Partial Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Virgo: Are We the Victim or Victor of Our Own Story?

As we approach the Solar Eclipse and New Moon at 29° Virgo on September 21st, 2025, I find myself reflecting on a question that has shaped much of my inner life:

Am I a victim, or a victor of my own story?

For a long time, I believed I was a victim. Whenever life didn’t go my way, I blamed others. It was always someone else’s fault—my family, the world, the circumstances. That belief gave me something to cling to, but it also kept me stuck. As long as I held onto victimhood, I couldn’t take full responsibility for my life.

Looking back, I see how often I gave away my power. I didn’t trust others because I didn’t trust myself. I wore masks to protect my inner shyness and sensitivity, afraid of being seen and rejected. I attracted toxic relationships that mirrored my own inner self-doubt, then blamed others when things fell apart.

It took me years, and a lot of honest self-awareness and self-forgiveness, to see that while I had experienced pain, I didn’t have to be that pain. I didn’t have to live my life as if I was doomed to suffer. I could choose to take accountability. I could choose to be a victor of my own life. 

The upcoming Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Virgo invites us to confront this powerful theme: the tendency to play the victim in our own lives. 

Unlike a Lunar Eclipse, which occurs when the Sun and Moon oppose each other, a Solar Eclipse happens during a New Moon, when the Moon aligns exactly between the Earth and the Sun, casting its shadow on us. This cosmic alignment merges the energies of the Sun (our identity and creative self-actualization) and the Moon (our emotions and how we see ourselves), through their conjunction, amplifying the influence of the Virgo archetype. This Eclipse will be felt by all of us on a deeply emotional level. 

Adding to this potent time, the Solar Eclipse and New Moon are closely tied to the South Node of the Moon, which is also currently in Virgo, all of which is showing us what we must release. When we let go of who we’ve been, we make space for who we can become. Through this transformation, we evolve — becoming more whole, more authentic, and more aligned with our true selves. To understand what we’re being asked to let go of, we need to look at Virgo’s deeper essence and its shadow side.

Virgo, at its highest expression, is the healer, the analyst, and wants to be of service. But in its shadow, it can become self-critical, anxious, or martyred. With both the Sun and Moon in Virgo during the Eclipse, as well as the Lunar South Node, we are being asked to reflect on where we might be unconsciously clinging to the role of the victim… and how we can begin to reclaim responsibility, healing, and personal power.

Virgo also represents self- purification and our compulsion to strive for perfection. But in its shadow, it can stir up feelings of inadequacy, self-criticism, and even victimhood. Through Virgo, we are confronted with our own imperfections — often through humbling life experiences that remind us we’re not perfect and still have a lot to learn.

This process can feel harsh, especially when we are hurt by people in our lives or go through experiences that seem unfair. But when we’re unwilling to see our own faults, it becomes easy to project blame outward… onto others, onto the world. But if we’re brave enough to look at ourselves with honesty, Virgo offers us a path to healing and true self-improvement, where the quest for perfection is replaced with the quest for self-acceptance.

It is human nature to avoid seeing ourselves as we truly are. We create stories to protect our fragile ego and self-image, and when those stories become distortions, it’s easy to cast ourselves in the victim role and see the world as the problem—rather than recognize that we might be the problem ourselves.

It’s no coincidence that many of us feel the world is in serious trouble right now. Something is undeniably wrong. But the real question, and the one this Eclipse invites us to face….is: How do we respond to what’s wrong?

Do we blame others? Do we blame ourselves? Do we blame the world? Or do we turn inward and ask difficult questions of ourselves? Maybe the path forward isn’t about blame at all.

To reach a space beyond blame, we must first learn to forgive ourselves. Only then can we truly forgive others. And when we live from a place of forgiveness, blame naturally dissolves. No one is left to blame when we have truly learned to forgive.

The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus captured this beautifully in the following saying:

“A person who blames others has not begun their lesson.
A person who blames themselves has begun their lesson.
A person who blames no one has finished their lesson.”

The theme of blame is especially important right now. The energy is calling us to examine our relationship with ourselves and others, specifically, how and why we assign blame.

Adding to this, Venus enters Virgo on September 19th, just before the Eclipse. With her influence here, we’re being asked to look more closely at our relationships…not just with others, but also with ourselves. How do we give and receive love? Do we practice self-love? How do we relate, judge, and forgive? In order to love another person, do we not first have to learn to love ourselves? Venus in Virgo asks us to look closely at these relationship dynamics so we can be better equipped to form healthier connections with others.

In my own life, I once identified with being a Victim, as I mentioned earlier. But more than that, I was my own harshest critic…my own worst enemy. I blamed others, yes—but I also turned that blame inward, dissecting every perceived failure or shortcoming. I constantly analyzed myself: why I didn’t do better, show up differently, act more authentically, or take the risks I knew I should have. I was buried in shame and guilt.

This pattern connects to my 6th house Pluto, as the 6th house and Virgo share a core lesson around self-perfection and humility. I am learning that real self-love doesn’t come through perfection. It comes through forgiveness. I had to forgive myself for getting it wrong, for the mistakes I made…especially in my relationships. I had to learn to see them as lessons, not life sentences. I had to learn to live without the familiar weight of constant self-judgment. 

That’s the deeper work this Virgo energy is asking of us: to turn self-criticism into self-compassion, and to transform blame—whether projected outward or inward—into conscious accountability and growth. 

Understanding the patterns of human behavior, the ways we act from unhealed wounds, blame others, and project our inner confusion outward, is essential for growth. It’s deeply human to fall into these habits. We all do it, in one way or another. But if we want to stop living as victims of our own story, we must cross to the other shore. We must dismantle the old ways of relating to ourselves and others, so they don’t return in new, disguised forms.

Virgo teaches us humility. Not as weakness, but as a sacred step toward self-purification. It reminds us that perfection is a myth. In accepting this truth, we can forgive ourselves for the times we’ve faltered, and release the shame we’ve carried for far too long. To move forward, we must make a different choice. We must walk a new path — one that leads away from blame and toward responsibility. Only then can we serve something greater than ourselves and become a healing presence for others.

Only then can we stop being victims — and become the victors of our own lives.