It happens once a year. It can help us focus on the details and organize our daily life, giving a boost to projects and helping us do the important mundane work that keeps life moving forward.
But if we’re not careful, it can also make us too critical of ourselves and others and derail us with perfectionism.
Welcome to Mercury in Virgo.
Mercury in Virgo 2023
In 2023, Mercury will be in Virgo from July 28 through October 4.
This is a long stay for Mercury, which usually moves through a sign in 2 to 3 weeks.
It’s transit through Virgo in 2023 will be longer because Mercury will retrograde through Virgo from August 23 through September 4.
Here’s a primer on Mercury in Virgo:
Mercury and Virgo Significations
Mercury Significations
Mercury is the planet of communication, information, data, planning, learning, and travel. It also governs sales.
It is the messenger, the communicator, the salesperson, the magician, the organizer.
Mercury helps define how we communicate, how we make decisions, and how we pick up, process, absorb, and exchange information.
Mercury rules both Virgo and Gemini. It is considered “exalted” in Virgo.
Virgo Significations
Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac. It is a mutable earth sign, marking the transition from summer to Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
Virgo is practical, analytical, discerning, and organized, with perfectionist tendencies.
In the body, Virgo rules the digestive system.
Virgo is ruled by Mercury.
This sign is about the practical things we need to do daily to keep life moving forward. This includes everything from daily exercise to paying bills to grocery shopping and other local errands.
It’s not the flashy things, but the little daily things that nobody sees — the “work of life” or “work of work.”
Virgo relates to the time of the year when we harvest the fruits of the work from spring and summer. Part of the harvest process involves discerning what is good and what isn’t fit for consumption. This is why Virgo tends to be a sign of discernment and judgment.
However, in its extreme, Virgo can be a harsh critic toward self and others.
5 Ways to Improve Your Life When Mercury is in Virgo
(1) Focus on the Details — But Maintain Perspective
Virgo corresponds to the sixth house, the area of life focused on daily routines and rituals of work and health. The sixth house is often called the house of service.
As an earth sign, Virgo is focused on practicality and the ins and outs of daily life.
Think: Local errands. Short term plans. Paying bills on time. Administrative, detail-oriented work.
Mercury in Virgo is focused on day-to-day practical matters; the types of mundane things that are necessary to do to keep the wheels of life turning but that may not be so exciting.
The downside of Mercury in Virgo is that we can become too obsessed with the details and lose the bigger picture. It’s important to pick your head up periodically to remember the bigger context and stay oriented toward the outcome.
(2) Get Organized
Mercury loves data and information. In Gemini, it’s other home sign, Mercury wants to learn as much as possible and gather lots of information.
Virgo likes to be organized and orderly, and Mercury in Virgo tends to organizing data and information.
This can be helpful, to a point.
At the extreme, watch for where you’re spending too much time organizing information and data instead of putting it into use. The best way to “organize” the information you’ve gathered is to put it into practice.
(3) Learn a Trade or Skill
Mercury loves to learn, and Virgo is a practical earth sign. Similar to Mars in Virgo, Mercury in Virgo encourages us to focus on building a skill or learning a trade that can be useful to us in our daily tasks.
Virgo is a sign that encourages the pursuit of mastery — it relishes in a job well-done (and can get critical when the job isn’t done well).
What skill would be helpful or practical to you in your life or business?
Good Mercury in Virgo skills are ones that require attention to detail and have a practical applicability to them, such as learning to code, website development, or data analytics.
(4) Communicate Directly — But With Empathy
Mercury in Virgo favors direct and practical communication that aims to be effective in getting things done.
However, if not tempered, this can come across as harsh and critical — the externalization of Virgo’s perfectionist tendencies.
Remember that sometimes we need some extra softening or stories to grease the wheels. Taking time to have empathy and to give feedback with kindness can be more effective in the long run than barking orders and giving harsh criticism.
(5) Upgrade Your Systems
Mercury in Virgo loves a good system. When we have a good system for our daily tasks, life flows with greater ease.
This transit is ideal for reviewing the places in your life that need better systems or processes, especially when it comes to your daily work and tasks.
Where do you need to implement a system?
Where can you upgrade a system?
Where do you need an entirely new system?
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