This Week's Astrology Term: the Elements
The term Elements refers to a set of categories that astrologers use to divide up the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Each sign is representative of one of these four Elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water.
This is how they breakdown:
Fire Signs – Aries, Leo and Sagittarius
Earth Signs – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn
Air Signs – Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
Water Signs – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces
Signs belonging to the same Element display very similar forms of energy. They share many of the same strengths and a many of the same faults. Here is a list of keywords that describe those similarities.
Fire Signs
Positive Traits – Energetic, optimistic, passionate, exciting, creative and courageous
Negative Traits – Impulsive, irresponsible, egotistic, confrontational, over-zealous and impatient
Earth Signs
Positive Traits – Practical, realistic, cautious, sensual, thorough and patient
Negative Traits – Materialist, possessive, unimaginative, skeptical, crude and insensitive
Air Signs
Positive Traits –Rational, sociable, cool-headed, curious, broadminded and precise
Negative Traits – Flighty, impersonal, cold, critical, shallow and talkative
Water Signs
Positive Traits – Empathetic, intuitive, spiritual, devoted, introspective and sensitive
Negative Traits – Obsessive, vengeful, subjective, irrational, insecure and unstable
Obviously, the traits listed here are extreme but, most of the time, the positive and negative attributes of each of the Elements tend to soften one another. Also, several other factors go into the description of any Zodiac sign.
The key thing to remember when considering the Elements is that we all are influenced by several different signs of the Zodiac. There’s our Sun sign, our Moon sign, our Mars and Venus signs and so forth. When several of these signs are in just one of the Elements then the traits associated with that Element will dominate the personality. This is why some people seem much more typical of their Sun sign than others. A Cancer Sun who has Scorpio Rising and the Moon in Pisces (all Water Signs) will probably seem much more typical of Cancer than someone who has the Sun in Cancer with a Fire sign rising and Mars and Venus in Air signs.
Another thing to remember is that signs that share the same Element are compatible. People who have the Sun or a predominance of other planets in signs of the same Element have an innate understanding of one another and share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. Also, Fire Signs tend to feel comfortable with Air Signs, and Water Signs get along well with Earth Signs. Any other combination of signs of different Elements, however, is dicey. These signs don't understand one another and often have very different values and priorities.
