Virgo is a far more interesting sign than is given credit. Once Virgo season comes along, there is much reference to cleaning, tidying, and organizing, as well as healthy lifestyle practices. While this is most definitely an expression of this sign, it is the most visible, external form. Virgo has a subtle complexity in that it is yin, feminine, and quiet, whilst simultaneously possessing a powerful drive and perseverance in its pursuits. It is widely known as the sign of perfectionism, and in today’s world of external perfection, exhibitional perfection, the essence of Virgo’s true intention, what its perfectionism truly relates to, has been lost.
Virgo is a mental, left brain sign, and it takes the conditions and matter of reality and orders it so that we can harness it efficiently. Efficiency is a word we associate with productivity, which we again associate with maximum usefulness and yield. None of these terms are actually problematic, it is natural for all forms of life to use energy efficiently and to seek what is optimal. However, most of us have veered away from that which is natural and necessary, and genuinely optimal for our beings. Through conceptualizations of what is good, better, best, right, proper, appropriate, correct, decent and more, we abide by unwritten rules which pressurize us to perform or present in certain ways, which rigidly shape our aspirations, which undermine our authentic and natural expression, and which ultimately limit our experiences. This type of judgmental approach is also often recognized as Virgo’s domain, and this is because of a severe corruption of the intention of this sign. With the indoctrination of scarcity beliefs on the one hand, and consumerist addictions on the other, our understanding of yield has been deeply corrupted. Virgo’s connection to natural cultivation of abundance through joyful, peaceful work has become what is often observed as relentless activity for the sake of proficiency and productivity.
Virgo is really the keeper of the sacred, which is everything, little or large. Virgo understands that divinity, or life force energy, permeates everything, and therefore meticulous care is given to the details of anything that we hold dear. Wherever Virgo is in our charts is where we are inclined to pay close attention, where we require a certain standard of quality, where precision is applied, where we ensure that that the conditions are conducive to purity, beauty and growth. It is where we are willing to practice something repetitively, honing a skill, refining something continuously.
What defines standard of quality for true Virgo is the quality of vibration, frequency, and energy that is flowing through, surrounding, and suffusing that which matters to us, versus nitpicking on insignificant details through a sustained state of discontent in the pursuit of visible perfection. Common examples would be the shape of one’s body, cleanliness of one’s house, or how a task or assignment is completed.
The reason true Virgo is precise in its practices is because it knows that there is a pattern, a sacred geometry underlying the fabric of reality, and these shapes which are directly in relation with the vibrations emanating from us and everything we engage with, are what determine the quality of our experiences, and of those that we impact. In Virgo, whatever we apply ourselves to is beyond self-interest, it is for something greater than the individual. The skill and mastery is not for nurturing the ego, it is supplication to the craft. The purity inherent in the energy of Virgo as the virgin has nothing to do with chastity, with patriarchal concepts of being ‘untouched’ but is a reference to the forever pure soul, to a wholeness unto oneself. This is an energetic state of being that through consistent and devoted practice to one’s inner life, the inner sanctum, remains pure and complete. Hence, this is the sign of the temple, the place of worship, which in the external world is built with precise geometry for the very purpose of energy flowing at the highest and most powerful vibration for the highest good of all.
Given we have Mercury, the sign’s ruler retrograding while the Sun is in Virgo, this season the inner workings of this energy are calling for our attention. When a planet goes retrograde, how and why we operate from the energies of the respective planet and the sign it is retrograding in, come under speculation. Which essentially means there is a wonderful opportunity for us to recognize the quality of our intentions. Our thoughts, words, actions, inactions, all our choices reflect our intentions, both conscious and subconscious. When it comes to Mercury in Virgo, our perceptions and our practices are under process. The way we perceive reality determines our lived experiences, and our habits and practices are how we manifest our intentions. During retrogrades we ask questions, and when the Lord of the Mind has turned in a sign that beckons for accuracy, we would do well to formulate them well. What is most sacred to us at this time? What does that, whatever that encompasses, need from us? What can we do to beautify this? How can we create more ease, allow more flow, enjoy the way we apply ourselves in this regard? How are any shame or guilt-based beliefs/perceptions still being sustained? Are we engaging in dynamics that are cleansing and nourishing? Is our mastery in this area growing? Can we feel ourselves being purified, being emptied of the unnecessary, making more space for greater, more intricate love? Using the inspired vision, the ideal aspiration, the limitless scope of Virgo’s opposing sign Pisces, what is it we are trying to manifest and why? What can we do to make the dream come true?
By bowing to the vision, to the divine within us, and all around us, by recognizing ourselves as a precious pattern contributing to the ever expanding and unfolding tapestry of the loving cosmos, we are gifted with a profound peace that heals our bodies, mind, and hearts, and our lives are enriched in ways that are simply stunning.