Virgo psychological profile
Virgo is involved with a dynamic that uses discrimination skillfully in order to bring about purification or improvement of some kind. Virgo is able to look at reality with a cold, clear eye, instantly evaluate its component parts, and determine what is needed to make it better. The difficulty for well-intentioned Virgo can be her inability to see the whole again, once she has taken it apart. Analysis at the expense of synthesis sometimes leaves Virgo stranded in a world of tedious details and maddening flaws, mostly her own, which can leave her inwardly exhausted.
Virgo is known for being critical – though this can annoy loved ones, it is what makes her good at the things she does, as she strives to achieve perfection and completeness, the self-integration of her symbol, the Virgin. And yet Virgo is decidedly her own worst enemy. Unlike the preceding sign of Leo, Virgo is so devastatingly critical of herself that she often can’t bear to expose her “flawed” self or her creations to the world. This can be debilitating to her numerous talents, which remain unseen, and thus undeveloped, in a dark drawer somewhere. Virgo prefers to focus on helping others, being useful or correct, and usually keeps what she isn’t sure of – herself – out of the revealing glare of the limelight.
Some astrologers feel Virgo is ruled by Chiron, the god of healing and health. This makes sense, for the process of testing and classifying various medicinal plants for their healing properties is consummately Virgoan. Chiron was a wise centaur who sustained a serious wound which he knew to be incurable. And yet it was the awareness which crystallized around his chronic pain which endowed Chiron with his divine knowledge of healing. Virgo understands deeply the meaning of health and sickness, perfection and imperfection, self-sacrifice and transcendence. Her awareness of the world’s shortcomings is her “wound” and her gift.
For in the sign of Virgo, humanity learns humility, service, hard work, the price of its mistakes, and the rewards of its skillful efforts. If Virgo can remember not to throw the baby out with the bathwater in fits of “critical thinking,” she can develop a humorous relationship with herself and a spiritual relationship with the bigger picture. Virgo finds much happiness in cleaning, repairing, improving, polishing, recycling, helping and comforting. She should eat simple whole foods and give herself mental rest. Above all, she must remember that in searching for something perfect we find very little, but in searching for something good we find an abundance.
Sometimes-paradoxical questions which will be important to Virgo’s long-term development are:
- “How can I remember to see the forest for the trees? How can I see perfection and unity in everyday life?”
- “How can I overcome my self-critical tendencies in order to reveal and cultivate my true gifts?”
- “How can I heal myself by healing others?”
For more about these issues, read about Virgo’s opposite sign, Pisces.
Last updated on June 27, 2015 at 5:31 pm. Word Count: 493
