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Symbolism and Astrology: IV - Zodiacal Symbology

The document discusses the classification of the 12 signs of the zodiac into four triplicities - fiery, earthy, airy and watery - with three signs in each. It describes the symbols and rulerships of the signs over parts of the body. The fiery signs rule vitality and the mind, earthy signs rule stability and morality, airy signs rule respiration and intuition, and watery signs rule fluidity and sensitivity. The four elements of the zodiac - earth, water, fire and air - represent different universal principles and states of matter.

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113 views4 pages

Symbolism and Astrology: IV - Zodiacal Symbology

The document discusses the classification of the 12 signs of the zodiac into four triplicities - fiery, earthy, airy and watery - with three signs in each. It describes the symbols and rulerships of the signs over parts of the body. The fiery signs rule vitality and the mind, earthy signs rule stability and morality, airy signs rule respiration and intuition, and watery signs rule fluidity and sensitivity. The four elements of the zodiac - earth, water, fire and air - represent different universal principles and states of matter.

Uploaded by

giorgio802000
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Zodiacal Symbology

http://www.ardue.org.uk/library/book26/chap04.html

Symbolism and Astrology


by Alan Leo

IV Zodiacal Symbology
Contents List:
Triplicities Classification of Signs The Symbols and Rulerships Vital Influences The "Elements" of the Zodiac

Return to:
Title Page Ardue Library Ardue Site Plan

See also:
Cosmic "Chemistry" and Relativity

Triplicities
Around every manifesting form there is a circle of life; around the Earth there is an atmosphere charged with the vitalising rays of the Sun; and around each man there is an aura filled with human life. The Earth's aura or limiting circle is the belt of its zodiac, and in this circle there are divisions having peculiar qualities known to the ancient philosophers as the essentials of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

Classification of Signs
Each of these divisions represents a quarter of the circle and contains three signs of the zodiac, classified as triplicities. The fiery triplicity contains the signs Aries (1), Leo (5), and Sagittarius (9). The earthy contains Taurus (2), Virgo (6), and Capricorn (10). The airy contains Gemini (3), Libra (7), and Aquarius (11). The watery contains Cancer (4), Scorpio (8), and Pisces (12). The ancient astrologers named the majority of these signs after certain animals in the following maner: Fire: Aries, the Ram; Leo, the Lion; Sagittarius, the Archer on Horseback. Earth: Taurus, the Bull; Virgo, the Virgin; Capricorn, the Goat. Air: Gemini, the Twins; Libra, the Scales; Aquarius, the Man. Water: Cancer, the Crab; Scorpio, the Scorpion; Pisces, the Fish.

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Zodiacal Symbology

http://www.ardue.org.uk/library/book26/chap04.html

The Symbols and Rulerships


Each of these signs has its own peculiar symbol which has been handed down to us from remote antiquity, very little variation being made in the signs by the many nations who have studied the zodiac. Some of these symbols are abbreviations of a whole symbol, such as the horns only of the Ram and the Bull. Others are not so clear and are more difficult to explain; yet each has a definite meaning. The symbols of the signs are as follows:

The simplest method by which the symbols of the zodiacal signs may be understood is by knowing the parts of the body over which they have definitely been proved to rule. As handed down through the ages, the arrangement is so perfect that alteration is now impossible, and it is as follows:

As rulers over various parts of the human body, the signs of the zodiac are clearly related to the formative side of existence. From an esoteric standpoint they represent the various grades of matter or states of ether, and correspond to the substances necessary to express certain activities of human manifestation. The fiery signs represent the substance through which mental states are expressed and, beginning with the head and the brain, the fiery sign Aries leads the zodiacal circle.

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Zodiacal Symbology

http://www.ardue.org.uk/library/book26/chap04.html

The earthy signs are concerned with a more concrete substance through which physical expression takes the form of vital action expressed by Taurus, the leading sign of the earthy triplicity. The throat is the organ of voice production, from which follows the power of speech and song. The airy triplicity is concerned with a combination of the mental with the physical, a dual expression of which the mutable sign Gemini is the leading sign. Breathing and the lungs are the joint expression of the airy sign Gemini, which also rules over the shoulders, arms, and hands. Mind and action work more or less skilfully through the hands. The watery signs are concerned with the feelings and the expression of all sensation; they govern the fluidic state. Ther are led by Cancer, the Cardinal sign of the watery triplicity.

Vital Influences
The primary or vital influences of the triplicities of signs may be stated as follows: Fiery signs govern the vitality, the magnetism, and the mental tone of the human form. Earthy signs govern the stability, firmness, and moral tone. Airy signs govern the respiration. aspiration, intuition, and responsive tone or elasticity of the form. Watery signs govern the fluidic, soluble, and sensitive or instinctive conditions.

The "Elements" of the Zodiac


There are consequently four "Elements", viz: 1. Earth, representing primordial matter, an invisible ethereal substance forming the basis of all external corporeal appearances. 2. Water, referring to the realm of the Soul, the connecting link between spirit and matter. It also represents Thought. 3. Fire, representing the realm of the Spirit or Life. Astrologically considered, fire is an internal activity whose external manifestations are heat and light. This activity differs in character according to the plane on which it manifests itself. On the spiritual plane, "Fire" represents Love or Hate; on the astral plane it represents Desire and Passion; on the physical plane it represents Combustion. It is the purifying element and, in a certain aspect, it is identical with "Life". 4. Air, alluding to Space or Form, is strictly speaking not an "Element". Space in its various aspects represents the Firmament, the physical and mental horizon, that which limits the physical or mental perception. It may refer to the sky, the ambient, etc. There is a fifth element, the spiritual quintessence (Mercury among the planets) of all things. Each element may be condidered from a variety of aspects.
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Zodiacal Symbology

http://www.ardue.org.uk/library/book26/chap04.html

Each element constitutes a world of its own with its own inhabitants, the "elementary spirits of nature". An endless variety of forms is produced by a combination of elements under various conditions. The zodiacal elements should not be confounded with the chemical elements. The zodiacal elements are universal and, to us, invisible principles, the causes of all visible phenomena, whether they are of an earthy (solid), watery (liquid), airy (gaseous), or fiery (ethereal) nature.

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