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Mute Signs<br />

U.S. president Ronald Reagan and former French presidents Charles de Gaulle and<br />

François Mitterand. The popularity of mundane <strong>astrology</strong> among astrologers tends to<br />

ebb and flow with <strong>the</strong> level of global crisis: in <strong>the</strong> 1980s, few paid any attention to it,<br />

but <strong>the</strong> collapse of communism and <strong>the</strong> Gulf War of 1991–92 brought heightened<br />

interest, as did <strong>the</strong> terrorist attacks on <strong>the</strong> United States on September 11, 2001.<br />

Writing during a similar period of crisis—<strong>the</strong> first years of <strong>the</strong> Cold War and <strong>the</strong><br />

height of <strong>the</strong> Korean conflict—Carter argued in his <strong>book</strong> An Introduction to Political<br />

Astrology that mundane <strong>astrology</strong> “should logically take precedence over all o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

branches of our science [<strong>astrology</strong>], especially during <strong>the</strong> present epoch, when <strong>the</strong> life<br />

of <strong>the</strong> individual counts for so very little in comparison with that of <strong>the</strong> community, to<br />

which it is increasingly subordinated and by which is ever more coloured.”<br />

—Nick Campion<br />

Sources:<br />

Baigent, Michael, Nicholas Campion,, and Charles Harvey. Mundane Astrology: The Astrology<br />

of Nations and Organisation. 2nd rev. ed. London: Aquarian Press, 1991.<br />

Campion, Nicholas, The Book of World Horoscope. 2nd rev. ed. Bristol: Cinnabar Books, 1999.<br />

Carter, Charles E. O. An Introduction to Political Astrology. London: L. N. Fowler, 1951.<br />

Pliny. De Natura Rerum. Book 2, III.<br />

MUTABLE SIGNS<br />

The 12 signs of <strong>the</strong> zodiac are subdivided according to three qualities: cardinal, mutable,<br />

and fixed. The four mutable signs (<strong>the</strong> mutable quadruplicity or mutable cross)<br />

are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. The exit of <strong>the</strong> Sun from each of <strong>the</strong>se four<br />

signs indicates <strong>the</strong> end of a new season: Gemini, <strong>the</strong> end of spring; Virgo, <strong>the</strong> end of<br />

summer; Sagittarius, <strong>the</strong> end of fall; and Pisces, <strong>the</strong> end of winter. The identifying trait<br />

of <strong>the</strong> mutable signs (sometimes referred to as common signs) is adaptability or flexibility.<br />

Mutable signs tend to react to new situations by adapting to <strong>the</strong>m. Negatively,<br />

mutable signs can be too malleable or changeable.<br />

The same classification can be found in Vedic <strong>astrology</strong>—Chara (moveable or<br />

cardinal), Dwi-Swabhava (dual or mutable) and Sthira (fixed). The three Vedic qualities,<br />

which are associated with <strong>the</strong> same signs as <strong>the</strong>ir Western parallels, have similar<br />

connotations.<br />

Sources:<br />

Sakoian, Frances, and Louis S. Acker. The Astrologer’s Hand<strong>book</strong>. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.<br />

Sutton, Komilla. The Essentials of Vedic Astrology. Bournemouth, UK: Wessex Astrologer, 1999.<br />

MUTE SIGNS<br />

The mute signs are <strong>the</strong> water signs, Scorpio, Cancer, and Pisces. It is said that when<br />

Mercury is afflicted in one of <strong>the</strong>se signs, it results in quietness, difficulty in speaking,<br />

or even a speech impediment. The designation mute probably was given because <strong>the</strong>se<br />

three creatures are “mute.”<br />

THE ASTROLOGY BOOK<br />

[477]

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