Elements Of The Zodiac
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Astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
has used the concept of
classical element The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...
s from antiquity up until the present. In
Western astrology Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. It is historically based on Ptolemy's '' Tetrabiblos'' (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian traditions. West ...
and Sidereal astrology four elements are used:
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
,
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
,
Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
, and
Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
.


Western astrology

In Western tropical astrology, there are 12 astrological signs. Each of the four elements is associated with three signs of the
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...
, which are always located exactly 120 degrees away from each other along the
ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of Earth's orbit, Earth around the Sun. It was a central concept in a number of ancient sciences, providing the framework for key measurements in astronomy, astrology and calendar-making. Fr ...
and said to be in '' trine'' with one another. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, (also known as triplicities), and indeed it is still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart. Beginning with the first sign Aries 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. This cycle continues on twice more and ends with the twelfth and final
astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up ecliptic, Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the Equinox (c ...
, Pisces. The elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac (according to
Marcus Manilius Marcus Manilius () originally hailing from Syria, was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called '' Astronomica''. The ''Astronomica'' The author of ''Astronomica'' is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient wr ...
) are summarised as follows: * Fire — 1 – Aries; 5 – Leo; 9 – Sagittarius – hot, dry, ardent * Earth — 2 – Taurus; 6 –
Virgo Virgo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Virgo (film), a 1970 Egyptian film * Virgo (character), several Marvel Comics characters * Virgo Asmita, a character in the manga ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'' * ''Virgo'' (album), by Virgo Four, ...
; 10 – Capricorn – heavy, cold, dry * Air — 3 – Gemini; 7 –
Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...
; 11 – Aquarius – light, hot, wet * Water — 4 –
Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
; 8 – Scorpio; 12 – Pisces – cold, wet, soft


Elements of the zodiac


Triplicity rulerships

In traditional astrology, each triplicity has several planetary ''rulers'', which change with conditions of
sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...
– that is, whether the chart is a day chart or a night chart. Triplicity rulerships are an important essential dignity – one of the several factors used by traditional astrologers to weigh strength, effectiveness, and integrity of each planet in a chart. Triplicity rulerships (using the "Dorothean system") are as follows: "Participating" rulers were not used by Ptolemy, as well as some subsequent astrologers in later traditions who followed his approach.


Triplicities by season

In ancient astrology, triplicities were more of a seasonal nature, so a season was given the qualities of an element, which means the signs associated with that season would be allocated to that element. The seasonal elements of ancient astrology are as follows: * Spring (wet becoming hot) – Air – Gemini, Libra, Aquarius * Summer (hot becoming dry) – Fire – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius * Autumn (dry becoming cold) – Earth – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn * Winter (cold becoming wet) – Water – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces The seasonal qualities account for the differences in expression between signs of the same element. All the fire signs are by their nature hot and dry. However, the addition of the elemental qualities of the seasons results in differences between the fire signs. Aries being a Spring sign is wet (hot & dry, hot & wet), Leo being the midsummer sign gets a double dose of hot and dry and is the pure fire sign, and Sagittarius being an Autumnal sign is colder (hot & dry, cold & dry). In the Southern Hemisphere the seasonal cycle is reversed. This yields secondary and tertiary elements for each sign. These associations are not given any great importance in modern astrology, although they are prominent in modern Western
ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories t ...
, reconstructionist neopagan systems such as neodruidism and
Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
.


Vedic astrology

Sidereal (Vedic) astrology shares the same system as Western astrology of linking zodiac signs to elements. In addition, in Vedic thought each of the five planets are linked to an element (with space as the fifth). It was said in the Veda that everything emanated from the one basic vibration of "Om" or "
Aum ''Om'' (or ''Aum''; ; , ISO 15919: ''Ōṁ'') is a polysemous symbol representing a sacred sound, seed syllable, mantra, and invocation in Hinduism. Its written form is the most important symbol in the Hindu religion. It is the ess ...
". From "Om" the five elemental vibrations emerged representing the five different tattwas (or elements). The five planets represent these five vibrations –
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
for
Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
,
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
for
Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
,
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
for
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
, Mercury for
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, and
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
for
Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
.


Chinese astrology

In many traditional Chinese theory fields, matter and its developmental movement stage can be classified into wuxing. They are: *Wood, associated with Jupiter, green, the east and spring; *Fire, associated with Mars, red, the south and summer; *Earth, associated with Saturn, yellow, center and last summer; *Metal, associated with Venus, white, the west and autumn; *Water, associated with Mercury, black, the north and winter. Despite that, the essence of wuxing is really about the notion of five ''stages'', rather than five types of material.


Explanatory notes

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
later modified the rulerships of Water triplicity, making Mars the ruler of the water triplicity for both day and night charts – and William Lilly concurred.William Lilly, ''Christian Astrology, Book 3: An Easie And Plaine Method Teaching How to Judge upon Nativities'', 1647. 2nd ed., 1659. Re-published by Astrology Classics (Bel Air, Maryland), 2004; by Ascella Publications, ed. D. Houlding, London, 2000; and n facsimile of 1647 editionby Regulus Press, London, 1985. rig.P. 104.


References

{{Zodiac
classical elements The classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Angola, Tibet, India, ...
* classical elements Classical elements Esoteric cosmology
classical elements The classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Angola, Tibet, India, ...
classical elements The classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Angola, Tibet, India, ...