Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (35 page)

Consequently, the Virgo in a high-powered position sometimes resorts to deception in self-defense, and since deception is emphatically not one of her innate talents, she ends up being accused of being downright sly and hypocritical. What a pity, when Virgo hates hypocrisy so much. But that's the price the Virginian pays for sitting in a chair she wasn't meant to occupy. The endless, chatty luncheons with clients who have to be wined and dined and catered to would drive the average Virgo into a hermit's cave after a few months, and a few years of it might actually give her a serious mental breakdown.

Any Virgo who searches her own soul eventually comes up with the knowledge that she's better off doing the actual work of running the machinery inside the organization and letting someone else pose for the pictures. If she's truly dedicated to her work (is there a Virgo who isn't?), she secretly scorns the social and political extra-curricular activities the head of a firm is forced to engage in, because it causes her to neglect her duties—and be assured that neglect of duty is not something a Virgo takes lightly.

Still, if the business is a small one with, say, under a dozen employees, a Virgo may do very well as the queen of the empire. She certainly won't let it hit any unforeseen snags because she'll have every potential danger charted in detail, upside down and backwards. But big business and the typical Virginian simply don't blend, always allowing for the occasional exception to the rule. A Virgo with a Cancer ascendant and a Capricorn Moon, for example, would be a horse of a different gait. Such a Virgo at the head of a large company can be a real winner, just as the average Virgo at the head of a small company is usually successful. They also excel in leading scientific, experimental groups, where painstaking research is the keynote.

This boss will not overlook the sloppy mistakes of an assistant who constantly misspells words, wears ink blots on his thumbs and forgets to water her geraniums. You'll have to be alert and on your toes if you want a promotion from Virgo. Never tell her the appointment is for three o'clock when it's really for two-forty-five, or you'll face a cranky, irritable boss who won't hesitate to point out your fumble with hairsplitting frankness. As for reminding her in self-defense that she, herself, mislaid the papers she needed for the same meeting, forget it. Instead of causing her to be more tolerant of your errors in relation to her own exceedingly rare goofs, she's far more likely to glare at you with extreme annoyance. Try it more than once and you may end up without a job. A little criticism goes a long way with your Virgo boss. On her side, that is. As far as you're concerned, resign yourself to plenty of it. There's just one way out and one way only. Don't make mistakes. It's really quite simple.

Once you've adjusted to her perfectionist attitude, you'll find your eagle-eyed Virgo boss is kind-hearted and fair. She won't want to hear the details of your latest romance, since sentiment bores the typical Virgo, but she'll listen with sympathy to your request for a leave of absence because your left small toenail needs attention. Sick leave will be understood. Office flirtations and careless habits will not. Keep your desk tidy, don't flash around the office in miniskirts and heavy make-up, never brush your hair over her papers and listen carefully to all instructions. If she approves of your grooming, your work habits and your brain, she can be a surprisingly generous and kindly, considerate person to work for. She has his little idiosyncrasies, but don't we all?

Men who work for a Virgo boss face a slightly different problem. She'll expect you to come up with creative ideas and to be aggressive in the area of promotion and salesmanship. In fact, she'll depend on you to fill in these gaps in her own make-up. Just be sure you handle yourself with modesty. She knows you have more direct drive than she does, but she's also aware that she has more organizational ability, not to mention practicality and caution, and she won't be thrilled if you let it become obvious that you could run things without her close supervision. She's undoubtedly correct. She usually is, which may be a little frustrating until you get used to it and learn to respect her for it.

Your Virgo boss may have a drawer full of indigestion remedies and a mind full of details, but she also has a heart full of compassion and the ability to straighten out inter-office disagreements. She won't give out Jaguars, or smart phones as Christmas bonuses, but she will pay you what you're worth and won't cheat you. Remember that she's entirely capable of sizing up exactly what you are worth, too. It's difficult, if not impossible, to fool her.

Don't expect her to get excited about glamorous bubble promotions. She may not be overly imaginative, but she has enough imagination to visualize such bubbles bursting with a loud bang and a spray of water, which may leave you all wet. Be sure your suggestions and methods of working have a sound foundation in fact, or she'll dismiss your schemes as daydreams and she may dismiss you, too. You may get impatient frequently with her constant splitting of hairs and faultfinding criticism, but after all, you can't just say to a superior that “It's a drag to nag.” So you might as well accept her critical habits gracefully. It won't hurt you to let her shape you up a bit, anyway.

Always tell her the truth. It's useless to lie to her. Frankly, your Virgo boss may strain at gnats—but she'll seldom swallow a camel.

If you give her the understanding support and respect she needs, she'll never hurt you. Inside, she's really a gentle soul and often terribly lonely, married or single. She doesn't make friends easily, and she'll be touchingly grateful for your encouragement. Like all Virgos, she lives with a secret dream and isn't nearly as isolated from emotion as she seems to be. Let her know you've discovered that her bark is worse than her bite (even though her bark is gentle and quiet), and she'll step down from her ivory tower. Never mind if the other employees call her stingy. Go to her when you're really in trouble and see how wrong they are.

If you have a Virgo employee who's a typical Virginian, treasure him (or her) and plan, slowly and carefully, to move him to the position of your assistant. Don't do it too quickly or he'll feel unprepared and reluctant. Fast advances don't tickle the Virgo ego, they just alarm him and make him suspect that you're too impulsive for him to trust.

You needn't shower this employee with bonuses. On the other hand, don't underpay him either. He's well aware of his comparable and current market value, and he won't hesitate to move on, regardless of his basic loyalty and stability, if he feels you're being unfair or unreasonable. It's been said that Virgos give service without thought of reward, which has created a bit of a problem in semantics. It's more accurate to say that they give service without thought of personal ego gratification (though they secretly desire this more than they let on). The Virgo employee fully expects to be paid for his efforts, because money is important to him. It's not the cash itself as a status symbol, nor the Cancerian desire to accumulate that motivates him. It's his inbred fear of going on relief someday when he's old and sick and feeble and forced to depend on others. The very thought of such a situation gives the typical Virgo goose bumps. He'll probably be far healthier in his old age than most of the other zodiac signs. Though often weak in childhood, Virgo gathers physical strength as the years advance. Still he'll secretly worry about his health and his financial future. The twin mental images of the hospital and the poorhouse are never far from his thoughts, so you can see why Virgos are quietly ambitious to advance in their work until they reach a position where they can achieve financial security for tomorrow. At this point, and at this point only, the nervous Virgo intensity begins to unwrinkle and he can relax. Of course, Virgos never completely relax, but let's say he is not quite as jumpy as he was before; he bites his nails less, and his allergies let up a little.

You'll discover that he has a perfect eye for detail, sometimes a little too perfect to be comfortable. Just because you're the boss won't keep him from catching your mistakes and pointing them out in typical, blunt Virgo fashion. Positions and titles aren't sacred to him: perfection is—though, with typical Virgo charm, he'll probably give you more outward courtesy and respect than his associates do.

Whatever his faults, you can always count on these employees, male or female, to exhibit strong analytical ability and excellent taste. His (or her) sharp sense of discrimination makes the typical Virgo worker an excellent critic, with the knack of spotting the weak log in the fence, not to mention the weakest link in the chain, with quicksilver accuracy and speed. Virgo workers are adaptable and versatile, clear-thinking, precise, intelligent and reliable. They'll never turn in sloppy work and they have no patience with a job half done or laziness. That includes your own occasional laziness. The boss who takes a day off to play golf may return to the office to find the Virgo employee eyeing him with a thinly disguised look of disapproval, though the obedient, mannerly Virginian will probably keep silent about it.

Virgos usually shine more in businesses which give service to the public in general. Publishing, the literary field, medicine, pharmacy, anything to do with food, scientific laboratories, service agencies of all kinds, bookkeeping and accounting—all these areas are competently and efficiently handled by the adept, systematic Virgo. No tiny detail is unworthy of his consideration, and he'll stay overtime without a thought if something is not quite right and needs his attention.

You can feel completely safe in letting your Virgo employee work without supervision. His sense of ethics and responsibility are total. Besides, he'd probably prefer to work either quietly alone or confidently beside you than be exposed to any possible criticism from fellow workers. Virgo works quickly, but it may not be obvious at first. That's because he feels insecure with short cuts and is never satisfied until all the facts have been checked. He may appear to be slow simply because he's doing a thorough job. Actually, his mind works as fast as Mercury, though mere speed will never be allowed to replace cautious, methodical procedures.

Although advertising isn't a natural atmosphere for his realistic, practical approach, he might be valuable in some position where he can patiently pick up the pieces of those creative brainstorms that occasionally blow sky high, and make sure that the fabulous ideas which have been so joyously tossed into the promotional hat don't have large holes in them.

It would not be advisable to send your Virgo employee out to promote your company or sell your product. He's a bit too honest and plain spoken to paint any glowing pictures for your potential customers, and his basic nature is too shy and retiring to push either himself or your firm with any great gobs of enthusiasm. Very few Virgos make good salesmen, only the rare exceptions to the rule.

He'll dress neatly, speak with gentle diction, be as clean as a bar of Ivory soap, and probably have a desk that's so tidy it looks positively naked. You may come across a Virgo with a slightly cluttered office, but never fear. His mind isn't cluttered. He knows the exact order of the apparent disorder, and just where to put his finger on whatever he wants. His desk may look like a heap of trash to you, but he knows the whereabouts of every postage stamp and paper clip.

When Virgos become really noticeably untidy, either at home or at work, it's almost always a symptom of emotional unhappiness—just as the same thing is true of a Sagittarian who suddenly becomes neat and meticulous.

Bite your tongue when you get an urge to criticize a Virgo's work. He'll probably catch his own mistakes before you do. Any necessary criticism should be given briefly and quietly, and any unnecessary criticism should be forgotten. It takes very little to warm his heart to loyalty and gratitude, but it also takes very little to cause Virgo to bristle and fret and sulk. Still, as quick as he is to pout over imagined slights, he's just as quick to help without being asked when you're in trouble. During a real crisis, you'll swear he's grown two feet taller.

Never force Virgos to work around wild, bright colors. It disturbs their quiet, inner nature. Give them the most up to date, most efficient equipment you can afford, and they'll make good use of it. They don't like noise and confusion when they work. They also don't like irregular schedules. Let them have a regular day off and stick to it. They'll work overtime if you need them, but they hate the insecurity and confusion of changing shifts. Their emotional requirements are hidden, but they are there just the same, and a certain amount of open appreciation may be desperately needed.

Although the typical Virgo seldom indulges in esoteric or imaginary work, you will occasionally find a few who do. But remember that they are still Virgos. The Virgo astrologer will split hairs over his occult investigation, the Virgo poet will use precise meter, the Virgo painter will concentrate on detail and the Virgo actor or actress will master the perfect dialect or accent for the role with painstaking study. Never let it throw you when someone born under a certain Sun sign doesn't seem to be doing what comes naturally, as far as his choice of career is concerned. Keep observing and you'll see he's still being true to his basic nature.