This Is Us

Not That Kind of Virgo

We aren’t all the Excel-loving, clean-freaks you think we are

anna dorn
Human Parts
Published in
5 min readAug 26, 2020

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Screenshot of Beyonce during the 2020 BET Awards.
Beyoncé is seen during the 2020 BET Awards. Photo: BET Awards 2020/Getty Images

I’ve always been annoyed by popular conceptions of the Virgo sun sign (which generally belongs to those born between August 23 and September 22). Most distill it to the following attributes: clean, logical, persnickety, and — worst of all — Virginal. I never saw myself this way. I can be particular about my physical appearance and personal spaces, but I’m not a clean freak. I’m neither conservative nor modest. My hair is always messy. I loathe logistics and worship irreverence.

Of course, there are other aspects to my chart. I’m a Leo rising, which makes me more obnoxious than the average Virgo. I’m an Aquarius moon, which makes me more rebellious. And that’s just the beginning. But also, people really don’t understand Virgos! We’re more complex than people give us credit for. Contrary to our “rigid” reputation, we’re mutable signs (along with Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces), meaning we adapt to a variety of circumstances and can be a lot of different people at once.

Historically, whenever someone came at me with an uninspired Virgo stereotype, I’d retort: “You know, Amy Winehouse was a Virgo!!!!”

Then I came across an Astro Poets tweet that stopped me in my tracks.

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anna dorn
Human Parts

vagablonde (unnamed press, may 2020); bad lawyer (hachette books, spring 2021)