Characteristics: arts-minded, beauty-loving, diplomatic, fair, friendly, indecisive, partnership-oriented, poised, relational, social, superficial, yes-(wo)man

Dates: September 23^rd – October 22^nd

Symbol: The Weighing Scales

Ruling Planet: Venus

Natural House: Seventh House

Body Parts: Kidneys, Lower Back, Skin, Buttocks

The coming of Libra marks the end of the first half of the astrological cycle, as well as the beginning of autumn. It’s a time when we reap what we sow. We congregate to gather crops that have grown over the summer. Our cooperation with others improves our relationships and helps us get the sense that we are not all alone. Harvest festivals give us incentive to come together as a community and celebrate what one cannot do alone. Additionally, October is the last of the popular wedding months before the New Year. Very few partnerships represent cooperation, teamwork, and compromise better than that of marriage. With the pledge of “to death do us part,” comes the promise that the two people involved will become an entity greater than just two parts of a whole. Libra’s symbol, the scales, represents the balance and equality for which Libra strives.

We’ve seen how Venus operates as the ruler of Taurus; now let’s see how it operates as Libra’s ruler. In both cases, Venus is the planet of love and beauty, so like Taurus, Libra has a lot to do with both of those things. The difference lies in how the two signs express them. Taurus is the fixed earth sign, so it’s all about practicality. It’s more about money, possessions, comfort, and the tangible. In contrast, the cardinal air sign of Libra handles love and beauty in a different way. It deals with the intellectual and social side of Venus: operas, ballets, art exhibitions, museum visits, the theatre. Anything related to the fine arts is Libra’s domain. Libra likes things that stimulate the mind rather than the body. You won’t see Libra snuggling on a couch at home. How else will it be able to talk about Mozart’s Requiem or Shakespeare’s MacBeth unless it goes out and mingles with the rest of the audience? Taurus’s fixed nature makes it much slower and steadier in love and more content with using its five senses. As a cardinal sign, Libra needs to act when it comes to immersing itself in aesthetic bliss.

The Seventh House, Libra’s natural house, is the house that governs marriage, business partnerships, and close friendships. These are all one-on-one relationships which require cooperation, compromise, and an equal amount of effort from both sides. They’re relationships in which complete trust is needed in order for them to work. Spouses, business partners, and best friends are not people you can spend time with whenever you feel like it. These relationships demand commitment. And no sign understands relationships better than Libra. We’ve seen the opposite sign and house, Aries and the First House: all about “me, me, me.” Well, Libra is all about “you, you, you.” Is it meeting you halfway? Are you getting along? Is there conflict between you and Libra? It’s all about one-on-one communication and being as good to its partner as it possibly can. Its spouse wants to move? It moves wherever (s)he wants to go. It doesn’t agree with its professor? It’ll try to say something that’ll make both of them happy. If its friend wants a compromise (or won’t), Libra will compromise. Because it will do anything it takes to make sure there is fairness between itself and its boy-/girlfriend, colleague, associate, etc. This is the kind of behavior that makes Libra one of the best diplomats and mediators of the zodiac, but it can take its cooperative nature too far. At its worst, Libra will serve as the consummate yes-man or yes-woman, putting others first and itself last. Its backbone will be nonexistent, and the very people it tries to please will either feel sorry for it or take advantage of its kindness. As long as Libra can be fair and just without letting others walk all over it, everyone wins.

The cardinal air sign is more in-charge and less disoriented than its mutable counterpart, Gemini. Whereas Gemini takes pieces of information to know more of what’s going on, Libra initiates dialogues with another in order to build relationships with him/her. It wants to see the other person’s perspective and use it to help shape its own. The reason why Libra feels the need to have a close relationship with another person is because it does its best when working with someone else. This is especially true in decision-making. As the sign of the weighing scales, Libra has a hard time making up its mind most of the time because it sees the validity of both choices. It’s fine when it comes to helping two other people meet in the middle, because Libra’s an equalizer. But forget about it when it comes to acting on its own accord, for itself. With a more decisive sign (i.e. an earth sign or fixed sign, especially Taurus) helping it, Libra will feel much better because the weight (pun not unintended) on its shoulders is cut in half. Involving another person in the decision-making process is also a good way for Libra to exercise its cooperation skills and build relationships.

If Libra isn’t the one throwing the party, it will walk into the venue with the elegance of an aristocrat. It will greet each guest with grace and charm. Every individual is a potential “mate” at first sight, so Libra won’t hesitate to start a pleasant chat with a guest. It’s also one of the most likely signs to make the other person the topic of discussion. “What do you do for a living?” “What are your hobbies?” “What kinds of books and movies do you like?” “How is your love life?” Libra’s going to be the guest who wants to talk about you (maybe over a cosmopolitan or a glass of white wine). This can be extremely flattering for some, but others may find it invasive. The best thing to do in such a situation is to be calmly honest about your discomfort. Explain that you like to keep your information (i.e. love life) private until you get to know Libra better. It’s a polite sign, so it will respect your privacy if you ask it to. Libra is said to be flirtatious; this is true. Their flirty nature comes from its desire for partnership, as well as its natural tact which people need to have in order to flirt successfully. Or if a Libran person doesn’t necessarily “flirt,” then (s)he will unintentionally attract others with their inviting behavior.

Libra rules the kidneys, lower back, and rear end; body parts that help with balance. Libran people usually have flexibility in their lower back areas and their behinds tend to be one of their more noticeable features. The kidneys help clean the blood of waste and rid the body of urine so the body can stay balanced internally. The lower back balances the upper part of the body with the legs. However, the body can’t balance itself all the time. It’s up to the Libran people themselves to keep extremes in check. The bad news is Librans are suckers for sweets. If they don’t watch and control how much sugar they eat, they will easily develop conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, and experience weight gain. Additionally, they will develop acne and other skin conditions. But if they limit their sugar intake and offset it with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, they can maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Next Article: Scorpio, the Fixed Water Sign