Astrology and the classical elements: Encyclopedia - Astrology and the classical elements

Astrology and the classical elements

Astrology has used the concept of classical elements from antiquity up until the present. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed it is still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart. The elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac are as follows:

• Fire -- 1 - Aries; 5 - Leo; 9 - Sagittarius
• Earth -- 2 - Taurus; 6 - Virgo; 10 - Capricorn
• Air -- 3 - Gemini; 7 - Libra; 11 - Aquarius
• Water -- 4 - Cancer; 8 - Scorpio; 12 - Pisces

The elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac (according to Marcus Manilius) are as follows:

• Fire — Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - hot, dry, ardent
• Earth — Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - heavy, cold, dry
• Air — Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - light, hot, wet
• Water — Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - wet, soft, cold

In Western tropical astrology, there are always 12 astrological signs; thus, each element is associated with 3 signs of the Zodiac which are always located exactly 120 degrees away from each other along the ecliptic and said to be in trine with one another.

Beginning with Aries the first sign which is a Fire sign, the next in line Taurus is Earth, then to Gemini which is Air, and finally to Cancer which is Water -- in Western astrology the sequence is always Fire, Earth, Air, & Water in that exact order. This cycle continues on twice more and ends with the twelth and final astrological sign, Pisces. The following list should allow one to visualize this cycle better:

• 1 -- Aries - (Cardinal Fire): assertively, impulsively, selfishly.

• 2 -- Taurus - (Fixed Earth): resourcefully, thoroughly, indulgently.

• 3 -- Gemini - (Mutable Air): logically, inquisitively, superficially.

• 4 -- Cancer - (Cardinal Water): tenaciously, sensitively, clingingly.

• 5 -- Leo - (Fixed Fire): generously, proudly, theatrically.

• 6 -- Virgo - (Mutable Earth): practically, efficiently, critically.

• 7 -- Libra - (Cardinal Air): co-operatively, fairly, lazily.

• 8 -- Scorpio - (Fixed Water): passionately, sensitively, anxiously.

• 9 -- Sagittarius - (Mutable Fire): freely, straightforwardly, carelessly.

• 10 -- Capricorn - (Cardinal Earth): prudently, cautiously, suspiciously.

• 11 -- Aquarius - (Fixed Air): democratically, unconventionally, detachedly.

• 12 -- Pisces - (Mutable Water): imaginatively, sensitively, distractedly.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Astrology and the classical elements", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki