"What Are...?" Wednesday

Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable Signs

In astrology, the Zodiac is divided into twelve equal portions called Signs. Each sign is unique and has its own influence. They can, however, be grouped according to certain similarities. One way is by Element or basic character. The other way to group signs is by Quality or by how they tend to act.

Cardinal Signs~

The cardinal signs are  Earth elements and associated with starting things, initiating things or being "enterprising". They are forceful and aggressive and have the will to accomplish something, often something new. They project into the world. They are creative in the sense that they cause things and start things.


() Aries people will do this energetically and urgently (or impatiently). They cannot wait to do what they have in mind to do and that which is motivated by their enthusiasm.


() Cancer people are emotionally assertive. They project emotion in a protective and sensitive way.


() Libra people do it in a balanced way, considering the viewpoints of others. Because they are people of air, they are more likely to project in a verbal way, compared with Aries who take action on their enthusiasm. Librans will tend to use language to cause others to take the necessary action.


() Capricorn projects in a practical, down to earth manner. It takes action based on practical need, and success.




Fixed Signs~

The fixed signs are Air elements and concerned with maintaining something... changing things so they are the same as before or stabilising things. Fixed and changed appear to be contradictory but imagine a house... every day it gets untidy and dirty. In order to keep it in its "normal" state, it must be changed - cleaned, tidied, etc - so it remains the same. A body needs to be regularly fed and watered if it is to maintain its state of being alive. 


There appears to be no change because there is a lot of change directed to maintain a state, such as a clean house and a living body. Another example is a field. If the field is not maintained (lots of change, like ploughing, setting seed, weeding, etc) then the field will disappear as Nature reclaims it. What is fixed is the clean house, the living body and the field. What is changed is all the things that keep (for example a field) a field and not a wilderness.



() Taurus wants to make the products of the self, sometimes material wealth, permanent and fixed. Taurans do not like changes in their wealth. You might think this is true of everyone, however some people do not measure their lives by the wealth they accumulate and these people are far less upset than Taurans when their personal wealth is threatened.


() Leo wants to keep its personal power. It wants to be impressive and creative and keep this relationship with others. It makes changes so that it remains in its power state.


() Scorpio is fixed in terms of their emotional reactions. It feels more secure when they know what feelings other have. Scorpio makes changes, that is seeks to know the deep emotions that others have which motivate them.


() Aquarius wants to keep their beliefs, etc... concerning humanity fixed. Aquarians seek to keep their friends. If they are revolutionaries, then they remain revolutionaries.



Mutable Signs~

Mutable signs are the Water element and concerned with changing things into something else. This is not transforming as much as it moving on to something else. The emphasis is on adaptability in the sense that while the fixed signs resist change, the mutable signs accept it. 





() Gemini is a sign of the air and therefore is concerned with communication, words and the mind. Geminis will adapt themselves to their environment and therefore not cause things to persist. While the fixed signs adapt the environment to their needs, wants and goals, the mutable signs adapt their needs, wants and goals to the environment. If the field grows weeds, they adapt themselves to them. And if the field becomes a wilderness, they adapt themselves to the wilderness. In this way they cease to make the changes necessary to keep things as they are, and allow almost any kind of change. This is true of all the mutable signs. This is not to say that mutable signs never resist change, or that they never try to achieve goals at odds with the envrionment, but it is to say they are more likely to give up or to give in than the fixed signs are.


() Virgo is critical and analytical. In this way, Virgo brings to an end something which was previously believed.


() Sagittarius is the ninth sign. It is a sign of fire. While it is a seeker of knowledge, its keyphrase is "I know". Sagittarius brings about the end of ignorance by discovering the truth, according to Sagittarius so that it seeks final knowledge (the end of knowledge).


() Pisces brings about the end of emotions through dissolving into the oneness of all things.


Unfortunately this post is not my original thoughts as I have never really gotten "into" astrology but I felt that it would be a great opportunity to learn as well as teach. The website I gained this info at Ken Ward's Astrology Pages.