As a symbol, the Balance is the only Zodiac sign not represented by a human or animal figure. Rather, Libra is associated with a spiritual or philosophical ideal, that of weighing the soul on judgment day, an ancient Babylonian belief, or in the Judeo-Christian tradition where the 'weighing up' of a situation fairly, and of being 'weighed and found wanting' are well represented in the traditional scriptures.

Zodiac Origins

Traditionally, Libra is the Zodiacal constellation between Virgo and Scorpius and the seventh sign of the Zodiac. To the ancients, it was fitting that the Zodiac cycle has come half-circle at the time of Libra, one of the two equinoctical signs, reflecting the mid-point of balance. (Over the centuries the sky that the ancients observed 'shifted' because of the Earth's irregular revolution on its axis as it revolved around the Sun. The fixed constellations that the Zodiac signs are named after, have moved slowly backward in the sky, a phenomenon called the 'precession of the equinoxes'.

In astrological terms, however, the integrity of the signs remains the same. In this regard, Carl G Jung wrote that all of us, being born at a given moment and at a given place, are invested for life with the qualities of our time and birth.) The designation of this particular constellation, with its astrological symbol of The Scales or The Balance, was probably decided on by astrologers because it most closely represents the Libran personality. The concepts of weighing and balancing are unambiguously contained in the symbol of The Balance, and clearly indicate the primary need of the Libran for the harmony that comes from equity and balance in their lives.

The symbol for Libra is often referred to as The Scales, but it would be more accurate in astrological terms to refer to it by its other name, The Balance. This is because scales are only one aspect of a balance - the pans suspended at either end of the bar that is poised on a central support of the balance itself. Thus, as a symbol, The Balance contains the notion of weighing and balancing, and both these traits are central to the Libran personality .