The Element of Earth

The element of earth is all about being grounded, being physical, being incarnated, and manifesting tangible things in life. The earth signs, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are famed for their down to earth approach to life, for their organisational abilities, for their strong senses and physical needs, and for their ability to harness the resources of the material and natural worlds.

Their rulers, Venus, Mercury and Saturn seem to have varying degrees of association with the earth element. Venus as ruler of Taurus finds her place as a lover of physical experience, particularly sensuous experience and the value she places on money and security achieved through material goods. Mercury is less naturally associated with earth, as the planet of ideas and communication, but in clever Virgo finds his knowledge applied in an orderly and organised fashion. Saturn is the planet that seems most at home with earth energy, and his rulership of Capricorn, the last and most complex of the earth signs, shows his powerful presence in the material, financial and physical realms, as the planet most able to harness the realities of incarnation.

With the Sun in earth, the individual finds fulfilment through doing something tangible, perhaps through running a business, or applying knowledge, or building up a life of security and material prosperity. The realm of the body and the senses is important to one's sense of identity - one has to feel real and solid.

The Moon in earth suggests an innately grounded personality, a person able to deal with mundane reality. This is someone who finds nurturing in physical routines, in contacting their body and in organising their resources in well-managed fashion.

Mercury in earth gives the individual an ability to apply ideas and knowledge, and a natural understanding of which ideas will make it into reality.

Venus in earth suggests that the physical side of love may be particularly important, and that values may tend towards the pragmatic, sometimes even materialistic side. A person with Venus in an earth sign wants a lover who understands how to deal with life on the material and physical levels.

With Mars in earth we may excel at going after our goals and making them a reality. Organisation and planning may be key parts of our strategy for getting what we want.

Those who have an emphasis on earth in their chart are often brilliant at manifesting. They understand how the world works in that 'real' sense. They have buckets of common sense, and often contain natural business acumen. The physical and material realms are their natural domain.

With a lack of earth there can be problems with neglect of the body and difficulties in understanding how to make ideas and dreams a reality. A lack of common sense is often apparent, and the last thing you could say about these people is that they have their feet on the ground! With conscious effort in finding a foothold in the material and physical worlds however, they can make great progress, as they value their achievements in this sphere of life very highly.