The Astrology Book

Although the qualities are on par with the elements as categories for classify-

ing the zodiac, they tend to be treated less fully in most astrological textbooks, partly

because the symbols for the elements are more concrete and thus more intuitively

obvious, but also because the traits said to characterize each of the qualities do not

seem to apply (or, at least, do not seem to apply fully) to certain signs. Thus, for exam-

ple, individuals born under the cardinal sign Cancer do not typically tend to be outgo-

ing people who initiate new activities (a cardinal trait); rather, Cancers tend to adapt

(a mutable trait) or to resist (a fixed trait) changing circumstances. Capricorn, anoth-

er cardinal sign, is good at initiating new business activities but is also one of the more

stubborn signs (a fixed trait).

Although the confusion introduced by these exceptions might lead one to

abandon this system of classification altogether, there are certain other sign character-

istics that the qualities explain quite well. Fixed signs, for example, are said to mani-

fest the characteristic of stubbornness, and when the fixed quadruplicity is examined,

this characterization—with predictable variations introduced by the different ele-

ments—works out quite well: Although all the fixed signs are stubborn, Taurus is most

stubborn about practical matters (earth), Leo is most stubborn about certain ways of

doing things (fire), Scorpio is most stubborn about feelings (water), and Aquarius is

most stubborn about ideals (air). Thus, the usefulness of the qualities when they are

truly applicable (which is the majority of the time) counterbalances the confusion

introduced by a few exceptions.

The same classification can be found in Vedic astrology—Chara (moveable or

cardinal), Dwi-Swabhava (dual or mutable), and Sthira (fixed). The three Vedic qual-

ities, which are associated with the same signs as their Western parallels, have similar

connotations.

Sources:

Hand, Robert. Horoscope Symbols.Rockport, MA: Para Research, 1981.

Sakoian, Frances, and Louis S. Acker. The Astrologer’s Handbook.New York: Harper & Row, 1989.

Sutton, Komilla. The Essentials of Vedic Astrology.Bournemouth, UK: Wessex Astrologer, 1999.

QUERENT

In horary astrology, the individual asking the question is referred to as the querent.

QUESITED

In horary astrology, the quesited is the person, thing, or event that is the subject of the

question.

QUETZALCOATL

Quetzalcoatl, asteroid 1,915 (the 1,915th asteroid to be discovered, on March 9,

1953), is approximately .4 kilometer in diameter and has an orbital period of 4 years.

Quetzalcoatl was named after a god who was simultaneously a creator and a millenni-

alist figure in Aztec mythology and for whom Cortez was mistaken. J. Lee Lehman

Querent

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