How Much Virgo Does A Writer Need?

There is something very cool about Agatha Christie
even as a child. Could it be
Virgo Sun, Virgo Rsing and Saturn in Virgo

Many years ago, I moved from  working in (weekly) magazine publishing to editing books. It was truly a move from Gemini-land to Virgo-land. The magazines were all about speed, word-count and interviews; books were all about accuracy, order and corrections. I suddenly found I had time for lunch and a nap under the desk. Those were the days.

And the birthdays fitted the Zodiac types. There are a lot of Geminis in journalism; and a lot of Virgos in the world of books (although generally trampled over to the top jobs).

Both signs are ruled by Mercury, of course, the planet of communications in all forms – writing, talking, letters, telephones. Both signs are storytellers. But the planet's energy is that of the craftsman in Virgo, and of the messenger in Gemini. One of Virgos greatest skills is the ability to be self-critical, which is absolutely key to writing.



Since those days I have always thought of (roughly) of Virgo as the author's sign and Gemini as the journalist's, so I thought I'd look at the charts of the best-selling authors of all time and see how much Virgo there really was. Here is the list from Wikipedia (which seems a little out of date to me) with my additions of chart data from various sources.

1. Shakespeare is number one all time best-selling author, but (apparently) his birthday is probably made up.

   

   Simenon: Moon in Virgo
   

2. Agatha Christie - Asc, Saturn in Virgo - Virgo Sun - murder mysteries
3. Barbara Cartland - Mars in Virgo - Cancer Sun - romance
4. Harold Robbins - Mercury and Ceres in Gemini, time unknown - Gemini Sun - thrillers
5. Georges Simenon - Moon in Virgo - Aquarius Sun  - murder mysteries
6. Sidney Sheldon - Ceres in Virgo, time unknown - Aquarius Sun - anything for a buck
7. Enid Blyton - Mars, Jupiter, Mercury in Virgo - Leo Sun - children's books
8. Danielle Steel - Uranus in Gemini, time unknown - Leo Sun - romance
9. Dr Seuss - Moon in Virgo - Pisces Sun - children's books
10. Gilbert Patten - nada in Gemini or Virgo except Juno, time unknown - maybe his wife wrote these westerns
11. JK Rowling - Venus, Uranus, Pluto, Moon in Virgo - Leo Sun - children's fantasy

Hmm, well it helps to have planets in Virgo, but it also helps to have a Leo or Aquarius Sun. That's interesting. Oh and it helps to write genre fiction – quality…well…

Other authors just below the top ten

Tolstoy photographed by Prokudin-Gorsky,
courtesy Wikimedia commons

• Leo Tolstoy - Moon, Mercury in Virgo  - Virgo Sun - life
• Jackie Collins - Mercury, Neptune, Venus in Virgo - Libra Sun - romance
• Corin Tellado - Venus in Gemini - Taurus Sun - romance
• RL Stine - Venus, Chiron, Mercury in Virgo; Uranus, Mars, Saturn in Gemini - Libra Sun - children's horror
• Stephen King - Uranus in Gemini - Virgo Sun - horror
• Erle Stanley Gardner - Asc Virgo Rising, Venus in Virgo - Cancer Sun - murder mysteries

Others who ought to there but aren't for some reason

Charlotte Bronte

• Charles Dickens - Asc, NN in Virgo, Jupiter in Gemini - Aquarius Sun
• Jane Austen - Asc, Neptune in Virgo, Jupiter in Gemini - Sagittarius Sun
• Alexandre Dumas - Venus, Jupiter, Saturn in Virgo - Leo Sun
• Charlotte Bronte - Asc in Virgo, Mars and NN in Gemini - Taurus Sun
• Emily Bronte - Venus, Mars, MC in Virgo (not kidding) - Sun in Leo
• JRR Tolkien - Asc in Virgo, Neptune and Pluto in Gemini - Capricorn Sun
• Stephenie Meyer - nada in either Virgo or Gemini, time unknown - but she was born on an eclipse!
• Dan Brown - Uranus, Pluto in Virgo: Mars, Venus, Mercury in Gemini - Cancer Sun

OK, out of 25 authors I have seven Virgo Suns, six Virgo Rising, three Moons. Quite a few have unknown birth times which means there could be more Virgo Ascendants. 

That is a lot of Virgo - but there is hope for the rest of us, especially Leo Suns and after all, Stephenie Meyer may not be the world's greatest prose stylist but she has sold a gazillion books.