1.

Virgos are reliable, practical, and loyal. In Greek mythology, Astraea (the goddess who became the constellation Virgo) was the last of the gods to abandon Earth as the rest fled for Mount Olympus even thought things had gotten really bad. For this reason, the goddess Virgo is associated with the Earth.

2.

Virgos are also known for things that contemporary society sometimes wrongly associates with masculinity. Virgos are measured and intelligent and have amazing memories. They’re known for a love of reasoning and mathematics as well as the arts. They also have an affinity for detailed work.

3.

Virgo is also the virgin maiden known for modesty. This can take on a number of forms including being shy and measured. Virgos do not care for being the center of attention and their practical aspects eschew showing out.

4.

Virgos are also analysts. They are not impulsive but approach each problem with a measured approach, preferring to take into account all the details and facts before arriving at an opinion or judgement. For less grounded signs, a Virgo who refuses to go along with the crowd can seem stubborn and frustrating but it’s usually the Virgo that ends up having been right after all the facts are known.

5.

Mercury is Virgo’s ruling planet and, as a result, Virgos are highly skilled at reading, writing, and other forms of communication. This plays highly into a Virgo’s tendency towards precision.

6.

Virgo is symbolically represented by the “star maiden” known to the Greeks as Astraea. Astraea was the daughter of the two titans, Astraeus and Eos.

7.

Virgo literally meaning “virgin” in Latin. She is considered to be both chaste and fertile and while this seems to have only direct connotations about virginity and childbearing that would be a shallow interpretation. Fertility means far more than child bearing. It means farming and good crops. It means work and single mindedness in attempting a task. It means the focus to ignore frivolity and get work done. For this reason, Virgo is also associated with the harvest.

8.

The constellation Virgo is believed to have appeared in its original form in ancient Babylon where the constellation was known simply as the “furrow” and was associated both with the harvest and with fertility in general. For those who don’t know what a furrow is, it’s a v shaped trench created in the earth during planting by using a plow. It’s also associated with female sexuality, ie a woman’s furrow, ie the Pudendal Cleft. Who knew farming could be this sexual?

9.

As Christianity expanded into Europe and began to supplant Greek and Roman religions, The Virgin Mary, perpetually a virgin, was represented in a fashion similar to Virgo or Astraea and the two shared traits such as modesty, fertility, and connection to the divine.

10.

Virginity in regards to Virgo should not be seen as exclusively or even mainly as literal sexual virginity but rather as virgin crops yet untouched by the men and women during harvest time.

11.

Virgo is the largest astrological sign in the zodiac. In areas with little light pollution, Virgo appears enormous, stretching across the sky like a giant. Thousands of years ago it would have been unmistakable as it began its march across the night sky, marking the beginning of the harvest season and the end of Summer.

12.

Virgos are also strongly associated with justice through the titan daughter Astraea as mentioned above. Astraea was also the virgin goddess of justice and is depicted in some images as holding scales. This is also a function of a Virgo’s tendency towards precision and taking all the information available into account before coming to a conclusion.

So, in this sense, a Virgo is depicted in court rooms across the world as the goddess of justice. In other images she is pictured carrying a bright torch instead of scales as if shedding light where there was once darkness.

Another interesting aspect of Virgo’s dual symbolism is that the beginning of the Fall is truly when a farmer begins to reap what he or she has sown. If this analogy is taken into one’s personal life, it is a time when justice upon one’s actions is about to be rendered, a time when all that has happened will be judged for good or ill, and a time of change and clarity.

13.

Most of the stars that make up the constellation virgo are relatively dim. The brightest, known as Spica, is a bright white-blue jewel of a start. The Virgo cluster itself contains eleven deep space objects, more than any constellation excepting Sagittarius. Truly, Virgos contain multitudes.