Auntie Moon

Always you have been told that work is
a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill
a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you
When the dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you
are in truth loving life,
And to love life’s labour is to be intimate
with life’s innermost secret.

Excerpted from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Have you ever watched a master craftsman at work? It’s as though they were born with Kahlil Gibran’s words written into their soul’s code. They are completely focused on the detail ~ the love ~ of their work. Their skill, their art is their temple and they bring both mastery of their craft and a devoted enthusiasm to the project at hand.

The 8 of Pentacles shows us this Master Craftsman at work. He sees an intricacy in the detail that escapes our eyes. He’s intimate with the feel of the stone as his hands glide over its surface. He feels every flaw, notices every imperfection, and is still able to turn it into something beautiful. What may look like routine, cookie cutter sameness to us is filled with nuance to the master.

Potency is defined as the “inherent capacity for growth and development.” It implies that you are not yet what you might become. The stone cutter is filled with potency, as are you.

Imagine that you are this stone mason meticulously sculpting a fine piece of art from a huge block of stone. Someone is going to think that you are incredibly talented ~ a master. You know, even if they don’t, that you are only an apprentice working under the guidance of true masters. But within you lies the potential to become the master, eventually guiding others who would apprentice under you.

New Moon in Virgo ~ What Work Have You Mastered in Your Life?

Each time you undertake a regimen to increase your proficiency ~ by increasing the quality of your products or services or in the expansion of your knowledge through courses and hands-on training ~ your power and skill is increased and further refined. Your apprenticeship will never end. Even if you are revered as a master, you will always have more to learn. The testing grounds never end; the challenges are always at hand. Slowly and steadily plugging away, you have the ability to produce a more perfected, masterful result as you continue to painstakingly and diligently refine your efforts. Leave no stone unturned in the masonry of your life. There is always more, always something new. Use this New Moon in Virgo to discover the nuance of your life’s work, the potency you were born with, and then work to perfect your skill over the coming month.

If you have wandered aware from your inherent potential, take Gibran’s words to heart and rediscover what was “assigned to you when the dream was born.”  Use the month to reconnect with your life’s work. You may find that it’s not what pays your electric bill or puts groceries on your table, but that it truly does let you love life. Don’t ignore it. Hold it tenderly in your masterful hands. Breathe into it. Bring it into being.

Note on the miniature work of Mallikarjuna Reddy from Wikimedia:

“Mallikarjuna Reddy is a miniature sculptor, and Guinness World Record Holder, the creator of the world’s smallest monolithic sculptures, often taking months to complete one, working between heartbeats to avoid hand tremors “You have to control the whole nervous system, you have to work between the heartbeat – the pulse of your finger can destroy the work. To the naked eye, each of Reddy’s works is all but invisible unidentifiable speck that reveals its true form, in mind-boggling detail, only when placed under the microscope and magnified 500 times.”

To read all of the selection On Work from The Prophet, click here.

For more ideas on things to focus on during the New Moon in Virgo, see 12 Things to Do When the Sun Transits Virgo.