Libra is the seventh sign, the point half way through the zodiac cycle, where we have individuated and are now beginning the return journey, the process of re-merging with the whole. Libra is therefore where we begin to deal with “the other,” the “not me,” hence it’s considered the first sign of relationships.
For all its associations with beauty and harmony and being ruled by Venus, Libra is in fact a masculine air sign. The suggestion being that we need to be proactive (masculine/yang) and engage brain (air) when embarking on relationships with others, rather than letting the heart rule the head.
When two people do that their needs may be different, and so on the surface Libra seems to be all about balancing the scales, looking for an equilibrium that works. Which doesn’t sound very romantic. Particularly with Saturn there, the practical realities and hard work that go into real relationships are highlighted; the truth of Libra underneath its pretty dress. Saturn is ultra inflexible, and so things tend to break rather than bend under his influence; this a good time to get out of relationships that are not good for you, where you’re trying to bend yourself into a shape that does not fit.
If you view traditional scales from above, they look exactly as an opposition is drawn in astrology; two opposing circles joined by a straight line. Libra is in a sense the personification of the opposition. Oppositions are considered Saturnian in nature, and Saturn is exalted (shows the best of itself) in Libra; Libra essentially is the art of handling oppositions – hence its inherent tension.
The interesting thing about the scales is the way the two sides are joined at the hip; everything that happens to one side affects the other, like a see-saw. If A throws its weight around, it tosses B up in the air, but B does the same to A on the way back down; instant karma. I.e., things can get quickly out of hand, which is why Libra often develops a tense instinct for “not making waves,” while having an underlying urge to do so. This is after all a cardinal sign. Libra may look indecisive but perhaps is really just aware of its power.
The fulcrum of the scale never moves though, it’s stable like Saturn, i.e., it’s possible to “meet in the middle,” to find the common ground. Perhaps the fulcrum is Saturn in Libra in its highest form. The fulcrum can represent the underlying truth that you don’t have to live on the see-saw at all. All of the air signs emphasise the mind and its duality. The second air sign, Libra, gives the first clue that there’s also something solid “at the centre,” which is not dual, which remains perfectly undisturbed and is universal common ground, the place deep down where we are all the same. Libra symbolises this as perhaps the true key to relating. The balancing and compromising never really satisfy anyone, and may be the consequence of missing the point of Libra, rather than its meaning.