Virgo II: Creating Beauty, Committing to Craft

I continue my series on the 36 Decans of the Zodiac today with Virgo II, the second decan of Virgo. People with planets or points in this part of the zodiac often have the potential to create beautiful things through hard work. These are people who can be artisans—those who are willing to commit themselves to creating beauty in the world.

This energy is represented by the planets responsible for this part of the zodiac: Saturn, the planet of responsibility, hard work, and commitment, and Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Of course, Mercury rules the sign of Virgo as a whole, so there’s also a bit of business acumen and the capacity to create gain in life. That’s reflected in the Thoth Tarot card associated with this decan, which we’ll talk more about.

We also look at the Tree of Life, Hermetic Kabbalah, the number 9, and the Sephira Yesod, which serves as the foundation associated with this decan. Finally, we’ll explore how this energy shows up in Dolly Parton’s chart. She has her rising degree in this part of the zodiac and is a prolific musician who worked hard to create beauty—not just in the realm of music but also through her nonprofit foundation, which fosters imagination through reading for children.

There’s a lot to unpack, and we’ll get into all of it in the video below. If you’re enjoying this series, like and subscribe—it helps others find my content, and I really appreciate the support.

Transcript (revised)

To help us connect with the energy of Virgo II, I’ve created a whiteboard for this talk. These visuals really help deepen our understanding and allow us to see the connections between the various aspects of this decan.

Let’s start by talking about the sign of Virgo.

Virgo is an earth sign, and earth signs are always connected to the real world. They deal with what we are creating, establishing, or working with—how we use the earth itself to create something tangible. Virgo is also a mutable sign, which means it has flexibility and adaptability.

People with Virgo energy tend to focus on perfecting things in the material world. They’re always tweaking, correcting, and working to make the things they’ve created the best they can be. That’s the essence of Virgo energy.

Virgo is ruled by Mercury, who was Hermes in the Greek pantheon. Hermes was the messenger to the gods and the younger brother of Apollo, the Sun God. If you read the myths associated with Hermes, you’ll get a feel for Mercury’s energy. It’s a swift-moving planet with a trickster vibe, and it’s very intelligent.

People with strong Mercury placements in their charts tend to be bright and interested in learning. One myth I like to reference about Mercury involves baby Hermes. The story goes that, as an infant, Hermes left his cradle, stole Apollo’s cows, and hid them in a cave.

To cover his tracks, Hermes put shoes on his feet backward, so the footprints made it look like he was walking in the opposite direction. When Apollo realized what had happened, he was furious and went to Zeus, their father. Zeus, however, just laughed because he thought it was clever and funny.

That’s the essence of Mercury energy—a quick mind, cleverness, and a bit of trickery. Mercury can also represent younger siblings, as seen in this story.

Now let’s move beyond the general energy of Virgo to focus on Virgo II, the second decan of Virgo. Each decan, or 10-degree segment of the zodiac, has two Decanic rulers. These are planets that influence that particular section of the zodiac, in addition to the sign’s overall ruler, which for Virgo is Mercury.

For Virgo II, the Decanic rulers are Venus and Saturn. Venus represents love, relationships, harmony, beauty, art, and justice, while Saturn represents responsibility, maturity, the reality principle, hard work, and commitment. Saturn can also be tied to themes of death, endings, and limitations.

When you blend these energies, you get a clearer sense of what Virgo II is all about.

If you have your rising sign, Sun, or a planet like Mercury, Venus, or Saturn in this part of the zodiac, what might that mean for you?

One way to think about it is to combine the witty, intelligent, and business-oriented energy of Mercury, the creativity and beauty of Venus, and the discipline and responsibility of Saturn. Together, these qualities describe people who are deeply committed to creating beautiful objects or works of art.

These are the artisans and musicians of the world.

Take Dolly Parton, for example. Her chart shows Mercury conjunct Venus, which is a placement often found in the charts of musicians. Mercury governs communication, and Venus is the goddess of love and beauty. Together, they can signify a beautiful voice or a talent for creating harmony in one form or another. Bruce Springsteen also has this aspect in his chart.

To understand Virgo II more deeply, we can look at the Tarot card associated with this decan: the Nine of Pentacles.

I love working with Tarot images because they give us a visual sense of the energy we’re exploring. In the Nine of Pentacles, we see a woman who is balanced, grounded, and confident. She’s standing in a field, which reflects Virgo’s earthy energy.

One hand rests on the pentacles she has created in a beautiful garden full of grapes, while the other hand holds a falcon. This image shows us the end result of her hard work—the prolific production of something beautiful.

9 of Pentacles, Rider-Waite Tarot

As Rachel Pollock explains in her book 78 Degrees of Wisdom, the falcon on the woman’s wrist in the Nine of Pentacles is hooded and under her control. This represents discipline, self-control, and the training required to develop one’s full potential. If you think about Dolly Parton, you can see how she embodies this energy. She works incredibly hard to perfect and produce music that resonates deeply with people, and her efforts have been widely appreciated by the public.

Another key element of the Nine of Pentacles is self-awareness. This card reflects the energy of Virgo II, which ties into the concept of the virgin. In this context, “virgin” doesn’t refer to modern notions about sexual experience but rather to the original meaning of the word, which symbolizes self-containment and sovereignty. It’s about being whole and independent, untouched or unaltered by external influences.

This energy is deeply connected to the idea of creating something entirely out of one’s own connection with the creative force. It’s about being self-contained, drawing from within to manifest something meaningful. The imaginal quality of the Nine of Pentacles also connects to the Sephira Yesod on the Tree of Life, which is associated with the lunar energy of imagination.

In the card, we see creativity represented by the prolific nature of what the woman has grown and created through her hard work. Rachel Pollock also notes that the woman stands alone in her garden. To achieve what she has, she’s had to give up a certain level of companionship.

This doesn’t mean that someone with important Virgo II placements won’t have partner; Dolly Parton, for example, has been married since 1966. However, Dolly is very private and keeps her husband out of the public eye. When she presents her work to the world, she does so independently, shining through her own force and energy. This sense of independence and self-containment is a key part of the Nine of Pentacles and the energy of Virgo II.

If you look at the Thoth Tarot card for Virgo II, called the Nine of Disks or “Gain,” you’ll see this energy reflected. The card speaks to the idea that when we work hard and use our intelligence—Mercury’s intellectual capacity combined with Venus’ appreciation for beauty—we can create something lovely and experience gain in our lives. People with planets or points in this part of the zodiac often have good fortune when it comes to achieving things materially or monetarily.

Now, let’s shift to the Hermetic Kabbalah and its connection to Virgo II. The Kabbalah’s Tree of Life is a mystical diagram that represents the descent of divine inspiration into the world. It’s a way of understanding how spiritual concepts take form and manifest in the physical world.

It starts with Kether, the divine inspiration or the “nothingness” of the universe. From there, the energy flows down through the Sephirot, tracing the path of creative light as it moves from the divine source to Malkuth, the earthly plane where things are manifested. This process illustrates the steps by which inspiration becomes reality, moving from idea to tangible creation.

Tree of Life, Hermetic Kabbalah

When we reach the 9th Sephira, Yesod, on the Tree of Life, we’re at the foundation where things begin to take shape in the world. Yesod represents the realm of the unconscious, dreams, intuition, and emotions. It bridges the higher, intellectual spheres like Hod (which is about analysis, logic, and structure) with the physical world.

If we think about Dolly Parton’s rising degree in Virgo II, we can see how she channels intuitive energy into her creations. She uses her intellect to shape her ideas and brings them forth into the world in a way that resonates emotionally with others. Yesod serves as the foundation that connects the higher realms to the physical world, helping to integrate structured thoughts with deeper, intuitive understanding.

This integration is key to creating something that has both intellectual and emotional resonance. Dolly Parton’s ability to translate her own experiences—her struggles, her poverty, and her triumphs—into music that moves people is a perfect example of this process. Her work connects deeply to what it means to be human, and that connection is what makes her so successful.

Let’s take a closer look at Dolly Parton’s chart. Her rising degree in Virgo II embodies the discipline and self-mastery we’ve been discussing. This decan’s Saturnine energy reflects her ability to commit to hard work, while the Venusian energy speaks to her capacity to create something beautiful for the world.

Dolly’s rise from rural poverty to international stardom is a clear example of the “falcon on the wrist” energy of the Nine of Pentacles. She had to work long and hard, with tremendous discipline, to achieve her success. The gain and success she’s achieved reflect the energy of the Nine of Disks in the Thoth Tarot.

She built her empire with focus and determination, staying true to her values—something that is also tied to Venus. She embodies the virgin archetype of self-containment and sovereignty, carving her own path and standing firmly in the garden of her creation.

Her life also reflects the energy of the Sephira Yesod. In 1995, she started the Imagination Library, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading among children. Yesod’s lunar quality ties into imagination, and this foundation reflects her ability to bring creative energy into the world in a way that benefits others.

Dolly is fiercely independent, standing alone in her metaphorical garden, much like the woman in the Nine of Pentacles. She has created something lasting and beautiful through her hard work and dedication.

As I mentioned before, even though Dolly Parton is married, she rarely appears in public with her husband. Like the woman in the Nine of Pentacles, Dolly has mastered her craft and stands firmly in the garden of her own creation—the music she has produced over the course of her lifetime. Her independence and ability to focus on her work while maintaining her personal boundaries are a perfect reflection of this energy.

Now, let’s take a closer look at her chart because it’s fascinating. One of the key placements in her chart is Mercury conjunct Venus in her fifth house of creativity. This is a placement often found in the charts of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, as well as other creative individuals. The fifth house is all about what we create and bring into the world, and for Dolly, it’s a place filled with energy.

This energy is in Capricorn, a sign that emphasizes hard work and achievement. Capricorn is an earth sign, so it’s focused on creating tangible results. In astrology, there’s something called the “rule of three,” which means that when an energy or theme appears multiple times in a chart, it’s a significant part of the person’s identity.

First, we see that Dolly has a concentration of planets in Capricorn, which suggests she’s driven to work hard and achieve tangible results. Then, her rising degree is in the middle of Virgo, which, like Capricorn, emphasizes hard work, commitment, and a focus on creating something real. Finally, her Saturn is exactly conjunct Mars in the 11th house, which focuses on groups, organizations, and the collective.

The Saturn-Mars conjunction is something I often refer to as “the signature of the general.” People with this placement have a remarkable ability to make strategic choices and commit themselves to hard work over a long period of time. Mars represents action and drive—it’s like putting your foot on the gas. Saturn, on the other hand, provides restraint and discipline. Together, they create a powerful energy that can channel ambition and action into long-term, meaningful achievements.

So, when we look at all three of these elements in Dolly’s chart—her Capricorn planets, her Virgo rising, and her Saturn-Mars conjunction—we see a clear picture of someone who is deeply committed to their craft and willing to put in the effort needed to create something lasting and impactful.

I just find this so fascinating. Astrology never ceases to blow my mind, and I hope it blows yours too. If you have your rising degree in Virgo II, or if you’re curious about your own chart, you can look it up on a site called AstroSeek.com. I’ll link a video I’ve made that explains how to pull up your birth chart.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if this video resonates with you. Maybe you have your Sun, Venus, or other planets in Virgo II, and I’d love to hear how this energy shows up in your life.

If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe. It really helps people discover my work and grow this channel. I love sharing astrology with all of you, and I’m so grateful for your support. Thanks for watching, and I hope you all have a great day!