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Virgo
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VIRGO

Greek mythology presents a unique way of explaining the creation of man and Earth. Part of this creation story includes a time when several adverse effects unleashed onto the Earth and its inhabitants, including hatred, envy, and sickness. These burdens were never meant to trouble humankind, but they escaped and did as such.

Pandora was the keeper of a box that contained those evil influences. It was that evil that could ultimately destroy humanity. The box is known today as Pandora’s Boxbecause Pandora is the one who opened it. She did not know what opening the box would release, but in doing so, she risked not only the lives of humans but of the Gods as well.

The Greek Gods had to evacuate the Earth and flee for Mount Olympus, but one Goddess stayed behind. That Goddess was Astraea, the Goddess of innocence and purity. In her effort to remain behind, Astraea became the zodiac constellation, Virgo.

The Virgo zodiac is a depiction of the winged Goddess herself. The constellation is made up of thirteen stars and applies to people born between August 23rd and September 22nd.
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Greek mythology presents a unique way of explaining the creation of man and Earth. Part of this creation story includes a time when several adverse effects unleashed onto the Earth and its inhabitants, including hatred, envy, and sickness. These burdens were never meant to trouble humankind, but they escaped and did as such. Pandora was the keeper of a box that contained those evil influences. It was that evil that could ultimately destroy humanity. The box is known today as Pandora’s Boxbecause Pandora is the one who opened it. She did not know what opening the box would release, but in doing so, she risked not only the lives of humans but of the Gods as well. The Greek Gods had to evacuate the Earth and flee for Mount Olympus, but one Goddess stayed behind. That Goddess was Astraea, the Goddess of innocence and purity. In her effort to remain behind, Astraea became the zodiac constellation, Virgo. The Virgo zodiac is a depiction of the winged Goddess herself. The constellation is made up of thirteen stars and applies to people born between August 23rd and September 22nd.
Virgo is the Goddess of Innocence and Purity, Astraea. According to the creation myth, Zeus sent Pandora down to Earth as a punishment to man. Because of her curiosity, she opened the box the gods had warned her not to, and let the plagues of hate, envy, sickness, etc. out into the world. Of course, Hope did not escape, but the Earth was just unbearable. One by one, the gods returned to the heavens to live. Astraea was the last to leave. She became the constellation Virgo, and according to legend, when the Golden Age comes again, Astraea will return to the Earth.
The ‘maiden’ of the Virgo symbol is Astraea, the Star Maiden, goddess of innocence and purity is only one of the various Greek myths behind Virgo and is also linked to Libra, as she was the Goddess of Justice who once carried a pair of scales with which she weighed up the rights and wrongs of any dispute. Astraea represents natural law, not the human understanding of justice as found in Libra, she upholds the balance of the seasons and living in accordance with nature. Now Astraea’s scales shine next to Virgo as the constellation of Libra. In Greek mythology, Astraea, after leaving Earth, when overcome by her loathing of the unfairness and injustice that went on there, was transformed into the constellation of Virgo, according to legend, when the Golden Age comes again, Astraea will return to the Earth. The mysterious night sky thrilled the ancient Greek astrologers who played a huge role in what we now know today about the shape and size of the Earth, the moon, the position of constellations and how they move, the orbital paths of planets and their correlation with the stars around them.
In the Babylonian MUL.APIN (c. 10th century BC), part of this constellation was known as "The Furrow", representing the goddess Shala and her ear of grain. One star in this constellation, Spica, retains this tradition as it is Latin for "ear of grain", one of the major products of the Mesopotamian furrow. For this reason the constellation became associated with fertility.[9] The constellation of Virgo in Hipparchus corresponds to two Babylonian constellations: the "Furrow" in the eastern sector of Virgo and the "Frond of Erua" in the western sector. The Frond of Erua was depicted as a goddess holding a palm-frond – a motif that still occasionally appears in much later depictions of Virgo.[10] Early Greek astronomy associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat and agriculture, Demeter.[citation needed] The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres.[citation needed] Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes[clarification needed] identified as the virgin goddess Iustitia or Astraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as the constellation Libra).[11] Another Greek myth from later, Classical times, identifies Virgo as Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens.[12] Icarius, who had been favored by Dionysus and was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated after which Erigone hanged herself in grief; in versions[clarification needed] of this myth, Dionysus is said to have placed the father and daughter in the stars as Boötes and Virgo respectively. Another figure who is associated with the constellation Virgo was the spring goddess Persephone,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who had married Hades and resided in the Underworld during summer.[20] In the Poeticon Astronomicon by Hyginus (1st century BC), Parthenos (Παρθένος) is the daughter of Apollo and Chrysothemis, who died a maiden and was placed among the stars as the constellation.[21] Diodorus Siculus has an alternative account, according to which Parthenos was the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister of Rhoeo and Molpadia (Hemithea). After a suicide attempt she and Hemithea were carried by Apollo to Chersonesus, where she became a local goddess.[22] Strabo also mentions a goddess named Parthenos worshipped throughout Chersonesus.[23] During the Middle Ages, Virgo sometimes was associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary.[9]
The word "virgo" is Latin, means "self-contained" which is for us is better interpreted as "self-sufficient". In astrology, those born under the sign of Virgo are said to behave in an individualistic, self-sufficient manner. Their nurturing comes from a place of not needing others to find fulfillment for them, but being able to create for others because they can already create for themselves. The virgo myth should not be interpreted as a woman who is a virgin, but rather a nurturing woman who is a mother to all of the earth. Immaculate conception aside, we all know that mothers can't also be virgins. By all accounts, Virgo is seen as the "Great Goddess", which is a somewhat vague description to begin with, though very accurate. A look back at the history of the Virgo myth across cultures suggests reasons as to the change in how a "Great Goddess" would be viewed. Most of the goddesses who were linked to Virgo were considered fertility goddesses, or goddesses of the harvest. This resonates with the view of Virgo being the caretaker of mankind through her fertility. This includes Ishtar (Babylonian mythology), Isis (Egyptian mythology), Ceres (Roman mythology), and Demeter (Greek mythology). The constellation Virgo is thought to be a woman holding a spike of corn, thus reinforcing the Harvest Mother mythology. In one well-known Greek myth, the goddess of the Spring season Persephone is kidnapped by the god of the underworld Hades. Upon discovering this, the young goddess's mother Demeter, being the goddess of the harvest, decides to ruin the harvest in her despair. Long story short, the Spring goddess got to return for six months a year to aid her mother in the harvest. This coincides with the constellation Virgo being visible for only the months of March through August. The story of Ishtar (Babylonian mythology) is similar, except that it was her husband Tammuz (the god of the harvest) who was taken to the underworld where she followed only to be trapped there as well. Interestingly, many of the other mythological female figures who were believed to represent Virgo include Dike (Greek mythology), Astraea (Greek mythology), and Erigone (Roman mythology), all of whom represented Justice. Once you realize that Libra (the scales of justice) is the next sign in the zodiac following Virgo, suddenly things begin to make more sense. But there is another explanation. From early Babylonian mythology, the grain goddess Nidoba is often considered to be the first incarnation of Virgo, which is consistent with the view of Virgo being the self-sustaining, life-giving caretaker that most Virgo mythology follows. However, over time, worshipers of Nidoba moved toward the worship of god Nabu (Babylonian mythology) instead. Nabu is the god of wisdom and justice.
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