Persons born from September 24 to October 24, or those who have this sign rising at birth (which can be ascertained only through a knowledge of the hour of birth), will come under the dominion of the airy, cardinal, just and balanced sign Libra, symbolized by the Scales and ruled over by Venus, the "Goddess of Love and Beauty."
It is very easy to recognize people who have Libra in the Ascendant, in spite of the
fact that there are two distinct types; one swayed by Venus, the other by Saturn and
Scorpio.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The general build is small, slim, delicate, excellent in proportion; and the movements are lithe and graceful. There is an unruffled activity which is not at all like the nervous restlessness of Gemini.
The head is long-skulled; the features are small, regular and pleasing. Ancient statues of Hermes, Antinous and Aphrodite give a fair idea of the type, though sometimes there is a tendency to floridity or buxomness, which is anything but characteristic of Libra. The natural complexion is olive; the hair very dark brown or black, though possessing a luster and a warmth which is exceedingly pleasing. It is straight and very soft in texture, with a tendency to grow low upon the forehead. The nose is {89} small and Grecian, being straight with practically no identation in its bridge; the lips deep-hued, seductive and exquisitely shaped. All the lines of the face are soft, elegant, delicate, and gracious. Most people feel instinctively drawn to this plastic beauty. The limbs are small and admirably proportioned, the hands and feet being particularly well molded. Even in the strongest types there is something of feminine delicacy. But all this applies to Libra as the sign in which Venus bears most active sway. There is an entirely different type which is due to the exaltation of Saturn in Libra; his power modifies the Venusian influence to a very marked extent, accentuating the fact that the sign is cardinal and counteracting its airy nature.
When the Saturnian influence predominates in the sign, it makes the native much more thick-set, muscular, robust, and square than the regular Venusian type; approaching, indeed, the personal appearance of Scorpio. In fact, this type is usually found when the latter degrees of Libra are rising, since a good deal of Scorpio is then actually in the Ascendant.
There is one trait which is easily recognizable and excessively characteristic and this is what may be called the intriguing expression; the eyes of Libra are naturally subtle and fascinating, but they are exceedingly soft, gentle and affectionate.
In the Saturnian type the Libra eyes have the two first characteristics, but their expression is somewhat sinister. There is an intense love of power in them. One can see that they are scheming and unscrupulous. One would go too far in saying that they were necessarily untruthful, yet the effect is an effect of untruthfulness. People {90} of this type are apt to say things intended to deceive and to deceive very successfully, but their method of deception is often to tell the truth in such a way that the hearer will obtain a false impression. The whole face bears out the eyes. It is sly and secret. One always feels that such people constitute in some special way a power behind the throne. They are very economical in their methods of attack and defense. They never put all their goods in the shop window. There are always aces up the sleeve.
The most mysterious people in the world are the Chinese, who are ruled by Libra. When Sir Robert Hart, after fifty years spent among them, was going home to England, he told a young friend, who had just completed a walking tour through the country, and who sought assistance in psychological interpretation from the man whose very life had depended for half a century on his just estimate of the character of these people, that he now knew pretty well what a Chinaman would do in any given set of circumstances, but had not the least idea why he would do it. This type understands the all-important, psychological truth, that no one can defeat your purpose, except by some accident, if he does not know what that purpose is. Many women instinctively follow out this method in their dealings with men. It is quite generally recognized that no woman is so dangerous as the woman of mystery, but the type of intelligence implied is by no means a feminine intelligence, any more than it is a male intelligence.
The influence of Saturn often gives a coarseness of texture to the complexion, and there is often a touch of brutality in the countenance, but with these qualities goes eternally a suavity which to most people makes the type {91} seem yet more formidable. Simple-minded people have an instinctive distrust of such a type. Those who are conscious of their own essential force, though it be entirely different in character, tend rather to admire and to like it. It seems to hold such profundity of knowledge that those who are afraid of knowledge fear it beyond anything else.
The shoulders of this type are more square than those of the purely Venusian type. There is a greater appearance of physical strength, and much less gracefulness. The limbs are shorter, the hands and feet stronger and more practical in appearance. All these modifications, however, are more characteristic of the impinging influence of Scorpio than of Saturn.
The general constitution of Libra is very good, but it lacks robustness. Slight causes produce rather serious disturbances in health. In no other sign does well-being depend on such fine poise. On the other hand, disease yields quickly to treatment.
Libra governs the loins, kidneys (the ovaries in the case of a woman), the spinal cord and lumbar region, and sympathetically, the head, stomach and knees. The affections of these parts, involving many obscure conditions which may result from structural changes in the nerve centers, and sympathetically digestive disorders, are the troubles to which those born under this sign may be subject, provided the system becomes depleted or they abuse natural laws. The most serious troubles the native should guard against are those involving the kidneys and the spine.
The Libra native delights in harmonious movement; dancing, for example, is a characteristically favorite amusement. The sense of rhythm is as strong as the sense {92} of form, and these things, being as it were the blossom of the Libra nature, are the first to suffer in the event of frost. With the exception mentioned, there is no special liability to disease, but this will generally depend on planetary positions or aspects. The vitality of the Libra native is very great within a certain limit but he should never permit himself to suffer undue strain. He can go on forever taking things in moderation; but excess, which throws him out of poise, is most dangerous for him. He is usually conscious of this fact; he will never run when he can walk and will often pull through cheerfully where a much stronger man collapses. He understands how to conserve his energy and seldom wastes an ounce of strength.
The natural temperance of the sign serves him in good stead in all matters of health.
He has a strong revulsion when tempted to eat or drink too much. A feeling of disgust
dominates him before he makes any error of this kind. Nature herself, too, is very kindly
in this respect; intemperance in eating or drinking usually producing nausea. The Libra
native; therefore, though not nearly so strong in appearance as many others, often
outlives those born under more powerful constellations.
MORAL CHARACTERISTICS
Libra, being the cardinal sign attributed to air, represents that element in its most active form. Air has no shape; it cannot be seen; it hardly resists the movement of material objects, and it is, therefore, difficult for some people to understand how this innocent-seeming substance can be a destructive force; but when air becomes aggressive, {93) it is the most terrible and irresistible of all agents. The tornado and the hurricane, the cyclone and the typhoon tolerate resistance as little as the volcano. Air is the chief nourisher of the life of man, yet in one way or another air kills more men every year than all the other elements combined.
We must never, therefore, think of Libra as in any way passive. The passive type of air is given by Gemini, which is a thing unstable, easily swayed, opposing no resistance. The balanced type is given by Aquarius, representing the settled and consecrated thought of humanity. The latter is the soaring man-eagle of the zodiac and is closely connected with the idea of the Holy Spirit of man, but Libra is rude, primitive and untamed. It works on the intellectual plane like the other airy signs, but its function is intensely dynamic. There is something paradoxical in the idea that the invisible steam which issues so quietly from the spout of a kettle can be turned into a force which can ultimately be used to tear up the surface of the earth. This paradox can be carried yet deeper. The principal constituent of air is nitrogen, one of the most inert of gases, yet for this very reason nitrogen is the principal constituent of practically all high explosives.
These facts of physics and chemistry have their precise counterpart in the moral make-up of the native of Libra, particularly in the Saturnian type. The gentleness and amiability are apparent, but they are always, one should not say a mask upon a passionate face, but the smoothness which enables a sharp spear to penetrate with the minimum of resistance. Libra recognizes that rude frankness {94} is the worst possible detriment to the carrying out of one's secret purpose.
So far we have spoken of Libra in its most intensely active form, with the influence of Venus glossing its sharpness and serving to conceal its intense energy under a cloak of graciousness, but Libra has a static as well as a dynamic force. Libra is the sign of the balance, and its card in the Tarot is "Justice." The power of Libra is accentuated by the possession of this greatest of all qualities, the power of weighing everything accurately and never attempting to employ force without consideration of equilibrium. Libra never acts at all unless the conditions are exactly favorable. The tornado itself is controlled by the forces which set it in motion, and the true explanation of its actions is that it restores a disturbed equilibrium; fills a void. The aim of Libra is always to compose a disturbance, and its apparent activity is a misnomer. Things may be very wrong without people perceiving it. Libra is the one who discovers the trouble and proceeds to adjust it. The habit of acting in equilibrium is absolutely necessary to the efficiency of any machine; the arrow will not fly straight unless it be balanced by feathers. The Egyptians, noticing this fact, made the feather a symbol of their goddess of justice and truth, and their gods and kings wore the feather in their headdresses to symbolize that they stood for righteousness and for a force irresistible because its application was in accordance with the general law. Libra is the most effective of all the forces of the zodiac, because it works invariably according to the laws of nature. It never attempts to intrude where it has no business, {95} although to others it may seem to be doing so. It has calculated all the probabilities and as its action progresses it will be seen that its object has been peace. If Napoleon's career had not been broken by the persistent opposition of the ambitious English, he would have established a United States of Europe under the "Code Napoleon," the most just and intelligible of all modern systems of law. In cases where the active elements in the horoscope occupy weak and passive signs, where there is no great driving force of any kind, this judicial temperament becomes inactive. The Libra native spends his whole time in balancing, postpones action until to-morrow, which never comes. Some of the most ineffective of all human beings are born with this sign rising; like the ass that could not decide which of two thistles to eat first, and so starved to death, they remain incapable of forcing themselves to action. The mind is so accurately adjusted that no sooner does any thought enter it than the contradictory thought is suggested automatically. This quality confers upon the Libra native an extreme breadth of mind, a universal tolerance with no prejudices. It is only the most active type that sums up hastily, formulates a plan which, while combining as many elements as possible, is in harmony with the individual purpose, and puts it to action. The contemplative mind is very commonly found associated with a body born with Libra in the Ascendant.
Another point in the character of Libra is that this devotion to balance and to harmony is also a devotion to beauty. Beauty consists in the right proportion of elements, in the just balance of one thing with another, and accordingly we find an intensely aesthetic strain in the Libra nature. This native is peculiarly disturbed by untidiness, {96} ugliness and disorder. So acute is this feeling that he is often made actually ill by the contemplation of wrong. He is very sensitive; a disruption like war gives him the most terrible agony of spirit. He finds his consolation in one single consideration. He says to himself that the old civilization was lopsided, hideous, productive of ugliness and misery, and that, in order to change, to rebuild, the building must be razed to the earth; nay, more, that the foundations must be laid anew. His final judgment in the matter, therefore, is that the war is the necessary spiritual preparation for the establishment of a new era which shall be founded according to the true laws of beauty. He will be inclined to argue that the sudden extension of the operations of science from the laboratory to field and factory was an unprepared alarm, an invasion of established civilization which was bound to distort it. He would show that the demand for new markets had become urgent, that the possibility of transportation had permitted the exaggeration of cities, and that all these things working together were bound to produce a conflict of irreconcilable elementary force. In a word, just as the thunderstorm is the result of the accumulation of intolerable potential, so the strain, commercial and political, produced by over-population, discharged itself by means of war. This line of argument is very characteristic of Libra. Every instinct of the Libra native is against violence, yet he will perceive violence as the necessary precursor of calm, and set his seal of approval upon it.
Libra is the most trustworthy of the signs for this reason, because it never allows personal considerations to interfere with abstract ideals. You will often find a native of this sign taking a highly unpopular attitude; one such, {97} for example, might say that he thought Germany entirely right in her invasion of Belgium, but he might nevertheless fight for England on the ground that he was English by birth, thus making a complete distinction between his moral and his social being.
Libra never mixes the planes. One of the principal fallacies in philosophical and occult argument is to do so. Mystics, for example, arguing that there is no such thing as sin, will try to justify themselves when committing it; while others, arguing that we are all (men and small animals) the children of one great father, yet will complacently eat broiled rabbits. The man with Libra rising does not make this error. He does not eat broiled rabbits because he does not like them, and if he does commit sin it will be because he does like it. He will never fool himself into confusing the action proper to a body with the thought proper to a mind. He is a carnivorous animal and no argument about the sanctity of the cow will prevent him from eating a steak. In other words, he makes each department of his being attend to its own business and act in a manner appropriate to its own nature.
In regard to money matters, Libra is too broad-spirited to regard any single factor in a problem as important, and the airiness of the sign is in direct opposition to the earthiness of money. But the mathematical ability is very great, and when the Libra native is forced to deal with financial questions he is astonishingly accurate. As it is perfectly possible to use just calculation unjustly, it will depend on the development of the Libra native whether he is a clever faker of figures or an upright accountant in finances.
The native of this sign has the power of charming by his speech and writing. He is gentle, subtle and persuasive, {98} and manages to get his own way under a great appearance of justice. He is singularly plausible in presenting his points of view and always pretends to be just a little shocked and hurt when anybody sees through him. The type is not exactly hypocritical, but Libra natives feel instinctively that all is fair in love and war and that the end justifies the means. It is one of the regular characteristics of the intriguing mind. These people make dangerous controversialists. They acquire sympathy with great skill, and their suavity often irritates an opponent to loss of temper and its consequent disadvantages, since while the native has him at his mercy, he may point out with tears in both eyes that he is being abused and ill-treated, and that the anger of the opponent is only further evidence, alas, that he is in the wrong. The native of Libra get on very well in his home, owing to the charm of his manners and his general capacity for doing things subtly without seeming to do them. He has, however, no particularly strong or deep-rooted attachments for his home, and though a break with his family would be comparatively rare, he does not possess the domestic sense in anything like the same degree as the native of such signs as Taurus or Cancer.
In love, the Libra native has perhaps the most interesting temperament of any in the zodiac. The influence of Libra, as a balance, comes very strongly into play. Libra as the cardinal sign of an active element is decidedly masculine; as a house of Venus, it is decidedly feminine. The temperament of this native is consequently poised between the sexes. As a rule, he is very strongly and very highly developed on the plane of sex, and this is marked sometimes by his possession of a nature intermediate between male {99} and female, sometimes by the possession of two temperaments, one almost extravagantly masculine while the other is intensely feminine. Possessing such a range of understanding in this matter, it is natural to find the Libra native a great expert in all matters of love. He instinctively comprehends the nature of any other human being, and his adaptability is such that he is able to adjust himself without effort to the other party. He takes intense pleasure in the exercise of this power, because of his instinctive desire to master others. It comes natural to him to play a part.
These qualities often make the Libra native a good deal of a varietist, and under certain planetary combinations there may even appear a strain of homosexuality. This is not to be attributed to any real predilection, but to the fact of the delicate poise of the Libra nature between the two sexes. This type of Libra person is often intensely voluptuous, but also refined to the highest possible point. Even where there is much sensuality there is none of grossness. He does not consider love as an appetite, but as an art. It is true that he may perform acts of an incredibly gross nature, but his aim is never the satisfaction of a lust. He will take equal or greater pleasure in the similar education of others, and thereby these people are often very pernicious to their fellows. It is incomprehensible to a man with Venus in Capricorn or Scorpio that an act which they do naturally and feel to be animal should be accomplished in precisely the same manner, to all appearances, by another man in the name of art. It is, of course, exasperating to the native of Venus in Libra to find himself thus ill comprehended or ridiculed, but he will feel a singular pride and security in the idea that his soul is safe from {100} the contamination of what he considers the vulgar.
The detachment of Libra is such that it is sometimes curious to witness the ability of the person born strongly under its influence to deal with adverse circumstances. This applies particularly to love, but may be extended to cover the whole field of his relations with the rest of mankind. He takes infinite pains to bring about a certain result, but, if he should fail, he has almost as much mental satisfaction in the analysis of the forces involved as he would have had if he had been successful. His failure is only one more factor in the problem, and he will very often take fresh hold and will succeed by virtue of the failure, in a way he could not have done if he had succeeded in the beginning.
It is difficult to be seriously angry with the type of Libra person just spoken of, for what would be unpardonable frankness of expression in others excites no resentment towards the Libra natives in those who understand them from an astrological standpoint. It is true, however, that these people, although genuinely passionate, are not really capable of love within the limitations of its definition in romantic literature. These people seldom "live happily ever after," for the idea of lifelong fidelity is not natural to them. Moreover, in marriage, such types are perhaps not altogether so happy as in a state of greater freedom and less responsibility. They are gifted with every attribute that is calculated to please, and at the same time are the possessors of immense tact, but there comes a time in the affairs of most married people when the partner is subjected to exceedingly critical analysis, which the native of Libra would make unusually searching, and which few partners could entirely pass. But under such {101} analysis from a husband or wife of a different sign, the cleverness of this Libra type will understand the temperament of the partner and, being forewarned, will be forearmed, and therefore able to avert the full consequence of the investigation.
The native of Libra is usually fond of children and enjoys playing with them. He will treat them with justice and gentleness; he will understand their natures and never tyrannize over them. He will not spoil them, and he is likely to divine the best possible career and prepare them carefully for it. It is quite possible to take the view that this is the very best kind of parent that any child could have. It is very difficult for most parents to realize that a child is an individual soul with a nature of its own, with rights and duties corresponding to its nature. The tendency is always to try to bring up the child in the way its parent went, and not in the way that he should go. The majority of children are aborted or mutilated by this hideous attitude on the part of the parent. A child of strongly independent character, finding himself in the power of stupidly affectionate and bigoted parents, suffers the intensest agony until he fights his way out to freedom; but it is to be noticed that the child, if strong enough to keep his integrity in face of this opposition, is thereby admirably fitted for the battle of life. Unfortunately, such tremendous personalities are rare; the common result of an unhappy childhood is to break the spirit of the child and to prevent forever the development of whatever quality he may possess.
In dealing with servants, the method of the Libra native is persuasion rather than force, and his natural sense of justice wins him the respect of those employed by him. His {102} natural tendency to laxity is, however, somewhat of a drawback in dealing with the intractable and recalcitrant; consequently, he is a times apt to be rather badly treated. In public affairs and business partnership, the situation is more fortunate for this native, for his natural instinct is to adjust all difficulties without recourse to the strong hand; but Aries being on the cusp of the seventh house, mundanely, the influence of Mars will sometimes force him to resort to open conflict, exceedingly against his will. The deeper student of history will be inclined to realize that Napoleon, from the time when he first became a conqueror, spent his life in trying to avoid war; but with Uranus retrograde in his seventh house, in opposition to Jupiter, he could hardly be expected to succeed in such pacific intentions. Fortunately for him, Mars was trined by Uranus, so that he was able for a long time to bring to successful conclusions the wars that were forced upon him.
One may also observe in this connection a striking illustration in President Wilson's attempts to avoid war. Persistently he fought against the myriad influences in his own country and abroad, which sought to drag the United States into the conflict. With an infinite patience and diplomacy, which excited rage at his alleged weakness and incompetence, he parried every stroke for over two years. But the transit of Uranus in 1916 over the opposition to his radical Mars, and the square formed by Uranus in the end of March and the beginning of April, 1917, with his radical Uranus, which was retrograding into his seventh house, succeeded in forcing him to act, in spite of his Libra instincts.
Returning to business characteristics, the native of this sign is sound and conservative, yet not in any way prejudiced {103} against new ideas. His judgment is shrewd and his tactics ingenious, but it is rare to find him enterprising. He does not care for cutthroat competition. His mind is too catholic to absorb itself solely in the business of chasing dollars. Indeed, one is much more likely to find a Libra native engaged in professional or financial lines than in mere commerce.
In matters of science, philosophy and religion, Libra is again very excellent. It is true that bad types are often shallow and too ready to comply with ideas, not so much because they are conventional, but because they are easy to hold. When the sign is well dignified, we find a minuteness of judgment, a power of weighting evidence and a facility for reconciling apparently incompatible notions, which are extremely valuable for the purpose of progress. Libra is decidedly eclectic. It refuses to progress unless it has first summed up the past. Any person in whom this is a dominant characteristic will never be one-sided or over-specialized. It is not that he venerates the past, but that he does not wish to take a step which he might be forced to retrace subsequently through failure to take into account something that he really should have known. These people show no bigotry in religion; they are inclined to argue, but they will invariably take whatever point of view may be opposite to that of their interlocutor, in order that they may harmonize the opposing points of view. Their familiars often accuse them of inconsistency, which is really very amusing, for they see no reason why they should hold a view which they propound. The other man is there to put forward the arguments on the other side; what they really want to do is to find the Golden Mean. The love of beauty in form tends to give an appreciation {104} of the ceremonial in religion, and when they are churchgoers, Libra people are very apt to prefer the Catholic or Episcopalian creeds; they also very often belong to the Masonic fraternity.
Libra is as impatient of constraint as any sign of the twelve. To attempt to impose upon the native of this sign instantly brings all his forces into play. The Chinese character well illustrates this point. It is impossible for people of other races to control them effectively, in spite of their apparent gentleness and patience, because, without seeming to offer resistance, they find some subtle and effective way of nullifying the intentions of the other party. It is notable that, throughout history, they have always absorbed and transmuted into themselves their supposed conquerors. One must never suppose that one has gained a victory over a person whose main forces lie in Libra. While you have been braking his lines in the front, he will have slipped round to the rear and cut your communications.
It is very necessary that children born strongly under the influence of this sign should be taught the necessity of exercising will power, of holding to their decisions, and of having a definite purpose in life. They have a certain apathy to overcome which may degenerate into indolence, unless they are kept steadily at a task until the habit of industry is formed. While their love of harmony and beauty can be an asset, provided they are given an artistic education which can be made a means of livelihood later in life, they should not be allowed to develop into dilettantes and fritter away their accomplishments or possibilities.
A great deal of affection should be bestowed upon Libra {105} children, even though they may not respond to it or appear to appreciate it. Unless the emotional nature can be developed, they are likely to suffer from loneliness, as their playmates may consider them cold and indifferent, and later in life they will suffer from a lack of friends and admirers. If parents of these children have formed plans for their future which do not seem to fall in with their own, it would be wise to prepare them for work for which they show a natural aptitude. It is far better for them to be successful actors, dancers, writers or painters than to be misfits in a more commercial calling. Do not try to make a dray horse out of a race horse; but rather turn their delicate susceptibilities into a channel where these traits will fit in and make for success.
People born from the 21st of January to the 20th of February, when the Sun is in the airy, humanitarian sign Aquarius, and from the 22nd of May to the 22nd of June, when the Sun is in the airy, intellectual sign Gemini, are naturally sympathetic and helpful to those born under Libra. Because their characteristics are complementary, they are good partners to the Libra-born, matrimonially or otherwise. If too intimately associate with those born from the 22nd of March to the 21st of April (Aries), 22nd of June to 24th of July (Cancer), 23rd of December to 21st of January (Capricorn), Libra people will need to exercise will power in order not to lose their individuality. Such an intimacy might result in the native of Libra first becoming too pliant and then reacting to the other extreme and becoming stubborn and unyielding. For this reason, people born under Aries, Cancer and Capricorn would not make the most sympathetic or helpful partners, either matrimonially or in a business way. {106} A period of about seven days -- October 21 to October 28 -- when the vibrations of Libra are merging into those of Scorpio, and Scorpio still retaining some of Libra is known as the cusp.
People born between these dates will partake of the just and artistic qualities of Libra, as well as the self-interested and materialistic side of Scorpio, or a combination of the two. As Mercury, ruling the mentality, and Venus, the love nature, are so close to the Sun, they, too, may partake of some of the qualities of the adjoining signs of Libra. This will account for some of the complex personalities so difficult of comprehension.
As with all the other signs, these deductions are drawn from the position of the Sun or Ascendant, and it is probable that some of the best friends of a Libra native may have been born under an apparently uncongenial sign. In such cases, the individual horoscopes must be consulted to discover what influences combine to produce the unexpected effect.
These indications cannot cover all the characteristics of an individual as he knows himself, as the influence of the planets must also be taken into consideration. A detained statement or horoscope must be made to discover the whole truth. {107}