I’m a Virgo But I’m Messy — Why? Astrology Says I Shouldn’t Be!

My thirty something year old cousin is a Virgo. She has always been a high achiever. She’s bright, hilarious and creative. She’s got a fabulous job. And from the outside, her entire life seems impossibly organized. But venture into her apartment, and the story is quite different because it looks remarkably similar to a landfill site, complete with plates that have been left uncleared for days on end.

This might seem odd to a lot of people who know about astrology. After all, aren’t all Virgos supposed to be really, really tidy? And clean? Well, yes and no. In truth, astrology is far more complicated than the traits associated with each of the Sun signs.

In this article, I’ll explain why some Virgos aren’t quite as tidy as astrology says they should be…

Getting Distracted Easily or Drifting Off Into Thought

Virgo is ruled by planet Mercury, a highly cerebral planet, associated with mentality; intellect, thought processes and communication. Considering one of the most important placements in their birth chart, the Sun, is posited in this highly intellectual sign, Virgos are often busy thinking about of all kinds of things. Many of them tend to overthink and I’ve personally observed many of them occasionally getting lost in their own thoughts. Some of them are also easily distracted. They certainly share that trait with Gemini, the other sign planet Mercury rules.

Since they can get so consumed by their thoughts, they may not spend a great deal deal of time keeping their surroundings especially neat. I will say, though, that if “messy” Virgos were to devote some time exclusively to the upkeep of their home and work environment, they would benefit greatly. Clutter and mess can be overwhelming for anyone, no matter their sign. Personally, I can’t think straight in messy places and I’m a Leo. So at least if the spaces they inhabit are organized and calm, they might find this helps them to overthink less and worry less!

Perfection Paralysis

Much of the time, it’s all or nothing with this sign. If they can’t tidy their bedrooms, work stations or homes to a high standard, they might not see the point in doing it at all. For some of them, any cleaning or tidying that’s less than perfect is just pointless.

Different Moon and Rising Signs

The natal Moon could be in a very different zodiac sign. For instance, Virgo is a feminine earth sign. If the Moon and/or Rising sign (Ascendant), is in a masculine fire sign like Aries, that would create a stark contrast in energies within the chart. Being extremely action oriented, Aries energy is too busy moving onto the next interesting thing to spend any significant amount of time on intricate organization or detail.

There are also other signs, such as Pisces, that can be a bit chaotic and disorganised, especially when they’re feeling overwhelmed or off balance. Cancer and Taurus enjoy collecting things as they easily form emotional attachments to things and so they can end up with a lot of stuff that’s challenging to organize.

Natal Mercury

Mercury is really important in the chart. It never moves very far from the Sun and so its influence could be considered almost as important as the Sun. It rules intellect, thought process and communication. It’s the filter through which every single one of your thoughts passes through. And while the “big three” in astrology comprise the Sun, Moon and Ascendant, I personally think that Mercury should always be included among the most important planets because of its strong influence.

If your Sun sign is Virgo, Mercury can only be in the same sign, the one that comes before in the zodiac (Libra), or the one that comes after it (Leo). So, if it’s in Leo or Libra, both signs can be considered a tad self-indulgent and even lazy at times. Generally, they’re not massively regarded as industrious as Virgo and they may be less fussy about how tidy their surroundings are on a day-to-day basis.

Willfull Rebellion

Some Virgos don’t want to be seen as neat-freaks or clean-freaks, or worse still, both. I think this is especially true of young folk who are supposed to be totally unbothered by mess, and disorganisation even though it might be bothering them on the inside! 

But as they grow and change, they might become less bothered about what other people think and tidy and clean to their heart’s content. Personally, I’ve found that the older I get, the less I care about the opinions of others.

Planetary Aspects 

Aspects to the planets which are in Virgo, including the Sun, may indicate someone being more tolerant of disorganization. For instance, those with Sun square Neptune can find keeping up with housework difficult or just plain boring. Neptune rules the sign of  Pisces, which is more interested in being creative, philosophical and pondering on things, rather than making sure their surroundings remain pristine.

The Fourth House

The fourth house in astrology, also known as the Imum Coeli or just IC, is mainly about home — the home they grew up in, as well as the home they live in as adults. If the sign on the cusp of the house isn’t strongly associated with neatness, this might explain their messiness. Such signs include Gemini, Sagittarius and Pisces who are often too busy being creative, having fun or thinking about various things to pay too much attention to their immediate surroundings. Additionally, there may be one or more planets in the house which could also influence their attitude toward housekeeping.

Other Personal Planets 

Earlier, I mentioned the Sun, the Moon and Mercury potentially being located in different signs but Venus and Mars may also be in different signs, which further alter traits and habits. Venus, among other things, governs our style of love, self-expression and how we demonstrate our love for people, places and things. Mars, among other things, governs action, physical energy and instinctual nature. If you want to better understand how someone pursues their goals, look to Mars in their birth chart.

Periods of Stress and Exhaustion

When we’re feeling stressed or very tired, no matter what is contained within our chart, we often don’t feel up to tidying and cleaning. Our minds are elsewhere; on getting rest, or resolving a problem. Personally, whenever I feel off kilter, the last thing on my mind is keeping my home tidy and I have a significant amount Virgo energy in my chart.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

A lot of Virgos, and people with a lot of the sign in their charts, can be very hard on themselves when things are even just a little off-balance in their lives. They can unwittingly repeat negative mantras to themselves, none of which are remotely true. Such statements could run along the lines of “I can never get anything right” or “life is hard”. I think that bearing in mind that absolutely nothing in life is perfect could help Virgos to go less hard on themselves. 

Once we begin to expect less of ourselves and others, we start to live more freely. We spend less time worrying about how things are going to pan out. We can also better understand that sometimes, it’s perfectly fine to have a messy home! We don’t all have oodles of time to spend on making our homes picture perfect so sometimes things will be tidy, and other times, they won’t be. Such is life for everyone.

Other Possible Explanations

Astrology is so much more than one’s Sun sign. Your chart holds a huge amount of astrological data about you! There are all of the planets, asteroids, aspects, houses and much more besides to take into consideration along with the Sun sign.

There may be many other reasons outside the realm of astrology which may explain why someone might not always be tidy despite their zodiac sign indicating they should be. For instance, you may have grown up in a very untidy home, and that’s what feels cozy and familiar to you. Or maybe you were raised in a home that was kept in pristine condition and you want to push against that because it feels uncomfortable.

Whatever the reason for your untidiness is, you might just grow out of it. And if not, so be it! The important thing is to love the life you’re living.

This content, like all content on Stars & Paths Astrology, is entirely human-made.