quality vs. quantity

Just as the 12 Signs are divided between the Elements of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water - they are divided among the three Qualities of Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable.

There are three signs represented in each Element:
FIRE = ARIES, LEO, and SAGITTARIUS
EARTH = TAURUS, VIRGO, and CAPRICORN
AIR = GEMINI, LIBRA, and AQUARIUS
WATER = CANCER, SCORPIO, and PISCES

Of the three signs in each Element, one will be of Cardinal quality, one of Fixed, and one of Mutable:

ARIES is the CARDINAL FIRE sign
LEO is the FIXED FIRE sign
and SAGITTARIUS is the MUTABLE FIRE sign

TAURUS is the FIXED EARTH sign
VIRGO is the MUTABLE EARTH sign
and CAPRICORN is the CARDINAL EARTH SIGN

GEMINI is the MUTABLE AIR sign
LIBRA is the CARDINAL AIR sign
and AQUARIUS is the FIXED AIR sign

CANCER is the CARDINAL WATER sign
SCORPIO is the FIXED WATER sign
and PISCES is the MUTABLE WATER sign

The Element describes the place a sign operates from: Fire signs operate from Instinct, Earth signs from Sense. Air signs operate from Thought, and Water signs from Feeling.

The Quality describes the way in which a sign operates: Cardinal signs are born leaders, the entrepreneurs, the examples set, and sometimes, the boss of you. Fixed signs are typically stubborn and set in their ways, but they are also the ones who can stick with a project or a plan until the payoff. Fixed signs are loyal and true to their word. Mutable signs are adaptable, the ones who keep everything moving. Mutable signs are the very best at going with the customary flow, adjusting to the circumstances and living up to When in Rome. But the Mutable signs can also be accused of wishy-washiness, and never quite knowing where they really stand.

The Cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Cardinal signs are Ambitious, they like to initiate things. Cardinal signs like to be first. Each year, the moment that the Sun moves into one of the Cardinal signs is the moment that we begin a new season: the day the Sun moves into Aries is the Spring Equinox, the day the Sun moves into Cancer is the Summer Solstice, the day the Sun moves into Libra is the Autumn Equinox, and the day the Sun moves into Capricorn is the Winter Solstice.

The Fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Fixed signs are well known for their will. They are people who can hold a grudge until the end of time, but also people who will work toward what they want for even longer than that. Fixed signs stick tight to what they know and believe. The Fixed signs occur during the height of each season: Taurus happens in March and April, when Spring is just starting to kick in. Leo happens with the heat waves in July and August, Scorpio happens in October and November with the leaves. And Aquarius happens in the dead of winter, January and February, the days when the winter seems a hundred years long.

The Mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. The Mutable signs act as the bridges between the Fixed and Cardinal signs. They're the ones who can find a way to show a Fixed sign the brand new ideas a Cardinal sign is wanting to implement, and get the Fixed sign almost even willing to make a change. Mutable signs are receptive and empathetic. They are so adaptable to their various circumstances that they can be accused of not having their own legs to stand on, of always conforming to whatever is going on around them. The Mutable signs happen during the cusps of the seasons: Gemini happens in May and June when Spring is just turning into Summer, Virgo happens in August and September, when it's still crazy hot but the Summer is coming to an end. Sagittarius happens in November and December, when Winter's on its way but not biting us just yet, and Pisces in February and March, the days when we finally start anticipating Spring again.

Again, just as with the Elements, these are only a very few words that can describe the motivation behind each Quality. And again, we all have some variation of all three Qualities operating in our basic make-up. Think about the Quality of your Sun sign, vs. the Quality of your Moon, and your Rising Sign as well if you know it. Some might have a Cardinal Sun, with a Mutable Moon and a Fixed Rising - giving them a balanced combination of all three Qualities, while some might have a Cardinal Sun, Moon and Ascendant - making them that much more apt to exhibit Cardinal traits. Which Quality resonates the most with you?

~Beginning with the first sign, Aries, the Qualities occur in the same sequence throughout the Zodiac: Cardinal, then Fixed, then Mutable, then Cardinal again:

ARIES CARDINAL FIRE
TAURUS FIXED EARTH
GEMINI MUTABLE AIR
CANCER CARDINAL WATER
LEO FIXED FIRE
VIRGO MUTABLE EARTH
LIBRA CARDINAL AIR
SCORPIO FIXED WATER
SAGITTARIUS MUTABLE AIR
CAPRICORN CARDINAL EARTH
AQUARIUS FIXED AIR
PISCES MUTABLE WATER