The symbol ♉ looks very much like the Greek letter α on its side (and vice versa) and most likely has the same origin, that is, an Egyptian hieroglyph of an ox’s head, 𓃾. Juan Eduardo Cirlot provides an alternative (or complimentary) explanation in his Dictionary of Symbols:
the fact that the sign of Taurus corresponds to the number two relates it to the principle of duality composed of the masculine (Viraj, or Yang) and the feminine (Vac, or Yin). There is also a morphological relationship between the bull, on account of its head and horns, and the waxing and waning aspects of the moon, which is further evidence of the bull’s symbolic function of invigoration, at least in the sublunary sphere. The sign of Taurus governs the throat and voice, and is in turn dominated by Venus.
♎ (Libra) is the seventh astrological sign in the Western zodiac, ruled by the planet Venus. Just like the Gemini and Aquarius, it is an air sign. The Sun is in this sign between 23 September and 22 October.
The symbol ♎ looks like underscored upper-case letter Ω (Omega), but most probably has nothing to do with it. According to one source,
The symbol for Libra represents the scales of a balance, but it also shows the setting Sun in the horizon. There are many views on the symbol of Libra, but the most revealing one of all is the view of it as an obstacle that needs to be overcome. The lower line of the symbol represents the earthly, rational approach that has no obstacles on its way, but the higher line that reaches for the sky seems to be a huge hill to be crossed in order to reach the other side of the balance.
Orphic teaching sees it as the threshold through which the soul enters upon its incarnation. It is governed by the Moon in the performance of its symbolic rôle as mediator between the formal and the informal worlds.
The symbol ♋️ looks like number “69” but most probably is something else. There are several hypotheses of its origin, none of them too convincing.
this is a cosmic symbol expressive of the complete man — he who is at once animal, spiritual and worthy of his divine origin. Man thus constitutes a link between heaven and earth, implying a state of tension which finds its symbolic expression in the arc (or rainbow). Sagittarius, the Centaur, or the Archer signify this triple nature of the symbol; the horse symbolizes the instinctive organism, the human part denotes the three higher principles embracing the monad as expressed by the arrow.
♒ (Aquarius) is the 11thastrological sign in the Western zodiac, ruled by the planet Uranus. Its ancient ruler was Saturn. The Sun is in this sign between 20 January and 18 February.
Its allegorical representation is a figure of a man pouring water from an amphora. In the Egyptian Zodiac of Denderah, Aquarius carries two amphorae. This version merely affects the numerical symbolism; it affords clearer proof of the dual force of the symbol (its active and passive aspects, evolution and involution), a duality which is of the essence in the important symbol of the Gemini. All Eastern and Western traditions relate this archetype to the symbolic flood which stands not only for the end of a formal universe but also for the completion of any cycle by the destruction of the power which held its components together. When this power ceases to function, the components return to the Akasha — the universal solvent — which is symbolized by Pisces. In these two signs of the Zodiac, then, the cosmic pralaya, or Brahma’s night, runs its course. Its function, according to Hindu tradition, is to reabsorb into Oneness all those elements which originally seceded from it to lead separate individual existences. Thus, each end carries the seed of a new beginning (Ouroboros). The Egyptians identified Aquarius with their god Hapi, the personification of the Nile, whose floods were the source of the agricultural, economic and spiritual life of the country. Consequently, Aquarius symbolizes the dissolution and decomposition of the forms existing within any process, cycle or period; the loosening of bonds; the imminence of liberation through the destruction of the world of phenomena.
Man, that’s deep... and rather scary. And if you’ve read that far, you might as well wonder if “liberation through the destruction” is related at all to “the mind’s true liberation” as sung in Aquarius from Hair.
It corresponds to solar power, the will, fire, and the clear, penetrating light which passes from the threshold of the Gemini into the realm of Cancer. It is connected with feelings and emotions.
The Sun is in this sign between 23 July and 22 August.
According to Wikipedia, the symbol ♌ “is based on the Nemean lion, a lion with an impenetrable hide”. To me it looks more like a squirrel. Elsewhere, it also says that ♌ is a
script form of the Greek letter “lambda”, which is the first letter of the Greek word leon, which means “lion”.
