Libra
Libra is a cardinal air sign ruled by Venus. Astrologers associate it with balance, partnership and fairness, and with a strong sense of how people get along.
- Dates
- About September 23 to October 22
- Element
- Air
- Mode
- Cardinal
- Ruler
- Venus
- Exalted here
- Saturn
- In detriment here
- Mars
- In fall here
- Sun
- Opposite sign
- Aries
In the tradition
Libra begins at the autumn equinox, when day and night are of equal length, and the scales of the image are usually read as that balance. It is the only sign pictured as an object rather than a living thing. Greek astronomers first knew these stars as the Claws of the Scorpion, and the Romans made them into the Scales.
Venus rules Libra in Ptolemy's scheme, and Saturn, a planet of law and measure, is exalted there. Traditional authors assigned it the lower back and kidneys.
Strengths and shadows
Grace and a gift for relationships are what most astrologers see first in Libra. It sees the other person's point of view, cares about fairness, and has a good eye for beauty and proportion.
Its shadow is avoiding conflict at a cost. Libra can hesitate too long between choices, keep the peace by hiding what it wants, or depend on a partner to feel complete.
Its sense of fairness is often aesthetic as well as moral. Libra notices when a room, an outfit or an argument is out of proportion, and it wants to set it right.
In a birth chart
A planet in Libra tends to act through relationship and negotiation. Venus is at home here and Saturn is exalted. Mars is in detriment and the Sun is in fall: direct force and a single will are considered weaker in a sign that looks for agreement.
In the modern scheme that pairs signs with houses, Libra goes with the seventh: marriage, close partners, contracts and open rivals.
In a Caelumia profile
Caelumia reads Libra toward these themes, then weighs them with the rest of a chart and numbers before anything is shown: Harmony, Interdependence, Persuasion.
Sources
- Claudius Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos (2nd century CE). The classical source for the tropical zodiac, sign qualities, rulerships and exaltations.
- William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647). The standard English reference for traditional sign descriptions and essential dignities.
- Marcus Manilius, Astronomica (early 1st century CE). The oldest surviving Latin poem on astrology, with early descriptions of the signs.
Updated September 27, 2026.
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