Virgo in the tarot

Virgo is harvest time, the season of sorting the good grain from the chaff. It is mutable earth — practical, discerning, modest, devoted to getting it right. In the cards it is The Hermit, whose lamp shows one step at a time, and the last three Disks: the craftsman at his bench, the self-sufficient garden, and the wealth handed down.

The Hermit

Virgo belongs to The Hermit, card IX of the major arcana — withdrawal for the sake of truth, wisdom sought alone. It is the card to choose for someone born under Virgo, if you want a card to stand for them in a reading.

Its ruling planet, Mercury, is The Magician: thought, speech, exchange.

The three decans

The ten-day slices of Virgo are three Disks, the suit of earth. If your birthday falls in one, that card is yours.

• Eight of Disks — 23 August – 1 September, the first decan: the Sun in Virgo. craft, diligence, mastery through repetition.
• Nine of Disks — 2–12 September, the second decan: Venus in Virgo. abundance, luxury, self-sufficiency.
• Ten of Disks — 13–22 September, the third decan: Mercury in Virgo. wealth, legacy, inheritance.

The court

Two court cards share Virgo. The Knight of Disks — fire of earth — rules its first twenty degrees, coming in from Leo (13 August – 12 September). The Queen of Swords — water of air — takes its last ten and carries on into Libra (13 September – 12 October).