GLYPH MEANING The maiden holding wheat symbolizes the practical and productive nature of Virgo. Another interpretation is that the glyph is derived from the Greek letters ΠΑΡ, the first three letters of the word Parthenos ("virgin"), which refers to Virgo’s modesty and perfectionism.
ARCHETYPES The organizer. The analyst. The assistant.
DATES August 22–September 23*
HOUSE Sixth
POLARITY Negative
MODALITY Mutable/Changeable
ELEMENT Earth
PLANETARY RULER Mercury
*the dates represent the first and the last possible day when the Sun can be in Virgo and may vary slightly depending on the year
CHARACTERISTICS
Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac. As the second earth sign, Virgo represents a pebble stone, which has been reshaped and made perfect by natural elements. In the sign of Virgo, the soul is learning how to be of service to the world. Virgo helps the soul develop these traits with their natural talent for analysis and organization and their eye for detail.
Virgo’s nature is genuine and modest. They are intelligent and often focus their mind on practical problem-solving. They are hardworking and consistent, very responsible, dependable, and devoted to service. They like to serve someone or something, and usually prefer being in the role of the assistant, staying in the background. They are good at helping others because their nature is flexible and accommodating.
Virgo loves making sense out of chaos. They use their analytical mind and discerning nature to put things into order and make everyone’s lives easier. Their approach to problem-solving is very methodical because they like to be efficient. That is why they prefer to do things in a particular, organized way so as to not waste unnecessary time or energy. They appreciate perfection and doing things correctly. They are excellent at planning, systemizing, categorizing, etc., because they like to make sense of things and define the world around them. They have an interest in understanding how things work. Their attentive mind and eye for detail help them decode even the most complex systems and break them into smaller pieces. In general, they are great at fixing things and helping people.
In relationships, Virgo is loyal, devoted, and caring. They approach love with practicality and a realistic outlook. They prefer to show affection through their actions, rather than words, because they feel that actions say more than words, not to mention things get done. Virgo shows up for their partner and is ready to sacrifice a lot to make the relationship work. They like to help their partner work on themselves and improve their lives, but they often get disillusioned if their partner doesn’t care to improve themselves. Virgo also has to be careful not to expect the impossible of their partner. They need to keep in mind that no one is truly perfect, despite their best efforts.
On the negative side, Virgo has a nervous and anxious nature. They get tense when they are under pressure or if things don't go as expected. In such situations, they tend to worry excessively about what is going to happen next. When things don't go according to their expectations, they get discouraged and disillusioned easily, and after several disappointing experiences, they learn to anticipate that things will most likely go wrong. This reaction makes them come off as negative and gloomy. They also have to watch the tendency to become sarcastic or cynical, because this can quickly turn into general pessimism or even depression.
Virgo is a perfectionist by nature. They have high standards for themselves and others. They try to reach those standards to their best ability, and they will nag everyone else until they at least try. This idealistic outlook is problematic because it makes everything so difficult for Virgo and drives everyone around them crazy. They always strive for perfection, which makes them nitpicky and pedantic. They will work on their projects endlessly and obsessively. As a rule, they double-check every fact and triple-check every word because they don't allow themselves to fail. Without exception, they are workaholics. They don't stop fixing and improving until everything is as close to perfect as possible. This quality makes them a reliable worker and a very demanding boss. They can be too controlling, preferring to do everything themselves, or at least checking everyone's work because no one else can do things right anyway. They have high expectations for other people's work but even though they are very hard on others, they are always even harder on themselves.
Virgo often has issues with servility. It's in their nature to help others, but too often they let people take advantage of their kindness because they find it difficult to say no. If someone crosses their boundaries, they often don't say anything because they prefer to avoid confrontation. Then there is also the issue of Virgo's self-imposed martyrdom. They can't stand mess of any kind, and because they can't let just it be, they take it upon themselves to take care of it. Then they feel resentful of others and underappreciated because they always have to do everything alone. Instead of dealing with their feelings, they become passive-aggressive and acerbic towards others, however, by doing this, they are only hurting themselves. They have two options: they need to let others help and accept that the results might be below their standards; the other option is that they let go of doing everything and welcome a little mess in their life. Either way, their life will be imperfect, just like everyone else's.
The most important life lesson Virgo has to learn is related to their constant striving for perfection and their obsession with getting every detail right. They are determined to achieve excellence in everything they do and don't want to settle for anything less. Secretly, however, they worry that despite their best efforts, perfection is always out of their reach.
Virgo needs to look to its opposite sign Pisces and learn how to accept things as they are. Pisces understands that it's useless to make plans because life will always get in the way. Instead of fighting against the current, Pisces goes with the flow. They surrender to life and let it take them where it wants. They trust that the universe will lead them down the right path, that it will take them to the people who can help them, and that it will bring them to those who need their help. Virgo should learn to do the same. They are expert planners, and they know the best way to organize everything, but they need to learn about the divine order of the universe. Virgo might know how to organize their surroundings to perfection, but even they can't control what lies ahead. They have to learn to let go and trust that on the grand scale, everything is already perfect, even though it may not seem like it. Virgo has to stop resisting the plan the universe has for them, so that life can take them to places where their talents are needed and to people who need their service. Virgo can become their best self when they learn to trust that there is a place for everything and that everything is already in its place.
Comments