Libra (astrology)

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Libra
Sun

Astrology
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v t e

Libra (♎︎) (

Libra is the cardinal modality of the three air signs, the others being Gemini and Aquarius.^[9] Libra is symbolized by the scales and is associated with the Roman deity Iustitia. According to the writer Manilius, Roman judges are born under the sign of Libra.^{[10][page needed]}

The Moon was said to be in Libra when Rome was founded and this was based on the historical passage, which state "qua condita Roma".^[11] Everything was balanced under this righteous sign.^{[citation needed]} Manilius once said that Libra was the sign "in which the seasons are balanced" (Astronomica, 1.267), cf. Virgil, Georg. I.208-9: "Libra die somnique pares ubi fecerit horas / et medium luci atque umbris iam diuidit orbem,...". Both the hours of the day and the hours of the night match each other, hence the September equinox. Thus, why the Romans put so much trust in the "balanced sign".^[8] Going back to ancient Greek times, Libra the constellation between Virgo and Scorpio used to be ruled over by the constellation of Scorpio. They called the area the Latin word "chelae", which translated to "the claws" which can help identify the individual stars that make up the full constellation of Libra, since it was so closely identified with the Scorpion constellation in the sky.^[8]

Gallery

• 
  Libra adorning one side of the Meridian solar line of Basilica Santa Maria Degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome, built by Francesco Bianchini (1702)
• 
  Illustration of Libra in a Flemish manuscript from the early 1460s
• 
  Libra, or al-Mīzān, depicted in the 14th/15th century Arabic astrological text Book of Wonders
• 
  A woman holding the scales (

  Book of Hours, the Fastolf Master [fr], Bodleian Library

  )

Notes