Newsroom

In Praise Of Sun In Virgo

Imagine for a moment that you are an autistic child, or a child who experiences “sensory overload.” Picture yourself sitting there, just minding your own business, when all of a sudden your brain’s usual ability to sort out what’s important in your environment from what isn’t goes haywire, and you are inundated with…

— the sound of the traffic out front and the light coming through the window and the water running in the kitchen and the cat food commercial on TV and the flutter of the fluorescent lights and the neighbor’s lawnmower and your cat scratching at its post and —

…all somehow shouting at equal volume all at once and you are so overwhelmed that you have to shut down somehow, so you begin to rock back and forth or focus on the texture of the carpet just to keep a grip.

But then a kind woman appears before you, speaking softly to you and extending her hand, offering to help. Once you’ve sorted yourself out enough to reach for her hand, she leads you gently out of the room and down the hall to The Sensory Room.

The Sensory Room is lit in soft blues and greens. Quiet, mild music plays. The furniture is soft and yielding. The woman leads you to the couch and sits you down, and she carefully guides you through the process of sorting out the actual information from the raw data. She sits patiently with you until you come to terms with all the noise and you are able to function well again. When you’ve reached that point, she smiles and tells you that you can leave any time you want, and then she goes away.

You’re grateful. You’re healed.

But then, as you return to the unbridled world outside you stop to wonder — who was that? Who was this person who came in and helped you through your crisis, without reward or motive — other than to help someone who needed it?

That person was Sun in Virgo. Be grateful for these people. I know I am.