Mutable Signs

Mutable Signs

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The 12 signs of the zodiac are subdivided according to three qualities: cardinal, mutable, and fixed. The four mutable signs (the mutable quadruplicity or mutable cross) are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. The exit of the Sun from each of these four signs indicates the end of a new season: Gemini, the end of spring; Virgo, the end of summer; Sagittarius, the end of fall; and Pisces, the end of winter. The identifying trait of the mutable signs (sometimes referred to as common signs) is adaptability or flexibility. Mutable signs tend to react to new situations by adapting to them. Negatively, mutable signs can be too malleable or changeable.

The same classification can be found in Vedic astrology—Chara (moveable or cardinal), Dwi-Swabhava (dual or mutable) and Sthira (fixed). The three Vedic qualities, which are associated with the same signs as their Western parallels, have similar connotations.

Sources:

Sakoian, Frances, and Louis S. Acker. The Astrologer’s Handbook. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.Sutton, Komilla. The Essentials of Vedic Astrology. Bournemouth, UK: Wessex Astrologer, 1999.