Virgo

(24 August – 23 September)

Planetary symbol: The Virgin

Element: Earth
Type: Mutable
Ruler: Mercury

Being a mutable earth sign, Virgo shows the adaptable side of the practical element of
earth. The glyph for Virgo represents the female sexual organs and the planetary symbol is
that of a young woman; a virgin.

The typical Virgoan is analytical and exacting, with a mind that prefers to reduce things to
their purest form in order to understand them. Virgoans are usually industrious and reliable.
When a delicate job needs to be completed in a precise and thorough manner, a Virgoan is
the person to do it.

Unlike the sometimes ostentatious Leos, Virgoans prefer to be understated in dress and in
their surroundings. If the atmosphere becomes too noisy or flamboyant, Virgoans are easily
spotted because they will be observing rather than participating.

These people are conservative by nature, and can be effective organisers who manage to
remain in the background. As business managers they excel, for the Virgoan ability to judge
a person’s nature and select the right person for the job helps everything run smoothly.
Virgoans dislike drama, so any business venture has to run with minimum of fuss for the
Virgoan to be content.

Virgoans are systematic, especially where numbers are concerned, and their precision suits
them to accountancy, medicine, small business, chemistry and natural therapies. They
possess an innate love of order and symmetry, so can often be found as craftspeople.
Whatever they do for a living, Virgoans do it with a desire to be perfect.

With their gift for detailed work, Virgoans will continue to work on a project long after
others are satisfied, until they have satisfied themselves. Their excess of nervous energy
means they are often restless and their minds are usually more active than their bodies.

Virgoans love puzzles, problems which require careful reasoning to arrive at a solution and
the opportunity to test their mental powers. These people usually have good, clear
memories, which increases their problem-solving skills.
As they push themselves towards perfection, Virgoans can be hard on themselves, expecting
more of themselves than others expect of them. This can be extended to friends and
family, and they can become critical of those close to them when they feel that better
results could have been achieved.

Being an earth sign, Virgoans look after their health and their physical bodies, and are
careful about diet, exercise and rest. They can become obsessed with their physical health
to the point where they are fanatical about what they eat and tend towards hypochondria.

Virgoans prefer to go about things quietly without drawing any attention to themselves.
They are suited to positions involving service to others. Whereas the Leo usually wants to
be the king, the typical Virgoan is content to take second place. Their reward is not the
praise they receive form others, but the inner satisfaction they derive from a job well done.

Virgo children are serious students, who work hard and enjoy routine and discipline as it
gives them a sense of security. Even when young, these people are neat and tidy.

Virgoans like to surround themselves with subtle colours and simple lines in furnishings.
Subtle, earthy tones suit them, as these allow the Virgo mind to ponder without distraction.

Virgoans can appear to be aloof when you first meet them, but chances are that they are
observing you, deciding who you are before they commit themselves in any way. They choose
their words carefully, meaning exactly what they say. Unlike the Gemini who is happy to talk,
the Virgoans sense of humour is subtle and quick. Comments are often offered quietly and
with a straight face; if you are not alert, you can miss the humour entirely. In the film
Being There, Peter Sellers (a Virgoan) demonstrates the typical subtlety of the sign with
brilliant understatement.

At any age, Virgoans benefit from a quiet period each day to rest and to reflect. Although
their bodies relax, their minds are usually active, and they resolve problems while they
work, Idle hands are not usually Virgo hands

Relationships

In love, the typical Virgoan is an example of emotional restraint. In place of splashy

demonstrations of affection, the Virgoan helps their partner’s life to run more smoothly.

Happiness for a Virgoan lies in the smooth running of day-to-day living, and the Virgoan is
able to ensure that most things run according to plan.

Sometimes Virgoans are not as quick to praise their partners as to criticise, but when they
do offer praise, it is deserved. To the typical Virgoan, the very fact that they have chosen
you as their partner is enough to ensure that you are not like the rest of humanity. These
people are extremely discerning and they usually choose their partners carefully, knowing
that a wrong choice can result in chaos and pain.
Virgoans are reliable and loyal partners. It takes time for a Virgoan to open up to their
partner, so patience is necessary. When hurt in love, the Virgoan can retreat into
themselves and become critical of others and of life. In particular, they can be critical of
themselves for not anticipating the turn of events.

Virgoans usually work hard for their families, finding service to others a worthwhile
expression of love.

Health

Virgoans tend to be overly conscious of their health, often needlessly. Areas which can be
of concern include the hands, the intestines and the pancreas.

As the pancreas helps to regulate sugar levels in the blood, Virgoans need to limit their
intake of sugary foods. Virgoans tend to prefer savoury rather than sweet foods and they
are usually moderate in food, drink and exercise.

Regular physical exercise to offset the mental exercise helps to keep Virgoans balanced. In
the negative type, Virgo people can become health obsessed.

Inflammations of the intestines is another area of concern for Virgoans, and this can
sometimes be avoided by following a high-fibre diet.

Negative Virgo

When negative, Virgoans possess a great deal of scepticism. In their search for the purest
form of any thing, belief or quality, they risk eliminating many acceptable alternatives.
Highly critical, the negative Virgoan often considers the opinions of others worthless and
they are quick to reveal the flaws in any argument.

Negative Virgoans can be aloof and self-centred. Those who are not fully conversant with
their current interests are considered fools. The Virgoan powers of observation allow these
people to inflict the greatest pain with the minimum effort. They can be condescending and
scathing with their dismissive remarks.

Extremely exacting and neat, these people bring a sense of fanaticism to the word
‘orderliness’. They sometimes see only the cracks in the china, the hair out of place, the tiny
piece of food on the chin of the small child or that someone has moved the sofa 4
centimetres to the left.

Life can be miserable for the negative Virgoan, because no amount of effort seems to
rectify the imperfections they see around them. Their friends and family suffer too,
because they bear the brunt of this quest for perfection, and are constantly criticised,
compared and examined for faults.
The fear of making mistakes can sometimes prevent any action at all, and the negative
Virgoan fears criticism for not getting it right the first time. They don’t seem to realise
that nobody is as critical of their achievements as they are themselves, and until they see
this, they fear new things, in case they appear foolish.

Time spent with Arians or Sagittarians helps the negative Virgoan to relax a little, as these
other signs are usually prepared to try everything once, and often laugh off any mistakes.

Virgo lesson

In learning, there are often three distinct stages. The first is desire or planning; the
second, action; the third, reflection. First you desire, then you act upon your desires, and
lastly you think about which actions were useful and which were wasted. While Arians are
eager for the action part of learning, Virgoans prefer the reflection.

In observing, and reflecting upon the actions of others, Virgoans can often learn without
having to make their own mistakes. This appeals to the Virgoans, as they detest mistakes.
However, this approach stifles experimentation and can limit invention, which is unfortunate
because mistakes have lead to some of the greatest inventions in history.

The lesson for Virgo is to learn to analyze.. It involves scrutinising life and sorting each
component according to its use and purpose. To do this, Virgoans need to step back from
life, in order to observe it clearly. In learning their lesson, Virgoans need to be aware not to
stay too long observing, for it can limit the true understanding which comes from doing and
being.