inconjunct. You will be expected to be kind and supportive of your friends, but you can pretty much expect that level of assistance, will not be reciprocated — at least not immediately. It’s part of your work to draw together people who are not likely to be instant allies. The immediate aftermath of such introductions may result in annoyance from those you’ve introduced. Unfortunately you will have to keep trying. One of those connections will be beneficial to you in the long run.
The Twelfth House of both obstacles and opportunities is virgo, ruled by present Mercury in both rulership and exaltation, and about to conjunct the Sun — in an eclipse season. It’s worth remembering that not every idea that crosses your brain, should be expressed openly and publicly. Some thoughts, immediately expressed and without nuance, can lead to an early grave. Say less, think more, and keep your eyes and ears open.
Horoscopes by Rising Sign
Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.
I recommend reading your Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign for best results. I write them with rising sign in mind, but several people have told me they find that they do better with all three.
Libra: balance your life these next 10 days, by linking together, important issues. Break and intelligently demolish any task for a project that keeps you forever, spinning on the same subject. Organize an event and bring your friends together, but try to avoid creating an event where everyone just Mills around. Focus on creating something that has direction and purpose. Career matters require that somebody lead; it doesn’t have to be you, but have a candidate in mind that you intend to support. Romantic partnerships are likely to be somewhat traditional, or even traditionalist —do your part to bring any resentments into the open and address them head on, rather than letting them float nebulously.
Scorpio: financial matters are likely to be troublesome, but you are your own worst enemy when it comes to managing you were finances. You’re the one who’s most likely to break your usual financial rules, even if there’s somebody else listed on your bank account or credit card. In the workplace, focus on bringing together the correct range of resources to accomplish the task that you believe are important. In relationship matters, focus on doing some service to your shared responsibilities by cleaning bathrooms or taking over the shopping or making a meal. Running a household is likely to be expensive this week and in the future for you; remember that keeping good data like receipts is a way of understanding why you can’t ever get ahead in the world.
Sagittarius: home, and local issues, are likely to be important to you this week, but there are looming responsibilities that must be addressed, and those may often require you to be elsewhere. Ongoing disruptions to your romantic life may be normal, but there will be a sweetness there that will be difficult to replicate in the next three days. Professionally, you are likely to experience some successes in the short term, but thinking about long-term decline in your earning power, and how you will manage that, would be worthwhile. Sticking close to home may feel emotionally fraught, but it’s where your natural tendencies want to hold you. Choosing to help your partner manage their affairs, probably brings the greatest increase in good fortune for you both.
Capricorn: you may experience a sudden burst of short errands and local tasks that require your attention, in order to maintain the house that you live in. Some of these tasks may feel somewhat oppressive, but others are going to bring you great contentment because you feel accomplished in fixing that which is broken. This doesn’t mean that you should take on projects for which you are especially unqualified; if you are not a certified electrician, it’s definitely NOT the week to mess with the breaker panel. Knowing when to hire outside help, and when to DIY, is an important task of discernment. When in doubt, ask your partner, their nightmare risk-management sense is more likely to assist you than your own confidence. At work, broken or damaged norms are likely to lead to ugly results.
Aquarius: fear of poverty, and concerns of how cash is flowing out, but not in, may lead you to be overly critical of everyone around you. Be careful that becoming the prophet screaming in the wilderness does not become your brand identity, and avoid making it fun with”gotcha” or “I told you this would happen” with a self satisfied smirk. Nobody likes a smart ass your spouse or significant other can help you Marshall your resources to accomplish this in a more sophisticated matter, but you have to take their advice. Home life is sweet, but has a lot of “honey do” errands associated with it. Still, enjoy the work under your own roof while it lasts; a money problem at work is likely to occupy your attention and pull you from family situations for a while after September 20.
Pisces: run your life with errands and to-do lists this week, but do your best to make it fun. Schedule a coffee date between a hardware store visit and a grocery shop; go for a walk in the park while your kids are getting a haircut; drop in on a friend to drop off a gift and be on your way again. Your financial situation is going to be somewhat fluid, and more dependent on spousal attention than usual there may be money arguments about shared resources coming up and then first few days. Clear communication maybe somewhat difficult, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Framing things in terms of family needs rather than personal needs may help you (both) set better priorities. Remember to treat subordinates with deep kindness and value their contributions to your overall efforts.
Aries: the cold shoulder from a spouse or a significant other may feel like cold water has been poured all over your inner fire. A sense of sullen resentment may arise, which you should recognize is not necessarily personal —your spouse or significant other is going through a lot right now, and having to break out of customs and routines that are normal for them; they may be unconsciously lashing out at you. Working to maintain a stable and happy home in this kind of environment is difficult; but not impossible. Bring together friends for active, intentional fun —a game night, a barn raising, a painting class, a coven meeting or book group.
Taurus: let your duty and obligations be fulfilled with a light heart; an almost Buddhist approach to odious chores would be beneficial. Treat them with a transient seriousness: give them your full attention and then let them go. You may have to be more of a leader than usual to your extended family; you may be required to bring together your parents, friends for some kind of an event as well. Perhaps there is a looming birthday or anniversary with some significant number. In professional spaces, it is an appropriate time for you to say “that won’t work” but you should be aware that your factual opinion may be overwhelmed by emotional zeal from other colleagues. Be careful of self injury while doing your usual routines, particularly around medication.
Gemini: long distance, travel can be freeing; so can a course of personal study. You are currently at the start of a seven year period of personal disruption; learned to take advantage of the surprises that brings as well as its difficulties. Right now the best way to do that is to say yes to a few adventures, even if they cause limitation. The money for the trips are likely to show up; but both your household and your workplace may have strong opinions, and particularly Work may hem and haw about letting you call in, rather than being present in person. There’s a future version of you, that’s a lot more stripped down and minimalist, and is able to travel lighter. That day isn’t today, and you shouldn’t be tempted by that idea just yet.
Cancer: a focus on your professional life is probably necessary at the moment, but it’s likely to go well. Remember that most people get jobs based on who they know, rather than on what they know; be calling around to your network and make an effort to connect with a lot of people quickly, rather than deeply. This goes against some of your nature, but a lot of short check ins will do you more good than one on one deep dives. On the other hand, the deep dive has to be around your long-term vision for yourself: are you more attached to who you have been in the past? Or are you thinking about who you are going to be in the future? Right now, you’re probably thinking about who you have been; but you need to be thinking about who you want be years from now.
Leo: it’s going to be really easy this week to bring friends together, but not necessarily easy to create the conditions in which they get along. Don’t worry so much about whether or not the connection lands immediately; sometimes sparks fly because people are rough and ready. Recognize that it is not your job to smooth over difficulties, but simply to keep connections in motion. The challenge that you face is that you will always find it easy to bring people together; but it will not always be easy this week to step back and let other people take the wheel of the dialogue. Try to let folks handle themselves. This is especially true in the workplace, where you should dump a strategy of touching things only once before handing them off to someone else. In your primary relationships, you may have to adopt a different strategy, though; there, you may have to take on tasks that are normally easy for your partner, and to hand them tasks which are hard for them — it’s a week where trust and cross training will serve you well in the long run.
Virgo: your long range vision and plans for yourself may be heavily clouded this week, and you may feel like there’s a dark future ahead. To some degree, that’s true, especially with an eclipse looming. Yet it would be wise to explain and explore these feelings in conversation with a professional, and also with your spouse or significant other. Your personal connection to them may make them adopt a more tower or tragic, feeling, but a professional may be inclined to a more surprising and liberating “hot take” —so see the therapist first, before discussing with your spouse, so that their insights can alleviate both your worries. Set aside time for your hobbies or children, even if you don’t get to do much, it’s likely to lift your heart. Money worries may dismay you this week, but things should shift by the end of the month.
Colophon
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If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.
I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.
I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.
