Please note this post focuses on the Zodiac for the Northern Hemisphere and is mostly based on personal taste, lifestyle & for fun. However, uncomfortable subject matter may be mentioned. Always check reviews or a resource like Unconsenting Media for TW: before watching any film recommendations.
IT’S VIRGO SEASON!
Curiosity kitten, cozy cottages, cute animals are on theme, but also community care packages, the underdog with a heart of gold and the best listener in the crew. Might disappear on you in favor of hot tea at home with a murder mystery and cats. Yes, can be a people-pleaser, the critical curmudgeon (to oneself or others), or the reserved overthinker… but whether it is the kitchen witch with a crockpot as a cauldron or the school supplies sparkly eyes side, Virgo is a certain kind of grounded Goddess not found easily on the celestial supermarket shelf.
Virgo Season is enjoyed best by nurturing introspection and reflection, especially during Mercury Retrograde…. and definitely NOT wasting time on perceived failures or obsessing about the mean people you’ve come across, especially in love or the workplace. It’s time to organize your books in an aesthetically pleasing way, have a slow as honey divine picnic with complex bites, your best friend as your only guest, adopting an 8-step clean beauty skin care routine perhaps… The body and the environment as a comfort zone, the home in declutter mode to let the bullshit go, the “go touch grass” to get past the woes and into the dreamy realm of Summer simmering down, reading in blankets during free time for the rest of the calendar year.
VIRGO STATS
Element: Earth
Ruling planet: Mercury
Modality: Mutable
Constellation: Virgo
Duration (tropical): August 23 – September 22 (2023 dates)
Body: Abdomen, intestines, gallbladder, pancreas, liver
ARCHETYPE & SYMBOLISM
Virgo is the Virgin, connected strongly to “maiden” mythology, though with immense binds to Mother and Harvest Goddesses. The Virgo symbol is similar to Scorpio but closed, said to represent Virgo’s reserved nature or physical “virginity” (yuck), a fairly gross representation for a personality who wanted to be known for her mind instead of her sexuality.
A metaphorical interpretation, relating to Artemis, is that the virginal aspect isn’t literal but of being "self-possessed” and independent, helping with the lack of nuance in Virgo’s original narrative that has, of course, blossomed through different storytelling into the feminist discourse of today. Some articles further delving into this subject of interest for your reading pleasure:
LETTERBOX’D
Virgo Sun is centered by caring, kind, and quiet, a character who is friend to those in need but maybe suffering with internal conflict. Though perhaps particular, proper and reserved, Virgo Sun is eager to learn and grow in the privacy of her own mind and heart. Even if seen as inexperienced and innocent, there is an intuitive nature and connection to the secrets of the Earth with the classical archetype of the Virgin. Picnic at Hanging Rock was the Virgo FFAA for this reason. The chaotic mysteries of girlhood in “innocent flower girl” tragedies like Virgin Suicides to the growing pains of naive nerd tropes like Princess Diaries, Virgo’s archetype is related to the Ingenue, though shamefully underdeveloped from her true complexity due to the male gaze.
Virgo Moon finds deep pleasure in their rich inner life, routines, concoctions, inner circle. Movies with a whimsical or romantic nature and an intellectual love-hate conflict (Pride and Prejudice) or shyness complex (Amelie) fit the Virgo Moon’s soft spot, along with films that combine mysticism to family and home with a side of “kitchen witch” (Practical Magic, Chocolat).
Virgo Rising is motivated by organization, problem-solving and can teeter between the do-good people-pleaser or maniacal perfectionist. Workplace and academic dramas and romantic comedies that both tend to hold hyper-criticism (Devil Wears Prada, Election) or the shy studious type finally letting loose (Booksmart) fit the Virgo Rising growth pattern. And, of course, the cliches of Meg Ryan Fall absolutely falls in line here, too. Nora Ephron had a North Node in Virgo and multiple signs in Taurus, and her Earthiness emphasizing warm but orderly interiors, culinary and literary flourishes as backdrop to women battling authenticity in career and love.
SUNFLOWER’D
Mutable Signs are known for more than their ability to create change or change their minds. Their position along the Zodiac pushes one Season to another. Virgo is the 6th Sign in the Zodiac Year and the last of the 1st half. She marks the preparation for the transition between Summer to Autumn. This time frame in the Northern Hemisphere is an exciting embrace into the robust flavors of roasted vegetables and fresh baked-bread, adding layers as the mornings or nights grow cooler despite the possibilities of sweltering late Summer afternoons.
Imagining Virgo as a collector of many textural and tactile threads, finding pleasure in patterns, “mismatching” as an art, earthy dip-dyed silk slip-dresses with light crochet hollow knit cardigans, cut off jeans and poet blouses, intricate vintage jewelry, boots to explore the forest, hair freeflowing for frolicking in flower fields, minimal make-up. Hearkening to the ‘90s bohemian sunflower sundresses and ‘70s art nouveau revival, intricacy but make it functional, moveable and pretty, as shown in our Pinterest board to Virgo. How to marry comfort with forest princess, picture perfect, a Virgo vibe.
PURE MOOD SWINGS
Last but not least, our Virgo-themed playlist focuses on the purity of peaceful soundscapes and is absolutely a play on fond remembrance of the Pure Moods compilation and the infomercials peddling New Age music like Enya and Yanni. Virgo’s concerns with overall wellness connects the physical and mental to the spiritual. This type of music reminds me of the stress-relieving sounds associated with alternative medicine, holistic health, whole-body healing, spa and reiki culture, etc. Our playlist Pure Moodswings brings a meditative vibe with some of the OG compilation classics, underground experimental electronics from the 80’s to now and updates of my favorite current ambient artists.
Alternatively, The Femme Moon has a very nostalgic (though less refined) playlist in homage to the end-of-summer, back-to-school sounds I loved as a youth. Lots of Fiona Apple, Tori Amos and a touch of alternative pop and rock with a nod to Lilith Fair, this playlist is sun-kissed in its Leo to Virgo Season sweetness and the Harvest festivals of teenhood, Gilmore Girls and such.
We love any recommendations for our Spotify and Letterboxd lists. Feel free to comment any suggested additions and we appreciate the space to try something different on this Substack. Mercury Rx Guide for paid Substack subscribers, arriving Sunday 8/27 at 3PM EST. Stay tuned!