Elements and Qualities

There are four elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water.

There are three Qualities: Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable.

I have listed them in the order they appear and four times three equals twelve. If you list them all out, each sign has a unique combination of the two things shared by no other sign.

Aries: Fire, Cardinal 

Taurus: Earth, Fixed

Gemini: Air, Mutable 

Cancer: Water, Cardinal 

Leo: Fire, Fixed

Virgo: Earth, Mutable 

Libra: Air, Cardinal 

Scorpio: Water, Fixed 

Sagittarius: Fire, Mutable 

Capricorn: Earth, Cardinal 

Aquarius: Air, Fixed

Pisces: Water, Mutable 

I have read that Cancer correlates to actual water, Scorpio correlates to ice and Pisces correlates to clouds or steam. You could in theory apply that paradigm to the other elements though I don't know exactly how you would do that because it's not a temperature thing per se. 

My recollection is the book I read it in only did that for Water signs and none of the other elements, so presumably they didn't know how to extend that metaphor either.

Fixed signs are stable, solid or reliable. They are generally stubborn and resistant to change. (Aquarius: Stubborn air that doesn't want to change. They tend to make themselves crazy, never mind everyone else.)

So Scorpio is solid water, AKA ice. You can build a house with it (an igloo) or on it (an ice shelf where they build igloos). Or in some fashion RELY on it.

Notice that Pisces is Mutable Water and can be clouds OR steam. One of those is cold and the other hot. It's airy water or water that is more flexible and changeable than water itself.

Remember: Astrology is metaphorical and "observed wisdom." These are old, old observations and it's an evolving art that updated planetary rulerships after we invented telescopes and could SEE more planets than what is visible to the naked eye.

As a general rule of thumb:

Earth signs do well in earthy colors, like various shades of green, brown, mustard yellow and "muddy" tones of other colors. Also: "basic black" is an Earth thing.

Water signs do well in watery colors, which is generally various shades of blue, green and purple.

Fire signs do well in some version of fiery colors, like reds, yellows, oranges. White can be a fire color, a la "white hot."

Air signs do well in airy colors, like white and pale shades of various colors.

Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable roughly correlate to the beginning, middle and end of a season. Cardinal signs are the start, Fixed signs are the middle and Mutable signs are the end.

Cardinal signs are generally seen as leaders who start things. Fixed signs are stable and don't like change. Mutable signs are all about change and like to keep their options open.

Mutable signs are followed by the next Cardinal sign. One door closes, another opens. Something is ending, something begins. Mutable signs want OPTIONS because they don't know what comes next and don't want to screw up the new beginning that they know is coming but for which they can't predict the details and specifics.

I'm a Gemini Sun sign, which is a Mutable sign, and perhaps more importantly I have two planets in Gemini that Exactly aspect my Rising Sign. In my youth, I loved reversible jackets and anything that gave me flexibility in how I wore something. 

One of my all time favorite pants had a strap inside the leg so you could roll it up and lock it into place as what my mom calls "peddle pushers." They were fantastic for doing something casual and spur of the moment, like walking on the beach without getting your pants legs wet.

I have four heavenly bodies in Virgo, an Earth sign. One of them Exactly aspects my Rising Sign and another rules my Rising Sign, so I wear a lot of black and a lot of Earth tones.

I also have one planet in each water sign and do well in a wide variety of blues, greens and purples, contrary to what every style or color typing system I've ever seen suggests about "Earthy" people. 

I also have Jupiter in an air sign in Exact aspect to my Rising Sign. Jupiter is a bit of a clown and is associated with brights like fuschia and orange. So I frequently wear Earth tones or various shades of blue or teal with brights like fuschia or orange. No, no color typing system I've ever tripped across ever says this combo makes any god-damned sense for anyone ever.

Footnote 

Originally published elsewhere November 17, 2024.