In the Northern hemisphere, Virgo is associated with the harvest. Since the time of the ancient Mesopotamians and Babylonians, the weeks between August 24 and September 23 were ruled by the astrological sign of the virgin.
Late summer was a time of preparation for the longer nights and colder days, of stockpiling food and cleaning out the store rooms to make room for milled grain, dried meats and preserved jams. We talk about “spring cleaning” but this is the season of autumn cleaning, both physical and mental.
It’s “back to school” season, when we put away the toys of summer, wash the sand out of our shoes and get serious again. Maybe we trim our sun-damaged hair, toss our faded shorts and stretched-out t-shirts in favor of a crisp new fall wardrobe.
The biggest fashion magazine of the year is always the September issue. A disproportionate number of fashion designers are Virgos (Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, Thomas Burberry, Kim Jones). It’s a thing.
Despite being a Virgo myself, I always greet this season with a deep sense of ambivalence. I love summer. I’m a solar-powered girl. My favorite activities involve being outside in the sun, and I live in a city where autumn, winter, and spring are mostly shrouded in rain.
Virgin Goddesses
In ancient mythology, there are many virgin goddesses we could associate with the sign of Virgo, like Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. She was a protector of wild creatures and a defender of female virtue and autonomy.
Astrea is a another Greek goddess represented by the constellation of Virgo. She was a goddess of justice, purity, and wisdom, whose myth involves a longing to return to a golden age of idealism and equity.
Demeter, the mother of Persephone, is also associated with Virgo since she was a goddess of the harvest, representing fertility, protection, abundance, and motherhood.
Like a Virgin
Virginity, of course, does not refer to physical abstinence, but to mental and emotional purity, the dedication to ideals beyond one’s self. This is symbolized by the sacrifice of personal desires to a commitment to the greater good, which is what societies do when they create food banks, shelters, and orphanages—a commitment to each other as an investment in the future.
Virgo is one of the two signs ruled by Mercury (the other, of course, is chatty, charming, bipolar Gemini), so both signs are among the most verbose of the zodiac. While Gemini is highly represented among poets, song-writers and journalists, Virgo is the prolific novelist (Leo Tolstoy, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, etc.).
Virgos are the editors, administrators, archivists, and collectors of the zodiac. We love putting things in order, correcting anything that’s out of place (yes, including other people’s grammar!), and obsessing over the details until whatever we’re working on is as perfect as humanly possible.
When I was a little Virgo child, I used to organize my mother’s shoes by color. I would open her jewelry box and pull out all the tangled necklaces, mismatched earrings and random hair accessories and place them in piles on the floor, then replace them in perfect order. It was my zen happy place.
As an adult, my closet and library shelves are still organized by color.
Virgo Keywords
We Virgos love lists, so here’s a list of keywords associated with the Virgo archetype:
Organized, conscientious, clever, considerate, helpful, anxious, perfectionist, self-contained, emotionally reserved, pedantic, nitpicking, curious, practical, elegant, exacting, well-read, discriminating, sympathetic, unpretentious, health-conscious.
Virgo Hacks
If you have a Virgo in your life, as a friend, partner, child, or coworker, here are some tips for keeping them happy and thriving.
Let them help. Ask for their advice, then let them know how you used it, and thank them.
Take an interest in some bizarre trivia or niche topic they’re obsessed with, and let them inform you about its minutiae without interrupting or rolling your eyes. Bring it up again at a later date to show you remember the weird little things that interest them.
Put them to work. If you’re hosting a party and they ask to help out, give them something to do. They’re probably feeling socially awkward, and the simple act of setting the table or clearing space in the coat closet will keep them from crawling out of their skin (or snooping through your medicine cabinet).
Recommend a useful app, website, book, podcast, or time-saving (free) service that could be genuinely helpful. They love being the one to offer advice, but they’re rarely on the cutting edge of early adoption, and they can be too mired in the details to look up and make new discoveries. Your recommendation could become the amazing new thing they recommend to all their friends.
Virgo Watchlist
Here are 10 movies and TV shows that tap into the Virgo archetype.
WALL-E: A solitary robot tasked with cleaning up the trash heap earth that humanity abandoned finds love and saves the world through hard work.
Groundhog Day: An existential nightmare turns a bitter weatherman into his most evolved, empathetic self through endless repetitions of the same day.
Queen’s Gambit: A self-created chess prodigy excels over all the (mostly male) competition through solitary creative visualization and single-minded dedication.
Hidden Figures: A team of female computer operators help NASA get a manned mission to the Moon, upstaging the sexist, racist patriarchy with stoic elegance.
Elizabeth: The “Virgin Queen,” a real life Virgo icon, rules 18th century England, forsaking love and personal happiness for duty and empire-building.
Project Runway: Aspiring fashion designers compete in timed challenges with limited budgets and bizarre themes (e.g., using broken umbrellas or DIY tie-dye).
The Crown: Queen Elizabeth II (a real life Taurus) rules 20th century England, forsaking freedom and personal happiness for duty at the end of empire.
Parks & Recreation: Leslie Knope is cheerfully dedicated to serving her community and friends through organization, perfectionism and hard work.
Amelie: A meticulous, observant woman is dedicated to helping others in small, thoughtful ways through attention to detail and a desire to improve their lives.
Bones: A forensic anthropologist solves mysterious crimes through meticulous investigation techniques, using her expertise to bring justice and closure.
Celebrate Virgo season by cleaning out your closet, donating unwanted clothes and household goods to a charity, or gifting quality items to a deserving friend. Touch up your resume and make a plan to fill in any blanks in your skill set. Sign up for a class or set aside time to study a new topic at YouTube university. Write a story.
Happy September, dear readers! Thanks for your support. :)
