August 2025: Tarot spread for the new moon in Virgo

Plus an astrology and tarot forecast, new moon ritual, and herbal lore for the Virgo new moon.

The August 2025 new moon falls in the sign of Virgo. The Virgo archetype is logical and practical, with an eye for detail and the steadfastness to go after their goals. This is a sign that thrives on meticulous planning, on honing skills to perfection and gaining mastery over their chosen vocation.

Spiritually, the Virgo archetype teaches the principle of devotion. One way to understand this principle is by looking at it through the lens of one’s devotion to their craft. While all the buzz seems to point towards profiting from your passion, there are numerous examples of famous writers and artists who held down a day job for most of their lives. Franz Kafka was an insurance clerk, Harper Lee was an airline ticketing agent, Mark Rothko was an elementary school teacher and Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker. They could all have given in to the dull drudgery of making a living, but they didn’t — and the world is much richer for their devotion to their craft.

This new moon also highlights our standing in the world, and with it, our personal sphere of influence and power. It also lights up our role in society and the ways in which we contribute to the world. Some of us contribute boldly, through activism, teaching, sharing of wisdom and knowledge, others in gentle, smaller ways, among our families and communities. Both ways of being in the world are necessary and valid.

This new moon also asks us to take a closer look at our vocation, and to see if we are in right relationship with it. To ask ourselves what we want to focus on, to determine what role our vocation, which I see as somewhat different to a career, though a career can be a vocation, plays in our life.

Astrology and tarot influences for the Virgo new moon

To throw some more light on the August new moon astrology, let’s take a look at the astrological and tarot influences of this lunation. This new moon falls in decan 3, which is represented by the 10 of Pentacles. This is to be interpreted in conjunction with The Hermit, which is associated with Virgo.

The 10 of Pentacles is one of those cards that everyone loves to see in their readings, and for good reason. It indicates times of abundance and joy, of family and stability, of moments in time when everything seems to be right with our world.

And yet, these moments can sometimes feel fleeting. Circumstances change, situations become somewhat tenuous, and we need to set things in order in our world once more. Sometimes, we can find ourselves at a place of relative long-term stability, when we know that barring an unforeseen tragedy, we are comfortable and resourced, that life will continue to tick over easefully.

Despite hoping for exactly this situation, many of us don’t know what to do with ourselves when we arrive here. We don’t know how to take our foot off the pedal, how to enjoy a modicum of peace and leisure, how to suck up the sweetness of life.

Part of this, I think, stems from the overculture’s focus on hustle and productivity. Doing nothing, where nothing is interpreted as not doing anything “productive”, i.e., anything that doesn’t fuel the capitalistic machine, isn’t something most of us are comfortable with.

This Virgo new moon offers us a chance to really consider our relationship with the vein of richness that runs through our lives, to appreciate it, and to reflect on how we want to use our resources, which includes our precious, limited time.

Do we want to remain plugged into the demands of a capitalistic society that focuses on working harder, going bigger and monetizing every aspect of our lives? Or do we want to embrace a slower, gentler, more intentional life? And if it is the latter we crave, how do we make that happen? How do we rewrite decades of programming that equates our worth, purpose, meaning, and legacy to work that feeds the economic engine?

The Hermit, perhaps, provides an answer. Far away from the village, on a snowy mountain pathway, with the light of his lantern illuminating his next step, the Hermit has retreated from the noise of the world to find his own truth.

And while we don’t need to escape to a cabin in the woods {though I’m sure that’s what many of us secretly long to do}, we do need to lower the external noise.

This can look like decluttering our inboxes, unsubscribing from newsletters and unfollowing accounts that focus on the hustle, that make us feel less than. It can also mean being intentional with our news sources, limiting social media time, or heavily curating our social media feeds so that they feels spacious and more closely reflect the kind of life we want to live.

This isn’t easy. Dismantling a program we’ve grown up with, and one which still seems to dominate society, is like peeling back the layers of an onion. There are always more bits of the code that need to be examined and re-written.

With Uranaus forming a square with this new moon, this work becomes somewhat more difficult, but perhaps more urgent. There’s a restless undercurrent to this moon, as it churns up feelings of disruption and freedom, trying to shake things loose and usher in some much needed change.

The moon also forms injunctions with Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto, further complicating things. Saturn demands discipline, Neptune can pull us towards passivity, and Pluto can bring on some despondency. Together, these aspects highlight the discomfort and challenges of being a crossroads, where different values compete for our attention.

We do live in a capitalist society, after all, and we need to abide by its rules – to some extent. We don’t need to subvert our every desire to its machinations.

Jupiter is also active during this Virgo new moon, offering us a reminder that expansion doesn’t always mean bigger, louder, more. Sometimes it means broadening our capacity for stillness, for slowing down without guilt.

In that sense, this Virgo new moon is an invitation to reimagine wealth, stability, and meaning not as what we produce or accumulate, but as the quality of life we cultivate in small, intentional ways each day.

This is your one wild and precious life. You get to decide how you want to live it.

Herbal medicine for the Virgo new moon

Every new moon, I will choose a herb for us based on the astrology around the moon, using the Herbal Astrology Oracle by Adriana Ayales. I’ll include a bit about the herbal lore and some guidance that you can weave in to your new moon workings.

The herb that I chose for the August 2025 new moon in Virgo is Elder.

Elder encompasses the duality of life and death, along with associations with the faeries and deep magic. It signals the end of a phase of life and the beginning of a major cycle. It is a wise guardian, that assists us as we step through new portals and doorways.

The wisdom of the Elder can be an anchoring support as we navigate the astrology and energy around this new moon, helping us find our way with greater clarity and offering us support as we reclaim our attention and invite some softness into our lives.

Note: I am not a herbal practitioner, and the herbs that I choose for us on each new moon are not meant to be ingested. If you own a copy of the Herbal Astrology Oracle, you can place the card on your altar. Alternately, you can find a photograph of the herb and paint or sketch it in your journal while you reflect on its healing properties and how they may resonate with you.

Tarot spread for the August 2025 Virgo new moon

Here’s a tarot spread to tap into the energy of this new moon.

Noise: What have I been conditioned to value by the overculture?

Nourishment: What truly enriches and sustains me.

Grounding: A grounded practice that supports this shift.

Mamma moon says: This is always an encouraging message

If you share your spreads on Instagram, please tag me @moderngypsy.in so we can connect with each other.

Ritual for the new moon in Virgo

For this new moon, I have a beautiful, mindful ritual for clarity and renewal.

You will need:

A candle

A cleaning cloth

A small space or writing table that you want to clear and reset

A small piece of paper {a post-it will do} and pen

The ritual:

Sit quietly and place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly. Take 3 slow, deep breaths. With each breath, repeat silently or aloud, “I return to myself”.

Light a candle, and as you gaze into the flame, imagine the light spilling over you, illuminating what feels cluttered and stagnant inside and out.

Clean your space – your writing table or other nook that you want to clear and reset. As you clear the space and wipe it down, breathe gently, imagining that as you clear this physical space, you’re clearing your inner space too. You may wish to repeat to yourself, silently or aloud, “As I clear this space, I clear myself.”

Arrange your space mindfully, choosing objects that both support and inspire you, creating a space of functional beauty.

Once you’re done, look over your space. Name three blessings in your life right now, letting the feeling of each blessing settle in your heart.

On a piece of paper, write a word or phrase that represents the quality you want to embody in this season. Place it somewhere where you will see it often.

Blow out the candle, and repeat, aloud or in your mind, “May this seed grow in alignment with who I am becoming.”

Take three deep breaths to close this ritual.