THE MOVEMENT AND STORAGE OF THE VITAL FORCE IN THE TWELVE ZODIAC SIGNS

The Movement and Storage of the Vital Force in the Twelve Zodiac Signs

May 2024

copyright © 2024 by Judith Hill

All authors stress over what they should have included in their recent book.

Although the text is quite thorough, today I realized a point I wish I had elucidated more about in my latest release. It is essential for medical astrologers to envision, and feel, the twelve “signs” as twelve individuated styles of the one great Vital Force that animates us all.

This short article will function as an addendum to my just released book The Twelve Zodiac Signs of Medical Astrology.

The “Vital Force” is defined as the force of life itself, the animator of photons, plants, bodies. It has infinite and manifold types and expressions. Likewise, it has several contended entry points, storage zones and bodily distribution channels. These are not our focus here, having been amply discussed in texts by a great many authors including my own book of several years past now - Astrology & Your Vital Force. David Pond’s book Chakras is worthy of note. He is one of my favorite astrologers.

It is essential to emphasize that each of the twelve signs possesses a vital force that moves in a unique manner, direction, and speed.

First, let’s examine the gender division of signs: Male/Female.

For the gender averse, it is perhaps best to think of these terms as meaning “Centripetal” and “Centrifugal”, a point brought out in the book. The former means to move toward center, inward. The later moves energy away from center, outward. There is a lot more to this in physics, but this suffices for a simple understanding.

One can also consider the male signs as “electrical” and the female signs as “magnetic”. Libra holds a curious position on the wheel, being both! This is where opposite currents meet, attract, or repulse.

Enter the four elements, listed here in their order of density (physically speaking):

Fire, Air, Water, Earth

Although I don’t have handy the great physicist Arthur Young’s book The Reflexive Universe, I recall the four densities of matter as related to four levels of descending freedom, correlating perfectly with the Four Elements.

The Three Modes: Astrology identifies three Quadruplicities, more simply known as Modes. These represent the rate of matter in motion (fast: (Cardinal), slow and concentrative: (Fixed), undulating and/or dispersive: Mutable.

Fire Element moves the vital force upward and outward. It has an explosive movement, accelerative. As light itself, Fire governs the photon, and motive freedom. Each of the three Fire signs has a unique expression of light. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius symbolize three quite different states and motion of Fire. This is created by their Mode and individual Dignity Portraits - plus their relationship to all other signs on the seasonal wheel. For each sign, this produces body zones of potential deficiency! This is a major premise of the new book.

Air Element circulates vital force - it appears to move outward, upward, but in irregular, and sometimes circular motion (not forcefully directed, as in Fire). Air is one step further toward “earthing”. We could say that the traditional Air element correlates to the level of the atom.

Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius each express a unique movement of the Air Element, determined by both their Mode and Dignity Portrait. We also observe how each air sign stands on the seasonal wheel in a unique angle to every other sign - this too contributes to a sign’s physical character profile! Understanding these relationships allows us to see where potential weaknesses lie in the physical portrait. These then, can be strengthened! (The new book explicates these hypothetical weak spots per each sign.)

Water pulls energy toward center, and downward. This plastic element, so responsive to imprinting of thought and substance, appears to stand halfway between the astral levels of Air and Fire, and the much denser, chemical-molecular plane.

Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces each exemplify a different manner of watery state flow! These differences is determined by their unique Mode (rate of matter in motion), and personal Dignity Portrait. Now, include the fact that each water sign stands uniquely positioned to all other signs on the seasonal wheel, thus expressing deficiencies and strengths causative to this fact.

Earth is astringent, pulling the vital force strongly toward center, organizing molecules to produce forms. Of the four elements Earth has the least amount of freedom of motion (think of a rock).

Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn demonstrate very different motion of their shared Earth element. This is determined by their Mode plus their Dignity Portrait. Every one of the three earth signs is postured on the seasonal wheel in a unique relationship to all other signs. This presents any sign with some deficient signs in their make-up!

We come to understand that there are three signs of each element - but that are all different! This is why it is wrong to assert that a sign is identical with an element, or is that element. Rather, the sign includes that element within its more inclusive energy portrait.

To reiterate from above, three astrological Quadruplicities, or Modes describe the rate of matter in motion. Combining these three rates of motion with the elements produces twelve distinct styles of vital force!

THE DIGNITY PORTRAIT

Each sign also includes what I have termed a "Dignity Portrait”.

Each zodiac sign has a ruler, and also planet considered in detriment (because it governs the opposite sign). Some signs (not all), have a planet under their auspices considered as exalted, or conversely, in fall (the sign opposite exaltation). Furthermore, a sign’s own ruling planet might be exalted in another sign, and this automatically entails the fact that this planet falls in a sign opposite that.

Theoretically, Birth in a certain sign automatically provides you with the qualities of the the Dignity Portrait for your sign! You don’t need to have this or that planet actually in the said sign of detriment or exaltation!

A UNIQUE VITAL FORCE “COLLECTION DEPOT” FOR EACH SIGN

In one sign the vital force concentrates, and move with great force, outward from center (Leo). In another sign, in shifts and dances like unpredictable spring breezes (Gemini).

These Vital Force tendencies and types have been discussed at length in the new book.

However, we should add that the unique Vital Force of each sign appears to store or concentrate in the Body Zone governed by that sign. (There are twelve zones, one per sign.)

This explains the tendency for natives of a sign to display either great strength, or conversely, a vulnerability in that body zone. Much like Sampson, our strength is simultaneously our proverbial weakness! In traditional thinking, a sign’s personal Vital Force Depot, or collection zone within the body, would naturally be akin to the life for natives of this sign. This is why traditional astrology emphasizes the guarding and strengthening of that body zone!

This idea does not dismiss the overarching ideas of the heart, or spleen being primary vital force storage tanks for everyone. It would however, mean that a larger percent of the base distribution of this Vital Force would be to the body zone governed by the native’s birth sign.

In traditional astrological thinking, the natives of any sign might gain a considerable awareness of their own personal style of Vital Force by awareness of “their” primary Vital Force centering region. Later, they can learn about their personal decan, or one third of a sign, and then, their own precise, special degree (birth day)! Some body parts are shared with another sign, and most have a planet co-ruler. These are included in the book.

Below is an extremely basic “short list” of Vital Force “collection depots” for each sign. In truth, every sign governs many additional parts unlisted here, organs and a function too. These are available in the new book.

Aries: head, brain, eyes, adrenals

Taurus: neck, mouth, ear-nose-throat

Gemini: bronchial tubes, upper lung, shoulders, arms, hands, speech, efferent and sense nerves

Cancer: breast, stomach, armpit, elbow, thoracic duct, pleura, lower lung, pericardium; pancreas, spleen (these last two are shared with Virgo),

Leo: heart, dorsal spine, spinal sweats, gall bladder

Virgo: upper intestinal organs, (also strongly influences immune responses), sympathetic nervous system

Libra: kidneys, ovaries; (shares adrenals with Aries, Mars)

Scorpio: nose, genitals, colon, anus, bladder, uterus

Sagittarius: hips, thighs, sciatic nerve, CNS, voluntary nerves

Capricorn: knees, skin, bone-building

Aquarius: oxygenation, ankles, electricity

Pisces: feet, ECM, lymphatic system (with Cancer), parasympathetic system