In typical Western Tropical Zodiacal Astrology, the Earth is not usually represented in the birth chart, except to assume that it is centrally located when looking at the birth chart, and therefore most charts are set up geo-centrically (Earth in the middle).
Most die-hard Astrologers don't pay any attention to the Earth's position however, in Human Design, which is partially based in Astrology, the Earth IS factored in, and is an especially important part of your soul’s reason for incarnating.
I'm a curious person and a natural researcher, so I love having ALL the information and anything that I feel can help me understand why my soul or a client's is here, I'm on it! At the very least, it's just one more piece of interesting information to ponder. But the way I look at it is including the Earth as another planet with meaning in the astrological birth chart can allow us to see yet another layer of the personality of the individual, giving us more information about the soul’s purpose.*
*(Of course, just like anything else, take what resonates and leave what doesn't!)
Finding Earth in your Astrology chart is surprisingly simple – it requires no calculations or software. You simply find your Sun, and the Earth will be located exactly opposite by sign and degree. For example, if your Sun is located 14’ Capricorn 36”, your Earth will be located at 14’ Cancer 36”, or simply, if you know you are a Sun sign Capricorn, your Earth sign is the opposite sign or Cancer, in this case.
Interpreting Earth in your chart can highlight another area of your life that, when you look back, you can see where you may have consistently resisted this particular area that’s in need of healing. Even better though, this is an area where you can discover innate skills and talents that when developed, really allow your soul to shine through!
Below you will find a brief introduction to the sign oppositions that will help you begin to understand and honor your own personal Sun Earth opposition.
Aries/Libra
The Aries Libra polarity is always the conflict between “me” and “we”. It’s Mars versus Venus, conflict versus peace, my way versus compromise, and so forth.
Aries is personal power, assertiveness, and being a Fire sign, all about taking action (sometimes impulsively without much, if any, thought). Aries is the God of War, winning, and self interest. An Aries Sun sign needs to balance their self interest, impulsivity, and tendency toward aggressiveness with their Libra Earth. It’s wonderful to be confident and assertive and to balance that with understanding that others in your life have feelings, wants and desires as well that are equally important to your own. No one is more important than another.
Libra is balance, harmony, thoughtful and considerate compromise. Libra likes to create a win-win situation in which both parties feel like they’re benefitting from the deal. Being an air sign, it’s intellectual and easily plays the neutral mediator. However, the challenge for a Libra Sun is sometimes they can be too compromising, too willing to give everyone else what they want or need, and then the Libra Sun’s needs don’t get met. A Libra Sun must work to feel into what their personal needs are, and develop the assertiveness to place boundaries about how far they will compromise just to keep the peace.
Taurus/Scorpio
The Taurus Scorpio opposition can be intense. This polarity can feel like a dance (or a battle) between Life and Death. Taurus is the builder and Scorpio is the Destroyer. Taurus collects, Scorpio purges. Taurus works to keeps things going; Scorpio understands that everything is impermanent, no matter how hard you try to maintain it.
Taurus works hard to build and maintain what it values. It’s earthy, practical, and can be very focused. When out of balance, Taurus can sometimes try to bulldoze its way through life, being a bit too focused or single-minded in directing its strength (some would call this stubbornness). Taurus Suns need to balance their persevering mentality with knowing when to let go of things, to understand that Scorpio lesson of impermanence.
Scorpio transforms, transmutes, and tears down what’s not working and regenerates. It’s not afraid of death because Scorpio knows that’s not the end, but rather a new beginning. Nothing is permanent and when one thing dies, it makes room for something new to come in. Sometimes Scorpio can take this a little too far, and forget that sometimes, they need to participate in the rebuild. Possessions and relationships in particular require some energy input to prevent decay and this is where Scorpio can learn a few things from Taurus.
Gemini/Sagittarius
The Gemini Sagittarius diametric deals with information – the gathering and the disseminating. This polarity points to the difference between facts and personal truth, book knowledge versus experience and exploring, the scribe versus the teacher. Details or big picture. These are the archetypes of the Storyteller and the Philosopher/Guru.
The Gemini Sun is a storehouse for tidbits and factoids, loves to learn and gather information and store it away for that party conversation where they can spontaneously impress everyone with that obscure piece of knowledge. Or they may entertain by regaling the crowd of their personal anecdotes. The problem becomes when Gemini Sun’s information becomes too superficial or false. Or when they insist on keeping their options open, never committing to one truth – its just easier to keep gathering more and more information than to process the information they have gathered and integrate it into a personal belief. They can balance by leaning into their experience and integrating the facts to synthesize all the information and develop it into what is true for them.
Sagittarius Suns are optimistic and adventurous explorers who love to share their philosophy on the world. They can be very passionate about how they see things with their bird’s eye view however, they need to balance their passion with some objective facts and details. An unbalanced Sagittarius Sun can be so passionate that they cross the line into righteousness, mistaking their feelings for facts. Their feelings of how things should be may theoretically be wonderful, however, may not be realistic when you drop down out of the sky and into the real world.
Cancer/Capricorn
Cancer and Capricorn are archetypally Mother and Father. This opposition is home and family versus career, sitting in our feelings versus stuffing it and getting the job done. Cancer wants to nurture you, cook for you, wrap you in a warm blanket and serve you homemade cookies. Capricorn works a 60 hour week – ask them how they are doing and they will always tell you “fine” no matter how they are feeling inside.
Cancer is all about the emotions, feelings, keeping the family connected and nurtured, and mothering everyone. This energy gets unbalanced though when Cancer takes the nurturing a little too far and it becomes manipulation and control – this can sometimes sound like “I care so much, let me do that for you, I’m just trying to help”. Cancer can balance this by learning to step back and allowing others to take responsibility for themselves, and experience the consequences of their actions. This is not uncaring, it’s about respecting the sovereignty of others and the lessons their soul came into this life to learn. It’s fine to assist people when they need it, it’s not okay to take over and take control.
Capricorn is the epitome of responsibility, maturity, and ambition. They do what needs to be done, even when they are sick. Capricorn Sun does whatever it takes to accomplish the goal – especially if others are depending on them. You can see how this can easily cross that boundary into workaholism. Capricorn Sun needs to balance their drive with self care – getting enough sleep, getting enough down time, eating healthy, and getting outside for some fresh air and exercise. Cap Suns will also benefit from making it a regular habit to check in with their feelings and understanding that it’s not only okay, but advisable to take a personal day once in a while.
Leo/Aquarius
The Leo Aquarius polarity is similar to Aries Libra in that it essentially asks “me or we”, however, here the “we” part refers to groups, not just one other individual as it does in Libra. So here you have the one versus the many, the individual versus the group, the actor on stage versus the audience, the politician versus the constituents. Leo steps into the leadership role where Aquarius sits at the round table (no head of the table) and uses a talking stick to make sure every one has a turn with equal say.
Leo has a talent for leading, and to be fair, balanced Leos usually lead by example with a warm, benevolent nature. They do enjoy attention and recognition, even admiration for their talents, skills and abilities, but where it tips over into unbalanced energy is the Leo who NEEDS the attention, will do anything for the attention, and it becomes all about me, Me, ME! Unbalanced Leos in leadership roles can also exhibit tyrranical characteristics, arrogantly ordering people around and egotistically expecting fealty without question. This needs to be balanced with the Aquarian energy that asks the question “what’s best for all involved?”. Aquarian energy considers the entire group’s welfare over that of the individual so Leo must ask, “How can my individual talents best be employed for the welfare of everyone?” and that will create more balance.
Aquarius is the humanitarian, the eccentric, the one who enjoys standing out for standing up for people. It’s a beautiful energy until it goes rogue, and becomes the Rebel Without a Cause, rebelling against anything and everything just to be disruptive. Aquarius can harness the Leo leadership energy, taking the stage not for attention but to rally the group, and get everyone working in the same direction for a good cause.
Virgo/Pisces
Virgo Pisces is the energy of daily doing versus just being, body versus soul, systems and processes versus chaos and disorder, clarity versus confusion. Virgo is efficient, perfecting the process along the way while Pisces meditates, never really caring if they get to the destination – if there ever was one!
Virgo is daily routines, worldly doing – getting up at the same time every day, getting straight to their workout, eating a healthy breakfast, and getting to work early to get a good head start on the day. They time their lunch break to exactly 30 minutes – no more, no less. The problem can be when Virgo becomes compulsive about their routines, so much so that a little unforeseen blip in their schedule throws them completely off, or if they take their need for control too far into perfectionism and attempting to control everyone around them. This is where it is helpful to inject some Pisces energy and learn to know when things are not in their control and to surrender the situation to their Higher Power.
Pisces is sensitive, emotional, goes with the flow, has no boundaries, changes direction at the drop of a hat, is comfortable with disorganization, and sleeps in. Pisces tolerates a lot, forgives easily, and believes that no matter what , everything will be okay. However, Pisces gets in trouble when people take advantage of their forgiving nature and lack of boundaries. They sacrifice themselves too easily and all of a sudden, they are emotionally overwhelmed. A little Virgo energy here can help Pisces say “I will do this, this, and that, but no more.” Being detailed and direct will help them establish some boundaries with others. Virgo energy can also help Pisces focus to get a task done, preplan healthy meals and make a schedule for the things they need to get done during the week.
Life is always asking us to hold the tension of opposites and to live in the grey areas of what at first glance may seem like a black and white issue. However, experience tells us that nothing is ever truly black and white – the answers are always found somewhere along the middle of the spectrum. Spend some time learning more about and finding simple ways of honoring your Earth sign. See if you can find easy ways to incorporate that energy into your life and daily routines. You just may find that life seems a bit more balanced, and a lot more enjoyable.
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