We are now fully in Virgo season as of August 23! It’s been a transformative month so far. I finally made my blog live on the August 30th Virgo New Moon—a moon of intense clarity and manifestation. Since the new moon, Jupiter has also been directly lined up with my Sun sign Sagittarius and so I’ve been feeling the strong pull to create and manifest! Recently, I have been exploring the sign of Virgo, discovering how its energetics effect our physiology and which plants can be our best allies during this season.
CHANGING SEASONS
Here in the northern hemisphere, Virgo season means watching the long summer days shorten and the leaves change color in preparation for autumn. As with every mutable sign, change is in the air…
THE VIRGO-PISCES POLARITY
Virgo and Pisces are complementary and opposing signs that both symbolize major transitions. In the case of Virgo, we are experiencing the end of the yang half of the year (spring and summer) and moving into the yin energy of fall and winter. The expansive upward-and-outward energy of spring and summer, which peaked during fiery Leo season, is now giving way to the contracting down-and-in energetics of the second half of the year. As a mutable water sign, Pisces then transitions us back out of the yin into the yang, starting off spring with energetic Aries, giving rise to another 12-month cycle.
VIRGO FUNCTIONS
Virgo governs the small intestine and Pisces rules the lymphatics, immune system, and spleen. Both the spleen and the small intestine play a role in regulating our immune responses, and thus Virgo and Pisces function to determine what is “mine” and what is “not mine.” Interestingly enough, the month of Virgo is typically the start of cold and flu season as many people go back to school, and Pisces initiates the start of allergy season, correlating with the seasonal shifts in our innate immunity.
On the physical realm, earthly Virgo is involved in the enzymatic breakdown of food in the small intestine, and then discerns what needs to be absorbed and assimilated and what can be eliminated.
The physiological processes in the small intestine are orderly and methodical, embracing the Virgoan qualities of meticulousness and refinement. The small intestine’s Earth process of food breakdown and nutrient absorption requires that its digestive Fire is strong enough to begin the breakdown process. During the seasonal shift from summer to fall, our bodies may need support in readjusting to the opposite energetics of the approaching season. For the past few months leading up to Virgo season, our Fire/yang energy has been externalized and extroverted during the spring and summer time, and now we are receiving signals that it is time to return our Fire energy inwards and support our yin in preparation for fall and winter.
VIRGO ENERGETICS
Virgo’s energetics are cold, dry, and tense. During this time, the heat of the summer is dissipating and the Earth-like qualities of cold and dry are imprinting themselves on our bodily systems. If Virgo is out of balance, this season may potentially dampen out our internal Fires (digestion and cellular metabolism), leading to decreased catabolic functioning of our small intestine (inefficient food breakdown) and decreased immunity; or it can create inner tension in our lives, leading to stress and a spasmodic gastrointestinal system, further disrupting digestion. Imbalanced Virgo can also lead to problems with nutrient absorption and assimilation, reflecting deficient anabolic functioning of the small intestine.
Catabolic dysfunction often manifests as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with gas, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea; functional pancreatic insufficiency; or hypochlorhydric GERD (acid reflux due to low stomach acid). Excess Virgo tendencies of cold, dry, and tense can smother and constrict the Fire element of the digestive process, leading to reduced hydrochloric acid secretion, reduced pancreatic enzyme secretion, and reduced bile flow.
To promote efficient small intestine catabolism, work with plant allies that are stimulating bitters or warming aromatics.
Stimulant bitters improve food catabolism by stimulating stomach acid, bile flow, and pancreatic enzyme secretion. This group includes plants such as Gentiana lutea (gentian), Angelica archangelica, Artemisia absinthium (wormwood), and Taraxacum officinalis root (dandelion). Warming aromatic herbs—such as fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, and citrus peel—are antispasmodic and carminative, reducing tension and warming cold organ systems (signs of imbalanced Virgo energy), and therefore also improving catabolic functions within the small intestine.
On the other hand, anabolic dysfunction in the small intestine can present as nutrient deficiencies due to improper absorption and assimilation of nutrients, perhaps due to irritation in the GI tract, a by-product of the dry quality of imbalanced Virgo.
In these cases, nutritive and demulcent plants are best. Nutritive plants are often food-like and have a high mineral content, reflecting the nourishing Earth element, which helps the body more easily assimilate nutrients. These include stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), raspberry leaf (Rubus spp.), red clover (Trifolium pratense), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), oats (Avena sativa), burdock (Arctium lappa), and horsetail (Equisetum arvense). Demulcent plants, like marshmallow (Althea officinalis), can counter dryness in the GI tract and help improve nutrient absorption.
Depending on how Virgo is presenting in your life, where it is in your chart, and what your symptoms are, you may benefit from some small intestine support. Virgo season is also a time for self-reflection and restructuring, so I encourage you to use this time to intentionally begin to reflect your energy inwards, ground into the Earth, and engage with the plants to support you during this significant period of transition.
Wishing you the best this Virgo season!
