Man, let me tell you, I spent the last three weeks digging deep into the archives, and I mean deep. This whole thing started because I kept seeing these ridiculous clickbait articles pop up saying how 2017 was the cosmic peak for Virgo careers. Every time I saw that headline, I just rolled my eyes because 2017 felt like I was constantly punching a wall. So, I figured, forget the generic predictions. I had to put my actual life records up against the astrology claims and see who was lying.
The Decision to Audit Reality Against Starlight
I wasn’t just going to rely on memory, either. Memories lie. I needed documentation. I decided to
pull the trigger
on this investigation right after I read one too many articles claiming Jupiter’s transit that year was a golden ticket. It wasn’t golden; it felt like rust.
First step, I had to
locate the evidence
. I
dragged out
three massive bankers’ boxes from the storage room, the ones I haven’t touched since I moved offices back in late 2018. They were full of junk, but buried underneath were the real gems: my old, detailed monthly planners, the big spiral-bound ones I used before switching fully digital. I
dusted them off
, and then I
booted up
my ancient external hard drive which still holds the 2017 email archives and financial logs. That drive groaned a little, but it
handed over the goods
.
I basically
constructed a timeline
of my career from January 1, 2017, right through to December 31st. This wasn’t pretty. I
created a massive spreadsheet
—because you know how Virgos are, gotta categorize the chaos—and I
plugged in
every major event:
- When I
pitched
a new project.
- When that project inevitably
crashed and burned
.
- Every performance review I
received
.
- The specific dates I
felt like quitting
(surprisingly frequent).
- The exact amount of the pathetic raise I
secured
in Q4.
Matching the Zodiac Claims to My Actual Sweat Equity
Then came the fun part:
cross-referencing
. I
pulled up
a few different monthly Virgo career forecasts from those sites, the ones that are still out there, archived, making their silly claims. I
copied and pasted
their specific monthly promises right into my timeline spreadsheet.
January 2017: Horoscope said, “A fresh start brings powerful new alliances and significant income growth.”
Reality Check: I
spent
January fighting HR because they messed up my vacation accrual. My income
stayed flat
. The only alliance I made was with the office coffee machine.
May 2017: Horoscope touted, “Mars transit fuels your ambition! Take risks, negotiations will favor you.”
Reality Check: I
took a big risk
and tried to push through a new automation system. It
exploded
on implementation and I
spent
three weeks straight working weekends to
clean up the mess
. Negotiations favored nobody, except maybe the guy who got fired for the initial blunder, and that wasn’t me, thankfully, but it was close.
October 2017: This was the big one. They all claimed this was the peak. “Jupiter entering your sector guarantees a huge financial boost and recognition of your efforts!”
Reality Check: This is why I started this whole investigation. I
remembered
October clearly. My main boss
quit abruptly
and I had to
absorb
60% of his workload overnight, without one single cent of additional pay. The recognition I
received
was just more work. I
almost walked out
that month. I
remember calling
my spouse and saying I was done.
The Realization That Drove the Project
This whole exercise really
opened my eyes
. You see, 2017 wasn’t a good career year because of celestial alignment. 2017 was a terrible year because I was in a terrible job. The chaos, the feeling of fighting upstream—that wasn’t the stars being aligned; that was me
burning out
in a toxic environment.
I
pushed through
the entire year, grinding away, believing maybe next month the stars would finally deliver what the horoscope promised. They never did. Why was I so meticulous about saving all these records? I think subconsciously I knew I’d need them one day to
prove the struggle was real
.
The real turning point, the actual “best year for my career,” wasn’t 2017. It was 2018, when I
used
the total exhaustion and frustration of 2017 to finally
develop the guts
to
quit
that job and
start consulting
for myself. That move was terrifying, but it was based entirely on the painful lessons 2017 had
shoved down my throat
.
So, was 2017 the best year for my career? Absolutely not. It was the necessary disaster. It was the year I
failed spectacularly
within a rigid system, which forced me to
re-evaluate everything
. And if I hadn’t
kept those messy planners
and
reviewed those embarrassing emails
, I might actually have believed those silly headlines. But I
did the work
, I
checked the data
, and the verdict is clear: The real career boost always
comes from the actions you take
, not the planets. That’s the only truth I
uncovered
during this ridiculous audit.
