Harmonious human relationships; romance; internal and external balance; indecision; resentment. Click here for your personal reading

September 23 - October 23

Basic Personality

There are two characteristics that all astrological interpreters of the Libran personality seem to agree upon - the innate desire of the Libran to establish and maintain harmonious human relationships (especially intimate, romantic relationships), and the difficulty that the Libran experiences in making decisions. These two strands of the classic Libran personality are significantly influenced by Libra's ruling planet, Venus. Venus is strongly associated with the notion of partnership, especially in intimate relationships, and encourages tact, gentleness and the social graces. In this regard Librans often have an innate gift for mentally balancing complex and difficult social situations, whilst seeking to arrive at an impartial position that keeps everyone happy when difficulties arise. The inner urge to promote harmony and to act fairly, has their 'inner balance' swinging back and forth as they take time to consider each aspect of a delicate situation, whilst striving to find the elusive mid-point of harmony. However, no decision will keep everyone happy in every situation, and sometimes the Libran has difficulty knowing when to stop looking for the 'perfect solution', and so no action is taken. Others are not usually aware of this inner striving and the apparent inaction can appear to be (and may eventually develop into), procrastination or fence-sitting.

There is another double strand that is woven into the warp and weft of the classic Libran personality. The first is their particular dislike of hurting others, a concern that often causes them to remain silent at all costs. Then there is an anxiety that can rise to the level of horror at the idea of being alone. They fear (not always realistically) that if they hurt friends, and most especially a lover or partner, they will indeed end up alone. Here again is the influence of Venus, who inspires sympathy and gentleness in friendships, and romance in intimate relationships. However, Venus does not provide a buffer against the Libran tendency to be 'in love with love', and thus does not provide a clear sense of purpose in establishing and strengthening intimate relationships beyond the idealistic or romantic.

Librans often struggle with the question of what to do in a potential conflict with others in professional, social and especially intimate relationships with a lover or partner. Rather than risk hurting their 'significant other', or indeed being rejected (and thus alone), Librans will sometimes deny or sacrifice their own genuine needs or desires for the sake of maintaining harmony or, ultimately, so they believe, the relationship itself. This, in turn, can lead to a build-up of negative energy that eventually poisons the very relationship/s they have tried so hard to preserve. Or such a build-up may remain repressed and spill over into fault-finding or over-reactions in all sorts of unrelated situations, causing the very disharmony they have tried so hard to avoid .