If the elements describe the substance of a sign, the modes describe its movement. Every zodiac sign is cardinal, fixed or mutable, and each of these three qualities groups four signs, one for each element. Modern authors call these groups quadruplicities or modalities. Their origin is simple and concrete: they come from observing the seasons.
The seasons as the key
The year divides into four seasons, and each season passes through three signs. The position of a sign within its season determines its quality.
- The cardinal sign opens the season. When the Sun enters Aries spring begins, in Cancer summer, in Libra autumn, in Capricorn winter. These are the turning points: equinoxes and solstices.
- The fixed sign occupies its heart. Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius correspond to the period when the season is fully established and its character is most evident.
- The mutable sign prepares its end. Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are signs of transition, in which the season begins to turn into the next.
You only need to observe the climate to understand the symbol: the most settled cold comes after the winter solstice, in the period of Aquarius; the most intense heat after the summer solstice, in that of Leo.
The ancient names
Older authors used different terms, which help clarify the meaning of each quality.
Cardinal, tropical or movable
Cardinal signs were also called "tropical", because in them time "turns" (from the Greek trepein, to turn), and English authors such as William Lilly called them "movable". The word "tropic" survives today in the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where the Sun seems to reverse its course at the solstices.
Fixed or solid
Fixed signs were called "solid" or "stable": the season consolidates in them and does not change.
Mutable, common or double-bodied
Mutable signs were called "common", "bicorporeal" or "double-bodied", because they share in two seasons. It is no accident that three of them have double images: the two Twins, the centaur of Sagittarius, half man and half horse, and the two Fish.
The three crosses of the zodiac
The four signs of the same quality lie 90° or 180° from one another, in square and opposition. Drawn on the circle of the zodiac they form a cross. One therefore speaks of the cardinal cross, the fixed cross and the mutable cross.
| Mode | Signs | Keyword |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal | Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn | Begin |
| Fixed | Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius | Sustain |
| Mutable | Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces | Adapt |
The fixed cross has a particular meaning in symbolic tradition: its four signs correspond to the figures of the bull, the lion, the eagle (an old image associated with Scorpio) and the man (Aquarius), the same four creatures that appear in the biblical visions of Ezekiel and Revelation and that Christian iconography associated with the four evangelists.
The modes in the birth chart
As with the elements, you can count how many planets fall in each mode.
- Cardinal emphasis: a tendency to initiate, make decisions, open paths; constancy in finishing may be lacking.
- Fixed emphasis: the ability to endure, consolidate, stay faithful to a project; flexibility may be lacking.
- Mutable emphasis: adaptability, versatility, openness; continuity may be lacking.
Combining element and mode gives the synthesis of each sign: Taurus is fixed earth, the stability of matter; Gemini is mutable air, thought moving in every direction.
The modes in timing
Electional and horary astrology used the modes in a very practical way. According to a rule that recurs in the classical manuals:
- For what must last, such as laying a foundation stone or a union, fixed signs were preferred on the ascendant or for the Moon.
- For what must happen quickly and change, such as a short journey, cardinal signs were preferred.
- For what one wishes to repeat or that involves two stages, mutable signs.
In horary astrology, moreover, the mode of the sign was one of the criteria for symbolically estimating the timing of an answer: cardinal signs indicated short times, fixed signs long times, mutable signs intermediate ones. At Studio Esoterico Cornelio these rules are presented for what they are: indications from tradition, useful for reflecting on the rhythm of an undertaking.
In short
- The three modes arise from the position of a sign within its season.
- Cardinal signs open the seasons, fixed signs occupy their heart, mutable signs prepare the change.
- The ancient names, tropical, solid and double-bodied, clarify their meaning.
- The four signs of one mode form a cross on the zodiac.
- Electional tradition used the modes to match an action to its desired duration.