It's Written In The Stars

As a child, I spent many a night laying on my back looking up into the dark night sky, mesmerized by the vastness and wonder of it all. It was inexplicable to me how millions and millions of tiny little dots, scattered throughout the universe, could be connected to one another in such a unique way, creating a cosmic mural for the entire world to enjoy.

The Constellations! The name itself rolls off your tongue as if the syllables are energetically charged and ready to tell all! Like any child, my initial star gazing experience had me searching to find the Big Dipper and Orion, the easiest of the constellations to observe for the untrained eye. Locating the twelve astrological zodiac signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, on the other hand, took effort, a real challenge to say the least.

As explained to me by my father, these constellations are so much more than a grouping of stars that come together to form pretty pictures in the sky. You see, the position of the stars on the day you were born, generate your birth chart and astrological zodiac sign. Being an August 27th baby designates me a Virgo.

So, what exactly does it mean to be a Virgo?

As a Virgo personality I am someone who is methodical, analytical and practical. Virgos are hardworking, cautious and conservative. A Virgo isn’t impulsive. No, no, no. Risk taking is not in the Virgo playbook. Virgos are wise, known to employ a common-sense approach to life, leaning into realism and practicality. Virgo’s are grounded, so it is no big surprise, the Earth element accompanies a Virgo. Mercury, the ruling planet of Virgo supports a well-developed need to assist others, the caretaker, problem solver, fixer of everything!

A Virgo’s exaggerated attention to detail can serve them very well indeed. Some would even describe a Virgo as a ‘neat freak’ or ‘perfectionist’. To a Virgo, this is the highest complement to be bestowed. Virgos relish cleanliness and organization.

Do I subscribe to these positive attributes? Absolutely! For a Virgo, order brings calmness and peace, a top priority in my overstimulated life.

But let’s not forget, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is true with the personality traits of the astrological signs as well.

Welcome to the Virgo dark side!

Virgos are worriers, fretting about everything, even when things are 100% out of their control. Given their logical side you would think this would be a no brainer to a Virgo. Nope!

Virgos tend to be overly critical of themselves and others, often misinterpreted as cold, uncaring, heart closed individuals. Their perfectionistic tendencies can place them dangerously close to alienating others who display disorganized predispositions and their “all work, no play” philosophy, should be a warning sign for a Virgo that “burn out” is right around the corner.

V.I.R.G.O! That’s me all right! The good, the bad and the ugly.

Thinking back, I suppose star gazing was my introduction into the captivating world of Astrology, Birth Charts, and Human Design. As my astrological journey unfolded, it became clear to me that these celestial objects and all the energy held within, have stories to tell, transcribed for us through the twelve astrological zodiac signs. Captured in the interplay of the moon, sun, planets, seasons and ocean tides, it is undeniable that the stars generate distinctive personality traits swaying human behaviour.

Although I embraced the Virgo literature like a tight knit sweater, reading everything and anything I could find, the disappointment of never being able to locate my Virgo constellation amongst the cosmos haunted me on a regular basis. Gazing upwards, endlessly searching, my eye remains as inexperienced now as it was on my inaugural star gazing journey as a child.

Fear not, technology to the rescue. With a click of a button, you can install the Skyview App onto your smartphone, point it toward the night sky and alas, the zodiac constellations appear in all their glory.

Directing the Skyview App to the left then right, there she was, lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, my Virgo constellation. It is not surprising that my amateur eye had such difficulty recognizing the Maiden, goddess of harvest, with angel-like wings, holding an ear of wheat in her left hand given the elongation and irregularity of the stars grouping. Spica, the sparkling blue-white star, the brightest star in the constellation was the tell tale sign that I finally found the Virgo constellation.

To this day I continue to look toward the night sky, seeking out the Virgo constellation, to remind me of who I am. Proof that who I was meant to be, truly is written in the stars!