“Winter” Signs

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“Winter” Signs

by Richard Pellard
English translation by Julien Rouger

Far from being an archaic myth or a disembodied symbol, the zodiac is as real as day, night and their durations which change periodically throughout the year. To be born under the Sign of Capricorn, for example, is not to look like a hybrid of goat and fish, it is to have come to Earth at the time of the winter solstice, when the Sun began its ascent in the southern hemisphere. The tail of fish symbolizes the darkness of the seabed in relation to the longest nights, and the bust of the goat the growth of the days which will only become dominant in duration at the spring equinox.

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Capricorn Aquarius Pisces It is in an improper but practical way that we evoke the Signs of Spring, of Summer, of Autumn and Winter. Indeed, the seasons only exist for the Sun. For example, while the Sun is in Gemini, Venus can very well be in Cancer. The diagram above describes the decrease in duration of the dominant night (for the Sun) or day arcs (for the Moon and the planets) from the winter solstice to the spring equinox (from the Tropic of Capricorn to the equator).

The astronomical zodiac of winter

At the winter solstice, the Sun is at its lowest point in the southern hemisphere, at the height of the Tropic of Capricorn; for the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere, it is the time of the longest nights. Until the spring equinox, the nights are dominant and decrease in duration, while the days increase. In Capricorn (December 22 to January 20), nocturnal durations are clearly greater than diurnal ones. In Aquarius (January 20 to February 19), nocturnal durations are significantly greater than diurnal ones. Finally, in Pisces (February 19 to March 21), the nocturnal durations, always decreasing, are substantially equal to the nocturnal ones: spring is approaching…

The dominant nights in duration are for living beings a factor of inhibition, retraction, closure to the outside world. In winter, this closure becomes extreme, systematic, which is reflected in the phenomenon of hibernation. Outside the tropics, we caulk ourselves, we protect ourselves from the cold, we brace ourselves while waiting for the better days of spring. People strongly marked by the Signs of Winter are characterized by their power of refusal, their ability to say no, to boycott everything that does not interest them.

The winter type

Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Taken as a whole, the three Winter Signs are characterized by their capacity for indifference and the systematicity of their closing reflexes. The other side of the coin: it is difficult for them to be spontaneous and immediately available

Inhibition slowness Strong points: if the Signs of Winter are dominant in your chart, an important part of yourself is expressing itself in an extremely slow, progressive, obstinate way. Deeply indifferent to what means nothing to you, does not concern you, does not interest you, you intend to devote your time and your energy only to what is essential, absolute for you, above all contingency. For the rest, you operate your power of stubborn refusal and filibuster.

Unadapted Excitation quickness Weak points: you generally find it difficult to get enthusiastic outright, to show yourself to be immediately flexible and available as soon as the situation demands it. You can be blamed for a lack of drive, spontaneity, ability to improvise, to the point of being paralyzed in the face of any sudden change, of having trouble taking an interest in anything, of sinking into inactivity, numbness, renunciation, except during brief periods when an objectless nervousness, an incongruous fantasy is expressed.

Natural Capricorn in the northern hemisphere

Capricorn Astronomy: decreasing and dominant nights, nocturnal durations distinctly longer than diurnal ones.

Astrology: strong points: steadfast closedness, organized defense mechanisms, sense of syntheses. Weak points: lack of dynamic openness, of responsive spontaneity, ultraparadoxical phase.

Inhibition slowness Strengths: slow, rigid and systematic, the Capricorn shields itself against the outside world and the beings that inhabit it if it encounters no echo to its essential motivations. For him, it’s all about synthesis in a closed universe: synthesizing and organizing his own different tendencies, but also putting order around him to be safe from chance and the unexpected. Haunted by the absolute to which he devotes himself without concession, he is above all interested in the general architecture of beings and things, in what they have that is stubbornly permanent, invariable, unchangeable.

Unadapted Excitation quickness Weaknesses: Too closed to the outside world, Capricorn sins for lack of ardor, bite, ability to respond and immediate attack. As soon as he has to exteriorize himself without a priori, expend himself without counting, activate himself for the simple pleasure of playing, frolicking, abandoning himself to free movement, he freezes, contracts, represses his instinctive reactions. He does not know how to distract himself from the devouring passion that haunts him, accept the refreshing anarchy of things that organize themselves independently of him, explore beings and things for the pure and simple pleasure of discovery.

Symbolic Capricorn

Capricorn Astronomy: nil.

Astrology: sign of Earth Cardinal, Cold and Dry. The Earth of Capricorn is Cardinal: it is the one that is kneaded to make bricks, to embark on the construction of something solid. Saturn, his master planet, is rather cold (up to −160° in temperature at the level of the clouds that surround it) but not humid, unless you consider its methane clouds as terrestrial cumulonimbus clouds. Extremely cold planetary and zodiacal, it is an iceberg surrounded by icy rings.

Natural Aquarius in the northern hemisphere

Aquarius Astronomy: decreasing and dominant nights, nocturnal durations significantly longer than diurnal ones.

Astrology: strong points: beaming openness, systematic defense mechanisms, sense of proportions. Weak points: lack of focused and persistent closedness, paradoxical phase.

Inhibition slowness Strengths: enthusiastic, optimistic, and full of hope, the Aquarius opens wide to everything in the outside world that seems to him rich in promise, in germ, in the making. He tells himself that nothing is ever lost, that we can always do something new with the old, reconsider things from a new angle. He remains stubbornly deaf to disillusionment, to reasons for despair or resignation and seeks to achieve innovative alloys between freedom and solidarity, hope and lucidity, without ever being discouraged by adversity.

Unadapted Excitation quickness Weaknesses: in his bad times, Aquarius is a real “spendthrift”, who squanders his energy on chimerical projects, gets enthusiastic over trifles, gives unlimited credit to the “all new, all beautiful”. Unstable, nervous, lacking solid foundations and deep roots, his blissful and restless optimism borders on naivety: he has an annoying tendency to see positives everywhere and to minimize the negative. Reckless and feverish, he gets carried away, gets agitated in a messy way, is prodigal and improvident.

Symbolic Aquarius

Aquarius Astronomy: nil.

Astrology: Sign of Air Fixed, Hot and Wet. The Air of Aquarius is Fixed: hence its very avant-garde taste for air conditioning which stabilizes and recycles the air. Her master planet was once Saturn, Cold and Dry. This planet of Earth was replaced by Uranus, whose average temperature (180°) and icy ground are however badly suited to a Hot and humid sign. It is true that the uranians, often a little short-lived, are not lacking in air. Do they like hot ice cream?

Natural Pisces in the northern hemisphere

Pisces Astronomy: decreasing and dominant nights, nocturnal durations substantially equal to nocturnal ones.

Astrology: strong points: static closedness, systematic defense mechanisms, sense of opposites. Weak points: lack of dynamic openness, of responsive spontaneity, egalitarian phase.

Inhibition slowness Strengths: Pisces cultivates a thick indifference towards everything that does not concern him in the outside world. Impassive, phlegmatic, he abstracts himself, detaches himself, easily deconditions himself from what is not the absolute he aims for. Patient and obstinate, he knows how to outlaw, eliminate, suppress without qualms what prevents him from acting in deep conformity with himself. He has at the highest point the art of weaving serenely between the false alternatives, in search of a third way which would allow him to escape the decided choices.

Unadapted Excitation quickness Weaknesses: in his moments of maladjustment, Pisces lacks energy, motivation, appetite for life. It sinks easily into a “aquoibonisme” resigned, believing that it is useless to do anything since nothing is worth anything and everything is worth it. Lymphatic, passive, amorphous, he finds it difficult to deal with situations that require varied responses and changing tactics. He languishes in helplessness and efficiency, sometimes letting himself be intoxicated by brief inclinations for action that do not succeed.

Symbolic Pisces

Pisces Astronomy: nil.

Astrology: Sign of Water Mutable, Cold and Wet. Pisces Water is Mutable: hence its tendency to permanent runoff, but also to unpredictable tidal waves. Her master planet is Neptune, planet of Cold and Wet Water, which is good for once. (Neptune is very cold: up to −210° at the top of the methane clouds that make up its atmosphere). Neptune was a hot-blooded god…

This article was brought to you by Richard Pellard
English translation by Julien Rouger

Next article — “Spring” Signs