The Modalities
Our ancestors used the seasons to divide up the signs and each stage of the season was assigned a quality to it. Spring is March 21 –June 21. Summer is June 22 – September 21 and so on. The 3-month cycle of the seasons became the basis of the metaphor for the style in which a sign is expressed.
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Cardinal: The first 30 days of a season are called Cardinal. Cardinal energies are catalytic, energetic and active because they have the power to usher in the season. When a person is born during the beginning part of a season, they will contain within them the traits of aggression, motivation, and purposefulness. They will also tend to be impatient, unable to finish a project, and manipulative as a means to achieve their goal. There are 4 Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn).
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Fixed: The middle of the season is symbolized by fixed energies, these are stabilizing, sustaining, powerful, and persistent energies. This is the time when the season has firmly established itself and provides consistent temperatures and climate. People born in the middle of a season reflect these characteristics and prove themselves to be more resistant to change and have more "tenacity" than the other signs. Keywords include stabilizers, finishers, sustaining and stubborn. There are 4 fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius).
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Mutable: The last 30 days of a season is symbolized by Mutable energies or flexible, adaptable changeable energies. Individuals born toward the end of the season seem more willing and able to change, more able to see both sides to everything, and more adaptable than the other 2 modalities. The mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. All of the mutable signs have a dualistic nature to them or two sides that must find resolve and balance. |
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