Libra (The Scales) Tattoo Meaning
The Scales — the air sign of balance: harmony, fairness, and partnership.
Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac — the Scales, an air sign ruled by Venus, spanning roughly September 23 to October 22. Its glyph is the balance beam, the scales in equilibrium, and its spirit is harmony and justice: fair-minded, diplomatic, gracious, devoted to balance, beauty, and partnership. The only zodiac sign represented by an object, Libra is balance itself. To carry Libra is to carry the scales — harmony, fairness, beauty, and the balance of partnership.
Libra is the only sign of the zodiac symbolized not by a living creature but by an object — the scales — and they are the scales of justice, long associated with Astraea (or Themis), the goddess of justice who weighs the deeds of humankind in her balance. Fittingly, the scales of Libra lie in the sky beside Virgo, the maiden of justice, the two signs together carrying the theme of fairness, judgment, and the weighing of right and wrong. The scales speak of equilibrium, of measure, of giving each thing its due.
As an air sign ruled by Venus, goddess of love and beauty, Libra joins the justice of the scales to Venusian grace: a love of harmony, beauty, fairness, and relationship. Librans are diplomatic, charming, and peace-seeking, drawn to balance and partnership, gifted at seeing all sides and bringing people into accord. The Libra scales are the emblem of balance — harmony, fairness, beauty, and the equilibrium of a life and a partnership in balance.
As an astrology tattoo, Libra is worn as its balance-beam glyph, the scales, or the constellation, by those born under the sign or drawn to its harmonious, fair nature. It is often combined with birth dates and stars. In tattoo symbolism it speaks to balance, harmony, fairness, justice, beauty, and partnership.
Libra (The Scales) across cultures
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