MOTTO: I Weigh Life! Balance Self! The Peacemaker.
With Libra rising, you present a peacemaker type of identity to others. When you are feeling supported you are diplomatic, cooperative, and helpful. When you are not feeling supported, you present an indecisive, co-dependent identity to others. Venus is the planet that rules Libra. In the sign of Libra, Venus represents relationships and how you relate with others. With an innate desire for harmony, you seek fairness and evenhandedness in your relationships. You see yourself as agreeable, sociable, and a good listener. Valuing peace and cooperation, you prefer a friendly and positive approach in your daily interactions with others outside your home. In fact, you may negate your own needs and desires in order to keep the peace.
Libra is a sign made up of cardinal, air, and yang energies. With the cardinal quality of Libra on your ascendant, you are a self-starter and act quickly and efficiently when motivated. (A Spiritual Approach to Astrology, p. 95). The key phrase for Libra is “I balance.” Your instinctive urge is to take action to “restore balance and produce equilibrium” in yourself and your environment. For example, when you see someone who is not being treated fairly, you initiate corrective action to equalize the situation. You do not wait for someone else to do it, nor do you sit back and let it happen. You have a knack for seeing both sides of a situation and determining just how much give and take is needed. Instinctively, you feel it is your job to take action to correct inequities and to right the wrongs you see.
The air element gives an intellectual and communicative quality to your temperament and behavior style. Libra is a social sign and you relate with others through communication. Enjoying the give and take of conversations, you are just as happy discussing topics that are light and frivolous as you are discussing topics that are deep and meaningful. Your preference for peace and harmony in relationships influences how you communicate. It is easy for you to make conversation and be pleasantly charming in social situations. Sharing experiences with someone is more important to you than going it alone. In some cases, your desire for companionship makes it difficult for you to maintain your independence in a relationship. Because your desire to not be alone is so strong, you may find yourself over compromising and ignoring your own needs in order to keep the other from leaving. (Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain, p.72)
With the yang influence of the Libra sign on your personality expression, you are outgoing, logical, and objective. However, this yang energy is balanced by the yin, feminine nature of Venus, Libra’s ruling planet. It’s no wonder then, why having this sign on your ascendant makes it your mission in life to be in perfect balance. It is your lifelong quest to seek balance and harmony in every aspect of your life. (The Complete Book of Astrology, p. 93 and Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology notes on Libra)
Figuratively speaking, the energetic cloak you put on to interact with others may be conventional or outrageous, but will always be a statement of your desire for presenting a friendly, non-threatening approach to others, especially when meeting them for the first time. Not wanting to appear unreasonable or aggressive, your instinctive approach to new situations and people is “let’s communicate.” The doorway to your Authentic Self radiates charm and pleasing behavior as well as intelligence and reason.
Although you desire relationships to be in a constant state of equilibrium and harmony, on most days, you may find yourself experiencing imbalance and extremes as you learn the give and take of communicating and listening in your relationships. There are Feng Shui enhancements you can make to your environment to assist you in your “I balance” quest.
Feng Shui Enhancements to Support Libra’s Energetic Needs:
With Libra energy influencing your instinctive approach to daily life, your energetic needs are supported by an environment that promotes relationships in general, encourages lively discussions, and reflects your desire for cooperative, harmonious, and mutually beneficial, give-and-take companionship.
To encourage a cooperative, relationship-centered environment, activate the Love/Relationships area of your home. It is located in the rear right (Western) or southwest (Classical) side of your home.
This area is associated with all relationships, not just the romantic kind. To ensure balance in your relationships, make sure there are no singular objects in this area. Pairs or groupings of like items reinforce togetherness and balance. This is the area to put your collections as they represent cohesion and interconnectedness. Adding touches of pink will encourage feelings of compassion, caring, and understanding in relationships.
Add images that represent both togetherness and equality in relationships in this area to encourage these qualities in your relationships. Flowers, a symbol of romantic relationships as well as friendships are appropriate here. Setting up a conversation area here will encourage shared communication with the people in your life. The element for this area is earth. Adding touches of earth colors, such as yellow, will activate the gathering energy in this area. Yellow is a warm, happy, uplifting, and cheerful color that draws people out and makes them more talkative. Yellow also stimulates the intellect and encourages hope and optimism. Avoid anything associated with conflict in the design of your Love/Relationships area. (Feng Shui for the Soul, p.46 and Feng Shui Demystified, p.76)
Another key feature of having Libra on your ascendant is the effect that Venus, the planetary ruler of Libra, has on your instinctive approach to life. Venus in its role as ruler of Libra brings a deep need and instinctive urge toward beauty, harmony, and balance. Learning to bring balance to your inner and outer life experiences is essential for the Libra person. With your instinctive desire to bring a sense of inner balance and harmony to your life, experiences of imbalance make it at once more difficult and at the same time essential to achieve that balance and harmony.
One way to restore balance and bring harmony to your life is by balancing your own yin/yang energetic needs through your environment. To do this, it will be important for you to check in with yourself occasionally, to assess if you are feeling energetically too yin or too yang. Clues that you are feeling too yin: you are indecisive, you are feeling depressed more often, you are feeling helpless or lonely, are feeling pessimistic, or feeling lethargic. If you are experiencing these feelings, it may be because there is too much yin energy in your environment. Clues that you are feeling too yang: you feel hyperactive, impatient, aggressive, frustrated, tense, or are more accident prone. If you are experiencing these feelings, it may be because there is too much yang energy in your environment.
Feng Shui Support to Restore Balance to Yin/Yang Energy:
If you have diagnosed that your energy level is too yin, you can change aspects of your home to help you remedy this situation. Look around your home. Is there clutter? Is there too much furniture, especially of the soft, oversized variety? Is the area dimly lit? If there is clutter, clear the cluttered areas to get the chi (energy) moving again. If there is too much furniture, scale down the number of pieces you have and replace one or more of the soft, oversized pieces with more angular, formal-looking furniture. If the area is dimly lit, add more light, preferably natural light. Also, adding bright flowers and an aquarium will provide additional yang energy. Geometric and linear shapes, wood elements, upward reaching plants, and shiny metal objects all serve to create more yang energy. Wood or metal blinds can be substituted for curtains for added yang energy. White, yellow, bright red and orange are yang colors. The place that does not need corrective yang energy measures is the bedroom. This is because yin energy is preferred for rest and relaxation, the primary function of the bedroom.
If you have diagnosed that your energy level is too yang, you can change aspects of your home to help you remedy this situation. Look around your home. Are there a lot of sharp corners and hard, angular shaped objects? Is the furniture mostly formal or made of metal, wood, or glass with no cushions to soften them? Is there so much light that it feels too bright and aggressive? Is the décor edgy and modern with little to no warmth or softness to it? These are features indicative of yang energy.
Sharp corners can be softened by placing plants with curvy or large leaves in front of the corners. Curvy, flowing shapes add yin energy. Replacing wood furniture with wicker or upholstered furniture increases yin energy. Add soft pillows and cushions for more yin energy. Dark colors, especially black, are yin as are soft pastels and muted colors. Curtains can be substituted for or added to current metal or wood blinds for added yin energy. Heavy objects, rugs, carpet, pottery, and plants with rounded or large leaves add yin energy to your space.
Balancing or shifting the yin/yang energy in your home to fit your personal energy level needs, “can return you to a state of balance and wholeness” and it “can generate physical, mental, and emotional healing.” (feng shui chic, p.14)
As you go about your daily life, situations arise where there is discord among the people around you. These situations leave you feeling off-balance and disturb your sense of tranquility. Because of your relationship orientation, you may find yourself attempting to restore peace and harmony through diplomacy to the point of being overly agreeable and overly compromising. Disregarding your own needs and what you may want to do, you allow, enable, and even give in to what others want as a way of avoiding the discord their anger and confrontational demeaner brings to the situation. When you choose appeasement over your own needs and desires, you are helping no one, including yourself.
Another aspect to the Libra rising personality that you may be experiencing is finding it difficult to be alone. You enjoy people so much that you feel the key to your happiness is to find someone with whom you can share your life. (A Spiritual Approach to Astrology, p.95) The negative potential of this intrinsic desire is that you become dependent on the approval of others as you try to remain in a relationship with them. This is another situation of giving your power away. Instead of feeling empowered to say “no” when it is in your best interests to say “no” or to disagree, you say “yes” or agree to the other’s wishes. This tendency to please others at the expense of your own needs in order to keep the relationship going results in suppressing your Authentic Self. However, when you suppress your authentic self’s desires and needs for too long, you get out of balance inside yourself. You end up spreading yourself too thin in the attempt to be all things to all people and you no longer feel the centered, contented, energetic sense of self that being in a more balanced, equal relationship would give you.
When you are feeling diminished and off-balanced, you become vulnerable to the negative actions and responses of Libra’s shadow self. Examples of Libra’s shadow side include: indecisiveness, feeling impatient, timid, resorting to dependent or co-dependent behavior, inability to be candid for fear of disapproval, lack of motivation to accomplish tasks, and self-indulgent behavior such as overindulgence in food and drink.
There are Feng Shui adjustments you can make to your environment to help you reconnect with your authentic self’s identity in the world as someone who is fair minded, cooperative, helpful, idealistic, and sociable—all positive traits of the Libra sign—while at the same time validating your value and your place as an equal partner in relationships.
Feng Shui Tips for Creating Space that Encourages Clear and Natural Expression Of Your Libra Personality:
It is important when you have Libra rising that your home environment reflects your desire to welcome and enjoy the company of others. An atmosphere that is peaceful, restful, and pleasing to you is just as important. In this way, you will satisfy your need to share your life with others while at the same giving yourself the kind of surroundings that empower and energize you.
To foster a more active social life and strengthen family ties, enhance the Foundation/Family area of your home. It is located in the middle left (Western) or east (Classical) side of your home. The element for this area is wood. Activating this area will help to restore your equilibrium after it has been upset by disruptive discord, misunderstandings, or arguments with others.
First, make sure this area is not your dumping ground for junk. If it is, your first step is to clear out the clutter. You want to be able to walk into this area and feel uplifted by its atmosphere and the sense of free-flowing energy. Wood objects, rectangular shapes, blue, and green bring beneficial chi to this area. Arrange furniture here to encourage socializing. Place positive, happy photos of yourself, family, and friends here and remove any photos that dampen your mood and spirits. Healthy, flowering plants support the wood energy of this area and an aquarium here will bring in water energy which feeds the wood energy. Remove dead things like dead (as well as unhealthy) plants, dried flowers, ashes of the deceased, and mementos of dead things from this area(Feng Shui Quick Guide for Home and Office, pp. 60 & 67, feng shui guide to harmonious living, pp. 44-47). By taking these measures you are encouraging supportive energy from others who are important in your life.
Activate the energy of the Health/Unity area of your home when you are feeling diminished in relationships, feeling out of sorts, lack motivation to get things done, or just have an overall feeling of not being grounded and in harmony with your surroundings. This area is located in the center of your home (both Western and Classical). This is the area that represents the energies of both serenity and power.
The element for this area is earth. The earth element is grounding, stabilizing, balancing energy. Energizing this area with the colors of earth (brown, terracotta, yellow, and green) and objects made from the earth, such as ceramic and clay, will promote feeling grounded, stable, and balanced. Adding touches of red in this area will promote recognition and acknowledgement of your Authentic Self. Symbols of peace and harmony, square objects, and artwork depicting mountains, flowers, the earth, sun, stars, or a sunrise all enhance the energy of this area. Healthy plants, a vase of artificial or real flowers and a bowl of artificial or real vegetables and fruit will also encourage beneficial chi in this area. Placing a square rug in the center of the room will give the space a sense of grounding and security. (Feng Shui Quick Guide for Home and Office, pp. 60 & 70) (feng shui your life, pp. 124 & 125)
By creating a home environment that brings in elements that encourage a cooperative, relationship-oriented environment, that support and strengthen equality in relationships, and brings in a sense of harmony and beauty will not only help you to clearly express your Libra personality positively, it will also go a long way in supporting and encouraging overall fairmindedness, peace and balance in your daily life.
You are learning about yourself through the reactions of and responses from others to your behavior as you go about your daily life. Their feedback to you regarding your actions will be either positive or negative. You will enjoy positive feedback from others when you operate from an independent, evenhanded, sociable and harmonious approach. Whereas, negative feedback can occur when you are indecisive, domineering or meek, or impatient. Regardless of the type of feedback, you will continue to grow, and your authentic self will continue to learn something new about itself. (Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology, discussion on the archetype of the 1st house/ascendant/rising sign.)
Feng Shui for your Rising Sign 