Time to tidy up! From August 23 to September 23, the Sun moves through orderly Virgo, inspiring us to clean up all the messy parts of our lives.
It’s all in the details when nitpicky Virgo rules, so take a look at where adjustments can be made.
Maybe it’s time to address some health and wellness issues or to clear out the clutter and organize your workspace. There couldn’t be a better time for practical changes that will bring efficiency, but do be careful not to take on Virgo’s stentorian tendency in the process. As tidying expert Marie Kondo reminds us, our efforts should “spark joy.”
Every 30 days or so, the Sun visits a new zodiac sign. During this “season,” everyone feels the energy of this prevailing astrological energy, no matter what your Sun sign is. Virgo is the second of the zodiac’s three earth signs and one of three mutable signs, meaning it’s adaptable and always up for a little self-improvement. Virgos are the zodiac’s editors, with keen eyes that can spot what needs to be fixed or improved.
As we say goodbye to bombastic Leo season, here are seven ways to capitalize on the efficient, analytical Virgo vibes from August 23 through September 23, 2019.
1. Build your best life.
You don’t have to wait for the new year to make resolutions—Virgo season is the best time to start making moves toward living your healthiest, most balanced life. Self-care might be a buzzword these days, but it’s one of the sharpest tools in Virgo’s arsenal. Integrate it into your lifestyle over the next four weeks. Assess your most important needs and invest in your best version of yourself.
Once you’ve experienced the benefits of stress-relieving lavender aromatherapy baths and morning workouts with resistance bands, you’ll never go back. You’ll find no shortage of apps to further your quest, including Calm for sleep and meditation and Shine for motivation and affirmations. Approach your wellbeing with mindfulness and intention (so very Virgo!), but be careful not to become too self-critical (also very Virgo) in the process.
2. Take a digital detox.
During Virgo season, data and information rule—and while we love Siri and Alexa for immediate answers to anything and everything we want to know, too much of anything is never healthy. Smartphones can zap your focus, Twitter can devolve into troll fights and drags, and Instagram presents you with a daily barrage of “perfect” lives and bodies that can be toxic for your self-esteem (never mind that the photos are selected for maximum envy impact and the features have been enhanced on a filtering app).
Studies have found that social media promotes narcissism and mobile devices may be the culprit behind insomnia for some. If a complete break from technology—even for just 24 hours—seems impossible, consider a switch-off period (maybe just an hour) each day. Or ban that mobile from your bedroom and wind down with a paperback book. Time away from your screens will make you more peaceful, thoughtful, and connected with the real people in your lives—the ones who really matter.
3. Embrace the wild.
When mentally agile Virgo rules the skies, it’s easy to spiral into overthinking and become ungrounded in the process. To get centered again, lean in to the earthy energy of this star sign. This might be the perfect time to take up the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which means “forest bathing,” a key component of preventive health care and healing in this hyper-urbanized country. (Capricorn Kate Middleton, AKA the Duchess of Cambridge, taking note, has co-designed a shinrin-yoku-inspired garden.) There’s nothing like a relaxed walk in nature to clear the cobwebs from your brain, and you’ll get a bunch of other benefits as well. Forest bathing can boost immune system functioning, mood, focus, and energy while reducing blood pressure and stress. You can forest bathe wherever you can find even one single tree. Leave your phone behind, walk slowly and without agenda, and savor the sensuous sights and smells under the canopy.
4. Set (reasonable) goals.
Virgo gets it done—with class—so whatever you’ve set your sights on, now is the time to go about getting there. Your goals should match your priorities in life, so the first step might be figuring out what really matters to you. Write down benchmarks that are specific, measurable, relevant—and most of all, achievable and realistic. Virgo season will want you to strive for perfection. There’s certainly nothing wrong with reaching as high as possible, even out of your comfort zone, but be honest with yourself. Fitting more exercise or education into an already packed schedule can be difficult if not impossible. Virgo can help you find a way to live more efficiently, opening opportunities to take an online course or add an hour of Pilates to your daily routine.
5. Discover wabi-sabi.
All this self-improvement could easily lead to perfectionism—but there’s an antidote! Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in things that are imperfect—a timely philosophy for persnickety Virgo season. With roots in Zen, this simple concept reveres nature and accepts the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. Wabi-sabi suggests that surrendering to and being in the natural flow of everyday life brings peace and balance. Living wabi-sabi can be as simple as savoring the magic of homegrown tomatoes in late August or bringing in a bouquet of wildflowers from a nearby field. It could mean simply taking a meditative daily walk to escape the modern madness.
6. Use your words.
Ruled by articulate Mercury, Virgo season sharpens our command of language. Whether you freestyle at open mic night, pen stanzas in a Moleskine notebook or write your memoir is up to you. But you may discover that you have more to say (and share) than you gave yourself credit for during this monthlong zodiac season. No need to plunge down any rabbit holes in search of material. Down-to-earth Virgo is the zodiac’s realist. Let the landscape of your life be the inspiration, like Virgo Beyonce’s Lemonade visual album. Even if you don’t have a way with words, you can still be an appreciator of the literary or spoken art form. Virgo Karl Lagerfeld built a floor-to-ceiling library, stacking his massive collection sideways so the titles are easy to read. This kind of “practical eccentricity” is pure Virgo, so don’t ever make the mistake of accusing this sign of being boring!
7. Put on your considering cap.
The term “thinking cap” was originally “considering cap,” and it dates to the 17th century. The term has evolved in the 20th century to become slang for putting on a condom (a safe and practical Virgo thing to do), but the original meaning of putting on your consideration cap, or thinking cap, implies a period of reflection and concentration—an ideal state of mind for Virgo season.
Dig into a project that requires your best analytical deliberation and scrutiny. This could be as whimsical as getting the gang together for a late summer music festival or as geeky as digging into transpersonal psychologist and philosopher Ken Wilber’s classic A Theory of Everything. It is, after all, back-to-school season. Young or old, educating yourself not only makes you smarter, but it also improves your memory.
Artwork created for The AstroTwins by Grande Dame
Grande Dame (Tiff McGinnis)is a UK based multimedia artist. Apple, Facebook, MTV Networks and more have all commissioned her colourful visuals. She is a featured artist on Giphy. Many of her GIFS have gone viral reaching over 100 million views. Her style is heavily influenced by psychedelic cartoons, pinball, Art Nouveau, and more. She has shown her work at galleries around the Globe, including 111 Minna, San Francisco. She collaborated with couture footwear designer Terry de Havilland, her designs appeared in Italian Vogue and even caused a viral sensation appearing in The Daily Mail. Recent projects include an animated short of the life and work of famed Southern Gothic Author Carson McCullers. She is a dedicated, creative maverick, with a keen eye for detail, and a color palette all her own.