The Zodiac Signs
The 12 zodiac signs symbolically represent models of energy: the Air, Fire, Earth or Water element each belongs to indicates the type of energy, the position it occupies in the zodiac describes the way the energy is expressed. Zodiac signs are a representation of solar time, seasons, life cycles of nature. Each month coincides with a zodiac sign to which psychological attributes in harmony with the natural cycle of that period were assigned. Seasons have an initial phase, an expansion phase and a conclusive phase.
The Cardinal zodiac signs are: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn They correspond to the beginning of the four seasons: Aries and Libra start with the two spring and fall equinoxes, March 21 and September 23 respectively; Cancer and Capricorn with the two summer and winter solaces, June 22 and December 22 respectively.
People with an emphasis in cardinal zodiac signs are, in a certain sense, "pioneers" of the zodiac because they open new roads, start, initiate but often lack in perseverance.
The Fixed zodiac signs are: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. They correspond to the peak period of the seasons. In Taurus (April 21 - May 20), spring is in full bloom; in Leo (July 23 - August 23), summer, in Scorpio (October 23 - November 22) fall, in Aquarius (January 21 . February 19), winter.
People with an emphasis in fixed zodiac signs tend to preserve a "status quo", pursuing their goals tenaciously and fear changes.
The Mobile zodiac signs are: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. They correspond to the end of the seasons. Gemini (May 21 - June 21), the end of spring, Virgo (August 24 - September 22) the end of summer, Sagittarius (November 23 - December 21) the end of fall, Pisces (February 20 - March 20) the end of winter.
People with an emphasis in mobile zodiac signs are very versatile and easily adapt to new situations. The risk is that they are not constructive between one change and the next.
The energy models that the 12 zodiac signs represent live in each of us. All twelve zodiac signs are in our birth chart. In some people some zodiac signs will dominate over others but obviously all of us, sooner or later, in one dimension of experience rather than another, will act under the impulse of these energies. A zodiac sign is something much more complex and deeper than a list of personality traits or behavioural stereotype. All the zodiac signs contain conflicts, ambivalence, duplicity, deficiencies. Again, the meaning of each zodiac sign cannot be understood if not included in the logic of the entire zodiac.
ARIES
(March 21 - April 20) CARDINAL FIRE SIGN
Aries is the first zodiac sign and symbolically represents the seed of a new life cycle: the entrance of the sun in Aries, in fact, coincides with the beginning of spring when nature awakes from its long winter hibernation. In this period we witness the eruption of the forces of life being born, the creative force of nature explodes, vital and exuberant, in thousands of directions, without any order or fear: the importance is being born. It is no accident that Easter is celebrated at the onset of spring. In the Christian world, Easter, the day of resurrection, represents the victory of life over death. Similar to a flower blossoming, a new personality is born on the psychological level: its first instinct is to give shape, recognise the qualities hidden deep within itself, learn its colours and fragrances and, only by undertaking new experiences and setting multiple goals, can it discover the range of its potential and fully express them.
Under the influence of Aries' energy, thus driven by a strong spirit of initiative and self-determination, by various dreams and the thirst for newness, we throw ourselves into new endeavours knowing that our young personality is still fragile and untried. But it is the energy of fire that drives us. Thus we throw ourselves heart and soul into what we spontaneously and immediately undertake without worrying about the consequences of our actions. This is why, often, our behaviour may seem immature and reckless to others. When we are born, there is no past, no future, just the present. Here and now is what counts. We do everything without second thought, inhibitions or influences and when we express our feelings or fight for something, we do it spontaneously, openly and sincerely. If Aries' energy is not evenly integrated, this need to live every minute of life to its fullest and immediate reach every goal could be expressed as impatience, impulsiveness and instability. It may lead to sudden and unforeseeable behaviour with the tendency to be discouraged when faced with difficult situations were constancy and perseverance are required. Consequently, we uselessly waste our strength and energy without succeeding it achieving what we want.
If, instead, the drive for life represented by Aries is knowingly channelled and dominated, then we feel enthusiasm and strength grow within us and every morning is a new start. Days become a test field where we experiment and get to know ourselves. Obstacles become a chance to move forward, to conquer our fears and discover that it's not if you win or lose, but how you play the game.
TAURUS
(April 21 - May 20) FIXED EARTH SIGN
Taurus symbolically represents Mother Earth, the fertile womb that received the seed and prepares for gestation and growth. It is the peak of spring. Nature must guarantee survival to the newborn. Thus it becomes passive, receptive, its rhythm slower and paced. The frenetic Aries period would now be dangerous: the earth, in this vegetative cycle phase, needs heat and nourishment. Similarly, on the psychological level, the personality that emerged under Aries requires consolidation and stability.
Taurus' energy awakes the conservation instinct within us and drives us to concentrate and focus all our efforts on building a favourable environment for our physical and psychological growth. In this phase we are highly dependent and influenced by our closest environment. We need a habitat that welcomes and sustains us in our growth, like a plant needs the earth, water, heat and light to grow. The instinct is to build a safe haven that holds and protects us and no obstacle can get in our way. We will reach our goal with determination, perseverance, patience and method. However, these qualities, representative of Taurus, when not dominant and wisely controlled, can easily transform into stubbornness and obstinacy. Moreover, our need for security is so high that every change scares us and it is dangerously easy to become victims of harmful emotions like possessiveness or jealousy, and remain obstinately rooted to extreme conventionality and conservatism.
Under the influence of Taurus' energy, the senses are intensified. The most instinctive part of us emerges. The purpose of this instinctual drive is not to give free reign to our impulses or strong passions that live within us but to guarantee the survival of the species by preserving life and procreation. If the instinctual energy of Taurus is sufficiently raised and channelled in achieving goals that go beyond simply satisfying impulses, we will be able to fully express our creative potential. Otherwise, we become victims of our instincts, castaways at the mercy of our uncontrolled desires.
GEMINI
(May 21 - June 21) MOBILE AIR SIGN
Gemini coincides with the end of spring and with the conquest of air by the vegetation that rises upwards with branches and leaves. It is the time of diversification, the intensification of exchanges. Life is now fully expressed through the differentiation of shapes and colours. Every plant shows, through its flowers and leaves, what it truly is, the distinctive features of its species. Similarly, on the psychological level, Gemini's energy is expressed in the drive to open up to our surrounding world to exchange, communicate and discover the multiplicity of things. We should not be astonished that under the influence of a diversified and mobile energy like air we feel extremely hastened and intrigued by our immediate surroundings and the need of both physical and mental dynamism grows within us.
In this phase we learn to interpret and adapt the multiplicity, the forever changing experience to which we are exposed. We learn to transform it into knowledge. The first step is to turn the subjective into objective, to recognise the eternal conflict between our inner reality and that which the exterior world offers us. To better understand this concept, we use the example of a child who only knows the intimate and protected family sphere and must leave his home for the first time to go to school. He must face a totally different world. He must adapt to the organisation of the classroom and space, much different from the known and familiar home fire. He must establish relationships and communicate with other students who, raised differently, will have completely different needs and behaviours than his. He must also abide by a new authority, the teacher, whose teachings may be different from those imparted by his parents. This experience, rich in important contrasts between what the child knew to that time and what he know discovers as different, well describes the Gemini phase, when we recognise the inadequacy between our subjective reality and what the world offers us.
Every learning process thus implies confrontation with differences, with newness and through this dialogue we can learn that our point of view can be constantly reviewed and expanded by new experiences. And it is through words that we come into contact with others' thoughts, opinions and standpoints. This is why communication is so important to this sign. If the ability to establish the right balance between oneself and experience is well-managed, we will become extremely adaptable and the ability to see things from different standpoints will lead us to discover that situations are not black or white but, rather, often relative, and we will drastically limit the tendency to rely on dogmas, institutions and set schemes, privileging a vivacious and original intelligence and the typical Gemini astuteness that always knows how to turn the tables.
However, the significant curiosity and mental restlessness characteristic of Gemini, who wants to know more in terms of quantity and quality, may lead to superficiality without any depth, with the risk of knowing some but not all of everything.
