Virgo is the sign of the Dedicated Worker, the Perfectionist, the List Maker, the Number Cruncher, the Librarian, the Accountant, the Personal Trainer, the Health Guru. This is the sign most associated with due-diligence, analysis of data, attention to detail, and the constant drive for self-improvement.

Leo, the sign immediately before Virgo, emphasized bright lights, big hair, and lots of flash. Now along comes Virgo to emphasize form, function, and adherence to the fundamentals. Leo threw the big party with the expensive wine, Virgo will be cleaning up the mess and making sure everybody has a designated driver for the ride home.

Ecologically, Virgo is the time of the harvest when the wheat must be separated from the chaff. Physically, it is associated with the intestinal tract which decides what stays with the body to be used for nutritive purposes and what gets discarded as waste. This is where Virgo gets both its health-consciousness and famous capacity for discernment from.

Sun in Virgo, Moon in Virgo: Not Missing a Day of Work in 17 Years

The workaholic of the Zodiac, Virgo is the sign least likely to ever take a day off. It should come as little surprise then that baseball hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. has his Sun, Moon, Pluto, Venus, and North Node all in Virgo. Born August 24th 1960 in Havre De Grace Maryland, Ripken set the major league record for consecutive games played at 2,632. Spanning 17 seasons, Ripken’s streak earned him the moniker “The Ironman”. (Source)

Rarely flashy or acrobatic like St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith (who would do back-flips on the field), fans could count on Ripken to cleanly and competently field whatever was hit his way. He was also known for constantly tinkering with his swing, always seeking to make it just a bit better than it already was. That’s Virgo for you: at its highest expression it’s all about discernment, workmanship, and always striving to get better.

Virgos Gone Wild: Neat, Clean, a bit Obsessive but Always Prepared

Double Virgos like Ripken can be a bit obsessed with cleanliness. Even when signing autographs for fans, for instance, it was important to Ripken that he do so with an eye towards being tidy. A 1995 Sports Illustrated article recounts:

There is something to learn even in the way that Ripken approaches signing autographs. If he is using a pen that might smear, he blows on his signature so that it doesn’t smudge. “With Cal,” says Orioles pitching coach Mike Flanagan, “everything must be done correctly.” (Source)

Renown for their analytical abilities, people with Virgo emphasized in their chart make great forensic researchers. Digging through mounds of financial statements to find the single error that might reveal an institution’s Achilles’ heal? Virgo eats that type of work for breakfast.

In Ripken’s case he was analyzing opposing players’ swings, not institutions’ bank records or computer files, but the intellectual mechanics were essentially the same as those of a forensic researcher. Ripken would make a detailed study of an opposing player’s swing, spot the single – often nearly undetectable – flaw that would be the player’s undoing, then discreetly communicate his advice to the Orioles’ pitcher. Virgo’s penchant for analysis and precision may not be as captivating as Scorpio’s psychological prowess or as exciting as Aquarius’s radical methodologies but it sure does get the job done. (And it’s less messy to boot.)

As their loved ones will often confirm, uber-Virgos like Ripken can go a bit overboard with their perfectionist ways. According to his wife, Ripken took even jumping on the family trampoline to the point of Virgoan perfection:

Ripken is nothing if not consistent, even in his approach to something as simple as a home trampoline. Family lore has it that Cal wouldn’t get on the trampoline until he had watched his wife perform on it a few times. Then he started practicing by himself. The first time he tried it in front of anyone, he pretended he had never been on it. “Right,” said Kelly with a smile. “He’d probably had 25 hours of practice.” (Source)

Trampoline inspired frivolity aside, Virgos save their most focused efforts for their favorite past-time: their jobs. A Sports Illustrated article observed of Ripken’s fanatical work ethic:

Ripken’s need to be prepared borders on the obsessive. He uses an indoor batting cage at Camden Yards to hit, run and throw in total solitude before batting practice begins on the field. When he walks on the field for pregame stretching, “I’m ready to play,” he says. (Source)

Virgos can be so good at quietly and competently getting their job(s) done that they often get overlooked in favor of the flashy (Leos), the sexy (Scorpios), or the brash (Aries). Inevitably, however, bosses and co-workers end up greatly appreciating Virgo’s consistent workmanship. Of Ripken’s Virgoan approach to professional baseball Orioles manager Johhny Oates commented, “He doesn’t do anything that would wake up an opponent. He’s boring to watch for one game. But he’s a joy to watch for a season.” (Source)

Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon: Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Virgo’s often solitary, occasionally manic quest for perfection applies not just to baseball but to ballet, yoga, dance and any other pursuit where precise technique is a prerequisite for success. Virgo Sun Beyonce Knowles, for instance, has a reputation for practicing her dance routines with as much fastidiousness as Cal Ripken applied when practicing his baseball swing.

According to astrologers Suzi and Charles Harvey, an accurate metaphoric image for Ripken’s Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon combination is “A ballerina practices alone in a room of mirrors and, sensing her potential perfection, focuses on her flaws and begins again . . .” (Source) Ripken was a 6’4″ baseball player, not a ballerina, but the skill and practice it took to perfect both his batting skills and particularly his near acrobatic infield play was on par with that of a ballet professional.

The Harveys’ second image for the Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon combination captures perfectly the dutiful and reliable approach that so endeared Ripken to fans: “A well-oiled printing machine hums away . . .” (Source)

Virgo’s Life Lesson: High Standards Coupled with Compassion for Human Foibles

Because they are focused on “practice ’till perferct”, people with multiple Virgo placements in their chart make great instructors so long as they temper their high standards with compassion for human foibles. An uber-Virgo like Ripken, for instance, can spot the tiny change in approach that has sent an established player into a slump or the barely noticeable flaw in technique that has prevented a young player from reaching his potential. A more optimistic Sagittarian coach, for instance, might offer some inspirational words of encouragement but would be at a loss attempting to fix the actual problem(s).

Ripken’s North Node – which represents a person’s destiny should they choose to accept it – is also in mentorship oriented Virgo. Not coincidentally, he and his brother Bill (a former big leaguer himself) now run a network of youth baseball camps where they teach young players how to play baseball “the Ripken Way” (i.e. “the Virgo Way”).

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Copyright Matthew David Savinar 2011