William Page Atkinson Wells “Girl in a Meadow”

August 22 - September 22, 2021

“Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man…” goes the old nursery rhyme; and its earliest known version, from a 15th century book about chess: “Labourer, Smith, Clerk, Merchant, Physician, Taverner, Guard and Ribald” in describing the pawn. Whether we’re playing chess, or adding up buttons, or foretelling our futures with our friends, there is something about this counting game that reminds me of the ones we count on most: Virgos, the sons and daughters of the  grain goddess, stewardess over us all, and of Mercury-Hermes, the clever companion and friend to man. 

All mutable signs want to move their energy and give away their gifts, but Virgo is the most gift-giving in nature. Born at the first sign of waning light, they know the importance of making hay while the Sun shines—in every sense—and of the inevitable sacrifices we all must make, to each other, to the world, to life itself. The hustle, bustle and hum of everyday living is the mercurial made manifest. For Virgo hands, the dividends are in the details and the doing. To see with Virgo eyes is to notice the little things that everyone else seemingly misses or overlooks; and to use its natural discernment to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. And to follow the Virgo heart is to want to harvest something from life, in service to the nourishment of all, and to betterment itself. 

This is the season for dropping down into the body and for coming down to earth, after the fiery fun of Leo is passed. It is a time for holding ourselves and others to our highest standards; and for honoring contributions of all creatures, great and small, to the world.