Western Zodiac: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
"What's your sign?" is among the most notorious (and least effective) pick-up lines. "Sign" in this case means "star sign," a way of guessing a person's personality by their date of birth.
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The sun signs are:
* [[wikipedia:Aries
* [[wikipedia:Taurus
* [[wikipedia:Gemini
* [[wikipedia:Cancer
* [[wikipedia:Leo
* [[wikipedia:Virgo
* [[wikipedia:Libra
* [[wikipedia:Scorpio
* [[wikipedia:Ophiuchus
* [[wikipedia:Sagittarius
* [[wikipedia:Capricorn
* [[wikipedia:Aquarius
* [[wikipedia:Pisces
The dates listed are approximate - they change slightly from year to year. In fact, the commonly used dates for the signs don't actually line up with the constellations they were originally based on any more (and haven't for about 2000 years). Also, the course of the sun now passes through 13 and not 12 signs.
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If a character refers to themselves as "cuspal," it means they were born within the last few days of one sign or the first few days of the next. Someone born on the 18th of February for example, is a cuspal Aquarius/Pisces. This is popular for characters with some kind of duality in their nature.
Characters almost invariably match the star sign they're born under. There's also a trend regarding which type of character falls under which sign. The gallant hero is nearly always a Leo. [[The Lancer]] is usually an Aries. Female love interests are often Pisces. [[Cloudcuckoolander
The prevalence of belief in astrology in earlier centuries generated many common expressions: Star-crossed, jovial, saturnine, mercurial, and so on.
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See Also: [[Eastern Zodiac]], [[Animal Motifs]]
Examples:
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', of
** The personalities don't necessarily fit their signs. Setsuna (Scorpio) and Hotaru (Capricorn) ''hardly'' fit them, and Ami fits Virgo more than Gemini.
** Just as well, Rei in the manga is far more quiet and ladylike compared to her hot-headed Aries anime counterpart.
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* Celestial Spirit Mages in ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' can [[Summon Magic|summon]] the spirits of each of the constellations, through the use of keys. Main character Lucy is the prime example of one of these mages, who currently owns {{spoiler|ten}} out of twelve spirits. Curiously, [[Making a Splash|Aquarius]] and [[Light'Em Up|Leo]] are her two strongest, and none of the personalities or elements really match with the above. For example, Aries is a shy, non combative [[The Woobie|woobie]] and Taurus is a [[Loveable Sex Maniac]].
** However, Virgo's personality matches almost perfectly with the above traits, and though we haven't seen much of his personality yet, {{spoiler|Capricorn's}} personality also seems to match.
* In ''Naruto'' Kakashi Hatake's September
** During the events of "Kakashi Gaiden," it is shown that he was an introverted, cold, taciturn, and perfectionist student.
*** "Kakashi became more stern and serious following {{spoiler|his father's suicide (who had killed himself after being vilified for saving the lives of his team instead of the prioritizing the success of an important mission)}}, following all the shinobi rules and scorning any who disobeyed them, like his team-mate {{spoiler|Obito}}. This caused {{spoiler|Obito}} to resent Kakashi, as Kakashi showed little kindness to his team-mates."
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** Virgos are highly adaptable, patient, methodical, and [[Awesomeness By Analysis|analytical]]:
*** "His naturally calm attitude is used to his advantage in battle, as it becomes easier for him to maintain his composure to stay focused on the situation at hand, and ultimately notice everything around him. As a result, he can quickly adjust to any situation to make keen and thought-out decisions, allowing him to stay steps ahead of his opponents."
** In ''Naruto'' Nagato's/Pain's September
** Other typical characters include Cancerian Shikaku (shrewd and a good right-hand man); Libran Naruto (smiling, friendly, can talk to anyone) and Ino (loves beauty and is a bit boy-crazy); Sagittarian Lee (tactless but good-hearted and full of energy); Arien Sakura (temperamental, impulsive and brave) and Hidan (a [[Psychopathic Manchild]]); Capricorn Hinata (quiet and shy but determined), Madara and Danzo (ruthless and ambitious); Taurean Choji and Choza (loyal, like their food, determined); Aquarian Hiruzen (an eccentric old man with a deep humanitarian streak); Scorpio Orochimaru (fascinated with the dark side, ruthless, cruel) and Jiraiya (a tough old bastard who died fighting, and a sex maniac); Leo Tsunade (likes gambling and drinking but will defend Konoha to the death); and so on.
** To extend it further, Naruto's main chakra nature is wind, the same element association with his sign.
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* In the beginning of ''[[Good Omens]]'', there's a (very accurate) horoscope prediction for the earth, which is a Libra
** Except for the part about the salads
* Parodied in ''[[Discworld]]''. Astrologers have to work a lot harder there because the constellations are constantly changing as the world turtle swims through the stars. At one point a wizard tries to find Rincewind by casting his exact
* [[Sherlock Holmes]], according to [[Fanon]], is a
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== Real Life ==
* While Aquarius isn't a popular choice for characters, it's certainly popular as a general theme. The "Age of Aquarius" refers to a time period starting roughly in the mid-to-late 20th century that will last for the next two millenia. This is popular in works influenced by the hippie culture of the '60s.
** Well, sort of,
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== Video Games ==
* The various ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games typically provide birthdates for the main cast in the [[All There in the Manual|supplementary material]]. These dates are at least occasionally chosen with the associated sun sign in mind.
** A notable example is ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'''s Squall Leonhart, whose August
*** Virgo's Strengths: Perfectionist, Practical, Loyalty, and Introspective.
*** Virgo's Weaknesses: Hyper-critical of others and self, Cranky, Seemingly cold on the outside, and Moody on the inside (Virgos are described as still waters that run deep).
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*** Squall can also be technically described as a Virgo/Leo cusp (A true Virgo but with some Leo traits/quirks), since his birthday borders Leo. This makes some sense due his [[Animal Motifs|lion motif]].
*** Squall's love interest is Rinoa Heartily, a Pisces (Squall is a Virgo). This makes a lot of sense, since according to the Zodiacal Wheel, signs opposite of each other attract strongly. "There are many Pisces and Virgo couples, testament to the fact that opposites attract. They are directly opposite each other on the Zodiacal wheel, but both are mutable (adaptable), able to 'go with the flow.' Pisces likes to dreamily let their imagination take the lead. Virgo likes to be precise and has two feet firmly in this world, but is constantly refining their body, routine, skills, etc. The industrious Virgo can be an anchoring presence for Pisces, who often has a hard time with discipline. Pisces helps Virgo soften emotionally, and put trials in a spiritual perspective. When a Virgo and Pisces two meet, there is an instant curiosity and sexual attraction. Pisces will see Virgo as a dream lover and will make every effort to hold onto the sexy and smart Virgo. Virgo will see social and sexual adventures in Pisces and will always leave Pisces wanting more. Love will blossom over time to the point of possible marriage."
* ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' gave every character, generic and specific alike, a Zodiac sign. The relationships between the signs, usually ignored in most usages of the Western Zodiac in pop culture, were actually integrated into the strategy in this case. "Trines" (one-third
** Not to belabor the point, but this also helps in [[Shipping]]: since you get to decide what [[Player Character]] Ramza Beoulve's birthday is, you can set him up with (or against) anyone you want.
* Although certainly not pivotal to the plot, in the original ''[[Gabriel Knight]]'' game, Gabe reads his horoscope almost every day of the 10 day period, and it's always eerily accurate to what he's going through. At the end of the game, on day 10, when he reads his incredibly doomy-sounding horoscope, he remarks, "There's a schoolteacher somewhere who's really confused."
* In ''[[The Sims]] 2'', zodiac signs are representations of specific combinations of personality points, and are unrelated to when a character is "born", since there are no dates, as such. When the chemistry feature was introduced, compatible signs contributed to higher chemistry, which makes it easier to unlock new social interactions. (Whether the personality-point combinations actually ''matched'' the zodiac sign they were supposed to is [[Fan Wank|something you should argue about elsewhere]].)
* ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'' uses the following
* In the [[Purple Moon]] computer games, just about every named character gives their sign in their personal information, and many of them are very interested in it (then again, they are thirteen-year-old girls, who do obsess over these things). Ginger has a whole monologue about being born on a cusp, and the CSG group only accepts Sagittarius girls as members.
* In most [[Raising Sim
* ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' featured a Zodiac-themed [[Sidequest]], which required collecting Stellazzio coins for the amusement of Queen Stella. Collect all twelve and the engravings on them form a love story about who captured the heart of Virgo; suggest the existence of a 13th coin (Ophiuchus) and you'll be tasked with following the clues on each coin (a series of directions) to conclude the story. They point to the location of one of the previous coins, where the Ophiuchus is found with the final engraving.
{{quote|''"Their future was uncertain, but {{spoiler|Scorpio}} and Virgo kissed in the light of dusk. That moment meant everything."''}}
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* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', each of the twelve Trolls take their handles from a symbol of the Western Zodiac. For example, "carcinoGeneticist" for Cancer. Their actual names are also based on their sign (for example, Tavros is derived from Taurus), and use the symbol of their zodiac sign as their associated symbol.
** A lot of the trolls' various quirks and interests (although not necessarily their personalities) are also related in some fashion to their representative sign. For example, Sollux (Gemini) is obsessed with bifurcation and duality, Equius (Sagittarius) has a thing for [[But You Screw One Goat!|horses]] and archery. Even their guardian lusii follow the motif. However, the Trolls are based off of the stereotypes of the Zodiac constellation icons ''themselves'' rather than the Zodiac characterizations. There's also a persistent [[Epileptic Trees|theory of a thirteenth troll]] representing [[wikipedia:Ophiuchus|Ophiuchus.]] Which may or may not have been confirmed with the introduction of the character signified by the rod of Asclepius/Caduceus.
** However, since the [[All Trolls Are Different|Trolls are all aliens]], all the connections between their names, symbols, and character traits are ''completely coincidental'' because they have no knowledge of the
* ''[[Zodiac (webcomic)|Zodiac]]'' features a team of [[Loads and Loads of Characters|twelve]] superpowered individuals (okay...''nine'' superpowered individuals plus [[Badass Normal|three]] [[Gun Fu|normal]] [[Teen Genius|people]]) codenamed by a Zodiac motif (i.e., there's one person called Aries, one called Gemini, ect). It seems that none of them were given their aliases ''by accident'' - all of their birthdays coincide with the sign they are named after. The reason for this isn't clear yet, but definitely set up in-universe.
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