as well as with the planets. There is, however, more than one system of correlations
between the colors and the signs. The following color-sign associations should thus be
regarded as illustrative rather than definitive:COLORS AND THEZODIAC
Sign Colors
Aries Red and other “flaming” colors
Taurus Pink, pale blue, and other pastels
Gemini Yellow and violet
Cancer Green, smoky-gray, silver, and silvery-blue colors
Leo Orange and gold
Virgo Green and dark brown
Libra Pink, pale green, and various shades of blue
Scorpio Deep red, maroon, dark brown, and black
Sagittarius Dark blues and purples
Capricorn Brown, gray, black, dark green, and earth tones
Aquarius Turquoise, aquamarine, white, and electric blue
Pisces Sea green, lavender, and lilac
Natives born under the influence of one of these signs (particularly, but not
exclusively, as this influence manifests in their sun sign) usually feel a special affinity
with their sign’s colors. This affinity can manifest as a tendency to wear clothes of, or
to decorate homes with, the associated zodiacal colors.COMBUST
A planet is said to be combust when it is within 8°30’ (many would say less) of the
Sun. In traditional astrology, this was regarded as having a weakening (debilitating)
effect on the planet involved. Contemporary astrologers have not found that this
close conjunction with the Sun weakens planets, and, to the contrary, some
researchers have asserted that such a position tends to strengthen the influence of the
planets involved. The notion of combust might have been based on the observation
that during partile conjunctions in which the Sun actually came between a particular
planet and Earth (i.e., during occultations,) the matters and processes ruled by the
planet involved in the conjunction were weakened. Certain twentieth-century exper-
iments, such as those supporting the Kolisko effect (in which the metal associated
with a given planet was less reactive during the planet’s occultation), would support
such an interpretation.
Mercury, as the planet closest to the Sun, is most often involved in close con-
junctions with the greater luminary. Observing people with combust Mercury, many
modern astrologers have noted greater mental energy as well as greater powers of con-
centration in these natives. However, astrologers have also observed that this posi-
tion, unless counteracted by other factors in the natal chart, causes people with com-
bust Mercurys to be less able to see points of view other than their own.Combust
[164] THEASTROLOGYBOOK