Astrology, Plain & Simple: The Only Book You'll Ever Need - Cass Jackson, Janie Jackson (2016)

Chapter 2. The Signs of the Zodiac

The twelve signs of the zodiac influence the planets as they pass through them, directing their qualities into the different behavioral patterns that we recognize as personality traits.

For example, when we speak of someone being born under the sign of Libra we mean that, at their date of birth, the Sun was passing through the zodiac sign of Libra. Such a person will likely exhibit the characteristics and traits that are traditionally associated with a Libran Sun sign.

The sign of Aries is always considered as the first sign of the zodiac. This is because the Sun enters the sign of Aries at the time of the spring equinox, which is around March 21, when the days and nights are of equal length. The exact dates and times for the start of each sign vary from year to year, so all astrology books can only give approximate dates.

The main characteristics for each of the Sun signs can be found in the following pages.

ARIES

Sign of the Ram

If you were born under the sign of Aries, you're very likely to be gregarious and dynamic. Your friends will see you as a natural-born leader who has to be in charge of any undertaking. If, for any reason, you're forced to take a back seat, you're likely to be up and away in search of another more exciting project.

You have an almost childlike enthusiasm for anything new. The ram's motto is “Me first!” If you're a typical Aries, you'll be convinced that your life's purpose is to lead others in the way they should go. Some of you see life as a game in which you have to call the shots, or a competition that you have to win.

Certainly, you're not one to let an opportunity of any kind pass you by. You'll seize it with both hands, confident of immediate success. If things don't go your way, you'll probably fly into a temper. Rams on the rampage are to be avoided, as they can be violent when roused. Fortunately for others—and for your blood pressure—you quickly forget your bad moods and behave as though they never happened.

You are a positive character, strong-willed, optimistic, and full of energy. You're energetic and courageous and take life's problems in stride without complaint.

TAURUS

Sign of the Bull

In marked contrast to impulsive Aries, those born under the sign of Taurus will be steadfast and determined. You are patient and completely reliable. Once you have embarked on a course of action, you are reluctant to deviate from it. This is the positive side of your determination. Others may call you stubborn. Risky undertakings don't appeal to you. You prefer to lay back and let the rest of the world get on with things. Though you would hotly deny that you are lazy, you do tend to be self-indulgent; you definitely like an easy time and a great social life, or a working life that has elements of socializing as part of it.

Linked with this is your aversion to any form of change, which is why you often remain in an unsatisfactory situation. You're not happy with it, but feel that change involves risk and you don't like taking chances. The odd thing is that, although you'll accept being stuck in a rut, you're easily bored. Material possessions are important to you. Obtaining them may indeed be one of the driving forces of your life and can lead to unaccustomed hard work. It could be said that your greatest aims are to enjoy yourself and have a good life. You're certainly highly sensual and few people realize that, if necessary, you can be one of the most down-to-earth, conservative people of the zodiac.

GEMINI

Sign of the Twins

With a Gemini Sun, you will be adaptable and versatile, making your dexterity a valuable asset. You're forever curious, always looking for ways to improve yourself and your life. This avid interest in anything and everything may encourage you to take on too many projects at any one time, meaning you'll deal with each one in a rather superficial manner. You're always full of ideas, but seldom put them into practice because your interest peters out once you've discovered the ins and outs. Although you have a great deal of mental and physical energy, you tend to dissipate this force by being unstable and inconsistent.

Others love your quick wit, fluent conversation, and spontaneity. No party is ever dull if a Gemini is at the center of activity. Few people know how indecisive, uneasy, and nervous you feel behind that cloak of gaiety. Some may see through your superficiality and realize that you can be both cunning and calculating. Even so, your quick wits and conversational skills enable you to talk yourself out of any difficult situation.

Your Sun sign—the twins—manifests in your duality, making you seem eccentric or at least unconventional. This is not necessarily a negative trait. Some of the world's greatest inventions were created by Geminis with their practical yet intellectual approach. This duality also makes itself apparent in your emotional make-up. Others may see this as vacillation. The truth is that your feelings are not determined by any deep-seated emotions. They depend entirely on how you feel at any one particular moment.

CANCER

Sign of the Crab

You are one of the most sensitive signs of the zodiac, though you try—usually without success—to hide this aspect of your nature. What else you hide beneath that Cancerian shell nobody knows. You tend to be reclusive, allowing others into your life only on a need-to-know basis. In fact, you have an extremely strong streak of secretiveness in your make-up.

When problems arise in your life, you will do almost anything to avoid facing them. In this respect, you're a cross between an ostrich and a crab. First, you stick your head in the sand, pretending that if you can't see the problem it will go away. Then, when forced to face facts, you will do so in the most indirect way possible.

Your vivid imagination often surprises people. Your sudden hunches can be valuable to you in your business life, as can your characteristic shrewdness and inborn flair for commerce. Although you may start up in business for yourself, you are not well suited to working alone, preferring to have a partner. This works well until that partner appears to let you down or slight you in any way because you never forgive or forget. This sort of situation could result in one of the moods of dark depression to which you are prone. In turn, this will make your outlook even more negative than usual.

Despite your natural shyness, you are a very caring and affectionate person who can be quite emotional and protective toward the people you love.

LEO

Sign of the Lion

True to your birth sign, you exhibit all the majestic leonine qualities. The words that best describe you are regal, noble, dignified, proud, and self-confident. You are completely aware of these attributes, realizing that even if you don't possess them to the full, you have a duty to act as though you do. Your behavior is always flamboyant, and this is reflected in your speech and your clothing. Not only does your exuberance carry you along, it is contagious and others feel swept along with you. You are always the leader, which you feel is only right and proper. Leo, after all, is king of the jungle, and you expect to lead, even if your particular jungle is decidedly urban.

You will take on almost any task and, once committed, you'll stick with it until the job is completed. No project is too big for you to attempt. You tend to see the overall picture, without bothering over minor details. In this respect, you are one of the most creative people of the zodiac. You set high standards for yourself and expect the same from others, not hesitating to show your disappointment if they are unable to keep up with you. Your imposing attitude may give the impression that Leo is grand and unapproachable. This is not so. Your family and friends know you to be both tender and lighthearted. This tenderness can become manifest when you've been hurt, though you will be careful not to let others see your pain.

Others sometimes see you as arrogant, but your charm is such that you get away with it.

VIRGO

Sign of the Virgin

If you were born under the sign of Virgo, your perfectionism will probably irritate everyone you know. This won't bother you, because you believe that your meticulous attention to detail is only right and proper. Your redeeming feature is that you are as critical of yourself as you are of others. Although you may appear unemotional, your greatest satisfaction in life comes from helping others. Few people realize this because your shyness and lack of self-esteem keep you out of the limelight.

You can be obsessive about health and hygiene, or you may spend energy worrying about whether your house will be swept away in a flood (even if it is on a hill), or you may have other obsessions. Old-time astrology books used to harp on about how neat and tidy you are, but that just isn't true. You can live and work in a mess, but you know where everything is and you go ballistic if someone interferes with your stuff or moves it. You may be fastidious about your diet though, and people consider you a very fussy eater.

On the mental level, you are as precise as you are practical—possibly even more so. You'd never take on a job without first being sure that you know and understand the smallest details of the operation. If there are any gaps in your knowledge you're quite prepared to spend some time—and indeed, you may insist on—acquiring the missing information. Only then will you apply yourself wholeheartedly to the task in hand, fulfilling your reputation of being the hardest worker in the zodiac.

LIBRA

Sign of the Scales

Born under the sign of Libra, you are almost certainly a diplomat with a strong predilection for justice. Fairness is an obsession with you and you simply cannot accept the fact that, at times, life is not fair. This can make you appear to be a poor loser. Your diplomacy makes you the supreme arbiter since you can always see both sides of any argument. On the one hand, you love to keep everything well balanced, harmonious, and orderly, but on the other hand you also love to debate and argue. The scales of justice are your symbol and you can argue like a lawyer when the mood takes hold of you.

You find it difficult to make decisions; you'd rather sit on the fence, keeping everything in balance. This type of situation makes some Librans extremely vulnerable and easily influenced. Those who recognize this weakness may take advantage of you. However, Libra is a cardinal sign, and as such, you are disinclined to live according to other people's rules or do anything other than exactly what pleases you.

Your manners are perfect. You are charming and courteous and you can be the guru of good taste. You are the perfect host. You love to entertain and be entertained, and you enjoy good food, good wine, and good company; companionship, in fact, is an integral part of your life. Even so, you do occasionally need periods of peace and quiet in order to recharge your batteries and restore the balance in your own life.

Strangely, although you are forever mindful of fair play, you are not above bending the rules when it suits you. On such occasions, you claim that you are adding a little extra “corrective” weight to one side of the scales in order to maintain perfect balance.

SCORPIO

Sign of the Scorpion

Scorpios often look for some form of security in a world they find intimidating. Your inner lack of confidence gives rise to the notion that you are unfriendly and obsessive. The truth is that you are inclined to be secretive and others may see you as neurotic. You can overcome these problems only when you are in full control of your life—and that doesn't often happen to any of us.

Your need for security means that you are forever seeking to wrap up your current situation and start a new life. Sometimes this is not possible, whereupon you may suddenly change your lifestyle for no apparent reason. When your powerful emotions are kept under control, you are tender and devoted, dazzling others with your magnetic personality. However, if anyone displeases you, you can be unforgiving and vindictive. Scorpio never forgets an injury.

Your worst fault is that you are so self-absorbed that you use up other people and wear them out. You may drain them financially, demand that they keep on traveling when they are exhausted, or go on and on about yourself and demand that they focus their minds day and night on your most minute decision or problem until the other person wants to scream.

Traditionally, yours is the most highly sexed sign of the zodiac. You are certainly passionate in all areas of life, including your work and play. Everything you do is undertaken with the utmost intensity. It must also be said that you make a faithful and passionate lover. With your charismatic personality, you will not lack willing partners.

You are strongly intuitive, probably due to your deeply reflective and spiritual nature, and you use this quality to successfully analyze and solve problems for others, even if you cannot solve your own.

SAGITTARIUS

Sign of the Archer

If you were born when the Sun was in Sagittarius, you are endowed with boundless enthusiasm. You like to appear confident to others, but you feel far from confident within yourself. Your energies are often channeled into sport and you may be a devotee of outdoor games. You also love to travel. This is also a reflection of your need for freedom, both mental and physical. All the greatest explorers have some aspect of Sagittarius in their make-up. You feel complete and able to breathe properly only when you are out in the world. If you are in any way restricted, you become moody and miserable, but as long as you have your freedom, you are the perpetual optimist. You choose jobs that take you from place to place or that allow you to choose your own hours.

You have an enquiring mind and love a mental challenge, being prepared to delve deeply into any subject that interests you. Indeed, you have no time for what you see as the trivial issues in life or other people's problems. This is evidenced by one topic that is a perpetual source of interest to you: Why are we here?

These stimuli are necessary to your nature. Without them, you become bored and then your negative side comes out. This mainly manifests as restlessness and inconsistency in your behavior and a very sharp and hurtful tongue.

In addition to having a probing mind, you are quite intuitive and can often immediately see the grand design that eludes others. Unfortunately, you are capable of producing more schemes in your head than you can ever bring to fruition. Nevertheless, you enjoy your grand ambitions and hate to be tied down by routine. Sagittarius likes nothing better than to embark on some new and outlandish project.

CAPRICORN

Sign of the Goat

Like the goat, Capricorn is sure-footed, but in an abstract, cerebral sense. There's nothing indecisive about you. You are very self-disciplined, able to plan and then achieve your self-imposed long-term goals, and these objectives will be sound, sensible, and practical ones. As a child, you were undoubtedly reputed to have an old head on young shoulders. Strangely, though, you were probably a slow developer. You have complete faith in your own abilities and the possibility of failure simply does not exist for you.

You don't attempt to hide your ambition to obtain some form of appreciation and acknowledgment in society as a whole. In your drive to reach the top, you can even be ruthless with anyone who obstructs your progress. Like the goat, you'll keep on climbing until you reach the top.

Although you work hard and long, you are not blessed with a quick mind and you hate to be hurried. As a consequence, you prefer to work in a situation where you can plod along at your own steady pace. Avoid at all costs any situation in which you are expected to come up with speedy answers to complicated questions. This will lead only to depression and disillusionment. If this happens, you will retreat to the security and stability of you own home and family—the mainstays of your life.

AQUARIUS

Sign of the Water Bearer

Why do others see you as being stubborn? You know what is right and stick to your principles. What's wrong with that? You are certainly forthright in proclaiming your ideals. You can't understand why others won't join you in fighting for your rights, justice, freedom, peace—or whatever cause you are supporting this week. Your radical views and the fervor with which you project them may exclude you from a large portion of society, which sees you as an eccentric weirdo. This doesn't bother you. It's they who are out of step. You'll have no hesitation in joining organizations, leading protest marches, and organizing demonstrations for what you consider to be worthy causes. You value freedom of expression and will fight for it above all else. This is the Aquarian nature, and there's nothing you can do to change it. What your critics don't know is that beneath this radical exterior there cowers an insecure individual who genuinely cares for others, and for humanity as a whole.

Although you are only too willing to express your views on your objectives, you are reluctant to expose your essential self. As a result, you make few friendships. Those friendships you do make are shallow, because you treat all strangers with caution. Additionally, your touch-me-not manner does not exactly invite closeness. You don't want anyone to stifle your personal freedom. This attitude unfortunately fights against the formation of close relationships in which a partner might come to appreciate your loyal and loving nature.

PISCES

Sign of the Fishes

Pisceans are among the most sensitive of individuals, instinctively aware of the emotions of others and always willing to help those in trouble. Your intuition goes beyond the normal. You simply “know” when things are wrong and you don't wait to be asked for help. You'll do almost anything to maintain the status quo as long as it keeps the rest of the world happy. To escape a confrontation you'll give way and accept other people's ideas simply for peace and quiet.

When you're alone, you drift into a fantasy world where everything is perfect. This is the escape mechanism you need when you realize that you are not living in utopia and life is not as peaceful and serene as you would like it to be.

You tend to magnify your fear and problems and can become quite irrational; hence your need to get away and immerse yourself in dreams. This escape can take many forms. Many writes, poets, and actors are Pisceans who unconsciously use their art as a means of escape from reality. Sadly, some Pisceans tend to go even further in their flight from the harshness of life and seek release through alcohol or drugs.

Because you want everything to be perfect, you will often romanticize a situation and put on rose-colored glasses. In one-to-one situations, this can be dangerous. It is all too easy for you to fall in love with love, rather than with the object of your affections.

Now that you've been introduced to the qualities of each zodiac sign, you have the most basic building block to understanding your astrological chart. But there is so much more to understanding what makes you tick! Let's continue to explore Astrology Plain and Simple.