Virgo Sign Description

In India, Virgo was identified with Kauni, mother of the great God Krishna. In the Assyrian culture, she may have been Baalita, wife of the God Baal, who is notorious in Hebrew lore.

The constellation of Virgo is representative of many identities, all related to maidens, purity and fertility. She was originally associated to Dike, also known as Justice, daughter of Zeus and Themis, who was once the Mistress of All-Divine Order and Law prior to the Olympians. Dike initially lived among mankind but withdrew when they no longer upheld justice.

The Babylonians linked her to the Ishtar, Goddess of Procreation, who descended into the Underworld to reclaim her husband, Tammuz, God of the Harvest, who had been overpowered and dragged away by King Winter. During Tammuz' absence, Ishtar neglected the fields and Winter, with its ice and snow, claimed possession. Consequently, the Earth went dark and nothing grew. Upon finding Tammuz, Ishtar herself became a prisoner trapped in the Underworld. When the Great Gods noticed the deplorable state of the Earth, they sent a message to the Underworld Keeper demanding the release of Ishtar and Tammuz. However, Ishtar continues to mourn the death of her husband every Autumn, when he is cut down in his prime. Winter reigns again during her journey to the Underworld to bring him back, after which he reappears as the new green corn each Spring.

Yet another association includes identification with Isis, Egyptian Goddess who taught humans marriage, household management, medicine, weaving, motherhood and the workings of magical spells and charms. Isis instantly went into mourning upon the death of her consort-brother, Osiris, and began a frantic search for him. She was eventually successful but then lost him again. Finally, Isis managed to restore all of his body parts save one. Two other less popular identifications are with Parthenos (whose name means Virgin), daughter of Apollo and Chrysothemis, who died young and was said to have been placed in the heavens, and with Tyche, the Greek Goddess who originally held jurisdiction over Fortune, Chance and Luck, later ruling Prosperity.

Virgo is also said to be a daughter of Zeus or possibly the offspring of Oceanus and Tethys, Tyche was frequently portrayed holding a cornucopia, rudder of destiny and wheel of fortune. She was one of the Okeanides (Goddesses of Clouds and Rain) and a childhood companion to Artemis, Athene and Persephone. Virgo is also important in an Ancient Chinese belief which is based upon the passage of the Moon, not the Sun. It has also been suggested that this constellation represents Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ.

To the Romans, she was Ceres, Goddess of Fields and Growing Crops and, in general, all agricultural acitivity. It is in this guise that Virgo is probably more readily associated. However, Ancient Rome also sometimes identified Virgo as Prosperina, the Wheat-Bearing Maiden, who was the beautiful daughter of Ceres and Jupiter.

According to legend, Pluto, God of the Underworld, was riding in his black chariot pulled by black horses one day, inspecting the fields of Springtime which had just started to bud. It just so happened that Proserpina was gathering flowers with her friends in the same location. When Pluto noticed her, he was so impressed by her tender beauty that he swiftly abducted her in his chariot and hurried back to his world of wraiths. In utter despair, Ceres sought in vain for her daughter...travelling over all lands and all seas. Refusing to rest during the course of her search, she to have nothing further to do with the crops until Proserpina was found. Thus, everything died and the Earth was threatened with famine. This was a situation that Jupiter could not tolerate, so he ordained that Pluto should allow Proserpina to be with Ceres for six months of each year in the Upperworld, spending the other six months with Pluto in his kingdom. Therefore, the constellation of Virgo can only be seen from March until August...the months when grain and other crops grow, ripen and are harvested. From August to the following March, Virgo is invisible and the fields lie barren while Ceres goes into seclusion and mourns the separation from her beloved daughter.