Astrology and character development.

Kate Walker recently did a blog about March and the Alpha hero. In she said mention that many people consider the sign Leo to be associated with an Alpha. Now, for me, Aries has always been the archetypical alpha male hero. And it has been ever since I first read Linda Goodman's Sun Signs -- lo those many years again. And here I will confess to a teenage obessession with astrology. It was perhaps aided and abetted by my aunt who was also into it. It was not so much the prediciton of the future, but the personality traits that interested me. I am going to keep it simple bcause --even though I know about moon signs, and the necessity of knowing the exact position of the planets at the excat time of a person's birth to be able to determine a person's true character. If you want to look at it as an ancient form pyschology, rather than something mystic, it is probably of more use to the writer.

Now Kate Walker came back in her comments and said that you could use any astrolgoical sign to create an alpha male hero, and here i must slightly go -- yes in theory BUT if you are using astrology for personality disliation, some signs are going to make your job much harder than others. Just as certain Myers-Briggs types, or certain ennegram types makes one's job harder. There are certain signs that more consistently exhibit overt leadership traits than others. And I am all for making my job easier.

Although most perple know the 12 signs of the zodiac. Fewer people are aware that the 12 signs can be divided up into the four elements -- fire, earth, air and water. This goes back to Aristole's theory that everything can be divided up into four different types (something that astrology has in common with. If you read Linda Goodman's Sun Signs, the signs most overtly displaying the traditional characteristics of an alpha male are the fire signs -- or Aries, Leo and Saggitarius. The signs least likely to display the characteristics are the air signs -- or Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. With earth (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn) and water (Cancer, Scorpio and Pieces), it is more mixed and depends on where in the sign they born. Basically it gets complicated really fast.

But if you are having trouble creating your hero, or making him alpha enough, looking at the characteristics for one of the fire signs might help you to give him that little bit extra.

And just as you would never give an overt clue to the Myers-Brigg personality or the ennegram type, you do not need to mention that your hero is a Leo or an Aries or whatever.

Astrological signs are merely one way of getting to deep personality, and if it helps to think in those terms, it is worthwhile exercise. If your mind doesn't work that way, then you find some other way. There is no one right way to devise a character.

If you are interested in using astrology as a way to develop personality, I would suggest reading Linda Goodman's Love Signs as she does explain the possible conflicts between each of the signs, and what they might have to overcome to reach their happily ever after.

Above all, the most important characteristic for your hero is that your heroine (and therefore you) are able to fall in love with him. If you can't love your hero, how can you expect anyone else to? And thus for me, my archetypical alpha male will always be an Aries male.