Why the Zodiac Signs Work: Seasons, Elements, and Ancient Astrology

Knowing your sun sign is one thing, but knowing what it actually means, how it fits into the larger system of astrology, and where its characteristics come from is something else entirely.

My name is Jeffrey Ballinger, and I'm a student of traditional astrology.

Today with Satya, we're going to talk about the 12 signs of the zodiac.

We'll go through each sign and discover where its significations come from and how we can use that information to deepen our practice of traditional astrology.

Let's get started.

What are the signs of the zodiac exactly? They're related to the constellations intersected by the ecliptic, which is the path the sun takes through the sky throughout the course of the year.

Each constellation, however, is of varying sizes.

Aries, for example, is relatively small compared to sprawling Scorpio.

The ancient Mesopotamians made this easy for us, however. They

divided the night sky into 30 degree arcs, 12 to be exact, to ensure that each constellation ruled an equal portion of the sky.

This system was originally defined to help the ancient Mesopotamians record planetary placements.

They would look up at the skies and say, oh, Jupiter is in Taurus tonight, and they would record this data.

This data would not only help them produce omen texts for their king,

which would allow them to say, when Jupiter is in Taurus, this will happen, but it also allowed them to calculate the future position of Jupiter or other planets.

Today, the signs themselves

have taken on a greater meaning, thanks to multiple layers from history.

Let's talk about the fundamental characteristics that each sign has.

Over the course of the year, the sun passes through each sign, spending about a month in each one.

These time periods we call seasons today, for example, Aries season,

because they're connected to the seasons, especially in the northern hemisphere.

Where astrology was developed, you would see the Sun enter Aries at the beginning of spring,

and then move through all the way to Pisces as the year progressed.

This is why you'll see, as we go through, a lot of seasonal symbolism connected to each sign.

The first way that you will see seasonal symbolisms is through the four main points of the year.

that is the equinoxes and the solstices.

For example the spring equinox occurs when the sun enters Aries.

For many cultures even today this is the beginning of the new year not January 1st.

Then at the height of summer you have the summer solstice which occurs when the sun moves into the sign of cancer.

That is the longest day of the year. In fall you have the autumn equinox when the sun moves into the sign of Libra, where day and night are equal, just like on the spring equinox.

And then in winter, you'll have the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, when the sun moves into the sign of Capricorn.

These four signs make up the first modality,

the cardinal or movable modality.

This modality, you might not be surprised to hear, is associated with new beginnings.

Since each constellation is associated with the respective beginning of its season, each of these signs is also known for its forward momentum.

These are signs that are good at starting things, providing initiative, sometimes stepping into leadership roles, though they each

have their own unique approach to this energy, as we'll see later.

Planets in cardinal signs can have a pioneering quality and an urge to begin new things,

though they might not always have an urge to finish those new things.

Then, as the wheel of the year turns, each season reaches its height with the fixed or solid signs.

For example, the fixed earth sign of Taurus hosts the sun during the height of spring,

when everything is bursting forth with life. The fixed fire sign of Leo represents the height of summer as the sun beats down, showing its full solar glory.

The fixed sign of Scorpio hosts the sun as the year begins to darken and the nights grow longer.

The fixed sign of Aquarius rules the height of winter.

Fixed signs are therefore all about stable energy. They tend to continue what has already been started.