Zodiac SAL - Virgo

Welcome to the final post of the Zodiac SAL.  As ever, there is a linky for anyone who wants to join in.  The linky will stay open until the end of the month.

Last month we had two people link up with me, please do visit them now if you missed their posts before:

Jocondine

Leonore

Virgo, the Maiden, is an Earth sign ruled by Mercury and covers those born between 23rd August and 22nd September.

Virgo constellation by June Bug & Darlin'

The constellation Virgo has multiple different origins depending on which mythology is being studied. Most myths generally view Virgo as a virgin/maiden with heavy association with wheat. In Greek and Roman mythology they relate the constellation to Demeter, mother of Persephone, or Proserpina in Roman, the goddess of the harvest. However, some tell tales of the Greek story of Parthenos, which means virgin in Greek, which explains how the actual constellation Virgo came to be.

In this story Parthenos is the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, and sister to Rhoio and Molpadia. Rhoio had been impregnated by the Greek god Apollo, once her father had found out that she was pregnant he assumed it was from some random suitor and was greatly ashamed. As punishment her father locked her in a box and threw her in a river. After the terrible fate of their sister, Parthenos and Molpadia were very nervous to anger their father in fear of his terrible wrath. On one evening, Staphylus left his two daughters in charge of a bottle of wine, back in that time a very valuable item indeed. When they both accidentally fell asleep one of their swine broke in and broke the bottle. Fearing their fathers wrath, the two sisters fled to a nearby cliff and threw themselves off. Because of Apollo's previous relations with their sister Rhoio, Apollo saved the two from the cliff and delivered them to the safety of nearby cities in Cherronseos. Molpadia ended up in Castabus where she changed her name to Hemithea and was worshipped as a local goddess for many years. Parthenos ended up in Bubastus where she was also worshipped as a local goddess. According to another story, Parthenos was a daughter of Apollo who died at a very young age and after her death Apollo made the constellation after her.

In the Babylonian MUL.APIN (c. 10th century BC), part of this constellation was known as "The Furrow", representing the goddess Shala and her ear of grain. One star in this constellation, Spica, retains this tradition as it is Latin for "ear of grain", one of the major products of the Mesopotamian furrow. For this reason the constellation became associated with fertility. The constellation of Virgo in Hipparchus corresponds to two Babylonian constellations: the "Furrow" in the eastern sector of Virgo and the "Frond of Erua" in the western sector. The Frond of Erua was depicted as a goddess holding a palm-frond – a motif that still occasionally appears in much later depictions of Virgo.

Early Greek astronomy associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat and agriculture, Demeter. The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres. Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes identified as the virgin goddess Iustitia or Astraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as the constellation Libra). Another Greek myth from later, Classical times, identifies Virgo as Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens. Icarius, who had been favoured by Dionysus and was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated after which Erigone hanged herself in grief; in versions of this myth, Dionysus is said to have placed the father and daughter in the stars as Boötes and Virgo respectively.
Source: Wikipedia - Virgo (Constellation)

Virgo by Josephine Wall for HAED

Virgo People: What They Are Like:

From work ethic to wardrobe, impeccable Virgos are the epitome of #flawless. They can pull off the “I Woke Up Like This” look—even if they’d rather spend a couple of hours primping and putting themselves together in the mirror. Because Virgos can get stressed from micromanaging their lives (and other people’s!), downtime is crucial for them. They cherish their solitude and can spend indulgent hours reading, writing, planning, decluttering or dreaming up creative projects. But they’ll always spring into action for a friend in need. Because observant Virgos can quickly spot the flaws in everything, they can come across as critical or judgmental. They’re only trying to help! But when they lapse into preachy mode, they may need a reminder that they don’t have to “fix” the world. As hard as Virgos may be on loved ones, they’re even harder on themselves. This giving sign needs to learn the art of receiving—a lifelong struggle for many.

Source: Astrostyle - Virgo

Virgo by Illustrated Ink for Gecko Rouge

Famous Virgo People:
Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Richard Gere, Lea Michele, Zendaya, Nick Jonas, Bernie Sanders, Cameron Diaz, Niall Horan, Quvenzhane Wallis, Paul Walker, Kobe Bryant, Jimmy Fallon, Flo Rida, Blake Lively, Adam Sandler, Wiz Khalifa, Pink, Shania Twain, Sean Connery, Harry Connick Jr., Lilly Tomlin, Amy Poehler, William Howard Taft, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mary Shelley, Leo Tolstoy, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld

Here's a quote from one of Mary Shelley's best known books:

Frankenstein by Kentima by Konna on Etsy

Here's one I stitched on The Monster and The Bride:

Carand88 on Deviant Art

For the stitching part of the SAL I have chosen a series of designs from the Donna Kooler book 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs. I am stitching them all on one piece of 32 count Millenium Blue fabric. Here is Virgo:

I did a dark hair conversion for her

And here is the whole piece, not finally framed yet as I didn't have a piece of mountboard big enough.  But you can get an idea of what it will look like:

Now, I am a Virgo myself and I have to say that the description is spot on, except for the first line about appearance.  I am not interested in spending two hours getting ready in the morning!

I have stitched numerous pieces over the years just for me with special meanings to me but for this post the Satsuma Street Virgo is the perfect piece to show again:

As with the Donna Kooler Zodiac, I did a dark hair conversion.

So, let's hand over to you! This is the place for you to link up if you want to join in, please link to the actual blog post, not your blog homepage and include your name so we can see who has joined in.

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Finally, this is the final month of the Zodiac SAL.  I hope you have enjoyed each month and learned a little bit about each star sign.  Some of them were very accurate and some were completely unrecognisable according to the comments left.  So what comes next?  We did the Alphabet Club for 26 months and the Zodiac for 12 so now it's your turn to choose:

My favourite part of each post has always been choosing the designs to fit a theme.  So I thought I would let my followers choose the monthly theme and I would do my best to find something I have stitched already, a current WIP, something on my wishlist or something stunning I have seen elsewhere.  Hopefully there will be inspiration, enabling, encouragement and a liberal use of the shoehorn!

You may all join in, there will be a Linky on the first Saturday of each month.  Dip in and out as you want.

Your first task is to nominate the themes the people will be voting on.  Nominations are to be left on my blog, the voting will take part in the IHSW Facebook group as it's easy to do a Poll there.  I will announce the next month's theme when I do my "I Like Pie" post at the end of the preceding month.

Keep the theme suggestions to a single word or two - so you could have Dragons, or Cats, or Blue, or Spring, or Holidays, or Warmth etc.  Really anything which could be illustrated in cross stitch.

Looking forward to reading them all!