Did y’all know we’re in the Age of Aquarius? Besides being a neat song that came out ~1975, a key trait of this for astrologers is a sudden interest in the ‘eccentric’ and the upturn of trends that might have been suppressed in earlier decades. Therefore, it’s no surprise to me that things like astrology, tarot, and the ‘witch’ aesthetic are on trend.
Something that’s been debated in ‘mainstream’ astrology–that is, on those casual astrology blogs on Twitter or Tumblr–is which element in astrology is the best. For example, some people (like your local Aries here) think fire signs are the best, and some people think they’re the worst. In the end, all the element groups are valid, and I’ll explain why.
- Fire Signs
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The fire signs (in order) are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Everyone knows a fire sign, and if you didn’t before, now you do! (Hint: it’s me.)They’re pretty quick to spot because they’re good at standing out and making people realize they’re not to be ignored. To break them down super simplistically, fire signs are like the gut instinct aspect of people. They’re individualistic, either lead the group or rebel against the group, and can be friendly but passionate about the things they care about, feel they must protect, or even things they don’t care about. They get fussy and riled up easily, especially if they feel like they’re being stifled, though how often that side of them shows up depends on their self-discipline. While some fire sign people have a lot, some don’t at all. It’s good to have a little fire in your life somewhere to give you that spark of creative passion in what you enjoy, to hype yourself up when nobody else will, and to help you stand your ground against all odds.
- Earth Signs
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The earth signs are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. Earth signs can be hard to spot at first because they can be subtle, but once you know one you can pick them out in a dense crowd easily. They’re the ones that can be at rest while everything around them is going hectic, or at least can appear to be stoic while others are not. In simple aspects, earth signs are material, they work with all things real: invoking the senses and the body, influencing real time events through hard work or service, making the world they want to live in a reality one day at a time. Some can be almost too expressive, others have a hard time letting themselves be vulnerable and unsure in front of others, being ‘safe’ is key to a balanced earth sign. We need earth signs in our lives to remind us how to commit to our goals, to be just as invested in finishing things as starting them, and to focus on more than work or income but also on our health and comfort.
- Air Signs
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The air signs are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. Like fire signs, air signs don’t have to use much effort to be seen, and yet unlike any other sign, air signs have this innate ‘not of this earth’ quality about them. Simply put, air signs are the opposite of earth signs, where earth is material, air is mental. They learn about people and the world around them not by physical means, but through active research, which usually includes socialization and communication. Their ideal role is to connect people to share ideas, beliefs, and to create new ones. Air signs also get a bad reputation, as they can appear to be inauthentic in their curiosity and ability to be chameleon-like for their benefit, but it’s not because they’re malicious, it’s because they’re trying to learn something to embrace and enhance the collective somehow. Some air sign people can also be closed off, noncommittal as they flit from to stage to stage, person to person, project to project. Having air signs in our lives shows us what interests us, how we learn and make friends, how we can connect people to ideas and even start a movement towards a collective goal.
- Water Signs
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The water signs are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. You can spot a water sign by who’s blasting their bad day playlist the loudest on Snapchat just before finals week. Or by who’s the most excited to talk to a loved one they haven’t seen in a while. Water signs are punctuated by a sense of changeability, duality, and intuition that’s formed into outward empathy or inward psychic withdrawal. Simply put, water signs either want to be seen,known, and play active roles in the lives of those they care about, or the exact opposite, they want to be as far away from reality and the constant tragedies of life, because managing their own emotions is hard enough much less anyone else’s. Obviously, water signs are the opposite of fire, so where the fire is focused on the self, water is often dealing with others whether they want to or not. Water signs can detach if they need to, but for some it can be terribly hard. They work with emotions, with providing one’s foundational values, sense of boundaries, and what they want ‘home’ to feel like, what they want ‘security’ and trust to feel like, they seek connection with a greater meaning or existence than just the physical or ego. Not always with other people though, some water signs want to improve themselves and seek a sort of enlightenment. We need water signs in our lives to show us how to strengthen our intuition and listen to our hearts, what we need emotionally above all else, what we seek from others as well as from the universe. They’re about flow and nurturing the self along with those we care about.
So, next time you find yourself in a debate about whether it’s better to date an earth or water sign, remember that each group has its pros and cons, and that being balanced is the real goal! Love your fellow elements, astrologers in training!