Discover Your radiant Sovereign Self
Virgo (August 22-September 22)
Find purity by honouring who you truly are
Virgo is a mutable, earthy sign, ruled by Mercury. The symbol for Virgo is a young woman with an ear of corn in her hand and a child in her lap. In Sanskrit she was known as Kanya, meaning virgin or maiden. The Romans identified her with Ceres, Mother of the Corn, and Virgo’s connection with food is reinforced by being known as the ruler of the digestive system. In the Northern Hemisphere Virgo’s dates correspond with the harvest being brought in. She symbolises fertility and purity.
In the Yoga by the Stars book we explore the Virgo themes through the lens of the three gunas; which in Tantric symbolism are the three “strands” of Fate, coloured white, red, and black. The three colours stood for “the divine female Prakriti”, or Kali, in her triple aspects as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, or giver of birth, life, and death. The Virgin-Creator was Sattva, white; the Mother-Preserver was Rajas, red; the Crone-Destroyer was Tamas, black. Together they symbolised the cyclic succession of, purity, passion, and darkness.
In the Virgo-inspired yoga practice in the book we incorporate Yoni Mudra into one of our yoga sequences. A mudra is a hand gesture. The Yoni Yantra or triangle was known as the Primordial Image, representing the Great Mother as source of all life. In the practice we set the intention to cultivate the qualities of sattva, in order to shed light on our radiant, authentic self. We bring to the practice an awareness that when purity is conceived as an impossible-to-reach-ideal, imposed upon us from the outside, it can have a negative, detrimental influence. Whereas, when it is arises from within, bathed in the pure light of self-awareness, it can be a health-enhancing positive force.
The book's Virgo-inspired yoga practice has a devotional feel, it is deeply relaxing and grounding, and will help you to access a deep source of strength and wisdom. It enables you to cultivate a sense of being comfortable in your own skin, and to get in touch with the purity of your authentic self. When in a state of contemplation, we come to rest in our true nature, that is true purity.
In general terms, our yoga practice brings us face to face with our authentic self. When you truly know who you are it becomes easier to bat away false projections and assumptions that others might make about you. The harvest of our yoga practice is to uncover within a radiant authentic self.
In the Yoga by the Stars book we explore the Virgo themes through the lens of the three gunas; which in Tantric symbolism are the three “strands” of Fate, coloured white, red, and black. The three colours stood for “the divine female Prakriti”, or Kali, in her triple aspects as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, or giver of birth, life, and death. The Virgin-Creator was Sattva, white; the Mother-Preserver was Rajas, red; the Crone-Destroyer was Tamas, black. Together they symbolised the cyclic succession of, purity, passion, and darkness.
In the Virgo-inspired yoga practice in the book we incorporate Yoni Mudra into one of our yoga sequences. A mudra is a hand gesture. The Yoni Yantra or triangle was known as the Primordial Image, representing the Great Mother as source of all life. In the practice we set the intention to cultivate the qualities of sattva, in order to shed light on our radiant, authentic self. We bring to the practice an awareness that when purity is conceived as an impossible-to-reach-ideal, imposed upon us from the outside, it can have a negative, detrimental influence. Whereas, when it is arises from within, bathed in the pure light of self-awareness, it can be a health-enhancing positive force.
The book's Virgo-inspired yoga practice has a devotional feel, it is deeply relaxing and grounding, and will help you to access a deep source of strength and wisdom. It enables you to cultivate a sense of being comfortable in your own skin, and to get in touch with the purity of your authentic self. When in a state of contemplation, we come to rest in our true nature, that is true purity.
In general terms, our yoga practice brings us face to face with our authentic self. When you truly know who you are it becomes easier to bat away false projections and assumptions that others might make about you. The harvest of our yoga practice is to uncover within a radiant authentic self.
Virgo-inspired Meditation Questions
- What does "purity" mean to me? Complete the following sentence: "Purity is..."
- Which yoga techniques have I found help me to access a sense of being OK as I am?
- What other spiritual practices have helped me to feel good about myself as I am?
- If I were to picture a world where Planet Earth has been cleaned up and is now pure and unpolluted again, what would it be like? What small steps could I take to make this dream become a reality?
Virgo: Discover your radiant, authentic Self. Know yourself and bat away false assumptions made by others. Find purity by honouring who you truly are. Find healing through working for a pure planet for all to enjoy.