Whether we are Aries, Gemini or Virgo, our vitality and zest for life is indicated by our sun sign. The sun is the giver of life, the energy that works on the conscious level; it represents our sense of spirit and identity. Our sun sign signifies the way in which we perceive the world, our basic nature and how we express our ego. The energy of the sun sign brings out the essence of who we are. Each sun sign has a natural preference to needs and wants. Some of us wake up and see each day as an exciting new challenge, others dread waking up to a new day. Some sun signs view life cautiously and conservatively while others see life through adventuresome and intriguing eyes.
The twelve sun signs are comprised of four elements: fire, earth, air and water. Each sun sign expresses the qualities of these elements quite differently. For the positive qualities that the sun sign emanates, we also have the challenge of that sign for the soul that incarnated into that particular sign.
The Fire Signs
Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are called the fire signs. As the sign implies, they express life often with a sense of enthusiasm and vitality. They often have more vitality than the other sun signs. Aries is the first of the fire signs, and it relates to new bubbling energy. It is the first of the spring signs and as such relates to the youthful exuberance of springtime and new beginnings. Aries needs the kind of work in which every day brings new challenges and opportunities.
Leo, the second of the fire signs, represents the full blaze of an ego well under way. We all have some Leo in us, the need to have a strong sense of personal self-worth. Leo’s spirit lies in a genuine warm radiating service to others. Leo’s need above all is to realize their inner affinity with the sun, their ruler, whose gifts to the solar system is its ray of light and energy.
Sagittarius is the last of the fire signs and last of the autumn signs. Autumn’s search for inner identity relaxes now into happy self-acceptance. It represents the soaring upward of the flame, flickering and vanishing into the night. Sagittarius represents the ideal outcome of all striving, the release of energy for universal understanding. The ego expression for Sagittarius is aspiration, an all encompassing search for a feeling of universal awareness. Sagittarius encompasses the power to lift the mind into the freedom of universal vision.
The Earth Signs
Earth signs represent grounded or sustaining energy. Taurus is the first earth sign and the second spring sign. When we think of springtime, we think of the fresh earth supplying the sustaining energy for flowers and trees to blossom. It is a season of patience and preparation. Taurus is the sign of the bull, symbolizing the persistence to carry through to completion whatever has been started.
Virgo is the second earth sign and the last summer sign. Summer signs represent a growing awareness of one’s destined role in life. Virgo being the last summer sign marks the first point of questioning life’s basic values. The earthly quality of Virgo is one of examining things in finer detail, for separation and analysis. The key to Virgo’s influence is the ego’s need to develop discrimination. Virgo’s seek to identify their sense of ego through their powers of discrimination.
Capricorn is the last earth sign, and the first winter sign. The winter solstice marks the point at which the sun’s influence on man’s consciousness begins to turn inward. For Capricorn, it marks the loss of ego consciousness and implies the beginning of a serious search for impersonal realities. Capricorn represents earth in its last states of refinement, such as the earthly rocks and minerals. This sign has the concentrative ability to condense facts into small precious stones of truth. The key to Capricorn’s influence is its power to awaken in the ego a desire to bring reality into sharp, impersonal focus. Capricorn’s tend to seek their sense of ego identity though their keen sense of reality.
The Air Signs
The air signs include Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. They are often referred to as the mental sign energies in their capacity to break free of the limitations of physical bondage (the earth element). They strive to seek new heights of intellectual discovery. Gemini, the first air sign, is also a spring sign, and thus carries the mood of youth and enthusiasm. Gemini is the sign of the twins, inclining the individual to be of two minds about things. Gemini’s identity is in its allegiance to the power of ideas, seeking to impress others with mental quickness and cleverness.
Around September 23rd, at zero degrees of Libra, the sun re-crosses the equator and moves into the Southern Hemisphere. The last six months of the year are often called the ‘dark’ months and are attuned to the soul’s search for the inner light. Libra is the second air sign, and the first of the autumn signs. It suggests air spreading outward in search of equilibrium. Libra represents the ego in its first search for inner identity. The symbol for this sign is a pair of scales, suggesting the need to achieve a state of balance and harmony. The key to Libra’s influence is the ego’s search for inner harmony.
Aquarius is the last air sign and the second winter sign. In Aquarius, the desire to relate to these universal realities goes from the initial discovery to a deep sense of attunement with those realities. The symbol is the water bearer, pouring water out of the jug into blessings upon the earth. The true gift of Aquarius is to inspire the understanding that man’s highest duty is to serve higher truths. The key to the influence of this sign is the understanding of universal law, and a wish to bring all things into harmony with that law. Aquarians seek their identity by impressing upon others their own vision of universal law.
The Water Signs
The last of the elements is the water signs. Like a bubbling brook rushing down a cold mountain stream, water represents the flow of tears, our ability to express emotion. Cancer is the first water sign and the first summer sign. The youthfulness of spring gives way to the more seriousness and growing awareness of one’s own destined role in life. Cancer’s symbol is the crab, symbolic of the tenacity to hold on to things. The key to Cancer’s influence is the wish to draw things to a deeply personal focus.
Scorpio is the second water sign and the second autumn sign. During this month, leaves fall from trees and cold begins to set in. People are happy to have a warm, comfortable home to retreat to. So it is with Scorpio who retreats into the inner depths of himself to find self-affirmation of the deeper realities of life. Scorpio’s power is essentially inward, focused and controlled. The ego identity of is that of hidden power, whether used constructively or destructively. Scorpio’s sense of authority springs from mystical depths.
Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, the last water sign, and the last winter sign. With Pisces the sun covers the first stages of its annual journey, moving northward to the vernal equinox. In Pisces we find a withdrawal from winter’s stern focus on reality, and a reaching out to life with an all encompassing sympathy with anticipates the joyous recommitment of spring. Pisces represents a wish to spread out like water and enter into a genuine feeling for people and for all of life. Pisces represents the disillusion of the ego and empowering the soul to merge forever in the great ocean of spirit. The key to Pisces is universal empathy.
Our Soul’s Purpose
One of the higher purposes of astrology is to help us on our journey to self-discovery. By increasing our awareness of the cosmic sojourn of the sun signs we can gain a greater understanding of our own nature and thus connect to deeper levels within ourselves. Esoteric astrology says that we all come back and are born into the twelve signs of the zodiac to experience the different dimensions of awareness, perception and lessons of the ego. Each of us has a specific lifetime lesson to learn that is innate to our sign. Our sun sign is the essence of who we are and how we can express our sense of ego fulfillment and our own individual lessons in this lifetime.
