Libra
Libra, the seventh sign of the zodiac, looks towards the other. Courteous and concerned with fairness, it gives the planets placed in it a need to find agreement, to weigh things up and to take care over the form a relationship takes.
Air turned towards the other
Libra is an air sign, with Gemini and Aquarius. Air is the element of the mind and of connection: it relates, it compares, it looks for the right distance. Libra shares the cardinal modality with Aries, Cancer and Capricorn. It opens the autumn in the northern hemisphere, when day and night are of equal length, and it is indeed an initiative that defines it: reaching out to the other, proposing agreement, creating a bond where there was none.
Venus rules Libra as it rules Taurus, but here it turns less towards the senses and more towards harmony, elegance and exchange. Saturn is exalted in Libra, where fair rules and considered commitment find their place. Mars is in detriment, direct confrontation not being its ground, and the Sun is in its fall: self-assertion happens through the other person. Opposite, Aries forms with it the axis of me and us, of personal drive and compromise.
A taste for balance
Libra sees both sides of a question. It listens, it weighs, it looks for the solution that spares everyone, and it knows how to ease tension with a well-chosen word. Its gift is a sense of proportion and of justice: it readily defends fairness, is indignant at whatever is lopsided, takes as much care over form as over substance. Sensitive to beauty, it often has good taste, a way of making places and gatherings more pleasant simply by being there.
The trap lies in the scales themselves. By dint of weighing, it can hesitate for a long time, putting off a decision for fear of losing the other option. The wish to please or to avoid conflict sometimes pushes it to keep its opinions to itself, until it no longer quite knows what it wants. Politeness can then mask suppressed anger. Yet a disagreement voiced with respect feeds a bond more than it threatens it, and Libra often discovers this with relief.
Libra in partnership
Relationships are Libra’s natural territory, whether a couple, a friendship or a working partnership. Diplomatic and attentive, it reconciles people, makes introductions, makes sure everyone feels welcome. Its tact and its eye for beauty make it valuable in negotiation and mediation, where it works better in a pair than alone. In love, it enjoys life as a couple, thoughtful gestures and courtesy, and looks for a partner with whom to build a real dialogue.
Alongside Libra, a bond gains in gentleness, refinement and reciprocity. It expects to be treated with consideration, in a balanced exchange; rudeness and power struggles jar with it. Staying itself within the relationship calls for constant vigilance, without over-adapting or waiting for the other person to decide in its place. Its strongest bonds are often those where frankness has found room next to courtesy.