Many of the ideas that are connected with Virgo have their
origin in the rather milk-and-water looking young woman who
appears on the star-atlases, holding a sheaf of corn.  From
this we are asked to infer that Virgos are modest, chaste,
timid and sensitive individuals, never speaking unless
spoken to and alternately blushing and going pale at any
suggestion of impropriety.  Above all, they are neat and
tidy.
  Well, maidens may at some times and in some countries have
all been just like that...but I doubt it.  They have also
been described as saucy baggage, minxes, hussies, jades and
queans.  I expect Roget could give us a good many similar
terms, if we needed them.  Shakespeare, too, that supreme
understander of character, has given us maidens who, though
of excellent morals, were anything but meek and retiring,
such as Rosalind and Beatrice, that adorable girl who tells
us that "a star danced when she was born." This is sometimes
taken as a cryptic reference to her having been born under
Mercury, the only planet that sometimes scintillates.
  However, let it be admitted that natives of Virgo, when
there is not much Mars about, are usually neat and tidy in
their attire; indeed, often enough they are rather
depressingly unenterprising in this respect.
  Perhaps they are timid.  I do not know.  Mr. Fagan assures
us that Virgo is heroic...but then most of his Virgos are
what we would call Leos.  Or is it the other way round?  I
always have to stop and think!  Certainly there is this to
be said in favour of his theory, that some Virgos are quite
hearty and even noisy individuals...but in that case I for
one suspect an error in birth-time, or some very strong
counter agency, such as ruler, Sun-Moon in that most
irrepressible of signs, Sagittarius, or in a sign of Mars.
  Whether Virgos are modest depends, perhaps somewhat on
just what one understands by that adjective.  I do not
believe they are in the least modest as regards their
personal abilities...in fact one can get conceited Virgos,
though it is usually a quiet conceit, not of the flamboyant
variety.
  But in this connection it is well to bear in mind what Mr.
Dennis Elwell had to say in his article on Saturn in the
last Quarterly.  He points out how Nature compensates, and
even over-compensates, for our defects.  Thus, a broken bone
is not only mended but becomes stronger at the place of
fracture than it was before.  So it is that a Virgo, feeling
inferior, may exhibit just the reverse qualities of conceit,
noise and general heartiness.  In other words we may take
our deficiencies passively, or we may re-act strongly
against them.  Herein lies a trap for the delineator.
  As to the their morals, I have never investigated this
intriguing matter and have not statistics to guide me.  I
think Virgo, once married, is a faithful spouse.  He is not
enterprising in love or in anything else.  Before marriage
he has one or two intimate friends...more often one than
two; and after marriage he is prone to let them go and live
in a small circle, with very few contacts outside his
family.  Within that limited sphere he is affectionate and
faithful.
  A good many Virgos undoubtedly remain bachelors or
spinsters, and in this connection it is interesting that of
all the Olympians, Mercury alone was unmarried.  The Greek
Hermes was a travellers' god; his name originally meant a
cairn of stones, such as are erected on mountain path to
guide the traveller.  And a traveller presumably is best
free of connubial incumbrances.
  Again, to take a deeper symbolism, Mercury is Mind, and
the mind is, or should be, impartial and unwedded to
particulars.
  Next, their alleged sensitiveness.
  Most Virginians have a pose of being sensitive.  It is, of
course, the sign of the inferiority complex, although this
is not to say that all natives of Virgo are afflicted in
this way or that all so afflicted are born under Virgo.
Still, in principle I think Virgo stands for this sense of
personal inadequacy, which in a world as complex and
difficult as ours has become, with ever higher standards of
efficiency set before it, is an easily understood
phenomenon.
  Another point is that by their very nature the Mercurials
notice and think a lot about details and what seem to your
Jovian to be trivialities.  This may appear to be
sensitiveness to some, and in other cases one must dub them
fussy and for ever making mountains out of mole-hills.
  This tendency is best sublimated by their taking up some
occupation that entails much attention to small matters,
such as watch-mending or embroidery.
  So much for the maiden-archtype in its everyday
presentation.
  In a higher, it is the virgin mother of the new-born Sun,
since the constellation Virgo rises in the east at midnight
at the winter solstice when the sun is "in the tomb" for
three days before beginning afresh his climb into northern
declination.
  The sheaf of corn would imply that Virgo is often and
agriculturalist.  This is probably true.  We do not come
across many nativities of farmers, since they are a race
that is as a rule too occupied with the soil to aspire to
understand the heavens, but I suspect we should find plenty
of Virgo in most of their maps.
  This would agree with the liking that many, but not all,
Virgos show for small animals, traditionally up to and
including the ass, but not the horse.  Nowadays the
mechanisation of agriculture would also fall in with the
Virginian ability to understand machines, although there are
plenty of them who have no such gift at all; a strong Mars
element is probably required to bring this out.
  I have also known Virginians who had no special liking for
gardens or gardening, and in any case it seems that Libra is
quite as proficient in this sphere.  Indeed, whilst Leo and
Virgo are as different as chalk from cheese, with only a few
exceptions, Virgo and Libra have a good deal in
common...both, for example, have taste in literature and art
and dislike rough and uncouth things.
  Mrs. Hurren looks on Virgo as the daughter of Mother
Earth...Taurus.  And as a daughter she cooks and mends the
clothes and weaves in the winter, after having helped to
gather in the harvest in the fall of the year.  Sometimes
she seems to be the unmarried daughter and the maiden aunt,
who are often as useful as they are unappreciated.
  Perhaps that is all we can say at the moment about the
maiden symbol and its implications.
  Two characteristics often ascribed to the sign are
Discrimination and Service.
  Both Mercury signs are discriminative in that they analyse
rather than synthesize, and Virgo is a natural critic.  It
is right and proper that the Critic should come after Leo,
the Creator.  It is usually a just if not a kindly critic,
and has not the bitter sarcasm of Scorpio or the ridicule of
Sagittarius.  But it is conscientious in its criticism and
thoroughly dislikes pretentious writing or slovenly
composition, or inexact reasoning or argument.  As well as
the sheaf of corn our Virgo might be given a sieve, for its
apt to sift the corn from the chaff.  It is not a
particularly cheerful sign, and often seems to find more
chaff than corn in life generally!  One does not go to Virgo
to be buoyed up.
  Theosophical writers are very ready to call Virgo the sign
of Service with a capital "S." It is indeed by nature a
servant but whether it is a sign of service in the spiritual
sense, I am not so sure.  Ideally, perhaps, but usually
Virgos, without being necessarily selfish, are self-centered
individuals who dislike being bothered about other people's
concerns, whether these are prospering or the reverse.  And
unlike Libra, Virgo does not find it difficult to say "no,"
except perhaps to members of its own family.  For it,
charity does indeed begin at home, and usually stays there!
I would say that Virgo rarely produces servants of God or of
Humanity or anything of that sort of thing.  It is an honest
craftsman and takes the stand that this is as much as can
reasonably be expected of it.
  A virtue often ascribed to Virginians is a capacity for
hard work, especially routine drudgery such as Leo and Libra
would soon tire of.  I regret to say that I have known
Virgos who were anything but industrious.  The only sign
which really likes hard work is Scorpio.
  I note that Mr. Davison, reporting on some remarks of mine
in the Quarterly, has said that evidently Virgo is not a
favourite sign of mine.  I once shared lodgings for two or
three years with a Virgo man...he had the Sun in that sign,
too...and they were happy years.  We got on admirably.  I
learnt not to expect too much from Virgo.  But within its
limits it is friendly and dependable.
  Of course one does get some shocking criminals under this
sign, mostly forgers, embezzlers or poisoners.
  Consider the natus of Hopf (born 5:30 p.m. local time,
March 26, 1863, Frankfort-am-Main) who poisoned two wives,
his mother, and several other people for their insurance
money, and was ultimately executed.  But you will observe
that his ruler was severely afflicted, as also the Sun.
Notice too the Part of Uranus nearly opposed to Mars.
  Another thing which is commonly connected with Virgo and
the 6th house is Health, especially gymnastics and physical
culture and what is called Nature Cure.
  Here one is surprised to find how many physicians have no
particular stress on the sign or house in their horoscopes,
so that one may suppose that one may become a doctor from
quite other motives than those associated with Virgo.  I
think the Virgo motive is related to their liking for
intricate machinery; they regard the body as man's primary
tool, and they wish to make it operate efficiently and
without giving its owner trouble.  They enjoy putting it
right much as they enjoy mending a watch and getting it to
be dead-accurate.  No doubt they make intelligent
physicians, but they would be matter of fact ones, and I
question whether patients would find them particularly
cheering or encouraging.
  They are interested in dietetics and often have their
private fads and fancies in that respect.
  As for their own health, it is often excellent, perhaps
because they are naturally temperate.
  When it comes to writing about interesting or eminent
Virgos the trouble seems to be that though there are a good
many well-known natives of this sign, they are not
personally particularly interesting or colourful.  They fall
behind Leo in this respect and far behind Aquarius.
  I am indebted to Mr. Addey for drawing my attention to one
fairly startling example, however, which is No. 781 , in
Notable Nativities.  This is a performing pig, and it has
Mercury rising in its own sign.  Mr. Daath not only gives it
a natus, but also an impregnation horoscope and a pre-natal
epoch.
  The friends of the pig credit this animal not only with
intelligence, but also with cleanly habits and a temperate
appetite, and an affectionate disposition and loyalty to its
master that raises it to the level of the dog.  However,
most pigs appear to me to have a happy but vulgar expression
unlike Virgo, which is seldom either happy or vulgar in
facial appearance.
  It is true that Virgo is said to rule small animals up to
and including the ass, as we have already observed.  To me
the ass is liker Virgo than the pig.  It is obstinate, and
Virgos are stubborn; it is also melancholy but philosophic
in a dour sort of way.
  Virgos like pets, especially small and well-behaved ones
and such as do not call for much attention.
  Talking of animals, I may refer to what is said to the
oldest authentic horoscope in existence, that of
Nebuchadnezzar.  He is given Uranus rising in Libra, but the
Moon is with Mars in Virgo and it is recorded that he lost
his reason and adopted a vegetarian diet, like many Virgos,
and otherwise imitated the beasts of the field.  Since he
had Sun-Mercury in Gemini, closely squaring Mars, he may
well have had lapses from sanity, and his dislike of the
Jews is shown by the rising Uranus closely opposing Saturn
in Aries.  He had a good Jupiter in Pisces sextile Neptune,
trine Venus, and the encyclopaedia tells us that his
inscriptions testify to his having been of a peculiarly
religious character.
  Still talking of animals, I am reminded of Benjamin, the
donkey in Orwell's Animal Farm.  Being invited to admire the
goodness of the Creator who had thoughtfully provided him
with a tail wherewith to flick away flies, Benjamin remarked
sourly that he would have been more impressed if there had
been no flies and no need for tails.  This is a very true
specimen of Virgo philosophy.
  Having mentioned pigs and asses, let us now pass to
astrologers, of whom several have been born under Virgo.
  The sign has a liking for antiquity, as being a restful
and unchanging thing.  You cannot alter the past.  Even the
Russian communists have seemingly given up the attempt to do
that.  It remains static, like a fly embedded in amber.  And
Virginians like things to be safe and sure.  You can discuss
it but the facts are there.  Virgo may discuss as to whether
Brutus should have had a hand in murdering Caesar, but the
fact remains that he did.
  Virgo likes discussion.  Samuel Johnson had the Sun and
Mercury in that sign and this comes out pretty plainly in
some aspects of this remarkable man's life.  Not in his
dislike of clean linen and other unpleasant habits, but in
his dictionary and his table-talk.
  Well, our astrologers include John Coley (Moon-Virgo) who
wrote the best textbook of the 17th century, and John
Partridge (Virgo rising, Mercury-Aquarius) who was so
cruelly ridiculed by Swift.  Then in our own times, H.S.
Green (Leo rising, Sun and three planets in Virgo): his
works will be known to most of you.  He was a chemist and a
great valetudinarian.  I recall another Virgo, V.E. Robson,
telling me how he conversed with Green on Bournemouth front
in the blazing sunshine, despite which the venerable Green
was swathed in great-coat and muffler.  Be that as it may, I
have always esteemed his work highly.  Of course it is in
the theosophical tradition.
  Robson himself was gifted in many ways.  The Virgo-Gemini
combination does give brains, even though there is sometimes
a singular inability to turn them to good account.  Robson's
books are neat and compendious but they lack originality and
inspiration.  He looked for guidance in the past and thought
that there were rich mines to be explored in Arabian
lore...parts, points and so forth.  And I believe he did
find out remarkable things, but, unfortunately for us, all
this seems to have died with him.  If anyone could have
found hidden keys to ancient mysteries, Robson was the man
to have done it.
  K.E. Krafft was another Virgo rising native and a man of
great abilities and (unlike Robson) plenty of energy.  But,
once again, his powers seem to have borne only limited
fruit.  No one of importance seems to have noticed his
statistical work, on which he worked so hard and employed, I
believe, secretaries to help him.  I have been told that he
interested an insurance company in his results, but whether
anything eventually came of it, I do not know.  The records
of such companies ought to provide an almost limitless field
for astrological research and practical demonstration.
Whether Krafft ever worked for Hitler, I do not know.  His
wife loyally defended his memory.  At all events, he died in
Belsen, of double pneumonia, probably supervening on
starvation.  He had a close square of the Moon to Saturn,
which is said, in Astrological Aspects (last edition), to
indicate unrewarded toil.
  I do not know whether we have many astrological Virgos in
Britain at the moment, but we can certainly do with plenty
of them if we want practical results.
  To adapt Nature to human needs is a key-note of Virgo and
it is also the motto of our age.
  Nevertheless, I do not find Virgo common among great
inventors.  Edison, for example, had nothing in this sign,
and an even more curious "blank" is Nicholas Culpepper,
father of British herbalism, and Hahnemann, the discoverer
of homeopathy.
  John Baird, inventor of television, had Virgo rising, and
a man whose mind was essentially inventive, H.G. Wells, had
Sun and Mercury in that sign.
  Virgo rules the hands and fingers and so it is not at all
surprising that we find a good many musicians born under it.
Notably, Mozart and Chopin.  Both these had also a strong
Aquarius element, so perhaps Virgo-Aquarius is a musical
combination.  We need to put in more study on these two sign
combinations, which are often revealing and carry us a stage
farther than the one sign delineations.  If you divide
humanity into twelve types these must necessarily be
extremely general in character, but if you proceed to 144,
you can be more precise.
  Mr. Addey tells me that Chopin was a most gifted mimic and
he seems to think that Virgo is talented in that amusing
art.  I have not noticed this, but it is a humorous sign,
and since Aquarius is certainly interested in human
character and man's "funny little ways," one can understand
the basis of Chopin's propensity to mimicry.  I have always
thought of Cancer and Pisces as the zodiacal mimics.
  Greta Garbo is an outstanding actress with Sun and Moon in
close conjunction in Virgo, with Mercury and Mars.  The
Lights are square Pluto, which any account for her personal
peculiarities; she has also a wonderful grand trine...Venus
in M.C. in Scorpio, trine Saturn in Pisces, trine
Jupiter-Neptune in Cancer.
  General I don't connect Virgo with the stage; it is too
factual and likes people and things to be themselves.  It
has very little sense of the romantic aspect of life, which
means so much to some of us.
              "A primrose by a river's brim
               A yellow primrose was to him
               And it was little more" 

was surely written by a Virginian!
  The art which appeals to Virgo is painting.  This is not
strange, since it involves manual dexterity and careful
attention to detail...at least, it used to.
  Sir Joshua Reynolds was a Virgo, as also the unfortunate
suicided Benjamin Haydon, whose huge canvasses seem
singularly unlike this sign.  When bigness appears in the
life, whether it be physical size or anything else, look for
a Sirius contact: you will usually find it.
  Talking of Sir Joshua reminds me that Virgo is associated
with deafness.  Indeed out of 14 cases of sever deafness I
find the Sun, Moon and/or asc. in Virgo score 14 points.
  Josef Holbrooke, the composer, is stone-deaf.  In his case
we have a high-spirited Virgo; or at any rate he was in that
condition on the one and only occasion we met him.  He kept
us in roars of laughter and is certainly talented mimic and
raconteur.  I believe in his case genius was joined to a
considerable degree of irascibility.  In fact he is not what
some astrologers would expect from Moon rising in Virgo.
  Holbrooke's data are: Croydon, about 8:40 a.m., July 5,
1878.
  Compared with other afflictions, deafness gets little
sympathy.  For some occult reason people appear to think
that the deaf "do it on purpose," or wilfully assume
deafness when they don't wish t hear and become marvellously
keen of hearing when it suits their ends, but not yours, for
them to be so.  This tallies with the Virginian attitude,
exemplified in the ass, of patient endurance; Virgo likes to
carry a chip on its shoulder, as the saying is, and think
itself ill-used.  It asks dumbly for justice...Libra: do we
all ask for the next sign after our own?  Is this a form of
astrological "divine discontent," urging us on through the
zodiac?  Or is it another case of the patient donkey
pursuing a carrot that never gets any nearer its mouth?
  Among eminent Virgos or persons with Virgo prominent, we
must instance Goethe, with the Sun and Venus therein, in
10th house.  Caesar Borgia, who is recorded as having had
Mercury exactly rising in that sign.  He is described as
ferocious and unscrupulous but to have ruled his subjects,
once he had conquered them, with firmness and justice.
There is no need to ascribe his vices to Virgo; there is
plenty of evidence in the rest of his natus of his
disagreeable character.
  De Maupassant had Mars, Venus and Jupiter rising in Virgo.
  Thomas Mann was born under Virgo.  With the Sun in the
10th in Gemini, trine Jupiter in 3rd, we have a splendid
horoscope for a writer.  Virgo comes out in his love of
detailed descriptions of illness.
  James Hilton (Lost Horizon) had Sun and Mercury in Virgo.
  Among politicians, there is F.D. Roosevelt, Uranus rising
in Virgo, and the villainous Pierre Laval, also had Uranus
rising in Virgo.
  Last but not least, Queen Elizabeth I had Sun in Virgo.
  And that is as far as I can carry my discussion of the
Sixth Sign.
  What has struck me most is, firstly, the number of people
who ought to have been Virginians but weren't, and secondly,
the equally large number who were Virginians but oughtn't to
have been.
  Now I must say that I am sorry if I have been unfair to
Virgo and harped too much on its relation to the donkey, and
if I have, well, in the words of Dogberry "Write me down an
ass!"

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© Astrology Quarterly  -§-  Vol. 30/3  1956

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