Elements, Modes, Signs (Diploma Workbook)

Question 1

ATTRIBUTES OF FIRE
Aries Leo Sagittarius

Answer 1

Skillful Application
radiant, glowing, warm, flaming energetic, creative, fervent, aspiring, spontaneous, passionate, daring, assertive, courageous, enterprising, self-confident, individualistic independent, free, active, enthusiastic, exuberant, demonstrative, inspirational, rapturous, spirited, impassioned, optimistic

Unskillful Application
hotheaded, rash, impatient, impulsive impetuous, excitable, willful, uncontrollable, burns out, aggressive, pushy, violent, domineering, obnoxious, egocentric, overwhelming, foolhardy, insensitive,
overzealous, fanatical, manic, unrealistic, chases false hopes

Question 2

ATTRIBUTES OF AIR
Gemini Libra Aquarius

Answer 2

Skillful Application
mental, intellectual, abstract, rational, logical, conceptual, theoretical, communicative, social, friendly, gregarious, curious, inquisitive, alert, clever, witty, versatile, objective, impersonal, impartial, dispassionate, unbiased, fair, tolerant, unprejudiced, observant

Unskillful Application
spacey, ungrounded, intangible, insubstantial, ethereal, over-intellectual, wordy, verbose, loquacious, nosy, meddlesome, gossiping, uncaring, detached, unfeeling aloof, distant, removed,
inconsistent, flighty, nervous, indecisive, vacillating

Question 3

ATTRIBUTES OF EARTH
Taurus Virgo Capricorn

Answer 3

Skillful Application
practical, pragmatic, realistic, useful, dependable, reliable, trustworthy, deliberate, cautious, grounded, solid, stable, physical, tangible, material, substantial, structured, corporeal, sensuous,
patient, enduring, persevering, plodding, persistent, resolute, industrious, productive

Unskillful Application
overly conservative, unenterprising, afraid to take risks, security oriented, opportunistic, Machiavellian, stubborn, rigid, unyielding, materialistic, acquisitive, possessive, narrow-minded, has tunnel vision, obstinate, intransigent, inflexible, immovable, unchangeable, unbending

Question 4

ATTRIBUTES OF WATER
Cancer Scorpio Pisces

Answer 4

Skillful Application
nurturing, sustaining, providing, protecting, shielding, retiring, feeling, emotional, sensitive, empathic, compassionate, healing, bonding, merging, unifying, dissolving, absorptive, impressionable
flowing, receptive, yielding, adaptive, amorphous, changing, psychic, deep, hidden, mysterious

Unskillful Application
overprotective, smothering, clinging, needy, overemotional, maudlin, fearful, insecure, thin-skinned, shy, undefined, chaotic, disordered, lacks ego strength, weak, helpless, powerless, dependent, “watered down”, victimized, martyred, secretive, deceptive, covert, uncommunicative, untruthful

Question 5

Qualities of the Cardinal Modality
Aries Libra Cancer Capricorn

Answer 5

Skillful Application
generating, beginning, doing, initiating, originating, enterprising, active, direct, purposeful

Unskillful Application
starts but does not finish, impatient, dissatisfied, overactive, overcommitted, forceful

Question 6

Qualities of the Fixed Modality
Taurus Scorpio Leo Aquarius

Answer 6

Skillful Application
concentrating, stabilizing, sustaining, finishing, establishing, preserving, conserving, steadfast, focused, powerful, persistent, constant, determined

Unskillful Application
stubborn, rigid, resistant to change, stuck, obsessed, overly retentive, inert, habit-bound

Question 7

Qualities of the Mutable Modality
Gemini Sagittarius Virgo Pisces

Answer 7

Skillful Application
distributing, adaptable, flexible, adjustable, connecting, linking, mental adapting, learning, changing, versatile, dual

Unskillful Application
scattered, unfocused, depleted, dissipated, diffused, distracted, inconsistent, prone to worry, indecisive, restless, unfinishing

Question 8

ARIES
Cardinal Fire, Yang, Personal
Initiating Identity Action
Relates to Mars
Corresponds to first house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to be independent and develop self awareness.
“I Am” The Pioneer.

Answer 8

Initiates action.
Takes initiative (cardinal) that demonstrates its personal courage and ability to act on its own inspiration (fire).

Skillful Application
initiating, starting, pioneering, innovative, giving birth, inspiring, daring, naive spontaneous, childlike, direct, innocent, energetic, driving, eager, confident, forceful, assertive, headstrong, enthusiastic,
exuberant, active, independent, courageous, fearless, competitive

Unskillful Application
rash, reckless, careless, starts but does not finish, impulsive, irresponsible, violent, self-centered, foolhardy, impatient, aggressive, overpowering, selfish, belligerent, brusque, uncontrollable, uncooperative, combative, overzealous, temperamental, argumentative, overbearing, headstrong, coarse

Question 9

TAURUS
Fixed Earth, Yin, Personal
Stabilizing Material Security
Relates to Venus
Corresponds to 2nd house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to be resourceful, productive and stable.
“I Need” The Builder.

Answer 9

Harnesses the power of the material world.
Develops security through stabilizing (fixed) its resources and developing them into fertile (earth) fields from which it can provide much abundance.

Skillful Application
earthy, practical, productive, prudent, conserving, sensual, physical, resourceful, industrious, steadfast, stable, reliable, dependable, loyal, trustworthy, persevering, patient, deliberate, persistent, enduring, consistent, determined, artistic, aesthetic, loves the beauty of nature, domestic, placid

Unskillful Application
materialistic, conservative, possessive, overcautious, acquisitive, too security oriented, stubborn, stuck in a rut, fixed in his/her ways, bull-headed, sluggish, torpid, lethargic, self-indulgent, lazy, passive, uncontrolled appetites

Question 10

GEMINI
Mutable Air, Yang, Personal
Adapting to Social and Intellectual Learning
Relates to Mercury
Corresponds to 3rd house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to communicate with and learn from others.
“I Think” The Communicator.

Answer 10

Disperses information.
Disperses (mutable) information (air) connecting to many through intellectual stimulated exchanges that generate new ideas and relationships.

Skillful Application
mental, intelligent, bright, learns easily, witty, curious, inquisitive, alert, logical, rational, knowledgeable, literary, fluent, studious, communicative, verbal, talkative, articulate, sociable, linking, jack-of-all trades, adaptable, flexible, dual, versatile, clever, dexterous, lighthearted, inventive, changeable

Unskillful Application
superficial, spacey, shallow, overly abstract, intangible, over-intellectualizing, diffusive, unemotional, wordy, gossiping, nosy, imitative, fretful, master of none, inconsistent, scattered, noncommittal,
indecisive, nervous, high-strung, capricious, fickle, restless, impatient, flighty

Question 11

CANCER
Cardinal Water, Yin, Personal
Initiating Emotional and Soul Action
Relates to the Moon and Ceres Corresponds to the 4th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to give and receive emotional warmth and security.
“I Feel” The Nurturer.

Answer 11

Initiates emotional ties, bonds and feelings.
Initiates (cardinal) familial bonds through demonstrating care (water).

Skillful Application
emotional, feeling, receptive, sensitive, psychic, gentle, tender, vulnerable, sympathetic, nurturing, providing, caring, sustaining, protective, maternal, feeding, domestic, patriotic, shy, retiring, collecting, tenacious, oriented toward the past, retentive

Unskillful Application
insecure, moody, defensive, over-emotional, non-trusting, hypersensitive, touchy, brooding, smothering, clinging, consuming, overprotective, dependent, fearful, timid, clannish, withdrawn, grasping, stuck in the past, afraid to let go

Question 12

LEO
Fixed Fire, Yang, Interpersonal
Stabilizing Identity Security
Relates to the Sun and Pallas
Corresponds to the 5th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to express myself creatively and be appreciated by others.
“I Show” The Performer.

Answer 12

Harnesses the power of the persona.
Stabilizes (fixed) a warm and entertaining persona in hopes of gaining attention and having its creative self expression (fire) witnessed.

Skillful Application
self assured, self-confident, dynamic, powerful, authoritative, radiant, commanding, impressive, majestic, dignified, noble, honorable, regal, royal, proud, thrives on appreciation, leader, courageous, loyal, self expressive, creative, dramatic, performing, loving, giving, ardent,
magnanimous, warm, big-hearted, generous, playful, flamboyant, romantic

Unskillful Application
prideful, self-centered, vain, selfish, bombastic, overbearing, conceited, stubborn, dictatorial, domineering, haughty, arrogant, pompous, patronizing, aristocratic, grandiose, snobbish, having a superiority complex, childish, egocentric, possessive, demands to be center of attraction, melodramatic, extravagant, spendthrift, flirtatious, heartbreaker, tease, doubts own creative abilities

Question 13

VIRGO
Mutable Earth, Yin, Interpersonal
Adapting to Material Learning
Relates to Vesta, Ceres, and Mercury Corresponds to 6th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to analyze, discriminate, and function efficiently.
“I Analyze” The Analyst.

Answer 13

Disperses skills.
Wants a diversity (mutable) of skills (earth) to serve life with. Through perfecting its craft Virgo creates meaning for itself.

Skillful Application
mental, intelligent, bright, learns easily, witty, curious, inquisitive, alert, logical, rational, knowledgeable, literary, practical, efficient, clear, analytical, dividing, differentiating, minute, discriminating, discerning, precise, detailed, exacting, meticulous, dexterous, technical, fastidious, organized, economical, disciplined, skillful, helpful, serving, efficient, dutiful, humble, conscientious, health-conscious, utilitarian, unselfish, sanitary

Unskillful Application
petty, picky, trivial, skeptical, can’t see the forest for the trees, critical, fault-finding,
judgmental, perfectionist, worrisome, lacking confidence, obsessive, compulsive, workaholic, self-deprecating, neurotic, hypochondriac, has germ-fetish, self-denying, prudish

Question 14

LIBRA
Cardinal Air, Yang, Interpersonal
Initiating Social and Intellectual Action
Relates to Juno and Venus
Corresponds to 7th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to cooperate with others and to create beauty, balance and harmony.
“I Relate” The Diplomat.

Answer 14

Initiates relationships.
Initiates (cardinal) relationships (air), seeking balance harmony and justice.

Skillful Application
relating, sharing, cooperative, partner oriented, social, agreeable, easygoing, gregarious, affable, considerate, balanced, weighing, just, fair, tactful, diplomatic, charming, mediating, impartial, aesthetic, artistic, refined, beautiful, harmonious, pleasing, well-proportioned, tasteful

Unskillful Application
dependent, can’t act alone, gives away power to others, indecisive, hesitant, passive, vacillating, inactive, idle, indifferent, fence-straddler, over-compromising, superficial (beauty is only skin deep),
vain, overly delicate, imbalanced

Question 15

SCORPIO
Fixed Water, Yin, Interpersonal
Stabilizing Emotional Security
Relates to Pluto (Mars)
Corresponds to 8th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need for deep involvements and intense transformations.
“I Transform” The Healer.

Answer 15

Harnesses the power of its emotional intensity.
Penetrates (fixed) the secret and mysterious (water) aspects of life.

Skillful Application
regenerating, transforming, cathartic, giving birth, complex, metamorphosing, healing, renewing, musical, penetrating, probing, researching, joining, piercing, erotic, sexual, intense, magnetic, powerful, emotional,
mysterious, occult, hidden, deep, complex, psychological

Unskillful Application
power hungry, destructive, violent, annihilating, sarcastic, death-oriented, obsessive, fixed, extremist, excessive,
overwhelming, lustful, desirous, jealous, possessive, resentful, revengeful, vindictive, cruel, secretive, non-revealing, deceptive, paranoid, suspicious, distrustful, repressed

Question 16

SAGITTARIUS
Mutable Fire, Yang, Transpersonal
Adapting to Identity Learning
Relates to Jupiter and Chiron
Corresponds to 9th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to explore and expand the horizons of my mind and world.
“I Seek” The Explorer.

Answer 16

Disperses enthusiasm.
Seeks unrestricted movement (mutable) and freedom to find meaning that illuminates (fire) its purpose in a buoyant and positive manner.

Skillful Application
wise, understanding, sage-like, philosophical, aspiring, metaphysical, ethical, idealistic, religious, visionary, moral, truth-seeking, open minded, optimistic, hopeful, jovial, expansive, buoyant,
generous, benevolent, philanthropic, merciful, tolerant, exploring, adventurous, wandering, seeking, freedom loving, frank outspoken, truthful, speculative, loves animals, athletic

Unskillful Application
condescending, pompous, head too high in the clouds, ungrounded, self-righteous, zealous, opinionated, dogmatic, deluded, has blind faith, impractical, a false prophet, looks to Lady Luck, extravagant, indolent, wanderlust, scattered, exaggerating, excessive, seeking a free lunch, irresponsible, tactless, insensitive, wasteful, restless, gambling

Question 17

CAPRICORN
Cardinal Earth, Yin, Transpersonal
Initiating Material Action
Relates to Saturn
Corresponds to 10th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need for structure, organization, and social accomplishment.
“I Utilize” The Governor.

Answer 17

Initiates the long term plan.
Initiates (cardinal) disciplined action in order to accomplish great feats. Through its ability to utilizes the tools (earth) it has access to, Capricorn develops the self restraint necessary to climb any mountain.

Skillful Application
organized, practical, responsible, disciplined, dutiful, conscientious, structured, systematic, hardworking, mature, law-abiding, dependable, industrious, pragmatic, realistic, constructive, administrating, planning, patient, orderly, deliberate, methodical, efficient, cautious, prudent, frugal,
reserved, striving, accomplishing, attaining, ambitious, achieving, successful, recognized

Unskillful Application
controlling, conservative, obsessed with order, compulsive, guarded, overcautious, rigid, fearful, miserly, materialistic, distrustful, restricted, inhibited, pessimistic, constricted, unemotional, undemonstrative, lacking spontaneity, cold, guilty, repressed, unimaginative, self-doubting, melancholy,
opportunistic, calculating, over-ambitious, Machiavellian, manipulating, self-seeking

Question 18

AQUARIUS
Fixed Air, Yang, Transpersonal
Stabilizing Social and Intellectual Security
Relates to Uranus (Saturn)
Corresponds to 11th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to be innovative, original, and to create social change.
“I Am Different” The Reformer.

Answer 18

Harnesses the power if its intellect.
Articulates (air) its well-developed ideas in a self-assured (fixed) way.

Skillful Application
reforming, progressive, liberal, humanitarian, democratic, universal, philanthropic, altruistic, tolerant, friendly, social, gregarious, people-oriented, independent, freedom-loving, original,
bohemian, eccentric, experimental, unorthodox, unusual, unconventional, innovative, revolutionary, futuristic, progressive, New Age, mental, intuitive, inventive, quick, brilliant, electric, scientific

Unskillful Application
disorganized, anarchistic, undisciplined, rebelling without a Cause, fanatical,
tearing down but providing no alternative, opinionated, unreasonable, deviant, overly eccentric, a crank, antisocial, impractical, strange, avoiding the here and now, negligent, thoughtless, erratic, unpredictable, inconsistent, impersonal, detached, aloof, unthinking

Question 19

PISCES
Mutable Water, Yin, Transpersonal
Adapting to Emotional and Soul Learning
Relates to Neptune
Corresponds to 12th house
Sign Keyphrase: My need to commit myself to a dream or ideal and work toward its realization.
“I Imagine” The Dreamer.

Answer 19

Disperses dreams and visions.
Connects to a vast array of experiences through being open and impressionable (mutable) to its surroundings and offering compassion (water) to many.

Skillful Application
unifying, dissolving, boundless, subtle, infinite, flowing, amorphous, refined,
imaginative, dreamy, poetic, emotional, inspiring, idealistic, utopian, visionary, romantic, mystical, intuitive, spiritual, otherworldly, ethereal, universal, transcendental, atonement, impressionable, mediumistic, receptive, absorbent, sensitive, psychic, empathic, compassionate, healing, gentle, sympathetic, sacrificing, surrendering, humble, unselfish, retiring, renouncing

Unskillful Application
nebulous, confused, chaotic, unconscious, vague, drifting, intangible, unreal, illusory, impractical, unrealistic, insubstantial, ungrounded, dual, fictitious, delusional, cloudy, indolent, chimerical, deceptive, secretive, reclusive, self-destructive, vulnerable, gullible, indiscriminate, passive, indecisive, procrastinating, escapist, vacillating, hypersensitive, misunderstood, martyred, melancholy, moody, suffering, victimized, lacks faith in self

Question 20

Fire Signs Rising (Aries, Leo, & Sagittarius)

Answer 20

Spontaneous, enthusiastic, inspired, self expressive, intuitive.

Great vitality, physically energetic, beams energy outward into the world. Marked by a positive, optimistic outlook on life and a confident, bluntly honest demeanor. Active, wants to make a mark on life and see the results of one’s efforts manifested in the world. Action-orientation can lead to wasteful excesses and less awareness
of the subtler needs of self and others.

Question 21

Air Signs Rising (Gemini, Libra, & Aquarius)

Answer 21

Intellectual, focused on ideas and facts, strong communicator.

Mentally quick and active; inquisitive, social, friendly, verbal. Often clever, with rapid perceptions. Can be overly intellectual to the point of chronically debating everything inwardly without taking action. Wants to understand everything; lives a lot in the world of concepts. Has a natural facility for communication and perceiving others’ viewpoints.

Question 22

Earth Signs Rising (Taurus, Virgo, & Capricorn)

Answer 22

Grounding, stabilizing, manifesting, generative, hardworking.

A matter-of-fact outlook. Focus on the material world and conservative attitudes can inhibit imagination, which is then allowed to limit the person’s options and/or restrain spontaneous self-expression, Steadiness and reliability are often well-developed and highly valued by self and others. Practicality and inborn patience give more tolerance for routine than other Ascendants show. A systematic approach, usually along established channels, is the most common method of expressing oneself.

Question 23

Water Signs Rising (Cancer, Scorpio, & Pisces)

Answer 23

Intuitive, emotive, impressionistic, sensitive, responsive.

Most easily influenced by the environment and by other people. Sensitive, moody, wary because of a strong feeling of vulnerability and likelihood of being hurt. Protective of self but also of others one cares about. Sympathetic, feels others’ emotions immediately and forcefully. Very private, lives deeply within oneself.