Mercury is very strong in this sign, hence the resemblance to Gemini in mental outlook. Yet Virgo’s earthiness tempers its pure rationality, and its powers of reasoning are not held in quite the same esteem as those of the more positive Mercurial sign.
Virgo is intensely practical, and its aims are usually governed by so-called material advantage. These natives can come across as petty, while their reasoning is hampered by the constant intrusion of a pragmatic view of the world. They are therefore virtually incapable of creating anything through the fire of genius. Virgo’s practicality, love of order and tidiness, patience and foresight incline it towards a conventional way of life. This can be mistaken for a certain moral rectitude which the sign does not, in fact, possess. Virgo natives tend to talk about morality rather than feel within themselves what is right and wrong. Every fact in nature provides a basis for investigation, but it is always viewed from the outside and thus never fully understood.
The chief source of error in Virgo is an inability to understand irrational human passion. The lack of humanity and compassion so often characteristic of this sign is even more conspicuous than we have seen in Gemini. The latter, after all, can justify itself through the comprehensiveness of its intellect, whereas Virgo habitually applies its intelligence to the more material side of every problem.
These qualities naturally apply only to the more or less intellectual types. The average man born under this sign is the typical husband: a steady, patient worker, though his work is always routine.
On the other hand, Virgo is the critic par excellence. These natives seldom create anything themselves, but they observe and distinguish details, often with unnecessary precision. Here we find the purist, the statistician, the person who acts by the rule and usually interprets it in the narrowest possible sense. They lack the imagination that accompanies greatness, even in such matters as making money. Success comes very slowly and is generally thoroughly deserved. In this respect, the sign resembles Taurus, but Virgo, being more adaptable, goes around obstacles rather than through or over them, achieving the same results as Taurus with nothing like the same expenditure of energy.
Virgo is often very modest, though sometimes sensitive about whatever small measure of dignity it may possess. These natives get along well with others because they are not aggressive. Their plodding patience reinforces their ability and intelligence, and although they may not defeat an opponent in any particular contest, they can sometimes secure a first-rate position without even seeking it: while the lion and the bear fight, the fox makes off with the prize.
Virgo natives are very thrifty and constructive in financial affairs. Their calculations are precise, for they pay close attention to small details, firmly believing that “if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.” They may often be accused of miserliness.
As Mercury is the god of commerce—and of thieves—Virgo is well suited to routine business and very astute at bargaining. These natives will go to considerable lengths to save every penny and take great satisfaction in securing the best discount or price. Their narrow outlook often allows others to outstrip them. They doggedly add up further columns of figures while others, having made a rough estimate, turn their attention to the dynamic possibilities of their plans. In other words, Virgo may make an excellent bank clerk or cashier, but seldom becomes a financier.
In domestic life, these people are often happy enough; they do not seek trouble and do not respond well to it. Their anger can be as superficial as all their other passions. They dislike change and have little interest in leaving home. They prefer life in the country or a small town to life in a large city, and even there they will choose a commercial career over other professions. They can make good lawyers, though they are not as capable as Gemini in contentious matters of law. They are, however, truly excellent in those branches of law that are essentially specialised forms of business—conveyancing, for example, mortgage agreements and the like. They are reliable advisers on investments, and their advice on any matter is shrewd, provided it does not involve considerations deeper than the evident facts.
In love, Virgo is an unbearable partner for people of passionate temperament. These natives are neither passionate nor especially tender. Narcissus, who is associated with this sign, is an excellent symbol. Virgo is cold because it is wholly absorbed in itself; it has no conception of what may be love’s deepest mystery: the mutual surrender of self to the beloved, resulting in a true spiritual fusion into divine unity. Virgo, however, scorns the very idea of self-surrender. These natives care little for conquests either, and so fail to arouse enthusiasm in themselves or in others. In a certain sense, then, we may say that they are incapable of love. Paradoxically, this quality makes them very popular with that large section of society which likes to make a pretence of love. Nevertheless, Virgo natives make excellent partners in marriage or business, diligently attending to small comforts and conveniences. Even if flirtations occur, they are mild and never serious enough to threaten the peace of the home. Where children are concerned, it is difficult to find a better parent: Virgo natives attend devotedly to every detail of their child’s welfare.
In public affairs, Virgo can make an excellent secretary. These natives are capable of suggesting useful improvements to any organisation, and their caution and industry can prove invaluable to those minds which, when engaged in great projects, tend to overlook the many small but essential details. The native is trustworthy and diligent in all affairs, whether public or private.
Although Mercury is cold-blooded and indifferent, there is nevertheless a factor that distinguishes Virgo from Gemini and makes it less dangerous: the earthiness of the sign, which renders it more stable and practical than its airy brother. Virgo therefore has a certain conservatism. Its mental activity is less obsessive—or, quite simply, Virgo has an anchor. It is not carried away by ideas as Gemini is; nevertheless, its great practicality can sometimes develop into greed.
There is no subconscious aversion to crime. Suicide is common among natives of this sign. Virgo’s friendships are often intimate and enduring, but they frequently rest on mutual interests, usually intellectual ones. Such friendships are easily broken by differences of opinion, for the native is extremely jealous and sensitive to interference, suspecting it even when the danger is largely imaginary.