Sign Polarity
Definition
The doctrine that the twelve zodiac signs form six axes of opposing pairs — Aries-Libra, Taurus-Scorpio, Gemini-Sagittarius, Cancer-Capricorn, Leo-Aquarius, Virgo-Pisces — each pair sharing a common axis of meaning expressed at opposite ends. Sign polarity treats each axis as a single field of psychological tension rather than two independent signs, so that the meaning of one end of an axis is fully intelligible only in relation to the other.
In Tradition
In Clare Martin's psychological-astrology synthesis, every chart presents six pairs of polarities formed by the six pairs of opposite signs and their corresponding pairs of opposite houses. Martin follows Dane Rudhyar: it makes no sense to try and define the meaning of one end of an axis without including the meaning of the other end. The pendulum principle: whenever one end of a polarity is identified with consciously, the opposite end is constellated in the unconscious as compensation.
In Practice
Practitioners read each pair of opposite signs as one polarised axis of meaning, attending not only to the placement of planets in a sign but to the implied condition of its opposite. In natal work the doctrine surfaces in projection analysis: the unowned end of an axis tends to be met in others, particularly in close partnerships, where the qualities split off from conscious identification return as the attributes of partners and antagonists. In synastry, contacts across opposite signs are read as carrying axis-level resonance even where no exact aspect is present, since both parties stand on shared polarity ground. Practitioners also use the framework to interpret the natural opposition of houses one and seven, two and eight, three and nine, four and ten, five and eleven, six and twelve, treating each house axis as the polarised expression of a single life concern rather than as two unrelated topics.
Historical Origin
The polarity-of-opposites framework enters modern astrology through Dane Rudhyar's mid-20th-century humanistic synthesis, drawing on Jung's typology and individuation-through-the-tension-of-opposites. Clare Martin's *Mapping the Psyche* (Vol 2) gathers the doctrine into the Centre for Psychological Astrology teaching tradition. The earlier classical doctrine of sign aversion and opposition supplies the technical ground for the modern reading without itself articulating polarity in psychological terms.
Etymology
Origin: Greek / Latin via English. Meaning: Polarity from Greek polos ('axis, pivot') via Latin polaris; an axis with two poles. The astrological coinage takes the geometric figure of two ends of a diameter and applies it to the psychological figure of a pair of opposing functions that constitute a single field..
Further Reading
- Clare Martin, Mapping the Psyche
- Dane Rudhyar, The Astrology of Personality