In the northern hemisphere, the Sun moves through Virgo in late Summer, approximately Aug 23 to Sept 22. It’s a time of agricultural abundance when many crops are harvested, processed, and stored for the winter. The season is changing, as the days are relatively warm and the nights are growing longer and cooler.
It helps to keep that in mind as you interpret the symbolism of Virgo, a Mutable Earth sign. Like the other mutable signs (Gemini, Pisces, and Sagittarius), planets in Virgo can adapt to changing or inconstant environments and may be scattered in their expression. Virgo is an Earth sign concerned with material matters, practical and functional things like natural resources, plants and animals, bodily function, and financial security.
With Mercury as ruler, Virgo and Gemini are both intellectual signs associated with thought, speech, and action. Gemini is Mercury’s daytime home, and Virgo is the night-time domicile. That means Gemini is related to classical masculine traits, like social dominance and assertiveness, while Virgo was assigned classically feminine qualities of receptivity and emotional sensitivity.
Symbolized by The Virgin, Virgo plays a more substantial role in spiritual matters than Gemini. One of the earliest English definitions for “virgin” was “the unmarried or chaste woman noted for religious piety and having a position of reverence in the Church.” Many writers point out correspondences between the Virgo archetype and ancient Rome’s Vestal Virgins. These young women were renowned priestesses who served the goddess of the hearth, Vesta, tending to her temple and sacred fire. They had many unique roles and privileges in Roman society. During their priestess tenure, the women were committed to the divine goddess rather than a husband or father.
The Bosschart painting of Virgo is beautifully complex. The central figure is an almost angelic young woman holding a sheaf of wheat in one hand and an egg with a flame inside in the other. With alchemical equipment, scrolls and books are at her feet, while a baboon holds a scale in the top right.
Virgo is associated with knowledge of many kinds, including the occult or mystical. Mercury played a unique role as a messenger of the gods and could travel between the heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld. In Virgo, Mercury acts as a psychopomp, leading the spirits of the dead to their next destination. Planets in Virgo, especially the Moon or Mercury, are associated with intuitive or psychic abilities, divination, omen reading, and astrology.
Other keywords for Virgo are practical, hardworking, skilled at handicrafts, health and body conscious, steward, fastidious or critical, and conscientious. Depending on the planets and their aspects, sometimes people with heavy Virgo placements are more task-focused than relationship-focused. They tend to be somewhat reserved, relying more on intellect than emotion and are service-oriented yet self-sufficient.
The Hermit - Tarot Card of the Year
In tarot decks, card 9, The Hermit is associated with Virgo. This card is especially relevant now because, numerologically, 2025 (2+ 0 + 2 + 5) is a 9-year, so this is our collective card of the year.
Known as “The Prophet of the Eternal” and ”Magus of the Voice of Light,” the Hermit is usually portrayed as a solitary old man holding a lantern. This card evokes the numerous stories of holy men who go off alone into the wilderness to pray and commune with God. It represents solitude, teachers, mentors, guides, wanderers, psychopomps, and wise elders.
Similar meanings include journeys (external and internal); mastery over speech, thoughts, and actions; and references to learned knowledge or medical and healing skills. The Hermit can represent occupations like research and writing, where solo study time is a central feature.
It will be interesting to see what kind of trends emerge. For example, Pantone’s color of the year for 2025 is Mocha Mousse, described as a warming, brown hue. “It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.” The color is earthy and the description makes me think of intimacy and home. While the Hermit is not associated with a desire for comfort, perhaps that is an antidote to cold, harsh asceticism.
The 3 Decans of Virgo
The three decans of Virgo are represented by the 8, 9, and 10 of Disks (sometimes called Pentacles or Coins). The Sun rules Decan 1, the 8 of Disks, signifying Prudence. This action card shows that hard work and discipline, combined with wise choices, will lead to success.
Virgo II corresponds with the 9 of Disks, Gain. Venus rules this 10-degree segment, bringing blessings. The hard work paid off, resulting in a bountiful harvest. This decan is about accumulation and growth.
Mercury is both sign and decan ruler in Virgo’s third and final decan. The 10 of Disks is the associated minor arcana card, labeled Wealth. In this environment, the abundant resources are distributed and preserved for the future. In September 2024, I wrote an article for the Astrologer’s Co-op about Virgo III and how it describes stewardship and legacy. Please click the link if you’re interested in learning more.
The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
I have a special affinity for the sign of Virgo, with natal Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto there. The week before my birth there was a solar eclipse at 29 Virgo. Another solar eclipse at this degree will occur on September 21, 2025.
It seems as though the Divine is calling me - and perhaps all of us - to heed the wisdom of Virgo.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow, Libra.
XOXO,
Denise
