Your Monthly Astrology Update: Respect Your Well-Being This Virgo Season
Art Direction and Photograph by: Catie Menke. Model: Esther Amiito.
Copy by: Alison Brownell
Model: Esther Amiito
Editor: Jeni Fjelstad
Creative Direction by: Catie Menke
The sun rolls into the sign of Virgo on August 22, asking us all to pull our lives together after all the fun of an excessive Leo season. There’s a reason why a sign as opulent as Leo is followed by one as sober as Virgo. Yes, we can have our fun, but we also can’t have THAT much fun ALL the time, not with our general life responsibilities waiting for us to pay attention to them again.
If Taurus is the sign of fun self-care (you know, the good old “treat yo’ self” mantra), then Virgo is the sign of responsible self care. Did you get eight hours of sleep last night? Did you take your vitamins? Are you eating breakfast? Did you walk the dog? Schedule your dentist appointment?
I know, I sound like your mom right now, but Virgo isn’t about mothering as much as she is respect. Do you respect yourself enough to truly care for yourself? We aren’t talking about luxury skin care or silk sheets (although those things are lovely), but are you doing the little things daily to keep your life and your health working at their most optimal?
This energy is about constant self improvement, not because we’re broken or dysfunctional, but because there is always room to get better, even if only incrementally.
Think about your own life. You don’t need to be hard on yourself, but there could be some areas where you know you could be making some healthier choices. Maybe you’ve been eating too much sugar, so instead of getting the four pack of cookies at Crumbl, you just pick up one as a Friday treat. Maybe you’ve found yourself watching more TV than is really good for you, but you don’t want to give up your shows. So, you incorporate foam rolling or stretching into your screen time. Maybe you start taking a probiotic because you know you need to focus on your gut health. Maybe you start reading more instead of spending time on Instagram. Maybe you really commit to a steady sleep schedule. Whatever the area of your life where you are being called to respect yourself, your health and your habits more, Virgo season is the perfect time to implement positive changes.
A caveat, however, my friends. The shadow of Virgo is perfectionism. You don’t want to swing so far into your life upgrades that you can no longer eat out with friends, or stay up late occasionally for a looooonnnnnnngggggggg phone call with someone special you just met, or throw all your screens away (although tempting at times!). It’s really easy with this energy to snowball into obsessing over every. tiny. detail. And while Virgo does love details, ruminating over a piece of lint you found on your floor earlier when you’re meant to be present in your life isn’t good for you, either. True self-respect lies in knowing you’ve done your best and not beating yourself up when things aren’t perfect.
And if you tend towards perfectionism naturally (hello, it’s me), then this is a time when you can really feel the pressure heat up. Still take some time to be honest with yourself, not just about where you can upgrade, but where you can relax. It’s okay for things not to be perfect all the time, and if you’re fixated on perfection, ask yourself what areas of your life are you held hostage by it? Perfection is a myth, and always lies in the eye of the beholder, but damn if it doesn’t hold the key to so many of our self-imposed cages. Perfectionistic tendencies look different for everyone, and don’t disappear overnight, so try letting go of some little things first, including the urge to berate yourself for it. Maybe you leave a dish in the sink overnight (gasp!). Or you put off doing laundry for an extra day because you’re tired. Maybe you commit to stop criticizing your body. Or you settle for good instead of great because you simply don’t have the capacity for great with everything you’re juggling. Whatever it is for you, allow yourself to be more aware of your own perfectionism with the goal of naming it, feeling the constriction, and beginning to release it.
Virgo season is a fantastic time to get ourselves back on track with the things we know we should be doing for ourselves. Take some time to reset and respect your true needs and ease up on the self-criticism to create a more solid foundation for your well-being.
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