What is a cardinal sign?
Cardinal signs are the instigators. They want to start something. If we didn't have cardinality in our chart, we wouldn't make any progress in human nature. When you look at the cardinal signs, they're all about doing, they're all about getting things done. In a way, you can say cardinal is where I know best. The first cardinal sign is Aries, and that's the easiest one to spot in a way, because wherever you see an Aries, they're always keen to get something done, they always try to push you into something. That's what a cardinal sign does: it pushes you. It says, "I know, let me run it." Cardinals are like the CEOs; they want it done their way. Cardinal signs are like dictators; they know best, they want it done. The second cardinal sign is the one that confuses most people: it's Cancer, gentle, soft, sweet Cancer. How can that be cardinal? It's cardinal because Cancer wants to love and nourish you. When you go to a Cancer's home, it will feed you, it will make sure you're all right, it will keep the family together, it will give you a soft path. If you reject the Cancer's food, it will insist it. Do you want a cup of tea? No. Do you want a cup of tea? No. Do you want a- Oh, for Christ's sake, I'd love a cup of tea. Cardinal does mothering in an insisting way. It's compulsive nurturing; it's cardinal, it will nurture you. The third cardinal sign is Libra, lovely little Libra, all of our friends. Libra is cardinal because it insists that things are equal, so that's why it's anti-confrontational. Cardinal signs have to have things their way, so if you like, you can say it's a United Nations peacekeeping force. You will like me, we will like each other, we will be friends, we will not have conflict. All these are cardinal traits. Libra doesn't leave it open to negotiation; everybody has to like everybody. That's what makes Libra a cardinal sign. One of the reasons for this is that the sun is traditionally weak in Libra, so Libra tries to make everybody equal, in a way, you could argue, because it feels its own expression is weaker than everybody else's. That's why it forces everybody to have an equal path. Otherwise, it knows that some will shine, some won't, and maybe it won't. Libra is cardinal. The fourth of the cardinal signs is Capricorn, and again, here you can really see the cardinality. Capricorn traditionally wants success, it wants to run the organisation, it wants to get to the top - not in the impulsive way that Aries does, but in long haul. Capricorn traditionally climbs its way slowly to the top of the mountain, but that's the cardinal trait; it wants to run the show. Cardinals are the domineering type. A Capricorn will always try to be the boss, not the flamboyant one, but the boss.
