Zodiac Sign VIRGO
The Quest For Perfection
When you cease to
make a contribution, you begin to die.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
The
zodiac sign Virgo,
to be precise, is the 6th sign in the zodiac and although it follows
flamboyant Leo, it simply wouldn't do to mistake this for a resemblance!
Virgo, being a down-to-Earth-sign, is not flamboyant, dramatic,
nor given to flights of fancy. Virgo is concerned with practical
matters, like nutrition, health, labour and service.
Virgo isn't
interested in the creative expression of the spirit, but in the
practical application of these things in the service of others. During
the coming New Moon cycle, each of us has the chance to examine and
perfect the Virgo side of ourselves.
("Does this mean there's going to be a test?") 
The Story So Far
("Right: we wouldn't want to check out our Virgos
improperly, now would we?"),
it's useful to see its place in the sequence of signs, starting with
Aries. Our Fiery Aries nature represents that primal life force that
propels us into being. It is personal identity in its most basic form:
"I am!" Our archetypal Aries nature thrives on taking risks and
following impulses. It strives to meet fear and uncertainty with
courage, directness and a robust sense of self.
Our Taurus Earthy nature provides a balancing,
stabilizing complement to this eruption of Aries energy. In Taurus we
are concerned with the substance of who we are, both internally and
externally. Our Taurus side sees to our physical survival needs (money,
possessions, food, shelter, clothes) and ensures that, if possible, we
are secure in meeting those needs. It is what we value, including the
value we place on ourselves.
In Airy Gemini, our primary Self fragments and we
experience the infinite facets of our multidimensional nature. We find
that we are a reflection of our environment and that we grow and change
by interacting with the world around us. We give and take information
and thereby increase our self-awareness and self-knowledge.
("I am and I am not, I think... (I think not!)")
In Watery Cancer, we encounter our emotional, feeling
nature and dip into the vast unconscious reservoir within. Cancer
introduces us to our private, personal reactions and needs. It is here
we begin our encounter with "The Other" in earnest, through empathy,
dependency needs, and the instinct to care for, protect and nurture
ourselves and others. As such, Cancer represents our childhood
experience with our family-of-origin and our inclination to form our own
family in adulthood. ("I came from a dysfunctional family of mythical
proportions!")
In Fiery Leo, the fragile, vulnerable self that was cuddled and coddled
in Cancer now "leaves home" to develop a unique identity separate from
our initial support systems. Leo validates and celebrates our conscious
ego-identity. Our Leo nature shines through our creativity,
self-expression, spirited enthusiasm and fun. 
A More Perfect Vision
Now we come to Earthy Virgo, counterbalancing the Leo
Fire-storm with a grounded, pragmatic perspective. To revel in the
spirit of our radiant Leo Self is all well and good, but eventually we
must ask ourselves what we're going to do with that Self. Is
ego-stroking all there is to existence, or is there something beyond it
which is more wholesome or superior? The personal purpose we encountered
in Leo now gives rise to a quest for higher purpose in Virgo. Our Virgo
nature sees greater expectations and potentials in our existence beyond
mere creative gratification and self-assuring self-expression.
In
the natural chart, Virgo shares the Descendant point with Libra. The
Descendant (or 7th House cusp) is associated with interaction,
relationships, our style of relating, and encounters with "The Other."
("The other WHAT?")
Libra is more commonly associated with these areas (since the 7th House
is Libra's natural house), but Virgo is also involved with "The Other"
through service.
Our Virgo nature says it isn't enough
to simply exist—we must put that existence to use by helping others
benefit from the fruits of our existence. We must help others attain the
level of refinement and culmination that we aspire to, ourselves.
("Count me out! What do I want with trying to raise up a
bunch of mortal trash!? I'll leave all that bleeding liver stuff to
Prometheus!") If we
alone realize our accomplishments while others are still suffering,
stuck or struggling, then ours is a hollow victory. We're all in the
Life-boat together and we must help each other or none will reach
his/her goal with any integrity.
And what is Virgo's goal?
Self-perfection. If Leo celebrates the Self, then Virgo asks: Why stop
there? We mustn't stop until we're the absolute best we can be! But
perfection is a tall order for fallible human beings
("You're tellin' ME!")
and it's easy to feel lost in the process. So how do we approach such
lofty aspirations? We start with the here-and-now. If we're going to
perfect ourselves, we must pay attention to every detail, leaving no
component unexamined. If the details are as they should be, the whole
will reflect that careful vigilance. If the big picture looks okay, but
the details are fuzzy or incorrect, then the whole will inevitably fall
apart. 
Imperfect Perfectionism
In Virgo, we must ensure that we are truly worthy of the
highest vision of that Leo spirit. We must do everything we can to
ensure that we live that vision in our every breath, our every action,
our every word, thought and deed. Anything short of that indicates that
we require further work and refinement, leading us back to the drawing
board. ("Whew! A Virgo's work is never done!")
But wait! Isn't this getting a little extreme? We are,
after all, human beings ("Don't remind me....")
who, by nature, make mistakes and continually fluctuate between what is
and what could be. Isn't our Virgo nature being too demanding and
exacting, to the point where we can no longer be who we actually are,
thereby defeating the whole purpose of the exercise?
This is the danger in Virgo—to immerse ourselves so
totally in a vision of idealized perfection that the goal becomes more
important than the person. It's possible for Virgo's perfectionism to
stretch out so far beyond our fallible human nature that it reaches a
polarized, contradictory position. ("Gulp! I think I just swallowed my tail...")
Virgo's realism becomes unrealistic in its extreme demands; her
pragmatic goals become impossible to reach. Her shining vision of
self-improvement becomes an insurmountable wall of flawlessness against
which we hurl ourselves, bruising and wounding our self-worth as we try
to live up to impossible standards.
How do we know when our Virgo nature has crossed the line
into extremism or obsessive perfectionism? ("When you criticize the way you criticize yourself?")
That line is different for everyone, as is the vision of what
constitutes perfection. However, if you find you're constantly doing
battle with yourself, your habits, your will and/or your instincts, then
it's a good bet you're being too hard on yourself and your Virgo nature
has run amok.
Allowing ourselves to be human, rather than try to be
demigods,—("Hey!
Whadaya got against demigods!?")—means
giving ourselves the time to learn to walk before being expecting to
run. Whatever a healthy, attainable state of self-perfection might be,
it must be attained through a process of gradual growth that is built up
layer upon layer, with each new skill resting solidly on the abilities
achieved in previous levels of learning. 
The Ideal Application
Virgo's association with work, service and health is a
logical outgrowth from its basic qualities. Becoming the best you can be
requires hard work and dedication, and we will learn and receive that
which we are willing to give away and share with others. If we exist
only in service to ego gratification, we become self-centered,
egotistical, myopic and one-dimensional. ("So what's wrong with that?! I'm all of those things and
I'm TERRIFIC — Just ask me!")
However, by being there for others and providing practical, useful
assistance and support, we get to practice and apply what we believe to
be our highest Self. It is through the concrete application of these
ideals outside of ourselves that we learn better how to adopt and fit
these principles to our own lives. We learn by doing, and are shaped and
modified by the act of doing.
However, this isn't about locking our focus onto others,
gleefully passing out advice like candy. Unfortunately, there's plenty
of room in Virgo's realm for hypocrisy and "do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do"
double standards. What's more, the advice that our Virgo nature loves to
dispense is often not appreciated by others who may experience it as
critical, demanding and exacting. This can leave us bewildered and
frustrated. After all, aren't we just trying to help that person attain
the same level of perfection we all strive for?
There's the rub! Others don't
necessarily want what we do or have the same vision of perfection. If we
project our own values and standards onto someone else, without seeing
or accepting theirs, we set ourselves up for rejection, resentment or
reciprocal reproach. There can be a gaping difference between
tentatively offering feedback/suggestions, or humbly sharing one's own
experience (which lets the other person choose their own path),
versus advice which presumes that you know what's best.
("Ya, so you should never ever do that, okay?") 
See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me
Virgo's association with health is founded on the idea
that if you're preoccupied with a dysfunctional body, you won't be of
much use to yourself or anyone else. ("True: The last time I had a cold, I kept sneezing and
the files on my hard disk would scatter like shredded Kleenex!")
If the higher levels of attainment are to be reached, the lower, more
fundamental levels of existence must be operating at peak efficiency.
This means not merely enough food to satisfy hunger, but adequate
nutrition in the foods one consumes. It means a holistic approach to
one's body health: sound body, mind, spirit and emotions.
It means the intake of foods that will fuel and sustain
the body's needs, ensuring effective absorption of those nutrients, and
efficient elimination of its waste products. ("Hey, leave my waste products out of this!")
One can't afford to be squeamish about bodily functions if one is to
fine-tune it into a purring machine. Hence, Virgo people are often
capable of extraordinary objectivity and pragmatism in situations that
cause others to blanch. It's small wonder than many Virgo's enter the
healing professions, where they deal with the body or mind in its most
gory, putrid, afflicted states.
(
"Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts!
Mutilated monkey meat!
Itty-bitty birdy feet!

A whole year's supply of all purpose porpoise puss!
and I forgot my spoooooon!!!"
)
(Um...thanks for the serenade, Peg....)
The whole process of healing
constitutes bringing a distorted, dysfunctional and/or dis-eased entity
back to its rightful, natural, divinely-intended state. In that context,
perfection may be seen as a state of functionality that matches the best
we're capable of, as opposed to the grandest we can
idealistically imagine. One could also see it as being "good
enough," rather than striving to meet some contrived, arbitrary standard
which has little to do with the reality of who and what we are as
physical and spiritual creatures. 
Our Living Contribution
Work is another province in Virgo's
domain. Through our work and labours, we contribute to the world around
us and help it function. Our work helps or hinders the health and
performance of society. As such, our work is the personal energy we
invest in our world.
Although Virgo and the 6th House are
associated with paid employment, they also include any effort that makes
a contribution to one's surroundings. Whether you work as a brick layer,
punch a computer keyboard, are a stay-at-home parent, volunteer at the
local library, or just sit at home and make a point of calling your
friends to offer support and love—all of these activities make a
contribution to your world. They are the basic vehicles through which
you connect with society and take your place as a functioning member of
that society. 
Mercury and Chiron
Mercury is the traditional planetary
ruler of Virgo. We've already met Mercury as the ruler of
Gemini, which is about communication,
perceptions, thought, information and the workings of the conscious
mind. The Virgo side of Mercury is focused on organizing, analyzing and
applying that information.
Mercury, being more naturally an Air
planet (Gemini)
than an Earth planet (Virgo),
brings a cerebral, detached flavour to Virgo's Earthy, manifest nature.
However, because Mercury is less comfortable as an Earth planet
("He'd much rather be quirking and lurking, than
working!"),
many astrologers feel that some other planetary body would ultimately
suit Virgo better than Mercury.
To this end, some or all of the major
asteroids (Ceres, Juno, Vesta and Pallas-Athene) have been linked to
Virgo. The asteroids introduce a decidedly female aura to Virgo's
already Yin nature, and reflect the many personas of the archetypal
female experience—something which appeals to many astrologers who find
Mercury a curiously male or neutral energy for a feminine sign energy.
("Ya, like even the symbol for Virgo is a BABE!")
Chiron has also been
associated with the modern rulership of Virgo. Mythologically,
Chiron is linked to
woundedness, healing and the struggle to reconcile our dualistic
nature of being spiritual, divine beings, as well as mortal
animals. This seems to fit well with Virgo's focus on health,
healing, and struggling with perfection versus human limitation. 
© 1996, 2004, 2005
Wendy Guy. All rights reserved. Reprinted
with permission from Transitions
Astrology Newsletter, Virgo-Libra 1996 Issue. |
|
Tip Jar :-)
Please help support Evolving Door Astrology! If you can
manage it, your contribution is hugely appreciated and helps keep this site
free for everyone. Alternatively, you could share the love with friends or on social media.
Thank you!
If the button
doesn't work, please try
again. Sometimes it gets a bit cranky. ;-)
If you're not in Canada,
please use the button below.
Still have problems with the Donate button? Please
let me know. Many thanks!
WE MADE IT!!
Welcome to
2021!
Discover your best potential for the year ahead!
Select from...
• Forecast Reports • Solar Returns • Natal Reports • Relationship Reports • Daywatch Calendars
Order Now!
Beginner Level Astrology Reading:
Parker's Astrology:
The Essential Guide to Using Astrology
in Your Daily Life
by Derek & Julia Parker
Get everything you need in one
book! Calculate, interpret and understand your natal chart
and predictive techniques. This beautifully illustrated
"coffee table" book is a treasury of information. Highly
recommended for beginners or to give as a gift.
|

|
Buy it NOW at Amazon.com
|
In Canada: Amazon.ca
|
Applied Astrology:
Star Signs at Work:
Using Astrology
for Success and Harmony in the Workplace
by Debbie Burns
Ever wonder why your boss
drives you nuts? Find out how you can increase cooperation with a
difficult co-worker. Astrology can show you how to
understand the people you work with every day. This book
helps you enhance your work performance and maximize
your potential! |

|
Buy it NOW at Amazon.com
|
In Canada: Amazon.ca
|
|