Chapter IV. READING THE HOROSCOPE（续 2）

When fixed signs are on the angles (the first, fourth, seventh and tenth houses), they exert a well nigh irresistible force, impelling the individual along a certain line. He may be slow and plodding, but is sure to be persistent in whatever he undertakes, and whatever talent he may possess in a certain direction will be exploited to its fullest extent. Setbacks which would take the courage from a person with cardinal signs do not daunt the man with fixed signs on the angles, he knows no defeat, and therefore he usually gains his goal in the end and achieves success by Concentration upon one point, and Persistence in following his chosen path. On the other hand such people are conservative to the last degree. They may see and desire improvements in various lines, but are exceedingly slow to adopt measures to accomplish the desirable end; they never do so until thoroughly satisfied that a certain method will meet the requirements. In other words, people with fixed signs on the angles ' ' look before they leap ; ' ' they look a long time and very, very carefully, but on the other hand, when they have once been won over to a certain cause they are faithful unto death, and no more ardent advocates can be found; their zeal is almost fanatical. On the whole, people with fixed signs may be said to be the most reliable people in the world, either for good or bad.

The Common Signs Keyword ' ' Flexibility ' '

Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are called common - signs, their intrinsic nature is best expressed by the keyword, Flexibility.

The forces working through the cardinal signs impinge upon the dense body and stir it to action.

The power of the common signs is mental and spiritual, it gives purpose to action and incentive to-1 nobility of life.

Therefore people influenced by stellar forces focused principally through cardinal signs are the workers of the world, not the toilers, but executives „ who accomplish things industrially, and who bring into concrete existence great schemes, or small, of value in the world's work. The common signs are all double; two of them are human: Gemini, the Twins, and Virgo, the Virgin; the third, Sagittarius, the Centaur, is partly human; and only the fourth symbol, Pisces, the Fishes, is taken from the lower kingdom. None are violent, however, but intensely moral, intellectual and spiritual symbols.

Unstable as reeds they are swayed hither and thither; nothing appeals to them permanently, they desire nothing as much as change. No matter how well placed, they can seldom resist the lure of an opening in another city, the farther away, the better. Therefore the old maxim: "a rolling stone gathers no moss," applies particularly to this class,

for their roving habits usually keep them poor. They spend as fast as they earn, or faster. Thus these people drift upon the sea of life propelled by the currents of circumstances. Outside conditions dominate them as they lack stamina to assert their own individuality.

The foregoing in true of the great majority who are under the rule and influence of common signs, they respond to the lower phase simply because the higher side is too high for all but a very few at our present stage of development. Those who make a success in the world because prodded by the cardinal and fixed influences, call them indolent and good-fornothing, but were they bereft of the cardinal or fixed energy which goads them to action, and placed under the common ray, they would soon realize the lack of powrer and learn compassion for those who must so live all their life. What then is the lesson these people have to learn?

^Comparative Effect of Cardinal, Fixed and Common Signs on the Angles

While the nature of the cardinal signs is such that their rays stir our latent forces into Action, and promote change, the most prominent quality of the fixed signs is Stability. But the student must beware of confounding stability and inertia. The action impelled by the rays of cardinal signs may be changed into other channels with considerable facility, all they want is expression; the direction in

which they express themselves is a secondary consideration. Not so with the fixed signs, when their ray impels to action in a certain direction it is next to impossible to stay the force or change it. On the other hand, if they deny expression in certain lines, the obstruction is almost insurmountable.

People of the fixed class lack ability to make their inventions commercially useable, a task for which the cardinal class is eminently fitted. Thus these two classes work hand in hand and between them they have transformed the wilderness of the world to a condition of comparative comfort, their efforts of improvement are continually carried on, and in time the primitive desert will be made to bloom like a rose.

As material success depends on ability to cope with material conditions, the cardinal class is particularly fortunate, for it is the chief executive factor in the world's work, and reaps a ready reward therefor. The fixed class is not so prominently before the public, labors in laboratories and works experimentally to complete the processes and perfect the models which are later used in manufacture. Therefore they also are potent powers in life, and share the material and financial success of the cardinal class.

The common class is a sharp contrast. Forces focused through common signs are mental, therefore people ruled by them are averse to strenuous physical action which is the forte of the cardinal class;

they labor only when lashed by the whip of necessity. They are also incapable of the slow but sustained effort put forth by the fixed class and are easily discouraged by obstacles. Thus they are leaners and not lifters. Toilers who do the bidding of the inventive and executive classes are recruited from people ruled by common signs. There is one sphere, however, where they shine, according to their ability to think. Being averse to work they have created a vantage-ground whence they may reap the benefits of the toil of others, of their inventive faculties and executive skill. To do this they become promoters who bring inventor and manufacturer together, agents who mediate between buyer and seller, peddlers, venders and all other middlemen who go between producer and consumer and live on a commission, also literary men who devote their talent to purposeless fiction belong to the class actuated by the lower phases of the force in the common signs.

The cardinal class is active, the common is restless, the fixed class is rigid, the common is flexible.

The effect of the "Triplicities" is most marked in the rising sign and when the majority of the planets are grouped in one of them.

A fiery sign (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius), on the ascendant, gives much vitality, but it also makes the person prone to fevers and inflammatory disorders, and when the majority of the planets are in fiery

signs they make it very difficult for the person to "keep cool" physically and mentally.

A watery sign (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) rising, gives much less stamina and predisposes to digestive, urinary and catarrhal troubles. If a person has many planets in watery signs his problem is to generate enough energy to keep warm, for this grouping gives a listless, indigent disposition, except Scorpio be rising or many planets are in that sign.

Airy signs rising (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius), gives a nervous temperament and makes the person liable to disorders of the lungs, heart and kidneys. Many planets in these signs give people literary and artistic inclinations.

Earthy signs rising (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn), give fair vitality but a secret fear of disease arrests the vital processes in the body and poisons these people so that they become victims of chronic ailments oftener than any of the other groupings. The throat, stomach and intestines are specially threatened; rheumatism and gout are also frequently experienced. When a person has many planets in earthy signs it favors the acquisition of material wealth.