← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 198/235
Fixed
The signs
The fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, one of each element, each a square from the next and an opposition from the third: the fixed cross. They are the middle of the three modes, coming after the cardinal signs and before the mutable ones.
These four signs carry some of the oldest images in astrology: the Bull, the Lion, the Eagle (an old emblem of Scorpio) and the Water-bearer, the four figures that appear at the corners of many medieval images and are linked in Christian art to the four Evangelists.
The seasons
Lilly explains the name: the fixed signs follow the equinoxes and solstices, "and they are called fixed, for that when Sun enters into them, the season of the yeer is fixed, and we doe more evidently perceive either Heat or Cold, Moysture or Drinesse". The Sun's passage through Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius is the heart of each season, when the weather has settled into its character.
In horary astrology that gives the fixed signs a sense of duration. A significator in a fixed sign tends to show a matter that is slow to begin and slow to end, a person who will not easily change their mind, or a situation that will last. Lilly measured time in longer units — months, or years — when the testimonies fell in fixed signs and cadent houses.
What fixed inclines toward
Fixed energy sustains: it concentrates, consolidates and holds on. Each element shows it differently — Taurus through steady possession and patience, Leo through loyal, warm self-expression, Scorpio through emotional depth and tenacity, Aquarius through firmly held ideas and principles.
A chart heavy in fixed signs may incline toward loyalty, persistence, reliability and great powers of concentration — the capacity to see something through long after others have moved on. The other side is stubbornness, resistance to change and a tendency to hold on to feelings, positions or possessions after they have served their purpose.
A chart light in fixed signs may incline toward difficulty sustaining effort, finishing what is begun or settling into commitments. Often a person learns to borrow steadiness from structures, routines or people around them.
Patterns
A T-square in fixed signs is read as tension that builds slowly and is hard to shift, met with determination rather than haste — immense staying power, at the risk of entrenchment. A Grand Cross in fixed signs is often described as a person of formidable endurance, pulled four ways at once yet rarely moved.
In the tarot
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow.
Cards of its signs:
- Taurus: The Hierophant, Five of Pentacles, Six of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles
- Leo: Strength, Five of Wands, Six of Wands, Seven of Wands
- Scorpio: Death, Five of Cups, Six of Cups, Seven of Cups
- Aquarius: The Star, Five of Swords, Six of Swords, Seven of Swords