Knowledge
Signs
A sign does not cancel a planet's theme but colours it: it says in what manner the planet shows up. The twelve signs break down into four elements and three modes — easier to hold in mind than a list of twelve descriptions.
The four elements
- Fire
- Direct action and initiative: step first, then reflection
- Earth
- Reliance on the tangible: result, body, resource, deadlines
- Air
- Connections and exchange: word, contract, comparison of options
- Water
- Response and memory: feeling, attachment, intuitive assessment
The three modes
- Cardinal
- Starts: opens the season and sets the direction
- Fixed
- Holds: maintains what has been started and resists a change of course
- Mutable
- Changes: adapts and passes the baton onward
Aries
Fire · Cardinal
Fast and direct, without preparation: better to start than to calculate
Ruler: Mars
Taurus
Earth · Fixed
Slowly and reliably: values the tangible and dislikes haste
Ruler: Venus
Gemini
Air · Mutable
Through conversation and comparison: tries many options at once
Ruler: Mercury
Cancer
Water · Cardinal
Through care and protection of one's own: safety first, then the step
Ruler: Moon
Leo
Fire · Fixed
Noticeable and personal: needs an audience and recognition of contribution
Ruler: Sun
Virgo
Earth · Mutable
Through analysis and improvement: notices what doesn't fit
Ruler: Mercury
Libra
Air · Cardinal
Through comparison and agreement: seeks balance between sides
Ruler: Venus
Scorpio
Water · Fixed
Deeply and to the end: not satisfied with the surface
Ruler: Pluto
Sagittarius
Fire · Mutable
Through expanding the horizon: purpose, distant goal, learning
Ruler: Jupiter
Capricorn
Earth · Cardinal
Through an established order: step by step towards a verifiable result
Ruler: Saturn
Aquarius
Air · Fixed
Through a departure from the usual rule: your own logic matters more than the accepted one
Ruler: Uranus
Pisces
Water · Mutable
Through empathy and dissolving boundaries: senses the overall mood
Ruler: Neptune