Virgo
Symbol: The Virgin
Birthstone: Agate
Lucky Numbers: 6, 15, 24, 33, 42, 51
Colors: Indigo, Violet
Compatible signs: Scorpio, Capricorn, Taurus, Cancer
Dates: Aug. 23 - Sept. 22
SummaryThe sign Virgo is symbolized by the Virgin. The sign’s element is Earth. Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury. We enjoy helping others and being of service. Virgo is shy, and prefers working behind the scenes. We are highly discriminating and a bit puritanical. Virgo is intellectual, critical, fussy, shrewd, logical, methodical, practical and has teaching ability. Virgo can lack confidence and needs constant reassurance.
Some possible negative aspects of the sign Virgo are that we can be highly critical, cynical, sarcastic, unforgiving, nervous, self centered, and ridden by fear.
DetailsThe cycle of the heavens, astrologers say, reflects the cycles of the Earth. Thus, the wheel of the zodiac turns to Virgo, the virgin, as summer ends, and time nears for the harvest.
Virgo is sometimes associated with Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest, who made the earth lie fallow for half of every year. However, astrologers say that Virgo’s original symbol was the Sphinx, the mythological poser of riddles.So, too, do Virgos question, turning inward to seek larger meanings about causes and purposes in life and looking for worthy goals to pursue. Virgos are the zodiac’s analysts, its critics, its purists. They are the servants, custodians, and perfecters of culture.
As for the Virgin, she is a symbol less of purity than of hidden wisdom. She is woman in the fullness of self-possession -- the high priestess, the healer, the keeper of life’s mysteries. Her wheat sheaves symbolize the disciplined fertility of the earth.
Enigmatic, self-possessed Virgo beauties include Greta Garbo, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, and Sophia Loren.
Virgos seek complete realization of the mind. They are logical, practical, and methodical. Their intellect subjugates their instincts. They have a strong sense of order and organization and a love of the technological and the minute. Virgo Samuel Johnson clearly exhibited the sign’s passion for detail in compiling his famous dictionary.
Virgos are theorists, masters of extrapolation and deduction. They are also perfectionists. They want their environments, as well as their lives, to be tidy. After summer’s bounty, Virgos put all in order for the coming winter. They separate the wheat from the chaff. They plan sort, classify, and store.
Virgos are usually very serious people. They are indefatigable workers with a strict sense of duty. Their need to serve, to be useful, is so strong that they suffer greatly when it is thwarted. This characteristic, coupled with their capacity for critical insight, makes them adept healers. They also make good technicians.
There is an innate refinement about Virgos but also a nervous sensitivity. They are worriers who tend toward pronounced mood swings. In their negative moments they can be pessimistic, depressed, or even destructive. Virgos are blessed with powerful creative drives, but these are sometimes handicapped by their need to control and perfect. At worst, their order-loving natures can make them cold, introverted, punctilious, moralistic, overly fastidious, compulsive about personal health and cleanliness, obsessed with organization, and mired in petty details.
Virgos may ask large questions, but they do not take large risks. Cautious and conservative Virgins prefer small-scale plans to grand strategies. They are rooted in the present and amenable to change only after meticulous forethought. They will not willingly court disappointment.
One pitfall for Virgos is their tendency to rehearse for life rather than to live it. As they see it, they are never quite prepared enough to take full advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself. Virgos do themselves a disservice by not realizing that their fine intellects, fully developed or not, are more than a match for most challenges.
A Virgo’s real challenge is to expand their perspective beyond details, to see the larger order and underlying pattern of creation, and to marvel at its abundance and diversity. The Virgo who accomplishes this will know the goals worthy of service. They will then serve with devotion and in doing so will temper intellect with reverence.
Virgo & LoveIn matters of love, Virgos are rather aloof and demanding in their partners. If the Virgo does not find precisely the right person, they will probably prefer to stay unattached.
Their forte is small talk. They are playfully sarcastic, helpful, and generous with advice, and they’re at their best when they’re tolerant, sympathetic, and easygoing.
With their need for privacy, the Virgo can be somewhat of a loner. They’re prudent about love and approach it cerebrally . They want it to fit into a schedule or program and to be orderly, emphasizing stability and security. The Virgo’s ideal in a romantic relationship is someone who is mature, conservative, responsible, well established, practical and organized. They’re likely to meet their mates among corporate executives, architects, builders, contractors, farmers, government officials, land owners, entrepreneurs, politicians, ranchers and real estate agents.