Fixed

fikst

Definition

Fixed is one of the three modes — the basic ways the twelve zodiac signs are sorted by how they handle change. The four fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, each sit in the middle month of a season, when conditions are most settled. Hellenistic astrology called them "solid" or "firm" (in Greek, stereos) for their resistant, consolidating nature.

In Tradition

Astrologers in the Western tradition link the fixed signs with determination, persistence, and resistance to change. They line up with the succedent houses (the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th), which follow the angular houses in the order of the signs.

In Practice

To gauge the fixed mode in a chart, astrologers count how many placements fall in Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius against those in the cardinal and mutable signs — that gives the chart's modal balance, its mix of starting, sustaining, and adapting. In horary astrology — answering a specific question from a chart cast for the moment it is asked — a lot of fixity points to conditions that are dug in and hard to shift.

Historical Origin

The three-mode classification is attested in Hellenistic sources. The fixed signs were called "solid" (in Greek, stereos), matching the settled middle of each season.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading