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LIBRA The Seventh Sign

The Scales

For balance, justice and weighing; the only inanimate zodiac sign.

Ruled by Venus

Cardinal air , masculine/positive

“I BALANCE and I SEEK THE OTHER”

This 7th sign correlates with the 7th house.

Venus is accidentally dignified in the 7th.

Part of the body: kidneys

Concept: “I seek myself through what I unite,” drawn to interact with others, assert their social identity, and harmonise with what confronts them; needs to maintain a harmonious connection with others – thus minimises unpleasantness. Sometimes “fights for peace.” Relating, sharing, cooperating, experiencing the “self versus other” tension, fighting for balance. Decisions are important work for Librans. Beauty, harmony, blending people together. Good mediators.

Qualities: balanced, impartial mind; refined artistic nature, good partner, sociable, gregarious, charming, graceful or gracious, just, diplomatic, “peace at any price.”

Liabilities: price of peace is often too high, superficial, indecisive, manipulative or dependent, avoids reality when too unpleasant, pleasure seeker. Projects his own “other half” onto other people and fails to see them for what they are.

Needs to learn: to develop the “inner partner” and become whole rather than seek the other to complete oneself.

Handling the Libran: Cooperate and avoid coarseness.

KEYWORDS

harmony

peace

relationship

mates

unity

charm

grace

sociable

diplomatic

tasteful

indecisive

balance

refined sophisticated

compromise

justice

deliberating

arbitration

beauty

artistic

Libran consumers like beautiful things, refinement, and have very good taste.

How is Libra capable?

They are good mediators or negotiators, are balanced and just, and can be very objective. They excel in creating beauty.

How is Libra cardinal?

Libra will take the initiative in establishing peace or harmony. For this end, paradoxically, they must often fight. The have the capacity and energy to initiate artistic projects. Contrary to popular opinion, Librans can make decisions [a cardinal function] and this is one of their specialties. It simply costs them a lot in time and effort because they are so objective and thorough in their considerations.

Libra psychology

They hate anything coarse, distasteful or overly intense, as they prefer to keep life pleasant. Often Libra is accused of being superficial – but they are just trying to avoid what they abhor. They are famous for seeing two sides of everything, and really do have issues with choices or decisions [see above]. The whole psychology of the shadow or the “other” is vital to them.

Libra's path is to experience and balance the dualities of life within themselves; to establish harmony and beauty; to learn through relating.

Mythic Libra

Tiresius ~ One time when he was in Hera's garden, the mortal Tiresius witnessed two serpents coupling. He asked Hera, “Which one has the greater pleasure, the male or the female serpent?”

Hera did not know, and decided to use her powers to allow Tiresius to research this vital issue for himself. She granted Tiresius many years in the body of a woman, so he could experience the pleasures of the female first-hand.

At the end of his female sojourn, he was brought before Zeus and Hera to report the results of his findings. Tiresius quickly realised that, no matter what he said to the king and queen of the gods, he would get into trouble either way. He tried to avoid saying outright which sex had more pleasure, but eventually was forced to admit that it was the female. Zeus was so angry with this that he struck Tiresius blind. Blindness, in Greek myth, is believed to be a metaphor for inner sight.

Libra's gift is just this: to see both sides of a question, and also to realise that making a choice is going to displeaqse one side of the other – often to the peril of the Libran person, for a choice is often interpreted as disloyalty.

The myth of the Judgement of Paris is also very Libran. In this story, Libran decision-making, or choosing of sides, led to the famous Trojan War.

When Queen Hecuba, the wife of King Priam, was pregnant, she dreamed that she gave birth to a fire-setter who destroyed the city of Troy. Her alarmed husband consulted a seer, who told him his baby would one day cause the destruction of his country. Thus the king ordered that the child should be put to death. However, after being left on Mount Ida to die from exposure, the child miraculously survived, and a shepherd secretly took young Paris home and reared him.

Paris had become an adult by the time of the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the hero and the sea-goddess. All the gods and goddesses were invited, with the exception of the Goddess of Strife, who was unwelcome at a wedding. Angry at being left out, Eris strode into the wedding feast and threw a golden apple into the guests' circle. It landed between the three most powerful goddesses, Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. Picking it up, Zeus found it was inscribed ‘For the Fairest'. Wisely deciding not to choose between the three goddesses himself, Zeus selected the handsome Paris as judge. Paris, fatefully, agreed to the task.

When the judgement day came, Paris witnessed a great light which covered the entire mountain. At first he was blinded, but then the goddesses shielded their light in cloud so that he was able to look at them.

First Hera approached him and flaunted her radiant beauty. She promised that if he awarded her the apple, she would grant him wealth and power, and the rule over the greatest kingdom on earth.

Athene was next to approach him, and bent low so that he might look into the magical depths of her eyes. She promised him victory in all battles, together with glory and wisdom.

Finally came Aphrodite. She pretended to be a little shy and flirted with the entranced Paris, who was allowed to catch a glimpse of her perfectly formed breast, as white as marble. ‘Paris,' she said, ‘Give me the apple and in return I will give you the gift of love. You will possess the most beautiful woman in the land, a woman equal to me in perfection of form. With her you will experience the greatest delights of love-making. Choose me, Paris, and she will be yours.'

Then Paris, overpowered by the promise of love and beauty, found himself handing Aphrodite the apple, guided only by the strength of his desire.

So it was that Hera and Athene became his implacable enemies. True to her promise, Aphrodite gave beautiful Helen to Paris, - but, in order to enjoy her, he had to wrest her from her powerful husband, Menelaus. So began the terrible ten-years' war between the Trojans and the Greeks in which many a hero lost his life, including Paris himself, and after which the great hero Odysseus wandered the seas for a further ten long years before returning home.

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