ONE
All the zodiac signs are at a party. Aries arrives first of course and has to be persuaded to wait patiently for the others to arrive. Leo is at centre stage, grandstanding, telling one of their stories. Capricorn is talking about their stock portfolio and investments. Aquarius is showing off their latest mobile phone to Sagittarius who is talking about their trip to Fiji. Pisces is propping up the bar while Gemini is telling them about the last book they read. Cancer has brought their emotional support ferret with them. Scorpio has found Taurus and they’re in an intimate huddle, planning to leave early to find ‘somewhere more private’. Libra arrives late – couldn’t decide what to wear! And there in the corner, scrolling on their phone, not really connecting with anyone is Virgo.
But please don’t feel sorry for Virgo. They organized the whole event. Booked the room. Checked everyone’s food preferences and ordered appropriately. Curated the mixtape. Will make sure that Pisces gets home safely and in one piece.
TWO
But even though the party was a success, Virgo did not celebrate. They simply focus on doing the job properly in the knowledge that if they hadn’t organised it, it wouldn’t have happened. They don’t need the flags and whistles. They will never do a celebratory lap. They did it because it needed doing. It’s enough for them to know that they did a good job.
THREE
Virgos have a reputation for being picky with food. They run the whole gamut from Vegan to Vegetarian to Paleo to Keto to Strict Carnivore. I’ve even heard of a Virgoan who would spray all their food with disinfectant before cooking it. Definitely not recommended!
That notwithstanding, Virgos are at home in the kitchen. They know what goes with what and how to blend flavours and textures, not only to delight the senses but also with an eye to good nutrition. Virgo understands ‘let your food be your medicine’.
You see, Virgoans are concerned with boundaries, and discriminating what is and is not allowed to cross that boundary. And the most important boundary to them is what is and isn’t allowed into their body. I’m talking about food here, but it could equally apply to other things. This is in comparison to or even contradistinction from its opposite sign of Pisces whose boundaries are altogether more vague, and who, from a Virgoan point of view, are liable to dissolve completely due to their lack of discrimination.
FOUR
In medical astrology, Virgo rules the digestive system and the gut. So as well as diet, they are concerned with regular bowel movements and consequently can be obsessed with routine and punctuality.
FIVE
Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury. Mercury also rules Gemini, so we have to make a distinction here. To put it simply, Gemini is associated with the communication side of Mercury, dealing with information and the sending and receiving of messages. While Virgo is the trader, dealing with the buying and selling of goods, negotiating the right price.
The earth signs are associated with the functions of money. Taurus with money as the store of value, Capricorn with money as the unit of accounting and Virgo with money as the medium of exchange.
When we try to imagine the world before money we end up with the system of barter. Let’s say that I have apples and you have chickens. In theory, I would exchange my apples for your chickens. But if you don’t want my apples, or I don’t want your chickens, no deal. This is what economists call a “double coincidence of wants“. But if there’s something we can use as money, we have a means of exchange and we can do business and both sides can benefit.
As well as trading, Virgo is also involved in logistics – the business of getting the food from the fields, getting it processed, shipped and stored ready to be sold in local shops. This is where Virgo’s ability to deal with detail is vital.
SIX
This connects Virgo with mathematics. Not only the business of buying and selling. It’s more than that. Virgo’s abilities apply to recognising patterns. While Pisces, Virgo’s opposite sees things in terms of vague, indiscriminate clouds of information, Virgo needs detail and the detail makes patterns.
If you look at the incredible mathematical patterns involved in Islamic tiles and how they fit together, you’ll see the essence of Virgo. And if there’s one mistake, like a misplaced comma, Virgo will spot that mistake.
Likewise, Virgo is concerned with rhythmic patterns. Listen to West African drumming and how the rhythms of the various players interlock with each other. Or the rhythmic talas of Classical Indian music. Pure mathematics! Pure pattern! Pure Virgo!
The magic happens when the rhythm becomes a groove, something to dance to and Virgo and Pisces take to the floor together.
SEVEN
Virgo’s reputation for purity comes from the origin of its name, the Anglo-French ‘virgine’, meaning ‘maiden, unwedded girl or woman’, or as an adjective ‘fresh, unused’. This developed later into the sense of inviolate chastity.
This does not necessarily mean prudishness when it comes to matters of sexual intimacy. But Virgo’s need for discrimination will probably keep bedroom activities well separate from the rest of life and a good shower afterwards is considered essential.
The problem is that Virgo’s need for purity can lead to perfectionism and worry if things are not perfect. And when this is projected onto others, Virgos can come across as nit-picky and overly critical. But, by the same token, they can be easily wounded by criticism.
Firstly, Virgo needs to realise that perfection is a limitation. Secondly, they need to learn to use their fault-finding faculties judiciously and if they feel the need to correct others, to do so without destroying them. Do unto others, dear Virgo, as you would have them do unto you.
EIGHT
Virgo’s colours are subdued and modest. These are not colours you will find on a national flag or being waved on a victory parade. Virgo’s tastes would never consider anything ostentatious or flashy. But there is a subtle charm in their simplicity and reserve.
Virgo’s colours tend towards beige, the natural colour of undyed wool. Beige shading towards a roseate warmth, or towards the cool soft greens of bracken, or approaching the darker shades of heath and heather.
NINE
While fellow earth sign Taurus is associated with the fertility of the earth. Virgo is associated with the harvest. In the northern hemisphere, the sun is in Virgo during harvest time with its festivals celebrating the fruits of the earth.
The full moon at this time is known as the Harvest Moon. This was important in the days before electricity when people could carry on the harvest by the light of the moon. In many cultures, school couldn’t start until the harvest had been brought in as all hands – men, women and children were needed.
This association connects Virgo with the cycles and rhythms of the year. The times for planting and harvesting. Again, the sense of pattern and routine.
TEN
But it’s Virgo’s sense of selfless service that most distinguishes it from the other signs. At its most basic, service is associated with the role of the servant in relation to the master. In natal astrology, this is the sphere of activity of the sixth house of the birth chart which is also connected to the routine of daily work and the maintenance of health and well-being.
The idea of service is profound and takes different forms in different religions and spiritual traditions. The Christian understanding of service is any action or work with the intention of helping others, sharing the faith or honouring God. It is described as being motivated by love and models itself after the life and actions of Jesus Christ.
The equivalent in the Jewish religion is the idea of ‘mitzvah’ which originally means commandment but in everyday use it means any individual act of human kindness, nothing to do with legal duty but which conveys a sense of ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’.
In Islam, the practice of ‘sadaka’ (also spelled sadaqah) is voluntary charity with the aim of helping others and pleasing God. It differs from ‘zakat’ which is a mandatory yearly tax, in that ‘sadaka’ has no rules or deadlines. In addition to gifts of charity, ‘sadaka’ can be performed simply by moving a rock out of the road, helping a stranger or even just sharing a smile.
Likewise, in New Age spirituality, service is seen not as traditional duty based on dogma, but rather as associated with spiritual growth and the awareness that we are all connected. Its avowed aim is to raise consciousness, heal the planet and align with universal energy. This often goes by the name of ‘lightwork’.
But it is in the Hindu practice of karma yoga that the idea of service is most developed. Karma yoga translates as the ‘yoga of action’ as compared to ‘jnana yoga’ the yoga of knowledge and ‘bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.
This yoga is outlined in the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered to be the holiest book of Hinduism. It tells the story of Prince Arjuna who is duty-bound to fight a battle against family, friends and loved ones. He is torn by this dilemma but his charioteer, the god Krishna in disguise shows him how to handle the situation. He advises Arjuna on the performance of his duties and the nature of selfless service while completely letting go of attachment to personal rewards or the future results of his actions.
Service is then the heart of the sign of Virgo, and whether you call it mitzvah, sadaka, lightwork, karma yoga or just being a good person – it is essentially selfless and asks for no reward.
Ben Belinsky
August 2026
Featured image by Maksim Chernishev
