Understanding Virgo in your Chart

Maidens of the 12 Houses: Exploring Virgo Through Myth and Popular Culture was the original title for the private talk I gave. It was more bent toward astrologers, but I wanted to bring this to the average person — which means it needed a better title. What we are looking at today is who Virgo is and what sort of stories she facilitates in each astrological house.

It’s probably best to start by defining terms. If you’re new to astrology and don’t have all of the technical jargon down, this part is for you. If you’re already experienced, you’ll want to skip down to my take on Virgo, and then read through whichever houses catch your fancy.

Houses

If you know your birth chart, you know that there are 12 houses. Each house covers a certain area of your life; the 1st is your life path, for example, while the 7th covers important 1:1 relationships. Each house is ruled over by a sign; in ‘whole sign’ charts it’s one sign per house (thus the name), but other methods of drawing charts may have multiple signs in house, or one sign in multiple houses. Each method is a different way of abstracting the state of the sky into a chart; I prefer whole sign, so that is how this article will view things. I’ll give a note for each house in the details below, so you don’t need to have the meanings memorized to understand what’s happening today.

In any case, you will only be able to know which sign rules which house if you have fairly exact information on your birth place and time — the signs rotate through these 12 houses every day. If you don’t have good birth time information, there is an astrological process called ‘rectification’ that can help determine it for you; it’s not a service I offer at this time, but an internet search should help you find recommended professionals that do.

What Makes a House More Powerful?

You may be very familiar with Sun signs (ie, the sign the Sun was in when you were born); this is one way that signs can come into focus as important in your life. Both the Sun and the Moon are considered major placements, as well as what sign was coming over the horizon at the time of your birth — this is called the Ascendent or your Rising Sign. Virgo is going to feel more powerful in these places, as well as in the 4th, 7th, and 10th houses (these are called your ‘angular’ houses, and make a cross in the chart). She is also going to feel more impactful depending on if there are any other planet placements in her sign, or if her planetary ruler Mercury is well positioned. These are more advanced concepts — if you want to know more, I recommend booking a reading with myself or another reader who can delve more deeply into this with you.

Virgos

If you’re not very familiar with Virgo, you may only know her by her stereotypes; hyper-organized, anxious, judgmental, and controlling. However, we all know that while there are bits of truth in stereotypes, the real meaning is hidden underneath. One thing to note is that Virgo is a mutable sign — all signs have an energetic quality to them, and her energetic quality is to flex and change. This doesn’t seem to align well with her stereotype, does it?

As an aside, I say this as a VERY Virgo person with a messy desk and a delightful set of spreadsheets.

Although Virgos who are suffering can fall into those stereotypes, a healthy, well-balanced Virgo is more fascinated by understanding things and being able to build connections between them. They want to know why things are the way they are, and want to be able to understand so they can easily move through change. They want to know the rules in play so that they can find loopholes.

Think of picking your way across rocks in a stream; a Virgo wants to understand how to tell which rocks will shift, not just memorize which are unsteady for this journey. All signs have an element, and Virgos are earth. Earth that flexes and changes in a healthy way is like a sand dune; Virgos want to understand the structure behind the chaos.

Virgo is also ruled by Mercury, a planet that is known for travel, communication, connection and trickery. Mercury is both the ruler of Virgo and also exalted (super-powered or overcharged) here; this further contradicts the idea that Virgo gets ‘stuck in her ways’ or has difficulty with change.

Putting it Together

How do houses, signs, and planets interact? I like thinking of each section as a play; the house is the theme of the play, while the sign is the ‘mood’. The planet that rules that sign is the director, and if there are any planets in that sign they are major actors who have some sway over the script. So the big question is — what kind of mood does Virgo have? What kind of stories does she facilitate in each house?

Before I start going through houses, one further note: there is nothing astrologers love more than seeing the same theme echo through multiple places. Since the order of the zodiac is fixed, when we know what house Virgo rules (in a whole sign chart) we will know which sign rules each chart. I will occasionally bring up those echoes, without going into heavy detail like I have with Virgo here. If it’s your chart, I advise you to spend some time looking at these examples and your other placements to see how else they ‘match’ the kind of stories that are told. Let us begin.

Virgo in the 1st House

The first house is the house of your life path; sometimes ‘what’ you should be doing, but always ‘how’ you should be doing it.

In this house, Virgo’s job is to build connections and organize things, but in the biggest picture possible. She is going to feel her best in getting to feel ‘useful’, but since Leo is going to be in the 12th house she’s going to feel most comfortable in a more anonymous position and with Aries in the 8th house she’s going to feel the most anxious when she has to act without planning.

When I think of stories that encompass this, I think of all knowing ‘helpers’ like Cortana from Halo. The submerged oracles of Minority Report feel like a similar but darker echo. If you are into tarot, these kind of stories are often represented by The Star.

Virgo in the 2nd House

The 2nd house is about the things that you value, or what you need to feel secure/valued. It speaks a lot to what kind of financial situation you live in.

Virgo in the 2nd house is going to be practical about her needs vs her wants, and desire a diversified income. She is going to spend energy planning for economic disasters.

Since Leo is in the 1st house for her, she’s going to exhibit a strong or magnetic presence in whatever she does, which to me points to Walter in Breaking Bad.

Her practicality can also come through in stories like the Princess and The Salt; the princess in question tells her father that she loves her like food loves salt, and after being kicked out and sneaking into the kitchen to serve her father food without it he finally realizes that she is confidently odd and yet practical about what is dear to her.

For Tarot here, this has the energy of the 3 of Wands or the 8 of Pentacles. Hard work and the contemplation of future success both have a place here.

Virgo in the 3rd House

The 3rd house is about the things that are close to you; your close friends and siblings, your neighborhood, your pre-college schooling, your ability to communicate and build those relationships, and even your ability to travel around your local area.

A Virgo in this house is going to be a practical communicator; she’s happiest when she can be blunt, but she also understands the people here and knows what she can get away with. 3rd house Virgos are Cancer rising, so she will have a strong emotional component to whatever she does, and an Aquarius 8th house that will infuse a fear of rejection or separation from others that will make her careful.

For this Virgo, I love Lady Danbury of Bridgerton — she knows more than she says, and she says things that other people can’t get away with. Her exterior hides how much she deeply cares for her friends. Deanna Troi from Star Trek is another obvious choice here.

For Tarot, we are living in the court cards of Cups; well balanced and we are the Queen or King, weakened we are the Page, and unbalanced we are the Knight.

Virgo in the 4th House

The 4th house is your home, your roots, your parents; this house is at the bottom of your chart, and it’s the things that shaped you to make you who you are.

Virgo in the 4th house is going to struggle; think about the kind of childhood that forces you to understand the deeper causes of what is happening so that you can feel safe. Virgos in this position often have unstable homes growing up, and often end up being parentified because they are ‘so good’ at managing organized chaos. Considering that Capricorn is the 8th house for 4th house Virgos, there is an additional worry around being able to care for only yourself and move your own things forward. A Virgo here is going to wish for / feel guilty for any action that feels selfish or only for themselves.

Cinderella is an obvious choice for this Virgo; Rapunzel’s glee to escape and guilt at the selfishness of wanting to live her own life is another echo of this.

I also cannot help but think of Rory in the Gilmore Girls, trying to work on her goals while her mom struggles to create the stability needed for her to be successful. Or Saffron from Absolutely Fabulous, who is forced to keep the ‘adults’ in her life from ruining everything.

For Tarot, we are back in the Wands territory, with the 5 or 7; this placement often feels like you are constantly battling back the chaos to stay safe. 5 of Wands is safer and more playful, but with the 7 of Wands these are real, damaging fights you are going through.

Virgo in the 5th House

The 5th house is a house of the things you create for the joy of it. Children, hobbies, arts; whatever it is that makes you happy, or that you do just for yourself.

For Virgo in the 5th house, there is going to be a joy in learning, solving problems, or organizing. As it is the house of children, we can see a faint echo of the problems of the 4th house, but in this case you are the cause of that anxiety in your children. You have a Taurus Rising, which points to a ‘homebody’ aspect to everything that you do.

Most positively, we can see Belle from Beauty and the Beast, who not only loved books but delighted in figuring out the problem set before her when kidnapped, especially one that let her keep that library.

More problematic problem solvers come in characters like Sherlock Holmes, who find solving mysteries more addictive than drugs (and will turn to drugs if there isn’t an interesting enough problem to solve).

For Tarot we have a lot of options, depending on how healthily Virgo’s energy manifests. She could be The Magician, glorying in her ability to create and understand. She could be the Knight of Pentacles, enthusiastic to do the work but unable to manage her energy well.

Virgo in the 6th House

The 6th house is the house of toil and drudgery; the unappreciated, tedious work one does in their life.

A Virgo in the 6th house uses their ability to connect and understand for other people, without getting the glory or recognition they deserve.

Here we get the Watsons and the Jeeves of the world; keeping a more famous genius or idiot from self-destruction.

In Tarot, we see Temperance, in that they are pouring from their own cup into others (vs. The Star, where they are pouring it out for all). We can also see the 6 of Pentacles in these stories, as it displays the need to rebalance and share the ‘wealth’.

Virgo in the 7th House

The 7th house is about your most intimate, important relationships with another person. Usually these are romantic relationships, but we can use this house for important business partnerships or ‘best friendships’ as well.

A Virgo in this house is going to be practical in relationships. She’s going to want to build connections through partnerships, and she’s going to want to thoroughly understand her partner in a way that may feel invasive. She can also bring huge matchmaker energy into everything she does, as she will leverage her intuitive abilities to help build these kind of relationships for other people as well.

Obviously for this Virgo we love Emma, although I think the historical King Henry the 8th provides a more cynical view of how someone can use romantic relationships to gain connections.

However, my favorite example for this is Donkey from Shrek. From his invasive questions to Shrek to his unusual but fantastic relationship with the dragon, Donkey embodies the joy of this placement.

For Tarot, we can see the Knight of Cups or the 2 of Pentacles; the Virgo energy here is often enthusiastic but not well placed for these topics, so there will be an unsteadiness from the former or a need to juggle different needs from the latter.

Virgo in the 8th House

The 8th house is a house of anxiety and fear; it is the domain of the things often out of our control, the things that come from other people. It is traditionally the house of death (the thing most out of our control), but modern systems add sex as well.

Virgo in this house wants to understand and organize things she cannot control, which often has her becoming too rigid for her own good as the chaos of this house can be overwhelming. She will struggle to figure out how much planning for the unknown is enough and will have to learn how to trust that other people can also competently handle some of these topics.

Traditionally, the story of Persephone is considered attached to Virgo in this house; her lack of control when being seized and forced to become the Queen of the Underworld provides Virgos here with a glimpse of the power that can become available even if they have to withstand hardships first.

In modern tales, I quite like Marta from Knives Out; she understands the situation she is in but has little control over it, and only by trusting someone else is she able to solve her problems and benefit.

For Tarot, the Virgo energy quite often feels like the 4 or 5 of Pentacles. The 4 of Pentacles is rich but holding on too tightly, while the 5 is destitute but with help imminently available. Both are worth meditating on to help a Virgo relax in this space.

Virgo in the 9th House

The 9th house is about the Big Questions; higher education, foreign travel, philosophy of life, religion. It is about how we come to understand the world and our place within it, and how we interact with the ‘bigger picture’.

Virgo in this house is driven to know or understand more; the knowledge here is infinite and Virgo must learn how not to drown herself in it.

Most brightly, we have Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Obsessed with civilization on the surface, collecting everything she can to better understand it and driven to go herself to experience it even before she falls in love.

A darker story is Cypher from the Matrix, who is able to understand the simulated reality just by watching code and so disillusioned by the real world he is ready to undo it all to go back in.

For Tarot, we of course have to start with the Tower; the Virgo push for more can have dangerous consequences if left unchecked. We also have the 7 of Pentacles, if done right — hard work is good, but remember to stop and take a look at what you’re doing every once in a while.

Virgo in the 10th House

The 10th house is the house of vocation. Career, yes, but more than that; what will you do productively to stand out in humanity in some way.

Virgo in the 10th house wants to use their ability to understand, connect and organize in their great work. They have Cancer in the 8th house, so emotional connections are scary, and they will often hide in logic to avoid a more empathic work style.

We can see a straightforward example in Katherine in Hidden Figures — she uses her mathematical brilliance to go beyond and more deeply understand physics to help launch and land an aircraft.

More mythologically, we have the Three Fates. Their job is to weave, measure and cut the strings of life and place them in the weave of existence; their job is to understand the fate of the world and cut as needs to be cut without considering the good and bad of each individual life.

For Tarot, we can consider the 4 or 9 of Wands, depending on emotional connection possible; the 4 is celebratory while the 9 is well defended and alone.

Virgo in the 11th House

The 11th house is about the big community around you. It encompasses those who you know but aren’t deeply connected to, especially those that can benefit you in some way. Traditionally we would be talking about patronage, but in the modern era we think more of networking in general.

Virgo in this house wants a strongly connected society. She wants to understand each individual, their connection to each other, and how these people are organized into a larger whole. She cares very much about the rules of the group, so that she can know what is socially permissible and what will cause her to be excluded.

I have two mythological examples here; although Artemis is a goddess of the wilderness, she is a caretaker of maidenhood and strongly punishes those who go outside of the norms. She also very harshly punishes men who intrude on her domain.

I also like to put the Vestal Virgins in this group, as a more historical example. These were women who were granted many freedoms outside of the typical so long as they upheld certain values. They were not allowed to marry, but were able to move in public and have some political sway, unusual for women at the time.

For Tarot, this is the 10 of Pentacles. This is the card of success and of legacy. Successfully managing Virgo here gets us to lifetimes of remembrance for the things we were able to accomplish.

Virgo in the 12th House

The 12th house is the house of hidden things. Secrets, enemies, your deep unconscious self. In modern astrology, it’s also considered the ‘you’ that you were before you were born, as it is ruled by the sign that rose before your rising sign came over the horizon.

A Virgo in this house is going to struggle. These are things that aren’t known or understood, and her job is to know and understand. She will strive to uncover secrets and enemies, to find new ways of learning and knowing to figure these topics out. She would benefit from some self-reflection, and like with the 9th house the ability to know when to stop.

A Virgo in the 12th house is a Libra rising, which will already push her to understand ‘both sides’ and move toward justice. With Taurus in her 8th house, she is going to have trouble knowing when to rest, or when enough is enough — relaxation will trigger anxiety.

This is the home of Phil Connors in Groundhog Day. Forcing understanding didn’t get him anywhere, but relaxing and going for a deeper experience allowed him to move forward.

Littlefinger from Game of Thrones is an example of how this can go wrong; here is a character so invested in understanding the hidden that he became too confident in his abilities and died because of it.

In Tarot, I see this as a four card story. The 10 of Swords for utter defeat, The High Priestess for self-reflection, Death for transformation and The World for your final reward.

What to do with this?

Hopefully your section resonated with you; if you know other people’s charts, I invite you to be nosy and check out their Virgo as well. I started this because I thought Virgo the Maiden could be a lot of different Disney Princesses, so if you want homework ponder some of the ladies I missed and if they have enough Virgo qualities to be added to this post, or if you think they might qualify more for a different sign.

Also: If you also get cranky when you read stereotypes of a certain sign and would like to see me tackle them in the same way, let me know!