horse of the Archer; hence also called the Dual or the Double-bodied Signs; and by some, the Common or
Flexed Signs. They are the minds of their Triplicity, with their quickness and versatility acting as mediators
between the Leading and Fixed Signs. They have been called the "reconcilers of the universe."
The Signs of the Zodiac should not be confounded with the Zodiac of Constellations with which they have only
an historic relationship. Somewhat before the Christian era the Constellations (q.v.) and the Signs coincided.
Since then the Precession (q.v.) of the Equinoctial point has produced a separation of approximately 1° in
seventy-two years, or a total of about thirty degrees in 2000 years. It is not possible to establish with exactness
the date upon which they coincided, for there is no sharp line or boundary between the general areas associated
with the group of stars that make up a constellation, as compared to the Signs which are measured in 30° arcs
along the Ecliptic beginning at the point of the Spring Equinox. Aries 0° is now in or about to enter the last
degrees of the constellation of Aquarius, hence current references to the Aquarian Age; also to the two
thousand years of the Piscean Age through which the Equinoctial Point has receded since the dawn of the
Christian era - an epoch symbolized in the parable of the Loaves and the Fishes.
The four elements go farther than the mere locating of the Sun position. The qualities contained in the signs
positing the Moon and the planets are gradually developed by every stimulation that reaches the native through
these points of receptivity. Every planet and every angle, as it passes over each birth sensitivity, results in an
accent. This means that each of a dozen points of receptivity are daily stimulated by an accent from each of a
dozen points of electro-magnetic radiation, resulting in something like 144 daily accents - not counting the
changes resulting from the orbital motion of each energy-radiating body. That is why planets well distributed
among signs of the different elements, produce the well-rounded individual. The Greek philosophers built on
this basis their thesis that the whole man consisted of the interweaving of the four categories, into one of which
can be placed every human activity. These are:
...Category..........From contemplation of....................Because of
accents in
- Physical......Body: functions and needs....................Earth
- Intellectual..Mind: concepts and thought processes.........Air
- Aesthetic.....Soul: yearnings; emotional processes.........Water
- Moral.........Spirit: aspirations, conduct, and character..Fire
The terminology of the trigons, or triplicities of Elements, is universal: fire, water, air and earth; although some
moderns prefer to call them the Inspirational, Emotional, Mental and Practical Natures.
These four Elements, as represented by the fixed type of each group, are symbolized in the figures of the
Cherubim, and in the Assyrian "winged lion." Also in the Egyptian Sphynx, in which the Bull's body (Taurus),
the Lion's paws and tail (Leo), the Eagle's wings (Scorpio), and the Human head (Aquarius), repre- sent the
four types which combine to form the body politic.
They are also embodied in the deck of cards: clubs for fire, diamonds for earth, hearts for water, and spades for
air; the black suits representing the positive signs and the red suits the negative signs.