Elements
← Zodiac realms · Glossary: Elements · Zodiac
Fire, Earth, Air and Water — four triplicities of three signs each, the oldest structural grouping in the zodiac.
The four triplicities
Each element takes three signs spaced 120° apart, so the four groups tile the circle exactly: Fire — Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. Earth — Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Air — Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. Water — Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. The grouping is Greek in origin, from the four-element physics of Empedocles and Aristotle, and was fitted onto the Babylonian twelve during the Hellenistic synthesis.
Crossed with the modalities
The same twelve are cut a second way into cardinal, fixed and mutable — four signs each, one per element. Element and modality together identify any sign uniquely, which is the whole point of the double classification. The four fixed signs are the ones the living-creature tradition attaches to.