What are the Libra dates?

About September 23 to October 22. Libra begins at the September equinox, which falls on September 22 in some years and the 23rd in others, so a birthday on those days needs a calculated chart.

Is Libra an air sign?

Yes, the cardinal air sign, with Gemini and Aquarius. Air works in ideas and exchange, and Libra turns that toward the other person: the conversation as a balance between two.

What planet rules Libra?

Venus, the planet of attraction and of what a person finds beautiful; the same planet rules Taurus. Taurus is Venus in the senses, the pleasure of things; Libra is Venus in company, the pleasure of a well-matched pair. The traditional scheme gives each planet two signs, except the Sun and Moon.

Astrology basics · The twelve signs

What Libra means: the sign that weighs the other side

Libra is the seventh sign, the thirty degrees that begin at the September equinox, exactly across the circle from Aries. Air, cardinal, ruled by Venus, opposite Aries. The Sun is in Libra from about September 23 to October 22, as northern autumn begins, and the sign matches the 7th house: partners, the people a person commits to, and opponents.

Element: Air
Modality: Cardinal
Ruling planet: Venus
Sun in Libra: About September 23 to October 22
Opposite sign: Aries
Natural house: The 7th

The sign that starts at the autumn equinox

Zero degrees Libra is the second point in the year where day and night are equal, the Sun crossing the equator southward. The sign is counted from there, one twelfth of the circle and not the faint constellation of the scales, which has drifted roughly a sign away from it (the Aries page goes into the mechanism). Libra is cardinal, opening a season, and the second air sign. Its dates move a day either way with the calendar.

A planet in Libra consults

Libra lends a planet a second opinion before it acts. The planet acts with the other person in mind, evenly, and after the question has been asked both ways. Mercury in Libra says 'on the other hand' and means it. Mars in Libra gets what it wants by having the other side propose it. Saturn in Libra puts its effort into fairness and keeps back the preference it actually has.

Libra as Sun, as Moon, as Ascendant

A Libra Sun rearranges the room so the two chairs face each other. Across a table from one other person, at the long dinner or the negotiation, it is at full strength; left to choose a restaurant alone, it stands outside three of them and goes home.

A raised voice in the next apartment ruins a Libra Moon's evening, and a disagreement with someone it loves is smoothed over before it has been fully had. Kind company and a room that is pleasant to look at are what make it feel safe, and it has moved the lamp twice before the guests arrive.

Libra rising smiles first and sits where it can see everyone. It lets the other person order first and then orders something that goes with it, and the stranger comes away sure the two of them agreed, without being able to say on what.

Aries opposite, Venus and the 7th house

Aries is the sign opposite Libra; the axis runs between the self and the other person, and a Libra planet is forever answering to what sits in Aries. Venus rules Libra, as it does Taurus, and in Libra the planet's attraction turns toward people and proportion: the pleasing match, the balanced pair. Libra's house is the 7th: the one across the table, partners and opponents alike.

See Libra in your own chartA free birth chart, with the reading, from your date, time and place.

Questions

What are the Libra dates?: About September 23 to October 22. Libra begins at the September equinox, which falls on September 22 in some years and the 23rd in others, so a birthday on those days needs a calculated chart.
Is Libra an air sign?: Yes, the cardinal air sign, with Gemini and Aquarius. Air works in ideas and exchange, and Libra turns that toward the other person: the conversation as a balance between two.
What planet rules Libra?: Venus, the planet of attraction and of what a person finds beautiful; the same planet rules Taurus. Taurus is Venus in the senses, the pleasure of things; Libra is Venus in company, the pleasure of a well-matched pair. The traditional scheme gives each planet two signs, except the Sun and Moon.