Sun Enters Virgo: What Do You Want From Life?

Clarity of purpose is the hallmark of Virgo. As the Sun moves into the sign of the Virgin -- August 22 through September 22 -- we receive cosmic encouragement to get clear about what we want from life. “Follow your bliss” mythologist Joseph Campbell said -- but how do you discover what your bliss is?

Start by making a list of what you enjoy doing. What do you do for fun? What do you enjoy reading about, or daydreaming about? Do not censor yourself. No matter how big or small the experience, write it down -- and keep adding to it as you come up with ideas. There’s no rush; take as much time as you need to make your list. Have fun with the process. Consider new things; sometimes pleasure comes from unexpected places. If you don’t experience a thing, you may never know if you like it!

Listen to what your heart and your body tell you. Your mind can rationalize what you think you should love. But your heart and body will never lie to you. When you do something (or even imagine doing it) notice how you breathe, if the tension in your body increases or decreases, what emotion(s) you feel. These are important clues to discovering your bliss.

Once you’ve created your list, look for patterns and themes in the activities on your list. Do many experiences suggest that you are happiest when being creative? Or when you are working with others to achieve a goal? Play with combinations of what you’ve listed until you arrive with a few key themes. Put your key themes into one or two sentences about how you want to live your life. This is the heart of your personal mission statement. Again, there is no wrong answer, but what you write should make your heart sing “Yes!” whenever you read it.

Now place your “Bliss mission” where you can see it every day. Invoke it before you go to sleep, and when you wake up. Share it with a few people you trust. Let it sink in and become part of you. (Easy, because it already is you!)

As you begin to follow your bliss, you may encounter agents of anti-change whispering: “This will never work.” “You’re not good enough.” “You don’t deserve this.” If you hear something like this from others or from your own self-talk, laugh! You are certainly headed in the right direction.