Astrology deals with the interpretation of an individual’s natal chart. The astrological chart is built from the Earth’s two distinct movements:
its rotation around the Sun, which results in the cycle of the seasons and the length of daytime throughout the year, its rotation around its own axis, which rules the alternation of day and night.
The position of the celestial bodies, as seen from the Earth and the place of birth, is established in connection with a system of coordinates based on the horizon and the zenith. For each astrological chart, the time and place of birth are processed in order to get markers that are specific to the individual. This is how it becomes possible to materialize the positions of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon in the window of heaven known as the Zodiac. The celestial belt where the Sun relentlessly follows his course, when seen from the Earth, is divided into twelve equal parts called zodiacal signs.
It all works out as if all the human features were represented within the whole twelve signs. Each sign reflects an independent and strong typology, complementary to the other signs, expressing by itself its nature and its personality with its characteristics, its tendencies and its motivations.
Succinctly, a sun sign refers to your time-space location at the moment of your birth. If we could freeze everything at the time of your birth we would have a still life of the galaxy. The position of the earth in relation to the sun would indicate your sun sign.
The earth moves through all 12 zodiac signs. Check out the illustration at the top of this page. At the moment of your birth, the position of the earth in relation to the sun indicates Taurus (in this example) would be your sun sign. This is because your first physical foot print (your birth) is aligned with the path of the sun (the light gray arrow illustrates this solar path). Now that we have an idea how we inherit our sun signs at the time of birth, let’s take a look at what exactly a sun sign implies.
Here are 12 zodiac signs, and each sign has its own strengths and weaknesses, its own specific traits, desires and attitude towards life and people. By analyzing the projection of the position of planets, and the Sun and the Moon on the Ecliptic at the moment of birth. Astrology can give us a glimpse of a person’s basic characteristics, preferences, flaws and fears.
We made it simple for you to find out what your zodiac sign is, Its complete profile and it’s compatibility with other zodiac signs. By selecting your sign from the detailed zodiac sign dates list you will discover everything on the character of your Sun sign, it’s Horoscope, traits, profile, history, myth and love compatibility.
Each of the 12 horoscope signs belongs to one of the four elements – Air, Fire, Water and Earth. These elements represent an essential type of energy that acts in each of us. Astrology aims to help us focus these energies on the positive aspects and to gain a better understanding of our potential and our positive traits and deal with negative ones.
These four elements help describe the unique personality types associated with astrological signs. The four zodiac elements exhibit profound influence on basic character traits, emotions, behavior and thinking.
Water Signs: Water signs are exceptionally emotional and ultra-sensitive. They are highly intuitive and they can be as mysterious as the ocean itself. Water signs love profound conversations and intimacy. They rarely do anything openly and are always there to support their loved ones. The Water Signs are: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
Fire Signs: Fire signs tend to be passionate, dynamic, and temperamental. They get angry quickly, but they also forgive easily. They are adventurers with immense energy. They are physically very strong and are a source of inspiration for others. Fire signs are intelligent, self-aware, creative and idealistic people, always ready for action. The Fire Signs are: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.
Earth Signs: Earth signs are “grounded” and the ones that bring us down to earth. They are mostly conservative and realistic, but they can also be very emotional. They are connected to our material reality and can be turned to material goods. They are practical, loyal and stable and they stick by their people through hard times. The Earth Signs are: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.
Air Signs: Air signs are rational, social, and love communication and relationships with other people. They are thinkers, friendly, intellectual, communicative and analytical. They love philosophical discussions, social gatherings and good books. They enjoy giving advice, but they can also be very superficial. The Air Signs are: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.
Symbolically, the sun represents life, vitality, force, action and in-your-face energy. It is the center of our entire solar system; so many astrologers would say our sun sign is the center of our personality.
Indeed, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus claimed the sun was the source of all things, and its essence, fire, was the foundation backing all life. He further reasoned the human soul was made of a specialized fire, called logos. And just as the sun illumines our days, the logos illumines the mind of woman/man making our thoughts clear and bright (thus revealing our deepest motives too). This adds weight to the quality of our sun signs. By exploring our sun sign, we can illumine our mental states, thus enhancing our behaviors and actions.
When contemplating your sun sign, bear in mind this is the active part of your personality. Just like the sun shows itself with blaring intensity, the personality traits we show people most are those shown through our sun signs.
Where moon signs convey our shadow selves; personality traits shown through our sun signs are bold and clear.
By learning more about the meaning of sun signs we know more about our proclivities, and we shine an astrological light on our behaviors as well as the behaviors of others.
Element and Temperament
A sign’s dominant or primary temperament is determined by its element, as follows:
The primary temperament of the Fire signs – Aries, Leo and Sagittarius – is Choleric.
The primary temperament of the Earth signs – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn – is Melancholic.
The primary temperament of the Air signs – Gemini, Libra and Aquarius – is Sanguine.
The primary temperament of the Water signs – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces – is Phlegmatic.
Modality: Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable
A sign’s modality isn’t directly involved with its temperament, but is nevertheless important. In Medical Astrology, a sign’s modality concerns the basic reactions or response patterns of the organism to pathogenic factors and the disease process.
The response patterns of the Cardinal signs are very simple and clear-cut. The onset of an illness is usually clear and definite, and so is its remission; often, sudden, dramatic onsets and remissions may alternate. The Cardinal signs are predisposed to acute disorders, and have a moderate level of inherent vitality and resistance to disease. The Cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.
The Fixed signs are long on endurance and persistence, and generally have the highest inherent vitality and resistance to disease. But once disease gains a foothold, it similarly becomes persistent and tenacious, and often becomes chronic. The eliminative functions are also slow and sluggish in the Fixed signs, and detoxification poor; once toxins, pathogens and morbid humors gain a foothold, they’re also difficult to expel. The Fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.
The Mutable signs are flexible and adaptable, and know how to roll with the punches. They’re usually beset by a long succession of minor complaints that come and go. Inherent vitality and resistance to disease is usually lowest in the Mutable signs, which tend to have a sensitive, allergic nature. The Mutable signs rule the digestive and respiratory tracts, which are always in intimate contact with the outer environment, and therefore allergically and immunologically challenged. The Mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.
The two basic parameters that define a sign are its particular combination of element and modality. A sign’s element defines its basic nature or content, whereas its modality defines its basic energetics and dynamics.
Sign Element and Polarity
Two of the Four Elements, Fire and Air, are Hot and Yang, and are light, subtle and energetic. They’re more extroverted, emissive, and deal with the vital, energetic systems of the body. The Yang, emissive signs are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius.
Two of the Four Elements, Water and Earth, are Cold and Yin, and are heavy, gross and substantial. They are more introverted, receptive and reflective, and deal with the substance and nutrition of the organism, or the Natural Faculty. The Yin, receptive signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.
Planetary Dignity and Sub temperament
In Greek Medical Astrology, the dominant or primary temperament of a sign is determined by its element, but its sub temperament is determined by its planetary dignities. These planetary dignities include a sign’s classical domicile ruler, its modern ruler, if any, and its planetary exaltation, if any. The inherent temperaments of the planets are used to determine a sign’s sub temperament.
When we put a sign’s planetary dignities and sub temperament together with its element or primary temperament, we get the following:
Aries – Cardinal Fire: Choleric primary temperament. Choleric sub temperament – Mars ruler, Sun exaltation. Purely Choleric.
Taurus – Fixed Earth: Melancholic primary temperament. Sanguine / Phlegmatic sub temperament – Venus ruler, Moon exaltation.
Gemini – Mutable Air: Sanguine primary temperament. Nervous sub temperament – Mercury ruler.
Cancer – Cardinal Water: Phlegmatic primary temperament. Phlegmatic sub temperament – Moon ruler. Purely Phlegmatic.
Leo – Fixed Fire: Choleric primary temperament. Choleric sub temperament – Sun ruler. Purely Choleric.
Virgo – Mutable Earth: Melancholic primary temperament. Nervous sub temperament – Mercury ruler and exaltation. Purely Nervous / Melancholic.
Libra – Cardinal Air: Sanguine primary temperament. Sanguine sub temperament – Venus ruler. Purely Sanguine.
Scorpio – Fixed Water: Phlegmatic primary temperament. Choleric sub temperament – Mars domicile ruler, Pluto modern ruler.
Sagittarius – Mutable Fire: Choleric primary temperament. Sanguine sub temperament – Jupiter ruler.
Capricorn – Cardinal Earth: Melancholic primary temperament. Melancholic sub temperament – Saturn ruler.
Aquarius – Fixed Air: Sanguine primary temperament. Nervous / Melancholic sub temperament – Saturn domicile ruler, Uranus modern ruler.
Pisces – Mutable Water: Phlegmatic primary temperament. Sanguine sub temperament – Neptune modern ruler; Jupiter domicile ruler, Venus exaltation.
The Cardinal signs, in keeping with their simple, clear-cut nature, are all of pure, simple temperament. Of the Fixed signs, one, Leo, is of pure temperament: Choleric. Of the Mutable signs, one, Virgo, is purely Nervous / Melancholic.
The Wet Air and Water elements, which bond and unite, have only one sign each of pure temperament – their Cardinal sign, the others being mixed. The Dry Fire and Earth elements, which tend towards separation and discreteness, have two signs each of pure temperament.
The zodiac is evenly divided, with six signs of pure temperament and six signs of mixed temperament. The pure signs are Aries, Cancer, Leo, Virgo. Libra and Capricorn. The mixed signs are Taurus, Gemini, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Pisces.
Body Parts and the Cosmic Man
The wheel of the zodiac is a great cosmic mandala representing wholeness. It is likened to the body of a Great Cosmic Man. The individual signs comprising it correspond to the various parts of his body, starting with Aries at the head and ending with Pisces at the feet.
Aries rules the head, brain, skull, cranium, eyes, pituitary gland, and the adrenals.
Taurus rules the neck, mouth, jaw, throat, medulla and brain stem, larynx, thyroid, vagus nerve and vago-parasympathetic nervous system.
Gemini rules the chest, lungs, respiratory tract and nervous system.
Cancer rules the stomach, uterus, and female breasts.
Leo rules the heart, circulatory system, major arteries and thoracic spine.
Virgo rules the intestines, especially the duodenum and small intestine.
Libra rules the kidneys, lower back, genitourinary tract, and lumbar spine, as well as the hair, skin and all aesthetic body parts.
Scorpio rules the eliminative organs – colon, rectum and bladder, as well as the sexual organs, gonads and genitalia.
Sagittarius, the sign of long journeys, rules the locomotor aparatus – the hips, loins, thighs and buttocks, as well as the liver.
Capricorn rules the knees, bones and joints, the skeletal system and the structural connective tissue.
Aquarius rules the shins, calves and ankles, as well as the sympathetic nervous system and the peripheral vascular system.
Pisces rules the feet and lymphatic system.
Sign Symbolism and Body Parts
Each part of the body, according to its essential form and function, has a deep symbolic significance for the indwelling soul. The signs of the zodiac embody basic symbols or archetypes that resonate with the symbolic significance of the body parts they rule. These are as follows:
Aries: The charging ram. The head or soul / spirit that leads the body onwards.
Taurus: The mouth and throat: material appetites for acquisition and nourishment. The vegetative functions. The neck, which connects the Yang soul/spirit with the Yin material body, which gives it nourishment and sustenance.
Gemini: The dual-natured nervous and respiratory systems, which connect the soul / spirit with the material body.
Cancer: The house / home, womb or coccoon. The protective, nurturing space that stores, processes, ripens or grows things until they’re ready to be released.
Leo: The lion, king of beasts, ruling the heart, king of organs, which radiates Life and heat outwards through the blood like the Sun. The thoracic spine, which enables us to stand regally proud and erect.
Virgo: Mutable or changing Earth worked on to be valuable nourishment. The intestines – the body’s food processing plant.
Libra: The kidneys, which balance fluids and electrolytes. The genitourinary tract, through which a man plugs into his mate or partner.
Scorpio: The eliminative organs: elimination as a necessary prelude to transformation. The reproductive organs, handling life and death.
Sagittarius: The locomotors apparatus, which takes us on long journeys and explorations.
Capricorn: The bones and joints, which give solid structure (Earth) and functional usefulness to the body. The knees, which must bend in humility.
Aquarius: The peripheral vascular and venous system, which returns blood back to the heart, ruled by opposing Leo.
Pisces: The lymph, the body’s fluid recycling system, resonates with Pisces, the last sign, which ends and recycles the wheel of the zodiac. The feet, which must stay firmly rooted on the ground to anchor ethereal Pisces.
Sign Zodiac and Constellation Zodiac: Even though the astrological sign zodiac was created with constellations as a background, it must not be mistaken for the constellation zodiac. Most certainly, during the Age of Aries, which lasted for approximately 2000 years until the birth of Christ, the two zodiacs were confused. However, we know today that the constellation zodiac features the band of visible stars surrounding the Earth, whilst the sign zodiac features the relative position between the Sun and the Earth.
Aries, the ram has three primary stars which form the horns of the ram.
Stars: Raceabah, Acharnar, Mirach, Diphoa, Algenib, Alpherat
Pisces, the fish can only be seen in a very dark sky and looks like two fish joined by a thin line of dim stars.
Aquarius, the water carrier is a large dim constellation in the shape of a water urn.
Stars: Deneb Adige
Capricornius, the goat is another faint constellation.
Stars: Altair, Pelagus, Vega
Sagittarius, the archer lies in the centre of the Milky Way.
Stars: Rasalhague, Antares, Isidis
Scorpius, the scorpion contains a bright red star called Antares
Stars: Alphega, Bungala, Arcturus, Agena
Libra, the scales contain the northen and southern claws, two bright stars that were once part of Scorpius.
Stars: Benetnash, Mizar, Arista, Vindemiatrix, Alicth, Accrux
Virgo, the maiden has one bright star, Spica, which is often confused with a planet.
Stars: Denebola, Dubhe, Merak, Algeiba
Leo, the lion also has a luminous star which is often mistaken for a planet – blue Regulus.
Stars: Regulus, Alphard
Cancer, the crab has Sirius, one of the the brightest stars in the zodiac in its constellation.
Stars : Wesen, Pollux, Procyon, Castor, Adara, Sirius, Alhena, Canopus, Menkalinam
Gemini, the twins have two stars to mark their heads, one is more orange and the other is more northerly.
Stars: Beltegeuse, Alnitak, Alnilam, Phact, El Nath, Bellatrix, Capella, Rigel, Aldebaran
Taurus, the bull is quite clearly marked with a V-shape of stars for his face. The Pleades, a group of hot, bright stars surrounded by a blue glow of their own light, are also found in Taurus.
Stars: Algol, Almach, Hamal