The Elements - Fire

Today's black friday, so a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you spent the time appreciating what you have in your lives. It's easy to get really caught up in your goals and the things you want for the future without really taking time to like enjoy anything you have NOW. So I hope everyone took a moment to appreciate those things yesterday!

Now getting back to astrology... I'm sure many people are already aware that in western astrology there are four elements. Even if you didn't know that I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble guessing what they are.  The elements are and how they affect the 12 zodiac signs could be called the basics of your personality's DNA. Fire is my favorite. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are considered to be the three signs " ruled" by fire. You will see that term in astrology books a lot but I don't really like it. Rather I would say that Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are the 3 expressions of fire. Fire is passionate. What is passion? On one occassion I was guest speaking at my former high school with a friend who I'd graduated with long ago. He was telling a class about what it was like to pursue art on a college level. As he spoke the gaze in his eyes traveled further and further away. He wasn't looking at the students, or over their heads, he wasn't even in the same room with them. The words he spoke came tumbling out smoother, stronger, as he described the mediums he used and the faces he drew. Public speaking had never been his element but at that moment it didn't matter because he had transcended us and left us all behind. Standing right beside him, I knew even I was gone in his mind and a wave of envy crashed over me. Because the passion for his craft was radiating from him, vibrating through every word. But I couldn't find that passion in myself and I couldn't be lost in the moment with him. I could only stand and watch like the rest of them.  I suppose when put to defining it, passion is a love of something + a tremendous amount of energy seeking an outlet.  In my friend's life the outlet is art, but it can be different things for different people. Passionate people are often a little unpredictable. We can understand this by saying that if their energy is similar to a fire then it's not as simple as an electric light simply being either "on" or " off", instead their intensity flickers and because of that they can be perceived as quick tempered or moody or a little unbalanced.

Now let's think of this as being a scale:
Aries  -   ----------------------- - - - -  - - - - - Leo  - - - - - - - - -   -   -   -   Sagittarius -   -    -    -    -    -    -

Aries :   Intense energy has a more physical and aggressive feel           
Leo:    Intense energy has a more fun, theatrical feel, less aggressive, still in your face.                          Sagittarius:  Intense energy that is less aggressive, less vocal,
                     more like a candle of inspiration, not a bonfire.

It's important to remember that EACH person is a COMBINATION of these 12 signs. No one is just one zodiac sign. This blog is covering the basics first. Because a human being's personality is made up of many traits, some they were born with and some they have learned through their life situations. So each zodiac signs should be viewed as just one gene in your personality's DNA.
Now astrology offers even more ways to understand the intensity levels of each of the fire signs. In astrology there are 3 " modes". They are called cardinal, fixed, and mutable. 

Cardinal =  energy that pushes outward towards others. Aries is the cardinal fire sign. It's energy is a bonfire that is always reaching outward to consume more, have more, and control more.

Fixed = energy that is consistent and this is important - anchored in it's self - Leo is the fixed fire sign. It's energy is a campfire and it's sense of self is strong. It's not as consuming but it will never let it's self be ignored.

Mutable = energy that can shift and change the most. It can change the most because it is the least intense. Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign. It's energy might be over looked because it adapts to situations instead of insisting that it's way is the only way.

I hope you've enjoyed this basic explanation of the fire element in astrology. My next post will reveal the air element and how it pairs with fire elements! This is all leading up to some great astrology for relationships so keep reading!