Love Horoscope: Element Compatibility

Why Him, Why Her: Finding Love by Understanding your personality type, is the recent book out by anthropologist, Helen Fisher. Helen is considered a leading expert on the biology of love and attraction. According to Fisher’s research there are four personality types: The Explorer, Builder, Director and Negotiator. This “new” research is basically a re-definition of astrology’s four elements (fire, earth, air, and water). Psychologists have always been fond of typing people into certain categories. Jung formulated his own unique system for the four types: The Intuitive (Fire), sensation (earth), thinking (air), and feeling (water) function. Typology has always been used as a way to understand both oneself and the interpersonal difficulties that arise in relationships.

The oldest system of typology known to us is the one devised under our ancient cosmological scheme. According to astrology, the personality is classified into four trigons, corresponding to the four elements. The fiery trigon in the horoscope, for instance, consists of the three fire signs of the zodiac, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; the earthy trigon is made up of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. In astrological "terms", fiery people are spontaneous, active, energetic and intuitive, and earth types are pragmatic, responsible, cautious and reliable. From Jung’s point of view, there are two personality attitudes – introversion and extraversion – and four functions or modes of orientation (four elements). In Renaissance philosophy the four basic temperaments were based on the theory of the “humours” in the blood. These were melancholic (earthy), phlegmatic (watery), sanguine (airy), and Choleric (fiery). All diseases were due to an excess or deficiency of one of these four humours. Astrology is the earliest system to develop the idea of personality “types”.

According to Helen Fisher’s four types these are broadly classified into the elements, but through her exploration of genetic literature she has associated different chemical reactions in the body to these particular modes of expression. The Explorer type is described as risk taking, enthusiastic, optimistic, adventurous (fire) and is closely connected to the dopamine system. The second type is the builder (earthy), who expresses with Serotonin, and these people are often stable, traditional, conventional, and rule-makers. The third type is the Director (Air) and she describes them as tough minded, decisive, and good at spatial relations, and the author relates testosterone to this mode of expression.The fourth and final type is the Negotiator (Water), expression of estrogen – both men and women, and these people are imaginative, intuitive and compassionate. The author describes these people as having the ability to get along with everybody.

The Anthropologist has researched thousands of couples and evaluated what types seek each other out. Fisher determined that the Director (air) was strongly attracted to the Negotiator (water). An example given by the author is Hilary and Bill Clinton; she describes Bill as gracious and compassionate, and Hilary as tough minded and decisive. However, if we look at their astrology charts, it is actually Hilary, who is the water type (negotiator), with powerful placements in Scorpio and planets in fire signs (Explorer). On the other hand, Bill is predominately air (Director) with his emphasis in Libra (peaceful-relating) and planets in fire signs, too.

Liz Greene's book, Relating, was published back in 1977, and uses basic concepts of Jungian psychology, to show the ways in which people relate to one another on both conscious and unconscious levels. The chapter on Psychological Types accurately outlines the way we perceive our environment according to our most dominant element, and Greene proposes that the earth signs are attracted to fire signs and water signs are attracted to air. It was what Jung called our opposite function, and these signs often possess completely opposite characteristics to the ones we hold.

Air has a magnetic attraction to water, which symbolises the opposite function: feeling. Even if the partner is not really a suitable hook – that is if the other’s chart does not show a strong emphasis of planets in water signs – somehow he or she will appear ideally watery when clothed in the unconscious projection. Air is notorious for being a poor judge of partner, because he chooses everything according to reason until Eros chooses him.

Helen Fisher’s hypothesis isn’t ground-breaking, and we have always been aware of the four types. New names and definitions don’t change what astrologers have always known. The different hormones related to each type, may add something different to the table. I am always going to be biased towards these types of books, because astrology explains people more concisely than any personality test. The water groupings have their own mode (cardinal, fixed, and mutable) of approach, which further explains their differences. The author strongly suggests, that if accurate, these four traits go a long way to predicting both attraction and aversion. Yet, she also warns the reader not to adhere too strongly to the personality labels.

Love always comes down to some chemical “imbalance” in the brain, and Science tends to take the romanticism away, but as a water type (negotiator), there is the possibility that I am being over-emotional and completely non-logical about this. I am not going to criticize the idea of grouping people in “types”. I do it all the time. However, we do have the whole chart in front of us and not just a questionnaire. The general public could pick up any good astrology book on the elements and compatibility and learn about relationships in the exact same way. The terms “feeling” type and the “thinking” type have been around for a long time. Old ideas are always being re-packaged in new ways, and Fish might offer a different perspective on relationship compatibility.

Helen Fisher’s personality quiz includes a section on what we doodle. Those people, who express estrogenically (water/negotiator), draw hearts, flowers, or baby faces. Theoretically speaking, perhaps negotiators even post a cute and adorable kitten on their pink astrology blog, just surmising here. Air sign people (Directors) draw mechanically and geometrically, and so forth. You will find some interesting tid-bits and great relationship examples which could be applied to astrology, but some of the ideas are based on the same old formula of “typing” the chart using elements.

Relationship Balance

Since Venus is currently in Libra at the critical 29th degree and retrograde, it might be a good time to reflect on relationships, both past and present. A good place to start in relationship analysis is judging the elemental and modality balance in the natal chart. Often at a time of crisis in a partnership it is useful to observe how each person reacts according to their natal chart. Ordinarily, there are many factors we can observe in the horoscope, but to keep it simple, the balance of the two charts are a good place to begin in any relationship assessment.

If one partner has an abundance of FIRE signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), these types are usually warm, with plenty of energy, enthusiasm and vitality. They are unparalleled optimists, and to them life is an adventure.

A predominance of EARTH signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) shows a steady, practical individual and they are far more cautious than their fiery counterparts, and are reluctant to take risks. Earth type people are often accused of being pessimistic due to their negative, introverted and grounded nature. Earth has dogged persistence and in times of crisis they can be relied on to find a reliable solution.

A person with an abundance of planets in the AIR signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) is more interested in the realm of ideas, communication and the intellect. Air signs are logical, rational and objective and are prone to analyzing difficult situations. These individuals bring clarity, objectivity and new perspectives.

The WATER signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) are also considered to be negative and introverted. A person with plenty of planets in water are said to have a strong psychic sensitivity, compassion and understanding. They feel the undercurrents of any situation and tend to feel their way around life. 

CARDINAL signs ( Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) are ambitious and need to take action, the urge to achieve and succeed are important. The FIXED signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) are the most inflexible signs and are often resistant to change. MUTABLE (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) signs are extremely adaptable, but they do have a tendency to scatter their energies and have difficulty staying focused. Often they prefer intellectual pursuits.

House placements are also important and they often compensate for missing elements or qualities. I have a brother with cardinal energy and his partner also has a cardinal chart and they are both ambitious and active people. This is a worthwhile exercise to complete and it doesn’t take long to assess both charts and quickly see the astrological patterns in the relationship.

Four Elements: Liz Greene

Here is a link for to the Four Elements by Liz Greene. I have this book at home and its one of my favourites, it also discusses parental relationships, cycles of time and so forth. It is more for the psychologically inclined astrologer. Anything by Greene is always worth a read. I have everything by her, and I hope that she publishes more work or some more astrology seminars in the future.

This also applies to the thinking woman and the sensation woman, who are often described as "butch", cold, ambitious, heartless, unfeminine, brittle and neurotic if they follow their natural inclinations into the world of ideas and mundane achievement. Inferior feeling will conspire to help the thinking woman along with her lack of self-acceptance because she feels inadequate in personal relationships; and inferior intuition will often convince the sensation woman that she is dull, boring, unimaginative and only equipped to be the servant of those with greater gifts. Such women may either become armored Amazons, or attempt to develop the "inferior" function by playing the role of the overbearing, ambitious mother and wife, who wears a mask of sentiment and effusive emotional display over a cold and steely determination to make something of her children, her husband, and anyone else who happens to be her property. Somehow one must find the delicate balance between the physical sex, with its accompanying psychological bias, and the inherent disposition suggested by the horoscope at birth.

No Air: Joey Tribbiani

The elements are considered to be vitally important in understanding the nature of an individual. However, what happens when an element is missing completely? How does an individual respond to the missing element? I am not entirely sure how to answer this question. In the next few posts I will explore charts that are missing the element of air. This means that there are no planets in Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. There are some ideas that we use which help interpret this factor in the birth chart, and below is the “general” astrological school of thought for interpreting the meaning of “No Air“:

When the individual has no air in his chart he may not realize that he is exceptionally intelligent. He may be a genius in the field of communications. Or he may have no “idea” that the element is lacking. He may be intolerant of stupidity and slow intellectual responses in others. They may have trouble communicating. Learning the process of analysis and collecting data may prove to be exceptionally difficult. They may struggle in order to compensate and balance the missing element. These are the standardised interpretations that you will find in astrology books. As you can see there are contradictions. Human beings are rarely simple, and a closer look at the individual chart can perhaps help us to understand how the individual deals psychologically with this missing element.

My first example of an individual with no air in his natal chart is Matt Le Blanc, he has played simple-minded Joey Tribbiani for 10 years on the American comedy series Friends. You can’t be mean about Joey, he is lovably stupid, but he fails to catch the obvious jokes. He isn’t the sharpest tool in the box, but the character is extremely fun to watch. He has no problem with getting women and he has a powerful sexual appetite (he loves his food too). His two best friends are intelligent which could make him feel intellectually inferior.

Chandler is the witty and humorous one noted for his wisecracks, he specializes in statistical factoring and data reconfiguration. Chandler has a big problem getting women, and he uses his humour to cover his nervousness. Ross, is the geeky Palaeontologist, he is a Professor at the University. He is socially awkward and clumsy, and has had three failed marriages. Joey plays on his own strength and he is not shy at all around women, he is extremely confident and good at socializing (Air). It is evident that Matt Leblanc’s natal chart has been instrumental for the successful portrayal of Joey Tribianni. Matt must get annoyed if people think he is “Joey” in real life, or perhaps he sees the funny side. Matt Le Blanc has Mercury in Cancer square Saturn in Aries and this aspect lacks intellectual confidence, he also has a grand water trine and his Sun in Leo square to Mars in Scorpio, helps to express the confident, dramatic, and passionate side of Joey Tribbiani.

I promise you this isn’t the only example of missing Air (I will show all the ways it can manifest). I have quite an interesting verbal character coming next. For now, enjoy the unintentional wit and comedy of Joey.

Astrology, Psychology and the Four Elements

Astrology divides up the 12 signs into Four elements - Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Each of the elements contains three signs and they are also referred to as the triplicities. The four elements are known in psychological astrology as the 'four functions' which govern the human psyche. Each element has a specific way of manifesting energy. Four ways of understanding the world, and four ways of perceiving life. The element of Fire is 'intuitive', it symbolizes the initial spark of inspiration, creativity, and future vision. Earth rules the 'senses', and concerns itself with maintaining and organizing the material aspects of life. Air is the 'thinking' element, it can logically analyse information and develop a theoretical understanding. The Water element dominates 'feeling' and is the nurturing and caring component in life, it also refers to the spiritual aspect of life.

The elements in astrology correspond to the basic temperament or the "psychological makeup" of an individual. When a planet is in one of the elements (Fire, Earth, Air, and Water) the planet will express itself through that element. We form ourselves through Earth, and we find our vitality, optimism, and aliveness through Fire. Through Air is how we socialize and 'circulate' and communicate. The emotional and spiritual connection to life is symbolized by Water, and here we can nourish and heal our souls from within. No person is 'wholly' one element we are all a mixture of the different elements. We will view the world from our own unique elemental makeup contained within the natal chart.

The Fire signs

Aries, Leo, Sagittarius: The fire signs respond to life in active, outgoing, confident, spontaneous, energetic, and enthusiastic ways. A joy for life! Fire signs inspire others with their own optimism. Fire is direct, honest, warm, and self interested. The element of Fire is volatile and unpredictable. Fire embodies strength of purpose or meaning in life. Planets placed in fire signs symbolize energy that is incautious and impels the individual to constant movement and action.

The Earth signs

Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn: The Earth signs respond to life in a practical, physical, enduring way, they are concerned with the material aspects of living. Earth signs provide the foundation needed to establish something tangible. Earthy individuals are patient, responsible, and they work hard and plan carefully. Planets placed in earth signs will express themselves in a grounded way. Earth holds firm and gives form to the spirit, it takes no risks and resists change. Earth takes comfort in what is known and dependable.

The Air signs

Gemini, Libra, Aquarius: The air signs respond to life by accumulating information, and appear detached because they are analytical rather than emotional in situations. The air group are intellectually orientated. The Air signs direct by interaction, circulation, socialization. Planets in Air relate intellectually even the Moon (a water planet) in air will talk about emotions rather than actually feeling them. The element of Air represents the universal mind, facts, observations, rationalizing, and making judgements.

The Water signs

Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. The water signs respond to life in an emotional, sensitive, and instinctive way. Water 'feels' and are oversensitive and overprotective. A planet in water is subdued, the planet becomes more inwardly directed, and is emotional in expression.