I learned a lot because of the Brisbane floods last year.

I learned a lot about electricity- how it works, how the wires act like capillaries and the different names for light types.

I learned about generators, I learned about lift curtains (and how to hang them), I learned about bollards and how to damage them.

I learned how to dry out documents without damaging them and I learned how badly flood waters stink.

I learned how some people can’t help enough, others choose not to help at all, how some removalists have it in their contracts not to lift stuff and how some people are physically incapable of lifting the side of their mouth into something approximating a smile.

I learned how people help each other, how resentments can (temporarily) disappear during times of crisis and I learned how a well-timed “Talking Tom” can prevent a meltdown.

I also got a crash course in how to build a house.

Apparently it’s not that hard- you dig a hole, you lay a foundation and then you build it brick by brick. You pop a lid on it and then fill in the middle bits. As the builder who told me this said: “save me the labour pains and give me the baby.”

OK, he simplified. I can’t build a house. And he, the builder I was talking to, had studied long and hard to get to where he is. Building anything is such an Earth concept. Laying of stable foundations. Brick by brick. Stone by stone. Bit by bit. It’s this last phrase that Virgo is interested in- the details. Not the “what” so much as the “how”.

It is these details that determine how deep the hole has to be, how deep the foundations have to be, how many nails you need to buy, how much concrete, how much frame etc etc etc. It is also these details that ensure that the house is, at the end of the project, fit for purpose ie that it is doing what it says it will do on the tim.

The Moon is in Virgo today and, having recently squared off against Venus, is now in a very long void of course. This is Astro tech speak for it doesn’t make any traditional aspects to any other planet before it moves into the next sign, ie Libra.

If we were looking at a horary question, this would be a Bad Thing. From an Astro weather viewpoint, however, it means that this Moon is completely, totally, unadulterated Virgo- at least until tomorrow morning (Sydney time).

This also means that Monday is a good day to do Virgo things- a good day to get things done. It’s a good day to do those detailed tasks that you have been putting off. It’s a good day for organising things, for counting things and for putting things back where they belong. It’s a good day for looking at habits with discrimination and a good day for swallowing your response if a friend asks you if her bum really does look fat in those jeans.

It’s also a good day allowing yourself to be overcome by chaos and the concept of “too much”. The solution? Make like a Virgo, get in touch with your Earth side and break it down into easily digestible pieces.

It’s a bit like writing a book. You get an idea, jot down a few chapter headings, open a word document and fill in the middle bits.

Which is why I have broken down this weeks goals into easy to measure, easy (I hope) to achieve word counts. Filling in the middle bits. Putting the words where they need to go- where they will be of most use. Such a Virgo concept.

Right after I get another coffee…