Our stories in the Stars: The Stories behind the Zodiac Signs
Sep 22, 2026
Libra season, here we are again. The equinox occurs either today, 22 September, or 23 September BST depending where we are in the world. Now we are in the zodiac sun sign territory of the autumn/fall equinox in the northern hemisphere, in a year astrologically dominated by the unusual alignment of all the outermost planets, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
So what? One might reasonably wonder. This line-up out of outermost planets in our solar system speaks of affairs between now and 2044 (Pluto in Aquarius) driven by events way beyond the control of any individual. A cycle that changes the world as we used to know it earlier in our own lifetimes.
Generational change is nothing new. It is the common experience of old age, the increasing sense of alienation from the world we used to know. But we are all observing and experiencing close at hand, a level and scope of change that goes beyond that, like the people living at the beginning of the first Industrial Revolution in all its astounding progress…and in its tragedy and brutality, aka “collateral damage” as the countryside became/was made unsustainable, and people moved away from the villages to the strangeness of the poorest dwellings in the mushrooming cities.
A modern equivalent would be the noisy, water hungry megalithic data centres being built on federal land in the US (Pluto-power in tech-Aquarius, the new feudalism presented as progress for the people.)
Libra season this year starts with Mars still in Cancer but not for much longer, until 27 September, having done its thing since 11 August. The storyboard says tensions, strife or war at home/in the home/land, or issues to do with parents or the health of older relatives.
This time last year Mars was right at home in its home sign of Scorpio. In theory this can bring good news. A push of energy just when and where we need it. But this was not just another transit—it was described as a cosmic ignition point, as Sweden and Germany scrambled Gripens and Eurofighter jets in response to Russia’s illegal incursion over Estonian airspace and over the Baltic Sea…the illegality of which Russia denied. And now, a year later, as of a few hours ago at the time of writing, Russia is still testing, prodding and provoking NATO. Germany has scrambled fighter jets to Latvia and emergency alerts have been sounding out over Poland.
Donald Trump seemed poised to significantly escalate US military action against Iran only a few days ago. Now he has reconsidered, and meanwhile, clearly not coincidentally, he has…for the second time…delayed the delivery of over $400m in US military aid to Taiwan, delaying drones and munitions, prioritising a trade deal with China, marking a significant shift in Washington’s Taiwan policy. This, at the behest of President Xi whose relationship with Iran at this critical time is the likely factor in this potentially fateful decision.
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: But grievous words stir up anger.” –Proverbs 15:1 KJV
Libra is the zodiac sign of the iron fist in the velvet glove.
Traditional Associations
Quality: Cardinal…instigation
Element: Air
Affirmation: I (seek to) Balance
Ruling planet: Venus, as with Taurus
Seventh House: partnerships, personal, professional and legal
Body: Lower back, loins, buttocks, kidneys
Colour: Indigo Blue
Flower: Rose, Hydrangea
Birthstones: Sapphire- September birthdays. Opal- October birthdays
Lucky Number: 6 and 7 (community, service, childhood, partnerships)
Tarot cards: Justice, showing the dual goddess, Astraea and Dike. Also the Queen of Swords, Ace of Swords, and the 2, 3 and 4 Swords
Astronomy
Libra (technically, it is correctly pronounced Ly-bra as in Library) is a small but distinct constellation, 29th in size of the 88 constellations, next door to the constellation of Virgo
The zodiac sign that represents the zenith of human civilization, law and order, fair and equitable dealings, and the principle at least, of human justice, is also the only zodiac sun sign that is represented by a man-made object; the scales, and not represented by a human being or indeed any living creature.
And yet the constellation of Libra shares its stars with Scorpio, borrowing the claws of the celestial scorpion next door. Venusian Libra shares its starry meeting ground with Mars in Scorpio.
The constellation has been described as looking like a lop-sided diamond, and is visible from April to July in the northern hemisphere. Libra, like Cancer, is faint in comparison with other constellations, and contains no spectacular first magnitude stars, but it does contain its own galaxy cluster, possibly around 10 billion years old, the same age as our own galaxy, The Milky Way.
There also is a red dwarf star Gliese 581 with three orbiting planets, two of which may possibly be suitable for life, about 20 light years from Earth.
The brightest star in Libra is a binary star about 77 light years from Earth. α Librae. or Zubenelgenubi, meaning in Arabic “the Southern Claw.” The second-brightest star in the constellation of Libra is β Librae, or Zubeneschamali, from the Arabic for “The Northern Claw.”
Keepers of The Equinox
Aries and Libra are the two cardinal signs marking the equinoxes. Aries stands for the seasonal rising of the sun in the northern hemisphere, Libra for the setting of the sun in the northern hemisphere.
The Sun used to pass through the constellation of Libra at the time of the equinox (c. 23 September) when the length of hours of night and daylight were almost the same- hence the Libran concept of natural balance.
In fact, the zodiac sign of Libra ceased to coincide in real time with the actual placement of the constellation of Libra way back in AD 730 because of the wobble of the Earth, and the resulting effect known as precession – the movement of the equinoxes relative to Earth. Since 2002, the Sun has actually appeared, astronomically speaking, in the constellation of Libra from October 31 to November 22.
This is different to the dates used for this sign in your media horoscope, which is based on modern western or tropical astrology, and says Libra begins around 23rd of September, coinciding with the autumn equinox (in the northern hemisphere).
However. Western astrology works differently, functioning as a seasonal symbol system, marking the journey of the sun in relation to the Earth and the changing hours of daylight across the 360 degrees of the ecliptic, named for 12 of the constellations that touch or straddle the ecliptic at any time. But astrology references only 12 of these constellations for ease and elegance of arithmetic (sorry, Ophiuchus, you didn’t make that cut.)
This does not invalidate the working principle of Western/Tropical astrology in any way. The real time facts of astronomy which says the sun is now entering Virgo do not invalidate your horoscope; a fact of cultural astronomy that many modern astronomers still utterly fail to grasp. The symbolic, historic and astrological concepts of western astrology still stand in all their original meaning, based on this seasonal, arithmetic model of the western or Tropical zodiac as codified by the mathematician Ptolemy in the 2nd Century.
Mythology and History
Libra was known in Babylonian astronomy as MUL Zibanu (the “scales” or “balance”) but it was also known at the same time as the Claws of the Scorpion, while in ancient Greece Libra was also seen as the Scorpion’s Claws.
The Scales were sacred to the Babylonian sun god Shamash, the patron of truth and justice, and that is why, since very early times, Libra has been associated with law, fairness and civility. Because 3000 years ago, the Sun entering Libra marked the equinox, when days and nights were of equal length, i.e. balanced, Roman astrologers likewise considered that the constellation of Libra represented the principle of natural balance, equality, equilibrium and hence, justice.
In ancient Rome Libra was associated with the scales of justice held by the pre-Greek goddess Astraea, or her Roman counterpart Dike, although in Greek mythology she had always been associated with Virgo.
What is she talking about? Claws. Scales. Libra is part Virgo, part Scorpio? Eh? Que? What is all this gobbledygook?
I know, I know. Don’t shoot the messenger. The actual constellations and the zodiac signs after which they were named are inextricably linked in meaning, but they are not one and the same thing. And Libra is extra complicated.
According to the Roman writer and poet Marcus Manilius the greatest Roman judges were noted to have been born under the sign of Libra, while The Moon, which in astrology governs The People, was said to be in Libra when Rome was founded, in a historical passage, which states “qua condita Roma.”
The early born Libra native may therefore resonate more strongly with the expression of Virgo and Astraea, while the later born Libra may have quite a lot of Scorpio going on. This same principle applies to all the zodiac signs, depending whether you were born early or late in your own sun sign. But it’s particularly acute in the case of Libra, on account of its shared/borrowed stars.
The Libra Archetype
Libra is Cardinal Air- it is intellectual. Cool. It instigates, negotiates and codifies into treaties and law, where Aquarius (cloud) is Fixed Air and stabilizes ideas into creeds and systems, including IT and literally…The Cloud…and Gemini (breeze) stands for the evolution and agility of Mutable Air, news, and chat and trade.
Libra may be the only zodiac sign that is not represented by a human or animal, but the scales signify the collective and enduring hardwired human need and indeed, hunger for justice. Why does justice matter so much to us? We talk about natural justice, but how do we see justice played out in Nature? The law of Nature says the weakest go down first, Nature “red in tooth and claw” (Tennyson)
So why do we cry out for justice like we do? And we do. Even babies have been shown to have a razor keen awareness of what is fair and what isn’t. Few things more corrosive than living with the knowledge of justice denied. Law and Justice are presented as one and the same. Judges are called Lord or Lady Justice, whatever. But there is the letter of the law and the spirit of justice. These things are not necessarily always one and the same.
More earthily, ancient astrology viewed Libra as an especially lucky sign because it signifies a peak of riches, just after harvest time, when hard work and good weather yields rewards…and we take stock and more clearly see, literally in the agricultural sense, the fruits of our labour.
Because Venus, the goddess planet of love, money, comfort and pleasure, rules Libra, as it also rules Taurus, the Libra subject is more than usually sensitive to beauty in anything, whether it is a person, nature, art, or music. Likewise, by the same token, airy Libra is super sensitive, not only to criticism, not that anyone enjoys that, but it intensely dislikes sudden, loud or sharp noises. Nasty vibrations in the air. Libra may start a fight with a well-placed word bomb with an added Scorpionic sting, but when a battle results they will want to keep the noise down. OK. Let’s fight, but let’s do it quietly. Libra at war is a stealth bomber.
In general, Libra will go to great efforts to co-operate and compromise with everyone around them. Libra can be more changeable even than Gemini. Those swinging scales are, after all, seeking balance, which is not necessarily at all the same as attaining it, or maintaining it. This can sometimes become a little tiring for their loved ones as they constantly re-assess their thinking, adjusting their position, while remaining emotionally unavailable for the duration. This may be infuriating at times, or even seem to call personal loyalties into question. Libra is trying to find a stable footing, while seeking to see the thing from all angles at once. They will stick to their position once they have arrived at their decision.
Libra is smiling, urbane, approachable, has a keen sense of humour and a sense of the ridiculous, adores flirtation, but does not receive or handle criticism as dispassionately as they dispense it. Libra has warrior energy, oh yes. It wields a sword cutting through any thorny problem where its own emotions are not invested, but Libra is more emotionally volatile than may at first be apparent. Swinging to and fro, searching for equipoise, and the centre of balance.
Every zodiac sign has its more challenging aspects, and every zodiac sun sign has its resident super-villains. But the more usual real-life Libra, the ones we love, and Libra itself; clever as anything, charming, that lollipop smile. Sunny side up, what not to like?
See here for Famous Libra natives in history
This Libra Season we have…
Full Harvest Moon in Aries 3 degrees 26 September. The harvest moon is the first full moon after the autumn equinox. It will be rising close to sunset for several evenings, and this is how it got its name. Traditionally this moon casts an abundance of light helping farmers bring in the harvest by virtue of this early rising. The tarot card for this degree of Aries is the 2 Wands, generally understood as a welcome card in forging partnerships but sometimes nicknamed the Melancholy of Alexander, as in, we are scanning the horizon, asking ourselves what else is out there? Or the world is not enough. A card of ambition, agreements, shipping, export and conquest.
New Moon in Libra 17 degrees 10 October: Tarot card 3 Swords, generally understood as signifying a separation, a severance, the end of a relationship, sorrow, heartache, a broken heart, or literally even heart health and cardiac health issues.
Mars in Cancer squares Chiron in Aries on September 27 before entering Leo. Defensiveness, old injuries, and the need to protect what feels vulnerable can complicate the conversation. Then Mars enters 1st Decan of Leo ruled by Saturn on 27/28th September, a potentially sticky transit. The associated minor arcana card is the competitive, potentially combative 5 Wands.
Venus retrograde in Scorpio between October 3 and November 14. The retrograde begins at 8 degrees Scorpio, intensifying issues in relationships tied to shared resources, family obligations and intimacy. This could bring conflict, resurrecting old sorrows. Tarot card, the 5 Cups, disappointment, and coming to terms with heartache and losses.
Back again soon with the decans of Libra.
Thank you for reading.
Till next time 🙂
True Tarot Tales 