Happy Birthday Libra

Libra - the Scales 

9/23 - 10/22

 
Basic Traits:

As their zodiac signs and meanings would indicate, Libra's are all about balance, justice, equanimity and stability. They easily surround themselves with harmony and beauty, but sometimes go to extremes to do so if their goals are unreasonable or unhealthy. With Venus as their ruling planet, Libra's are very understanding, caring, and often the champion of underdogs. They have keen intuitions, but often don't give themselves enough credit for their perceptions. They can be quiet and shy if not persuaded to come out of their shell. Ironically and in spite of their introverted nature they make excellent debaters, often proving a point from out of seemingly nowhere.


The Deeper Meaning:

The goal for Libra is to witness to the importance of co-operation and harmony in human life. Libra is represented by a pair of scales - the only sign to be represented by an inanimate object. This says something about the Libra objective - to be fair and balanced in everything in a detached way - it is an air sign and therefore seeks an ideal. At its best, Libra can view complex situations, maybe emotionally highly charged ones, and come to a balanced view based on a fair consideration of all the options. However, it may take a while to come off the fence! Come down in favour of one side of the scales and the other side goes up, and Libra always seeks to restore balance.

Libra is the sign most commonly associated with relationships, and justly so in the sense that one is always seeking another for balance. On one's own one is unbalanced. But like all air signs, Libra finds the emotional complexities and compatibility issues of love relationships can be difficult to deal with. Air signs have an ideal image of how things ought to be, and for Libra the ideal is of how relationships ought to be. Emotional entanglements complicate the ideal image, and Libra has to learn how to live through them. No criticism should be attached to the need to make space for oneself in relationship, as long as one is aware of the temptation to escape from facing the issues. At its best, Libra can view emotions with a helpful detachment without escaping from them.

The lessons in life which you have to learn as a Libra may be illustrated by other features of your birth chart. If you have many planets in Scorpio, for instance, you will inevitably be drawn to situations which challenge your Libra ideals, and which may give you much anguish in life until you learn how to deal with them. The Moon in Aries would give you a fiery assertive side to your nature which would form a polarity with the Libra in you, and you may feel embarrassed from time to time about how much you want to have your own way, never mind what the other wants! Venus in Scorpio would indicate a tendency to form relationships having strong emotional overtones, and which unearth buried feelings from the past which you thought were no longer an issue. Such feelings may give any current relationship a flavor which does not really belong to it, and may lead to one partner blaming the other for perceived (rather than real) faults. This would give the Libra a good opportunity to practice the detachment appropriate to all air signs, so as to see the complexities of the situation from another perspective. A good relationship could thus be saved from disaster, or a poor one adjusted, or ended, without reproach.