Are You Typical of Your Sun Sign?

Astrologers use the term "sun sign": you may say "star sign" or "sign of the zodiac" or you may ask someone what sign they were "born under." The names may differ but they all mean the same thing. The signs of the zodiac are ancient names given to the constellations of stars that lie along the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the Sun around the earth. Since the advent of telescopes, we know that it is the Earth that omits the Sun, and that the changing view of stars that appear behind it is similar to the changing view and perspective that you would see in the background if you walked around a tree or some other object.

Those of us who live in areas where the clocks are put forward in spring and back in autumn are accustomed to the fact that this happens at a regular time, usually at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning. This man-made arrangement doesn't apply to the movement of the Earth, so the sun signs don't change from one to another at a set time or even a set day each year. Newspapers and popular astrology books can print only average dates for the start of each sign. This means that for those of you who use the date system that I give in this book, rather than the degree system that astrologers use (which I also give in this book), may have to check out two adjacent signs in order to see which fits you best. If you decide that you would like to know the exact degree of your sun sign, or indeed of anything else on your birthchart, you can always consult an astrologer or send off to an astrology service for this. If you can give the astrologer a reasonably correct date, time and place of birth, you will be in a position to check out far more than just your sun sign.

The list below gives the average dates for each sun sign:

Average Sun Sign Dates

Aries March 21 to April 19

Taurus April 20 to May 20

Gemini May 21 to June 21

Cancer June 22 to July 22

Leo July 23 to August 22

Virgo August 23 to September 22

Libra September 23 to October 22

Scorpio October 23 to November 21

Sagittarius November 22 to December 21

Capricorn December 22 to January 20

Aquarius January 21 to February 18

Pisces February 19 to March 20

The wheel on page 3 shows you how the sun signs are arranged in the order that is familiar to astrologers.

Some people are aware that they are absolutely typical of their sun sign. Their appearance fits the standard description, while their character, career and relationships follow the prescribed patterns laid down in sun sign books. Others can see something of themselves in sun sign descriptions but they also find discrepancies, while yet others feel that they are not at all typical of their sun sign. Many people have relatives, friends or colleagues who share the same sun sign as themselves, and they may notice many similarities to themselves, but also a few differences. There are many possible astrological reasons for the diversification within each sign, but this book demonstrates two factors that are easy for a complete beginner in astrology to understand and to use. The odd thing is that, despite the fact that this system is so simple and also so effective, it is not as frequently used by western astrologers as it is in the east.

Of the many things in your chart that make your particular sun sign unique, foremost among them is the Rising Sign, or Ascendant. The ascendant is specific to the hour, minute, and the "where" (latitude and longitude) of your birth. The ascendant is significant because it represents the mask you wear in public, the first impression you make, how others see you. It's an important piece of your birth chart to understand because it represents the environment at your time of birth and all of your earliest childhood influences — what has shaped you. Other aspects of your birth chart (your moon sign and other planetary placements) are filtered through your rising sign. The beauty of the method in this book is that now you can quickly and easily determine your rising sign (the dwaad).

Decans and Dwaads

A sign of the zodiac can be divided into three sections that are called decans, and each decan can be divided into four dwaads. Thus, you can choose to look at your sun sign, and any one of three decans or twelve dwaads within that sign. (dwaad is pronounced like "hard").

The division of each sun sign into twelve dwaads means that people born even a day or two apart from each other will exhibit variations in their personalities.

This system doesn't rely upon a person being born in a specific year or a particular time of day, which means that someone who was born into a completely different generation from yours, but whose birthday is close to your own, may have more in common with you than someone else who shares your sun sign, but whose birthday is a week or so away from yours.

It is extremely easy to check out the decan and dwaad for your own sun sign in the decan and dwaad calendar given in this book in chapter 4. When you have found them, you can look up the interpretations to discover what they have to say — subsequent chapters include profiles for Aries through Pisces. Once you have checked out the picture for yourself, you can do the same for your loved ones, friends, and others.

Predicting the Future

Even a complete beginner will find it easy to progress the sun sign in order to check out trends and events for any year of your life. All you need to be able to do is to count. You'll find instructions for progressions in chapter 20.

For Astrologers

This book has been written to help beginners understand the uniqueness of their personal sun sign, but those readers who are deeply into astrology will find tips and techniques to take this system further. For those of you at a more advanced level, and who need absolute accuracy, you will be happy to know that in the calendar section of this book, I present the decans and dwaads in degree form in addition to simply giving the dates for them. This means that you can easily check out the decans and dwaads for the Moon, Ascendant, planets, Midheaven or anything else that interests you.

Those who struggle to rectify an Ascendant will find the decan and dwaad system of immense help in plotting this. Whether you are a total beginner in astrology, a hobby astrologer, or a professional consultant, a working knowledge of decans and dwaads can only help to increase your knowledge and understanding.

If you have ever struggled to understand the differences between a pair of twins, you will soon discover how easy it is to check out the Ascendant and Midheaven for dwaad differences between the two birthcharts. You can also apply the decan and dwaad system to any predictive technique such as transits, secondary directions, solar arc directions, solar returns, and anything else you care to use. In short, this book has something for everybody — from those who don't know the first thing about astrology, to those who have been working with it for years.

Sun Sign Attributes

Before we can "unlock the zodiac" and delve into the details of decans and dwaads, let's take a moment to gain some additional information about sun signs that will be crucial to understanding how the system works. In this chapter we look at the elements and qualities of each sign. In the next chapter, "Decans and Dwaads," we will put it all together.

The Elements

Each sign of the zodiac belongs to an element of fire, earth, air or water. Each decan within a sign shares the same element as the original sign. Therefore, if you were born under the earth sign of Capricorn, your sun sign decan might be Capricorn, Taurus or Virgo, all of which are earth signs.

The following list and illustration shows the elemental groups, first in the order that the signs of the zodiac are usually placed, then in their element groups and finally in the familiar astrological circle — which is really three ways of showing the same thing.

The List of Elements

Sign Element

Aries Fire
Taurus Earth
Gemini Air
Cancer Water
Leo Fire
Virgo Earth
Libra Air
Scorpio Water
Sagittarius Fire
Capricorn Earth
Aquarius Air
Pisces Water

Fire Group: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Earth Group: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Air Group: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Water Group: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

The Fire Group

Masculine Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Fire sign people do things quickly, and they don't allow the grass to grow under their feet. They may commit themselves to a course of action and then regret it because they haven't given themselves enough time to think things through. On the other hand, while others are procrastinating and putting off unpleasant chores or simply not getting their act together, the fire signs are well on the way to finishing the job. Fire people display initiative, courage and leadership qualities. Some are genuinely selfish; while others are so quick to think and act that they leave others behind in their haste to get on with things. Despite their apparent selfishness, many are idealists who really do want to make the world a better place.

Fire sign people have no patience with those who hesitate, and they don't understand that it is not necessarily someone else's karma to grasp every opportunity that comes along. These subjects are quick, intelligent, humorous and generous and they love their friends and family. They become angry when others oppose them and irritable when they are tired or hungry, and they can be extremely cutting when they are wound up, but they rarely sulk. They need a good standard of living to keep up with their spending habits. Fire sign people are often passionate lovers who live life to the fullest.

Fire sign people are less confident than they appear and they can suddenly lose faith in themselves and become depressed when too much goes wrong. They need a steady and reliable partner who will respect them for their undoubted talents and who doesn't seek to undermine them. In turn, fire sign people need to be reminded to validate their partner and not to build up their own ego at the expense of others.

Fire sign people are often worryingly underweight as children but they soon get over this and they can become quite heavy later in life.

The Earth Group

Feminine Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

These are practical, diligent and hard-working people who are happiest when they are doing something useful. They can be relied upon, and even though it might take them a while to get around to things, they usually get there in the end. These people are more ambitious than they appear and they may be shrewd operators in politics or in business. Their drawbacks are sometimes a lack of speed when action is needed, stubbornness and greed and distaste for chancy ventures or of spending money unnecessarily.

Most earth sign people are family types who need the security of a good relationship. They rarely walk away from family responsibility, even when one or two family members are difficult to cope with. These subjects are sensual and loving, especially in a relationship that is comfortable and that gives them confidence. They may have a creative streak, although this manifests itself in different ways for each sign. Shrewd and cautious, they need material and emotional security and they can put up with a lot in order to get it. Many earth types appear tight-fisted; they can be shortsighted about financial matters and this is often due to a real or imagined fear of poverty.

The Air Group

Masculine Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

The air sign mind is always active. Whether they are humming tunes in their head or playing out ideas and daydreams, their brains are rarely still. Many of them are sociable and friendly and their homes may be filled with neighbors, friends and relatives who pop in or stay for a night or two. Many are good at crafts, handiwork and mechanical tasks and most seem to be able to cope very well with household tasks such as decorating or do-it-themselves jobs. Some love to collect tools, equipment or gadgets. They come up with wonderfully inventive answers to other people's problems, although they often find it hard to solve their own. They are excellent communicators and they may spend hours on the phone or the computer. They can be restless and tenser than they appear and they need a mildly sporting outlet or a change of scene on occasion to help them keep a healthy balance. Many are excellent teachers.

Air sign people are sympathetic to the plight of others, although they aren't good at shouldering the burdens of others for too long as this wears down their own delicate nervous systems. They may seek those who are close to them. Most air sign people are hopeless with those who are sick and they may lack patience with family members who become ill or downhearted. Air sign people can lose touch with reality, either by worrying about things that are not important or by living in a kind of fantasy land.

The Water Group

Feminine Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Water sign people respond slowly when asked a question and they tum 'round slowly when called. These people need time to grasp new ideas because they need to filter them through their feelings before they can make up their minds. Their feelings run deep and they can be very emotional. When upset, they sulk, brood and they can even be cruel toward those who are close to them. They are extremely intuitive, they sum people up accurately and they tend to feel everything that is going on in the surrounding atmosphere. They use this knowledge to avoid falling into traps that others simply don't see. Water sign people can be attracted to the world of business where their shrewdness and good grasp of money matters stand them in good stead. Trust is important to them and they prefer to ally themselves with those whom they can trust and rely upon.

Water sign people can love very deeply, but some of them save their greatest love for their children or for animals. They keep sensitive feelings hidden, sometimes even from themselves, and this allows irritation and resentment to build up. Once this happens, they either fall into depression or explode — much to the surprise and hurt of those who are around them. Water sign people are restless and they like to get out and about with their work and their social life; they also love to travel and explore new places. Having said this, they also need a base — a secure home and an office, shop or workshop that they can call their own. Environments are important to them and too much noise or disturbance upsets them.

The Genders

Every fire and air sign is called masculine and every earth and water sign is called feminine. This division has nothing to do with sexuality, but with personality types. Some astrologers call these divisions positive or negative, which are different names for the same thing, another term might be extrovert and introvert or even Yang and Yin.

THE QUALITIES

Each sign of the zodiac belongs to a quality, and these are named cardinal,fixed and mutable. Each decan within a sign will have a different quality. For example, Sagittarius is a mutable sign but only the first decan, which is also Sagittarius, is mutable, the other two are Aries, which is cardinal, and Leo, which is fixed. There are two masculine and two feminine signs from each quality group.

The List of Qualities

Sign Quality

Aries Cardinal

Taurus Fixed

Gemini Mutable

Cancer Cardinal

Leo Fixed

Virgo Mutable

Libra Cardinal

Scorpio Fixed

Sagittarius Mutable

Capricorn Cardinal

Aquarius Fixed

Pisces Mutable

The Signs Grouped in Qualities

Cardinal: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn

Fixed: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius

Mutable: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces

The Cardinal Group

Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn Cardinal types don't let the grass grow under their feet and they are inclined to do what they think is best for themselves, their family or their group. They can put themselves out to fit in with others where necessary, but they can't leave their own needs too far out in the cold.

When the chips are down, they know that they can depend upon themselves. Once they have made up their minds (and this includes the vacillating sign of Libra), they can't be pushed from their path. Cardinal people take advantage of opportunities, they make the most of them and they can be good leaders as long as they allow others an opinion and an opportunity to use their creativity.

One thing they are often good at is motivating and encouraging others, but they may then ask or expect too much of them. Despite the strength of this type, their confidence can evaporate and they need the support of a partner or, at the very least, a couple of good friends.

The Fixed Group

Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius

Fixed-sign people try to maintain the status quo, and most prefer a well-ordered life because too much change makes them uncomfortable.