Meet Virgo…
Intelligent, observant, independent, and precise, Virgos are one of the bigger thinkers of the zodiac — they love to analyze details and get into the nitty-gritty of things with much of the action focused on their thought processes as opposed to physical action.
As a result, they tend to be introspective. They are practical, witty, and clever at solving problems, especially on behalf of friends and loved ones (though they can be seen as meddling when their advice is uninvited). They are loyal friends and partners with a deep commitment to truth. They are the perfect friend to enlist when you have a tough problem that requires insight, planning, organization, and finesse.
For all their intense, internal brain activity, Virgos often appear calm and collected on the outside. Charming, agreeable, warm, and discerning, their capacity for deep thinking may cause you to think they are cold, unfeeling, or disconnected from their feelings, but they lead rich emotional lives (though they may be inwardly focused). They tend to be perfectionists and Renaissance people with breadth and depth in a wide variety of skills. (One of my Virgo friends is an accountant, a mechanic, a falconer, an amateur mountain biker, a photographer, and an accomplished musician!)
Virgos love to think about new things (though they aren’t always ready to entertain new ideas). Their curiosity drives them to explore many avenues and perspectives, but their need to (over)analyze and truly understand can make them seem stubborn or slow to action when they are contemplating a new approach — they may want to know everything before they are willing to do something or do it differently.
Once they have learned the hows and whys of a thing and made their determination about it, it can be tough to encourage them in a new direction. Their determination to be precise can make them seem picky and may stress them out, particularly when they feel something lacks deliberate intention.
Virgos typically work diligently to improve themselves, especially with respect to their health and physical appearance.
They tend to take excellent care of themselves and often select careers that put them in similar service to others, especially as they are a service-oriented sign. They delight in helping particularly when they come away with a sense that they exclusively and creatively solved a problem on someone else’s behalf.
Virgos typically like things to be organized and thought through with everything kept just-so. They are often tidy, neat, and orderly, though some will defy this stereotype due to being more invested in their mental and emotional processes than their physical surroundings.
When planning to celebrate a Virgo friend — or most especially a Virgo partner — you’ll want to be meticulous in your planning of every. single. thing.
Anything less could set them up for disappointment. You should therefore be deliberate and intentional in putting together the list you use to celebrate your Virgo — if you get loose-y goose-y with it, you’ll miss the point. To wit, I offer you a carefully laid out plan for celebrating your Virgo with associated foods, herbs, and oils.
Ambience
To begin with, make sure your space is clean and uncluttered. Wine glasses, utensils, plates, should be sparkling and napkins, table runners, and placemats should be spotless.
In setting the mood and the table, leave wooden tables exposed with a table runner (as opposed to a full cover cloth) and incorporate earthy woven fabrics for place settings and napkins. If desired, choose low, unscented candles that won’t detract from the sensory experience of the food and table. Flower arrangements should be “short” and include a mix of small flowers. Consider balancing simple, delicate, colorful flora like buttercups, asters, narcissus, and small chrysanthemums with fern and ivy–choose maidenhair fern to cascade from your arrangement onto the table. Avoid overly “showy” or too intensely fragrant flowers — simple and charming choices will work better here.
Your Virgo Meal
As Earth signs born at the time of harvest, Virgos typically appreciate whole, natural foods made into meals that celebrate their source ingredients’ inherent nature. Their alignment with the lower digestive tract and tendency toward stress suggest a meal that is healthy, easy on the body, not overly spiced or spicy, and relaxed but deliberate in its delivery. Your ingredients should be as fresh and organic as possible.
Virgos are associated with herbs and foods such as parsley, dill, endive, and fennel along with dried and harvest fruits (apricots, cranberries, apples) and harvest grains (quinoa, barley, bulgur, and the like) appropriate to their birth season. Parsley, dill, and fennel are all considered to be tonic to the digestion system, making them a perfect choice for your digestion-aligned Virgo. If you desire a salad hearty enough to serve as a meal, look to Bon Appetit’s endive, apple, gorgonzola, and walnut salad. For several courses including something light as well as something hot and hearty, consider beginning with a frisee and celery salad with toasted fennel dressing followed by salmon with endive and dill cream sauce for a simple yet decadent and healthy meal–a side of corn bread would make an excellent accompaniment.
If your Virgo appreciates the taste of whole cooked fennel (which not everyone does), look to this delicious freekeh and fennel recipe from Ghillie James (available from Simone’s Kitchen) instead. It’s the perfect way to pair grains, fennel, parsley, and another of Virgo’s earthy spices, cinnamon. It also manages to be at once exotic, delicious, healthy, tasty, simple, and yummy. (Did I mention it’s good?) Don’t forget to garnish with some parsley to both cleanse the palate and soothe digestion after you’ve enjoyed your meal and before you dive in for dessert!
Speaking of dessert, since Virgos are often both health and body conscious, you may want to keep dessert light and simple.
Tiny, exquisite, bite-size truffles made with lavender, peppermint, or lemon would be divine as a simple choice with coffee or tea. A light and refreshing sorbet can also do the trick. I am stupid in love with the apple and Calvados sorbet recipe I found here. Ermahgerd, it’s divine…. If you really want to have some fun with the idea of a heavier, “healthy” dessert, Food & Wine actually suggests an interesting yogurt and granola pie designed just for Virgos. No kidding.
Essential Delights
If you desire to create a gift or experience using essential oils for your Virgo, there are a wide variety of choices available to you. Since Virgo is meticulous, I can’t very well suggest a handful of essential oils with diverse actions and energies and expect you to willy-nilly succeed in choosing the right one — your Virgo will want your thoughtful selection of exactly the right oil(s) to match the outcome you specifically desire for them. To wit, there are several categories of essential oils that may serve your purpose.
If you hope to reduce a Virgo’s compulsive tendency, consider essential oils of Sandalwood, Lavender, and/or Patchouli or Vetiver. (One caution here: Virgos know what they like — and what they don’t. Know that few oils are as polarizing as Patchouli. Don’t choose Patchouli if you aren’t sure your Virgo will like it or you could send their sensibilities into a veritable tizzy!)
To celebrate and anchor your Virgo’s mental processes and facilitate their focus, look to Rosemary, Peppermint, and/or Lemon. To calm the over-excited Virgo and ease them out of their heads, seek out Frankincense, Bergamot, Lavender, Roman Chamomile, and/or Juniper.
If you aren’t prepared to commit to a combination of oils for a specific outcome, I can suggest Cypress as a beautiful, individual oil. Your mutable energy Virgo might appreciate Cypress’ support for change and transition as well as its ability to anchor them. Cypress also calms overactive minds, soothes feelings of being overwhelmed, and facilitates deep and clear breathing — all powerfully positive for your Virgo recipient.
I can also highly recommend either Frankincense or Lavender as an individual go-to for Virgos. Frankincense is particularly effective as it not only eases the mind into relaxed, contemplative reflection, it also facilitates the breath and eases digestion — a welcome benefit for our respiratory- and digestive-aligned Virgo friends. If you’re looking for something simple to diffuse in your space, Frankincense is it! Just don’t overdo it if diffusing before or during your meal or you’ll muddy the sensory experience of the meal you’ve laid out… Lavender, too, will soothe their racing mind.
If you are in fact celebrating an intimate Virgo partner — or potential one — you have a host of essential oil delivery methods available to you that will excite Virgo’s earthy nature and draw them out into physical expression. In the bedroom, too, you’ll want to be meticulous in your planning and your, um, technique… In other words, if you and your Virgo are ready to take it to the next level — or you want to go there again — make a plan. Seriously. You should be thinking not about getting them into bed, but rather how you are going to keep their attention and address their needs after you get there. (Or wherever else you decide to, uh, go. For all their outward reserve, Virgos can be interesting and lively bedfellows — some are as likely to play on the dining room table as between the sheets….)
Here, again, you’ll have work to do. Know what they like. They surely do and you won’t win any points by failing to appreciate that. At a loss? I know a woman who literally created a super-sassy, NSFW questionnaire that informed her what her Virgo intended would appreciate. With that in hand, she planned an evening — and a seduction — that was literally tailor-made for him. (Aside: Something he said in his questionnaire led my friend to believe her Virgo liked both baths and having his scalp massaged, so she set it up to be able to wash his hair while he soaked in the tub. He confessed to me years after they were married THAT was the moment he was hers. In his own words, “I saw what she’d set up, then she got her hands in my hair and I was done.”) You’d do well to follow my friend’s lead, if not with an out-and-out questionnaire, at least with some insight into your Virgo’s favorite things: music, textures, scents…. Know if s/he prefers exotic florals, resinous and musky scents, herbaceous, or woody notes. Then run with what you learn.
Recipes for Your Oils (or not…)
This, my friends, is where I shall be of almost no help to you whatsoever. Typically I like to give you specific recipes with which to play, but you’ll get none of that here this time. Sorry. You see, I can’t give you specific recipes as I’m bound to steer you wrong. Seriously. I recommend a thick, yummy, woody massage oil that deliciously coats their skin and they wanted a light, easily-absorbed herbaceous blend. Suggest a foot massage and they are über-ticklish or eeped out by having their feet touched. I offer tub truffles for a bath soak and they loathe baths. I give you a sensual personal perfume to wear and it reminds them of an ex. (Good or bad ex = ick.) I don’t need that karma.
It’s not that I have no thoughts or that there are few options — there are hundreds of things from which to choose, it just needs to be perfect. Since we are talking about analytical, data-driven Virgo, here again you’ll do well to do your homework and apply what you’ve learned. Discover the intimate details of your Virgo and you’ll discover the keys to create something magical, relevant, and compelling to celebrate them. If you feel overwhelmed by the task, sniff some Cypress, Lavender, or Frankincense and just think how they must feel with so much information to internally consider, sort, and reconcile every day. It’s exhausting.
Armed with some basic knowledge and the determination to create something just for them, you’ll knock your Virgo’s socks off, especially if your considerable thoughtfulness can be traced through every element of their evening or experience. Godspeed with your discovery, crafting, and blending!
Bless and blessed be.
Special thanks to Simone van den berg of Simone’s Kitchen for permission to share the freekeh recipe. Check out her blog for more unbelievably delectable and amazing recipes like Orange Thyme ice cream and Scallops Wrapped in Prosciutto with Lemon Parsley Butter.
