The Sexual Nature and Hang-ups of the Pluto in Virgo Generation

Virginal Babes of the 1960s

The 1960s-born folks had the misfortune of being born after the Sexual Revolution began and for some of these folks, during the Woodstock Era. This was a time when children were exposed to sexual freedom of their parents. And those children born with Pluto and Uranus in Virgo would have found the era confusing at best, and disturbing at worse, given their Virgo nature.

Since Virgo is an Earth Sign and this zodiac element is known for its ability to stay grounded, take on responsibilities, and to for the most part, follow rules. The sexual freedom and overly focus on self of the Pluto in Leo generation folks would have clashed with the Virgo ideals. Children born from parents born in the 1940s would have had more exposure to hippie culture or parents with alternative views about sex, not to say that ending sexual repression of previous eras was a bad thing, but certainly not appropriate for children to witness. Children born to parents born in the 1930s would have not experienced the brunt of the blossoming of a sexually open culture. And also it depends where on the globe the children were born.

Oddly, the birth control pill arrived on the scene in 1960 and that was responsible for the Sexual Revolution but so were the planetary placements of Neptune in Scorpio, and Uranus in Virgo (going to rebel against the idea of virginity and pure maidens). Many Pluto in Virgo (and Uranus in Virgo) children would have been exposed to "girlie" magazines that their fathers stashed around the house (I was). Their mothers might have been reading racy novels and discovering their own sexual freedom, even if they were born in the 1930s. They would have been exposed to their babysitters inviting boyfriends over and making out on the couch (in front of the children). And they would have been exposed to the more risky television shows in the 1970s (at least in the US) which were hypocritical with the clothing the women wore didn't leave much to the imagination (Charlie's Angels, Three's Company, and many of the cop shows). The women portrayed were supposed to be feminists but all anyone would notice was the cleavage pushing out of the clingy shirts. What woman detective in reality was going to bounce around town in a jumpsuit unbuttoned down to the navel? And I've never known women cops to wear that much hairspray.

So, the children grew up with mixed messages about sex that was on one hand portrayed openly in pop culture magazines and Rated R movies which were often cleaned up for television viewing. They were exposed to women pop stars who revealed a lot of cleavage and songs about sex, which as the children grew into pubescence would have found amusing along with confusing. They would have heard lyrics about one-night stands, loving the one they're with, and songs not respectful to women (women seen a a meat market type of mentality). And then, by the mid-70s, disco blew the doors of sexual freedom wide open. And then came AIDS and the spread of other sexually-transmitted diseases.

When the first Pluto in Virgo generation children came of age (late 1970s), AIDS was already starting to surface but mainly in the homosexual communities. By the time I graduated from high school (1982) news about AIDS was appearing in the back pages of magazines like Rolling Stone. Genital herpes spread like wildfire on the college campuses and soon, the term "safe sex" became a buzz word and conversations between partners revolved around condoms and AIDS test results. And this specter probably hasn't even gone away.

With all the talk about staying safe from COVID by wearing face masks does remind me of the 1980s and 1990s when dating involved safe sex and the use of condoms. And who remembers the AIDS tests and the terror of waiting for results?

Besides the 1960s planetary transits directly affecting a sub-generation born in the 1960s, Neptune in Scorpio foreshadowed a sexual disease epidemic that lurked in the shadows for two decades. The transits of the 1960s and the 1970s also promoted the postponement of the birth of children. Late baby boomers waited until the 1980s to start families. In fact, in the 1970s, child birth statistics dropped and then picked up in the 1980s when the super mom arrived on the scene (power executive by day, super mom the rest of the time).

The planetary placements also brought up recreational drug experimentation which only grew into exaggerated proportions when Neptune moved into Sagittarius in the 1970s. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll fueled popular culture. But where do the Pluto in Virgo children fit into all of this?

Similar to the sign Cancer, Virgos are cautious. While they aren't virgins sexually-speaking, they tend to be disease and germ-conscious. They tend to be nit-picky and even have OCD tendencies which I realize is a generalization (but folks OCD sex is hardly sexy). The Virgo energy is critical, especially of human behavior and especially behavior around sexuality. This isn't to say that Virgos don't engage in sex and even sex while they are still in their teens but there is still the confusion around the whore versus the virgin which should be thrown out anyway. 

The women of the Pluto in Virgo generation (and this is Pluto ripping Virgo themes to shred followed by Uranus doing the same) judged other women harshly and enjoyed gossiping about their women friends and colleagues' sexual lives. I remember hearing the phrase spoken by women of this generation, "Why would a man marry a woman who already had sex with him when that's like giving the cow away instead of just the milk?" And milk reminds me of milk maidens which symbolize the virgin. Funny how Pluto's themes end up in everyday conversations.

Even despite their exploration into the sexual arena, the Pluto in Virgo generation still seemed prude to their Pluto in Leo counterparts. Again, they suffered from confusion from the mixed messages they received growing up in the revolutionary 1960s and the overly promiscuous 1970s and then seeing AIDS as a punishment for bad behavior--which hardly translates into sexual freedom. This would be the equivalent of the 2020's high school graduates looking forward to freedom only to have to go into lockdown and wear face masks. I get it.

And despite this sexual revolution, even in the early 1980s, high school girls who got pregnant were still sent away to live with a relative in another state. I knew of one high school girl who had at least one abortion which seemed shocking in 1982. Obtaining birth control pills wasn't an option for high school girls unless they had parental permission and who was going to ask their parents for permission to have sex with their boyfriend? Are you kidding? Our parents weren't that open-minded unless they were baby boomers and even then. (There were also high school teachers where I attended high school who slept with their students).

Those of us born to religious parents weren't even permitted to discuss sex or sexuality or even go on dates. Wearing makeup was out too (even though we did it anyway). Meanwhile, actresses and models wearing skimpy clothing were everywhere. The pop stars that we admired wore tight clothing and revealed cleavage (for women) and for men, well, I'll leave that to your imagination.

As the decades progressed both male and female pop stars became sexual idols which bolstered any fantasies this members of this generation were entertaining. After all, sex had become a deadly pursuit with AIDS transforming into an epidemic along with other STDs. And by the 1990s, we all knew at least one person who suffered from genital herpes, the HPV virus, or worse, AIDS. The Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle displayed constant reminders of the wake of AIDS.

Now, with the Pluto in Virgo folks experiencing middle age and inching their way into their senior years, it's time to heal any wounds around sexuality and psychology around sex. I also feel, but I can't prove it, that this generation was likely to experience unstable marriages ending in divorce. I say this because Virgo seeks perfectionism and is also the polar opposite of Pisces which seeks idealistic romantic partners (often ending in divorce). And then this parents of this generation would have given birth to children when Pluto was in its own sign Scorpio and then Sagittarius.

They would have given birth to children when Pluto was transiting through another fixed sign, and the sign that rules sexuality, Scorpio. These were the children caught sending sex text messages in grade school! This is bad news to a parent born when Pluto was in Virgo. Could it be that the Pluto in Virgo folks suppressed sexuality or perhaps also sent out confusing messages to their children like the Pluto in Leo folks? Or is it that having Pluto in its own sign Scorpio is going to stir sexuality in anyone born under that influence?

The trick now is to bring healing around sex for the Pluto in Virgo generation. Obviously, the world is not made up of saints and sinners; virgins and whores. And maybe part of this healing has to do with blending spiritual practices with sex to heal psychological wounds. The Pluto in Virgo folks despite AIDS hanging out for most of their adult lives, did experiment with sex. Some members of this generation got into S & M games, while others produced and watched movies that revolved around the psychology of sex (Pluto rules psychology and sex). Some of the members of this generation tried out Tantric sex and explored sexual practices from other cultures albeit with condoms for a safer version.

I'm sure readers of this blog born in the 1960s won't agree with anything I've said here. But let's consider that Neptune in Scorpio weaves illusions around sexuality and drugs. Pluto in Virgo was smashing the heck out of the idea of sexual purity and that women were whores if they had sex outside  of marriage. Uranus in Virgo was also smashing preconceived ideas about sexuality, purity, and puritanical views of sex as well as the hypocrisy of men exploring their sexual urges while women were expected to well, act like virgins, at least in public.

I'll never dis the Sexual Revolution because it led to the burning of bras, feminism and women deciding their own fates. Women such as Mary Tyler Moore (from the 1970s television show) could have a career and a sexual life (even though this was only hinted at on the TV show). But at the same time, the show Three's Company was misogynist in that women were shown as sexy and superficial even though their landlord would not allow the women to rent an apartment with a heterosexual man (laughable these days). And speaking of TV shows, members of my generation were exposed to the concept of pimps and prostitutes via the cop shows on TV. It wasn't until Pretty Women (with Julia Roberts born in the 1960s) that prostitutes could be considered not only acceptable but also fashionable since mothers started dressing their little girls up as prostitutes (not that I agree with that).

And let's not forget Madonna (a baby boomer) who was popular among the Pluto in Virgo generation women who by the 1980s, just wanted to have fun. But despite sexual lyrics and sexy MTV videos, Generation X (Pluto in Virgo) did not engage in free sex at Woodstock. Even the sexiness of the rock stars and movie stars had a girl or boy next door quality about them. We placed our own brand on spirituality, sexuality, etc that was a cleanup version of the baby boomers' sexual circus. We also dealt with an economic recession during our childhood and early adulthood. We had a lot on our plate as far as the environment, animal rights, human rights, and politics. The Pluto in Virgo folks have a strong urgency to clean up hypocrisy and double standards as well as, to purify what we touch.

It is my hope that some of this rings true for you. Most of this information came to me as a download while I woke up this morning with thoughts of comparing the Pluto in Leo folks with the Pluto in Virgo folks. It's time for some real down to earth sexual healing. It's like the Virginia Slims cigarette ad aimed at women during the 1970s, "You've come a long way, baby."