Virgo is the sign of the virgin. Virgin here means unwed, not necessarily chaste or abstaining from sexual experience. The Virgo personality can actually take sex to an extreme. In some respects, it is the sign of the holy whore, which means offering sexual favors as a form of service. Being an earth sign, Virgo understands the needs and urges of the body.
The glyph for Virgo shows a creature with its stinger turned inward, upon itself. This is in contrast with Scorpio, which shows the same body with the stinger turned outward and barbed. This tells us a lot about the similarities and differences between these two signs. The Virgo personality is keenly aware of their propensity for destructiveness but they prefer to keep it to themselves. This is a clue to their self-effacement.
Much of the sign’s modus operandi revolves around fixing itself. This is a critical point in the zodiac for here ends the strictly personal phase of relation. Much of Virgo is a reaction to the excesses of Leo , the sign preceding it in the zodiac. Leo took personality to the utmost and Virgo is acutely aware of the fallout from the heights of selfhood. Where Leo was only dimly aware of the Other, Virgo is painfully aware that it is not alone. It prepares for the meeting of the Other encountered in the following sign of Libra.
The Virgo personality has a tendency to withdraw from worldly concerns and concentrate the whole of its awareness on an inward journey of personal discovery. They hold themselves apart from the world of men to seek the light within.
The hermit card in the Tarot deck is symbolized by the sign of Virgo. The hermit is a man whose face is turned down and away from the viewer. He holds a lantern with a six-pointed star within it and knows the way through the darkness. The Virgo personality likewise retires into their inner self and guides others who may find these inner planes hard to traverse.
Virgo is mental in orientation and it uses it mental faculties to analyze the contents and structure of the people, things, and situations it observes. They are quick to notice flaws and deficiencies in workmanship, whether it be clothes, ideas, or other people’s personalities. The intent is usually good. They want nothing less than perfection. However, since perfection is rarely found in this world, they go inwards and search for an inner vision of holy purity.
Mother Mary is a Virgo Archetype. She gave birth without physical intercourse. The Virgo personality wishes to be impregnated by the divine. Nothing less than God’s child whether in the literal or figurative sense.
The Virgo personality has high ideals for how they could be. This extends to the world too. They see how things could be better and they feel pressure to do something practical to bring about this desired change. Work and service are keywords to this sign. If they are not working in a job or profession that is in alignment with their ideals then they are very unhappy creatures. Feeling useful is paramount to their well-being. Working in subordinate positions doesn’t bother them if they feel they are being put to good use.
Virgo personality is notoriously preoccupied with health. The sign is sensitive to how food is prepared, the cleanliness of its environment, and just the whole mind-body state. Virgo can go so far as to become obsessive about their health, using their highly developed analytical faculty to break down every compartment of life, finding every possible flaw or shortcoming hindering the smooth operation of the piece of the puzzle under examination.
For example, Virgo may decide one fine day that their diet is all wrong. Now they have something to work on. Virgo will be particularly prone to go overboard in organizing their dietary intake. They will allow themselves no excesses of fat, carbohydrates, red meats, foods that are not organically grown and so on. Virgo will break it all down until there is nothing left to do except sit in a dark room and wait for the end to come. They want to make themselves so perfect that they become incapable of leading any kind of normal life. The Virgo personality puts itself in voluntary quarantine.
However, when they are not tearing themselves or those around them into itty-bitty pieces, they make some of the finest and most considerate human beings around. They are extremely helpful in a crisis and always at the ready with some nifty piece of information that you do need at the time you need it. They don’t impose on you or drone on about subjects you obviously have no interest in. The Virgo personality curbs its excesses and incontinences.
A healthy Virgo will be the least in need of a psychologist. Figuring out what makes themselves tick is second nature to them.
Featured Photo Credit: Ambre Troizat
As a Virgo sun, I feel I have been dragged.
I have a Scorpio moon and rising, so I suppose that means my barbs are pointed everywhere.
One of these days when I have a little extra cash I’d like to do a consult so you can tell me what it all means.
“A healthy Virgo will be the least in need of a psychologist. Figuring out what makes themselves tick is second nature to them.”
Geez Blake, welcome back to you too.
Good to be back!