Libra meaning
Libra is the scales, the seventh sign of the zodiac. Romans carved it out of stars that Greeks had often treated as the scorpion’s claws. The glyph ♎ is a beam over a base, a picture of a balance.
Scales, set where the year balances — and once the scorpion’s claws.
Where it comes from
The autumnal equinox, equal day and night, is why a scale belongs here in the symbolic year. The stars themselves were not always a separate figure. Greek astronomy often spoke of Chelae, the claws. The tropical sign is an air sign, traditionally ruled by Venus. The glyph is one of the few that still looks like its object.
Astrology
A legal instrument, then a temperament
Scales weigh. Traditional meanings cluster around judgment, partnership, and the other person. “Harmony” is the soft modern word for a tool that decides. The equinox is the cleaner origin: two halves of the day, matched.
Near this
Sources
- Roman Libra, distinguished from Greek Chelae, the claws
Named when the entry depends on a text, a date, or a standard. Catalog numbers are not invented.
Your margin
Private. It stays in this browser and never joins the canon.
symbol.wiki, edited as Sigilla. Last reviewed 2 October 2026. A reading of public tradition, not a ruling.