June 6, 2011. Paul Hixon
credit: qthomasbowerWhen people hear about astrology and personalities, they usually think of zodiac signs and their stereotypes. But the zodiac signs are derived from older concepts known in antiquity as the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. These elements were regarded as the building blocks of the universe and the human soul.
When you analyze the zodiac signs and their traits, you will find they are elaborations of these four elements.
Below is a summary of the elements and zodiac signs and their characteristics. Note that the planets are connected to the elements as well. All these factors have to be put together to determine a person’s strongest element. Many astrology programs attempt to compute it for you. You can search for an astrology software download that is free if you want to try it.
FIRE: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
The fire element denotes courage, activity, energy, will, adventurousness, self-confidence and so on. Negatively it means selfishness, rashness, impatience, cruelty, arrogance, pride and carelessness.
WATER: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
The water element suggests love, caring, intuition, psychic ability, shrewdness, sensitivity, creativity, imagination and so on. On the negative side, it means deception, weakness, pessimism, resentfulness, dreaminess, laziness, shyness, etc.
AIR: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
The air element means intelligence, cheerfulness, friendliness, grace, eloquence, balance, justice, diplomacy. Negatively it means insensitivity, pompousness, superficiality, indecisiveness, fickleness, perversity.
EARTH: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo
The earth element suggests reliability, dutifulness, loyalty, practicality, silence and resourcefulness. Negatively it means dullness, slowness, materialism, narrow-mindedness, coldness and pessimism.
According to astrology, the human character is a mixture of these four elements and twelve zodiac signs. In one person, one or two elements may be more dominant; in another, it is something else. So for example, you may notice you have more fiery qualities, but your spouse has airy qualities.
Following this theory of character is that of compatibility. Fire and air signs are said to be compatible, while water and earth signs go well together. This is the reason why books on astrology consider the zodiac signs of these elements as compatible, nothing more.
Updated June 6, 2011. Published June 4, 2011. Paul Hixon
