Greybeard
12-09-2011, 12:48 PM
THE THREE QUALITIES IN ASTROLOGY
In the article on The Origin of the Signs we said that the number 360 was a handy one, mathematically, while 365 was not. By this we mean that the former can be divided by many whole numbers with the result being a whole number. Division of 360 by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 gives us the degree values for the major aspects [0°, 180°, 120°, 90° and 60°]. Likewise, the 12 signs of the zodiac can be divided by whole numbers and the resulting groups of signs given useful significance.
Although I didn’t mention it in the article The Four Elements in Astrology, the Elements are the four groups resulting from division of the zodiac by three. Each of the triplicities (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) has its origin at one of the four Cardinal Points – the equinoxes and the solstices. The point of origin of the zodiac itself lies at the vernal equinox (the vernal equinox for the northern hemisphere – all major astrological traditions originated in the northern hemisphere) in zero degrees of Aries. Thus, Aries is the origin of the Fiery triplicity, the primordial Element. It is the point of Emergence.
If we divide the circle by four, the resulting three groups of four signs each are called the Qualities (also known as Modes, Modalities, or the Crosses.) The four signs having their point of origin (zero degrees of each of the signs) at the Cardinal Points are called the Cardinal Signs, the Cardinal Quality. These signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. The word “cardinal” comes from the old Latin word meaning hinge, because these four signs are “what things turn on” – they are turning points in the seasons we experience on Earth [spring, summer, fall and winter) and their zero points are the equinoxes and solstices. The signs of the Cardinal Cross act immediately and are concerned primarily with the changing or exploitation of the present situation or set of circumstances for the perceived benefit of the individual in whose chart they predominate. These signs are expeditious and expedient. They move things forward by direct action. This cross moves quickly to exploit every possible factor out of simple self-interest. In the terminology of modern psychology these signs are alloplastic; they meet life by attempting to change, redirect or exploit the circumstances encountered. In the older literature they are sometimes called the Active Signs.
The four Common, or Mutable, signs are, like the Cardinal signs, in contact with the solsticial or equinoctial points. However it is the last degree of these signs that touches the Cardinal Points. They are therefore preparatory, transitional, adaptive signs. In the terminology of psychology they are autoplastic; they meet life by changing or adapting themselves, rather than attempting to change the outer circumstances. Their principle concern in any situation is to quickly adapt and fit in. They are people-oriented and at all times seek to establish their place among their fellows. Their highly adaptable and fluid nature is little concerned with morality, ethical concerns or high-flown ideals. These four signs (Virgo not so much as the other three, being of the solid and stable Earth Element) are the Dual Signs; they are ambiguous, amorphous and Janus-like. Like the chameleon and the octopus, they quickly and thoroughly blend in with their surroundings. They are often seen as the “weakest” of the signs due to their lack of self-consistency and personal integrity. The four Common Signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.
The Fixed Quality has no contact at all with the solstices and equinoxes. Their middle degrees (15° of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) are where the Sun is located in the very middle of each of the seasons. Thus, 15° of Aquarius is midwinter. The strongest, most intense and concentrated point of the nature of each of the four seasons is held within the Fixed Signs. They are signs of concentration and depth, and indicate stability and enduring conditions. These four signs are relatively unconcerned with passing circumstance; they are concerned with adherence to personal values, general principles, and closely-held ideals. They tend to let circumstances flow around them and keep their eye on the future consequences of any situation rather than seeking immediate advantage as the Cardinal Signs do, or expressing much concern about the people surrounding them as do the Common Signs. Psychology does not offer us a term for people whose way of meeting life fits the Fixed Mode. The Fixed Signs act in ways that allow them to remain true to themselves. Therefore, they are often seen as stubborn, obstinate, unbending, inflexible, and immoveable. They often act in a detached and abstract way because they so often are looking ahead rather than considering the immediate. These signs are interested in structure, organization. This group of signs tends to be self-secure. They are decisive, and once a determination is taken they will hold to it tenaciously. Fixed Signs are generally more internalized than the other two crosses. They are driven by an urge to harmonize the conscious and unconscious within themselves; they seek to stabilize the external so that they can direct their attention to resolving their internal conflicts. Thus, this group functions very well in structured circumstances but is very uncomfortable where there is fluidity or disorganization. Their immediate response to the latter sort of situation is to attempt to impose order and structure.
The Elements show the way we perceive things, our natural talents, the sort of situation we feel comfortable in and fit into easily. They show where we can function in an easy, flowing manner. Elements show how we view, evaluate and experience the world; they are subjective. The Qualities, these crosses, depict action. They show our natural inclination toward a specific mode of action, our natural orientation toward any situation. The crosses portray how we meet the external world.
Each of the twelve signs of the zodiac is a unique combination of one Element and one Quality. Aries, for example, combines the Fire Element and the Cardinal Quality; no other sign consists of this combination. We can understand the nature of each of the signs best when we understand the way the Element and Quality out of which the sign is “built” function in life.
One of the first things most astrologers do when beginning the analysis of a horoscope is to determine if any particular chart factor assumes a predominant position. To do this with the Elements and Crosses, the simplest method is simply to count the planets in each of the four Elements, and again, in each of the three Crosses. If five or more planets occupy a single Element, that Element is predominant; we would say “there is a preponderance of Earth.” When six or more planets occupy one of the three Crosses, that Cross is preponderant. The natures of the Element and/or Cross will predominate in the personality. In actual practice the question of preponderance is a bit more complicated; we consider which planets occupy any given sign (which, remember, is a combination of Element and Cross) – the Sun and Moon are generally given more weight – and we might also notice powerful formations of planets (which act to form a “psychological complex”) and weight our analysis in their favor. But to keep it simple, just count the planets by Quality and Element. Not all charts have such a preponderance. If your horoscope has no preponderance by Quality, but has only one opposition aspect in it, then the Quality that contains the opposition will show your primary way of meeting the world.
In the article on The Origin of the Signs we said that the number 360 was a handy one, mathematically, while 365 was not. By this we mean that the former can be divided by many whole numbers with the result being a whole number. Division of 360 by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 gives us the degree values for the major aspects [0°, 180°, 120°, 90° and 60°]. Likewise, the 12 signs of the zodiac can be divided by whole numbers and the resulting groups of signs given useful significance.
Although I didn’t mention it in the article The Four Elements in Astrology, the Elements are the four groups resulting from division of the zodiac by three. Each of the triplicities (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) has its origin at one of the four Cardinal Points – the equinoxes and the solstices. The point of origin of the zodiac itself lies at the vernal equinox (the vernal equinox for the northern hemisphere – all major astrological traditions originated in the northern hemisphere) in zero degrees of Aries. Thus, Aries is the origin of the Fiery triplicity, the primordial Element. It is the point of Emergence.
If we divide the circle by four, the resulting three groups of four signs each are called the Qualities (also known as Modes, Modalities, or the Crosses.) The four signs having their point of origin (zero degrees of each of the signs) at the Cardinal Points are called the Cardinal Signs, the Cardinal Quality. These signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. The word “cardinal” comes from the old Latin word meaning hinge, because these four signs are “what things turn on” – they are turning points in the seasons we experience on Earth [spring, summer, fall and winter) and their zero points are the equinoxes and solstices. The signs of the Cardinal Cross act immediately and are concerned primarily with the changing or exploitation of the present situation or set of circumstances for the perceived benefit of the individual in whose chart they predominate. These signs are expeditious and expedient. They move things forward by direct action. This cross moves quickly to exploit every possible factor out of simple self-interest. In the terminology of modern psychology these signs are alloplastic; they meet life by attempting to change, redirect or exploit the circumstances encountered. In the older literature they are sometimes called the Active Signs.
The four Common, or Mutable, signs are, like the Cardinal signs, in contact with the solsticial or equinoctial points. However it is the last degree of these signs that touches the Cardinal Points. They are therefore preparatory, transitional, adaptive signs. In the terminology of psychology they are autoplastic; they meet life by changing or adapting themselves, rather than attempting to change the outer circumstances. Their principle concern in any situation is to quickly adapt and fit in. They are people-oriented and at all times seek to establish their place among their fellows. Their highly adaptable and fluid nature is little concerned with morality, ethical concerns or high-flown ideals. These four signs (Virgo not so much as the other three, being of the solid and stable Earth Element) are the Dual Signs; they are ambiguous, amorphous and Janus-like. Like the chameleon and the octopus, they quickly and thoroughly blend in with their surroundings. They are often seen as the “weakest” of the signs due to their lack of self-consistency and personal integrity. The four Common Signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.
The Fixed Quality has no contact at all with the solstices and equinoxes. Their middle degrees (15° of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) are where the Sun is located in the very middle of each of the seasons. Thus, 15° of Aquarius is midwinter. The strongest, most intense and concentrated point of the nature of each of the four seasons is held within the Fixed Signs. They are signs of concentration and depth, and indicate stability and enduring conditions. These four signs are relatively unconcerned with passing circumstance; they are concerned with adherence to personal values, general principles, and closely-held ideals. They tend to let circumstances flow around them and keep their eye on the future consequences of any situation rather than seeking immediate advantage as the Cardinal Signs do, or expressing much concern about the people surrounding them as do the Common Signs. Psychology does not offer us a term for people whose way of meeting life fits the Fixed Mode. The Fixed Signs act in ways that allow them to remain true to themselves. Therefore, they are often seen as stubborn, obstinate, unbending, inflexible, and immoveable. They often act in a detached and abstract way because they so often are looking ahead rather than considering the immediate. These signs are interested in structure, organization. This group of signs tends to be self-secure. They are decisive, and once a determination is taken they will hold to it tenaciously. Fixed Signs are generally more internalized than the other two crosses. They are driven by an urge to harmonize the conscious and unconscious within themselves; they seek to stabilize the external so that they can direct their attention to resolving their internal conflicts. Thus, this group functions very well in structured circumstances but is very uncomfortable where there is fluidity or disorganization. Their immediate response to the latter sort of situation is to attempt to impose order and structure.
The Elements show the way we perceive things, our natural talents, the sort of situation we feel comfortable in and fit into easily. They show where we can function in an easy, flowing manner. Elements show how we view, evaluate and experience the world; they are subjective. The Qualities, these crosses, depict action. They show our natural inclination toward a specific mode of action, our natural orientation toward any situation. The crosses portray how we meet the external world.
Each of the twelve signs of the zodiac is a unique combination of one Element and one Quality. Aries, for example, combines the Fire Element and the Cardinal Quality; no other sign consists of this combination. We can understand the nature of each of the signs best when we understand the way the Element and Quality out of which the sign is “built” function in life.
One of the first things most astrologers do when beginning the analysis of a horoscope is to determine if any particular chart factor assumes a predominant position. To do this with the Elements and Crosses, the simplest method is simply to count the planets in each of the four Elements, and again, in each of the three Crosses. If five or more planets occupy a single Element, that Element is predominant; we would say “there is a preponderance of Earth.” When six or more planets occupy one of the three Crosses, that Cross is preponderant. The natures of the Element and/or Cross will predominate in the personality. In actual practice the question of preponderance is a bit more complicated; we consider which planets occupy any given sign (which, remember, is a combination of Element and Cross) – the Sun and Moon are generally given more weight – and we might also notice powerful formations of planets (which act to form a “psychological complex”) and weight our analysis in their favor. But to keep it simple, just count the planets by Quality and Element. Not all charts have such a preponderance. If your horoscope has no preponderance by Quality, but has only one opposition aspect in it, then the Quality that contains the opposition will show your primary way of meeting the world.