Altruistic Service as a Form of Prayer 
 
 
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
 
 
 
 
 
Starting around 24 August, the zodiacal sign of Virgo concentrates the focus of human minds on the perception of details.  The Virgo individual sees the part, more often than the whole. His point of view is down-to-earth. He analyses, catalogues and examines the mistakes which need to be overcome.
 
The soul enters Virgo after passing through the sign of Leo and absorbing a lesson of greatness. The learning of the pilgrim is now different. It is about dealing with the small practical challenges of life and looking at the world with modesty. However, there is an occult trap in this.
 
If Virgo concentrates itself too much in thinking about small and narrow things, or in the discussion of failures, it will get frustrated. The most detail-oriented sign of the zodiac needs to be focused on its ability to heal and to recover what needs recovery.  Virgo obtains inner freedom by doing good to others. Its critical view is useful only to identify whatever needs to be improved. Observing mistakes and failures cannot be an excuse to criticize without doing anything good.
 
Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro says that Virgo “was born to serve, not to lead. Its role can be to assist the leader, but not to face challenges. Virgo cannot stand much pressure and prefers to adapt to the circumstances. In a secondary position, Virgo is more effective in helping, fixing, transmitting information.” [1]
 
Altruism and universality are two means of overcoming an attachment to details. This is the sixth sign of the zodiac. It is symmetrically opposite to Pisces, the most universal of the 12 signs. In the spiritual dimension of life, there is a deep relationship between Virgo and the Pleiades. The duties of Virgo include expressing the Law of Compassion, that is, the rule of selfless cooperation that guides the universe in its essential aspects. [2]  
 
In Virgo, methodic work is the preferred way of self-expression. The element of the sign is earth. It acts on a small scale and consistently. It has an active mind: its unceasing ability to learn is vast. Organized effort is its substance. Virgo’s ability to plan and put things in place is enormous. The highest task of the Virgo person is to heal life and improve it with common sense and a constructive attitude. Altruistic service is a form of prayer.
 
Everyone has the Virgo factor somewhere in his aura. We all can consciously apply it to daily existence and increase the efficiency of everything we do.
 
He who has good sense checks each day the degree of nobility in his own intentions and methods of action. Our critical thinking ought to be used to examine and purify ourselves first. Only after that it becomes possible to examine others lucidly.
 
Right Action as the Path to Bliss
 
Stephen Arroyo says that Virgo, as well as the other earth signs – Taurus and Capricorn – , can rely on the practice of altruism as a tool to overcome its limitations. [3]
 
Through a productive devotion that is developed with common sense, this hard-working sign avoids the danger of self-isolation or attachment  to narrow views.  The dialogue  with  Pisces helps to find balance.[4]
 
In due time the soul learns to combine the vision of the part with the understanding of the totality. A wise pilgrim sees the Oneness by examining the fragment; and as he calmly observes the Whole he can see the essence of every particle.
 
NOTES:
 
[1] From the book “Conhecimento da Astrologia”, Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro, Novo Milênio Editora, 1996, Rio de Janeiro, 733 pp., p. 74. On Virgo, examine “Illustrated A-Z of Understanding Star Signs”, general editor, Kim Farnell; Flame Tree Publishing, London, Printed in China, 2002, 224 pp., pp. 192-193.
 
[2] On Virgo and the Pleiades, read the article “New York, September 7th, 1875”.
 
[3] See the book “Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements”, de Stephen Arroyo, M.A., CRCS Publications, California, USA, 191 pp., 1975, especially p. 107.
 
[4] The topic is discussed in “The Lesson of the Sun in Pisces”.  
 
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The article “The Lesson of the Sun in Virgo” was published on the associated websites on 20 September 2020.
 
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A study about the different levels of human action and perception is presented in “The Seven Principles of Consciousness”.  The connection between mortal soul and spiritual soul is discussed in the article “Antahkarana, the Bridge to Sky”.
 
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Read more on the dialogue between the sky and the earth:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* “The Magic of the Moon”; and
 
 
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