“How to Recognize LIBRALibrans hate to be rude, yet they’ll straighten the crooked picture on your wall and snap off your blaring TV sfft. Librans love people, but they hate large crowds. Like gentle doves of peace, they go around mediating and patching up quarrels between others; still they enjoy a good argument themselves. They’re goodnatured and pleasant, but they can also be sulky, and they bulk at taking orders. Libras are extremely intelligent. At the same time, they’re incredibly naive and gullible. They’ll talk your ear off, yet they’re wonderfully good listeners. Librans are restless people. But they seldom rush or hurry. Are you completely confused? You’re not alone. There’s a frustrating inconsistency to this Sun sign that puzzles the Librans themselves as much as it does others.
Lots of people will tell you that Libra is all love and beauty and sweetness and light. That’s fine, as far as it goes, but it stops a little short of accuracy. Just because the sign is symbolized by the golden scales of justice, don’t ever think that Libras are always perfectly balanced. It seems to be a logical deduction. After all, the purpose of scales is to balance. However, did you ever watch the balancing process on a pair of old-fashioned pharmaceutical scales? The ultimate goal is to get both sides even, but what happens? First one side is low, then the other. Up and down, and they dip until there’s perfect balance. Drop into a friendly neighborhood pharmacy and watch them in action. (Just tell the druggist you’re trying to find out what makes Aunt Martha tick.)
Never again will you have a mental picture of a Libran as a calm, perfectly balanced, sweet, gracious and charming individual. You’ll have a mental picture of a person who has that kind of disposition half the time. The other half of the time, Libra can be annoying, quarrelsome, stubborn, restless, depressed and confused. Libra is first up, then down. He swings one way, then another. Suddenly, like the scales-perfect balance! It’s heavenly. But there is always that period of weighing and dipping before the moment of heavenly balance is achieved.
The physical appearance of these people may require almost as much concentration as the personality. There’s no such thing as a typical Libra feature, unless its the Venus dimple. Libran features are almost always even and well-balanced. They’re pleasing, but not very noticeable, so it’s easier to start with the dimples. There will usually be a couple in the cheeks or one in the chin. If they’re not in the face, you might check to see if the knees are dimpled. Many Libran knees are. But be careful. Very few girls will believe you when you tell them you were staring at their knees “because I want to see if you were born in October.” Be discreet, but check. With the men, of course, the trousers rule out that clue, unless you’re on the beach or playing tennis. Don’t get discouraged if you find dimples, then discover the person was not born in October. Those fetching dimples have a right to be there, because he or she will have a Libra ascendant, so your guess is still correct.
After you’ve ruled the Venus dimples in or out, notice the entire effect of the face. It will always wear a markedly pleasant expression. Even when the Libran is angry, somehow he or she will manage to look mild, or at the very least, neutral. Venus voices are typically sweet and clear as a bell, and these people seldom raise them to a shrill or bellowing pitch. A Libran is the only person on earth who can say, “I hate you and I’m going to punch you in the nose,” and sound as if he’s reciting Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee?” The mouth is usually bowl-shaped, and the lips would have been described in Gibson girl days as “lips like cherry wine.” In fact, the typical Libra face reminds you of nothing so much as a box of bonbons. Or a sugar cookie. Some of them look like human lollipops, or a caramel sundae topped with rich, whipped cream. They like to eat those things, too, and if any Librans are reading this, they’re probably weak with hunger by now.
The women are almost invariably pretty, and the men are usually handsome. Still, not all of the beautiful people in the world are Librans; Venus beauty is in a class by itself, and it’s not always easy to separate it from the good looks of other Sun signs. My own secret way to recognize them is to begin by thinking about the sweet expressions of Dwight Elsenhower and Brigitte Bardot, and then go on from there. The trouble is that sometimes the women will look like Dwight and the men like Bardot. You have to make allowances.
I’m not implying that the Libra woman is masculine.
Most of them are about as female as the average man can stand (unless there’s an aggressive ascendant). And I certainly do not imply that Libra men are feminine. They’re usually quite virile male animals. But there’s no denying that they have a purity of feature that keeps you from getting them mixed up with prize fighters or wrestlers. Even the rare Libran who might be called ugly, and it will be most unusual to find one, has such a charming expression you’re persuaded to comment that there’s real beauty of character in his (or her) face.
You’ll never meet a Libran who doesn’t have a smile like a soft, white cloud. That Venus smile could melt a chocolate bar at twenty paces. When it hits you full force, it has enough candle power to transfigure even plain or downright homely features- literally, not figuratively.
Most Librans are full of curves, rather than angles. Their hair is often curly. They’re not necessarily fat (though a Taurus ascendant can produce some pretty plump pigeons). Still, they can fool you, go on a diet and cut quite a trim figure. But even so, the curves will be there in spots, rather like a slim hourglass shape. Using Bardot once more as an example, one certainly could not call her fat-but could one call her skinny? There’s one more trick in mastering the Venus appearance and physical characteristics. You’ll notice a bright, lilting laugh that rings with merriment. Once you’ve heard it, you won’t soon forget it.
Now you might think that to be born attractive and dimpled, to seek fairness and loveliness, to be pleasing and easily pleased, is a blessing. You might imagine that gentleness and intelligence, grace and understanding are the gifts of a fairy godmother. You might be right. When the Libra scales are balanced, its utterly delightful, like meeting an angel from paradise. The problem is that fairy godmother. She keeps rapping one side of the scales with her wand and then the other, making Libra dip back and forth. She can’t seem to make up her fickle mind whether she made a mistake or not, and she passed her indecision on to Librans. First they’ll talk up a storm and monopolize the conversation. Then they’ll listen intently, with flattering interest. When others are fighting, they’ll play the role of peacemaker, and smooth everyone’s ruffled feathers. Then they’ll turn right around, deliberately take the other side in discussion, and start an argument for the pure relish of it.
They seek harmony. Yet, lots of Librans indulge in excessive eating, drinking or love-making, completely upsetting the cookie cart, not to mention throwing harmony out of kilter. In fact, you’ll come across a few Librans who will remind you of Dr. Dolittle’s “push me-pull you” animal”.
To be continued… (from Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs book)