Zodiac sign

Libra

Direct answer

Libra is the seventh zodiac sign: cardinal air, ruled by Venus, associated with relationship, proportion, justice, aesthetics, diplomacy, and mutual awareness.

Zodiac SignsThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: Libra is cardinal air, ruled by Venus, opposite Aries, and begins autumn in the tropical zodiac.
Found in: Zodiac Signs
Related: Zodiac, Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Rising Sign

Deeper Almanac guide: Libra zodiac guide. This dictionary entry is a concise definition page; the linked guide remains the long-form topic page.

The zodiac constellation figures ranged along an engraved ecliptic — Zodiac field guide · visual guide **Libra**
Libra is cardinal air, ruled by Venus.
The sign glyph and elemental field orient the archetype without reducing it to a stereotype.

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What sets Libra apart

Libra begins at the September equinox, when day and night are equal, so the sign is built on balance in a literal way: the Sun crosses the equator of the sky heading south. Of the cardinal signs it is the one at the turn into autumn. Saturn is exalted here at 21 degrees in the later tradition, and the Sun falls at 19 degrees, the opposite of its exaltation in Aries. Greek writers also called the same stars the Claws of the Scorpion, before the Scales became standard.

Sun enters: about 23 September, the equinox
Exaltation: Saturn, at 21 degrees in the later tradition
Fall: the Sun, at 19 degrees
Detriment: Mars, from the opposite sign Aries
Older name: Chelai, the claws of the Scorpion, in Greek astronomy

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Libra in the traditional textbooks

Abu Ma'shar makes Saturn exalted here at 21 degrees and the Sun fallen at 19. Ptolemy lists its stars as the claws of Scorpio, and his translator notes that the ancients made Scorpio sixty degrees long with Libra as its claws. The claw tips take the natures of Jupiter and Mercury, the middles those of Saturn and some Mars. Libra shares the sweet taste with Aquarius in Abu Ma'shar's table.

Ruler: Venus. Ptolemy gives it to Venus because it is in sextile to the houses of the luminaries, and never more than two signs from the Sun. Its detriment is Mars, the ruler of Aries, the opposite sign.
Exaltation in this sign: Saturn at 21 degrees. Fall in this sign: the Sun at 19 degrees.
Triplicity (air): Saturn by day, Mercury by night, Jupiter as partner (Dorotheus).
Nature (Abu Ma'shar): hot, moist, sanguine; taste sweet, shared with Aquarius; masculine, diurnal; autumn, convertible.
Ptolemy's class: equinoctial. On the body, it makes the body shapely.
Body (Abu Ma'shar): backbone, lower belly, pubic area (al-Qabisi adds navel, hips, intestines, buttocks).
Wind (Firmicus): the east wind.
Lands (Abu Ma'shar): the Byzantine lands to Africa, Upper Egypt to Ethiopia, Barqa, Kirman, Sijistan, Kabul, Balkh, Herat.

The bounds and decans of Libra

The widest bound is Mercury's, at 8 degrees, and the narrowest bound is Mars's, at 2 degrees. Venus, the ruler of Libra, holds the bound at 22 to 28 degrees.

Here are the Egyptian bounds of Libra, counted from 0 degrees of the sign:

Saturn: 1 to 6 degrees (6 wide)
Mercury: 7 to 14 degrees (8 wide)
Jupiter: 15 to 21 degrees (7 wide)
Venus: 22 to 28 degrees (7 wide)
Mars: 29 to 30 degrees (2 wide)

Laid over the three decans of Firmicus Maternus and al-Qabisi, they fall like this:

The first decan, degrees 1 to 10, belongs to the Moon. The bounds inside it: Saturn 1 to 6, Mercury 7 to 10.
The second decan, degrees 11 to 20, belongs to Saturn. The bounds inside it: Mercury 11 to 14, Jupiter 15 to 20.
The third decan, degrees 21 to 30, belongs to Jupiter. The bounds inside it: Jupiter at 21, Venus 22 to 28, Mars 29 to 30.

The stars of Libra, and what the sources say it symbolizes

Hill remarks that Libra is the only sign without a living form, the one figure in the zodiac that is an instrument. Tara Mata's own claim is that the world age is carried by the autumn equinox, when the Sun enters Libra, which would put the present in the Age of Virgo rather than Pisces.

Ptolemy gave the stars of Libra these planetary natures, in the first book of the Tetrabiblos:

the tips of the claws (Ptolemy places Libra as the claws of Scorpio), Jupiter and Mercury
the middle of the claws, Saturn and some Mars

The story behind Libra

Libra carries scales symbolism and is the only zodiac sign represented by an object rather than a living creature.

The spiritual meaning of Libra

Spiritually, Libra asks what would be beautiful because it is also fair.

Why Libra matters

Libra matters because it shows where a chart seeks balance, beauty, fair exchange, conversation, and the intelligence of considering another person.

How to read Libra

Astrologers reach for Libra when interpreting partnership, design, negotiation, conflict mediation, social grace, justice, and the house where life asks for proportion.

Libra in practice: an example

Libra on the second house may connect money and self-worth with aesthetics, clients, partnership, or fair pricing.

Where readings of Libra go wrong

The usual misreading is to reduce Libra to people-pleasing. Libra can be sharp about justice and proportion.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Zodiac Signs
Aliases: Libra sign, Libra zodiac sign
Last updated: 2026-09-26

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ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. Sun SignSun Sign is the birth sign of the Sun and the most familiar doorway into astrology. Moon SignMoon Sign is the birth sign of the Moon and a key indicator of emotional patterning. Rising SignRising Sign is the sign on the eastern horizon at birth and one of the most personal chart factors. ElementElement groups the zodiac signs into fire, earth, air, and water. ModalityModality describes whether a sign initiates, stabilizes, or adapts.

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