Modalities Overview

The Three Modalities. The modalities, sometimes called qualities, describe how a sign operates and how it relates to change. Where the elements describe a sign's basic temperament, the modalities describe its mode of action. There are three of them, cardinal, fixed, and mutable, and each one contains four signs, one from each element. The modalities follow the cycle of the seasons. Cardinal signs begin each season and carry the energy of initiation. Fixed signs fall in the middle of each season and carry the energy of stability. Mutable signs come at the end of each season, as one gives way to the next, and carry the energy of transition and adaptability. This is why the three are spread evenly through the zodiac. The modalities also echo the structure of the houses, which fall into angular, succedent, and cadent groups in the same rhythm. Knowing a sign's modality tells you how it tends to act: whether it starts things, sustains them, or adjusts them. The entries here define each of the three in turn.