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Signs: elements and modalities
The twelve signs are organised by element (fire, earth, air, water) and by modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable). These two keys explain much of the Almanac's choices.
The four elements
- Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) — warmth and drive.
- Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) — substance and solidity.
- Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) — relation and movement.
- Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) — emotion and fertility.
The three modalities
- Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) — to begin.
- Fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) — to last and hold.
- Mutable (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) — to adapt and change.
Fertile and barren
Water signs are the most fertile — they favour what should grow. Fire signs tend to be barren and dry. This underlies the choice of the best days to sow or grow.
In practice
The Almanac uses these traits: water to grow, fixed signs for what should last (colouring, straightening), mutable for what changes quickly.
The tradition
Classification by element and quality comes from the classical authors (Ptolemy, and the almanacs) — in the public domain.