How to know if your chart is fixed or mutable

Your astrological chart contains three modalities—cardinal, fixed, and mutable—that describe how you approach situations, not just what you want. To know whether your chart leans fixed or mutable, you count the planets in each modality and look at where your sun, moon, and rising sign fall. Fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. If you have more planets clustered in fixed signs—especially your sun, moon, or ascendant—your chart has a fixed quality. If mutable signs dominate, your chart is mutable.

The practical difference: a fixed chart person often describes their life as "once I decide, I decide," while a mutable chart person says "I'm still figuring it out." This isn't about being stubborn or scattered—it's about your baseline relationship with change, commitment, and information processing. A fixed sun with a mutable moon, for instance, creates someone who looks resolute on the outside but churns internally with options and second thoughts.

Counting your planets

Start with your natal chart. Most astrology sites (like the ones that generate your free birth chart) show your planets and their zodiac positions. Write down each planet's sign: sun, moon, rising, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Some astrologers also include the North Node and Chiron, though that's less essential for a quick read.

Tally how many fall into fixed signs and how many into mutable signs. Don't count the houses—just the signs. If you have five or six planets in fixed signs and only one or two in mutable, your chart has a fixed flavor. The reverse suggests a mutable chart. Many charts are actually mixed, which is why the real insight comes from looking at which planets are fixed or mutable, not just the count.

What planets do you notice yourself returning to in your own behavior—the ones that feel most "you"? Your sun, moon, and rising usually carry the most weight in daily life.

The fixed chart person

Fixed placements create a kind of gravitational pull. Someone with a fixed sun (Leo, Taurus, Scorpio, or Aquarius) tends to have a core identity that doesn't shift much. They know who they are. A Taurus sun might spend Sunday mornings the same way every week, not from obligation but from genuine preference. A Leo sun walks into a room with a quiet sense of "this is who I am." A Scorpio sun doesn't easily change their mind about someone once trust is broken. An Aquarius sun holds their beliefs like a fixed star.

Fixed moons add emotional steadiness. These people don't swing wildly between moods; instead, they feel deeply and stay with an emotion until it's fully processed. A fixed Mars means you're not easily distracted mid-project. You finish what you start, even if it takes months. Fixed Venus suggests loyalty in relationships and a slower, more intentional approach to love.

The shadow: fixed charts can resist necessary change. A person with multiple fixed placements might stay in a job, relationship, or living situation longer than serves them, not because they're happy but because shifting feels enormous. They may hear "you never change your mind" from loved ones.

When was the last time you changed a significant decision, belief, or commitment? How much time and evidence did it take?

The mutable chart person

Mutable placements create adaptability and restlessness. A mutable sun (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) means your sense of self is more fluid. You might describe yourself differently depending on context, not from inauthenticity but because different facets genuinely feel true at different times. A Gemini sun is curious by default; a Virgo sun wants to refine and improve; a Sagittarius sun chases new ideas; a Pisces sun merges with their surroundings.

Mutable moons experience emotional range. They feel multiple things at once and can shift their emotional state relatively quickly—not from emotional shallowness, but from genuine flexibility. A mutable Mars starts many projects and pivots between them. Mutable Venus enjoys variety in relationships and isn't as bound to "one way."

The shadow: mutable charts can lack follow-through. A person with heavy mutable placements might collect half-finished ideas, jump between relationships, or struggle to commit to a single direction. They hear "you never stick with anything" and it stings because there's truth in it. The 4pm window when they felt sure about a decision might not hold by evening.

What area of your life do you find yourself reconsidering most often—and is that reconsidering helpful or exhausting?

Your sun, moon, and rising matter most

While the full planet count gives context, your sun, moon, and rising sign form the core of how you actually move through the world. A fixed sun with a mutable moon is different from a mutable sun with a fixed moon. The first looks solid but thinks in branches. The second seems flexible but holds firm beliefs underneath.

Your rising sign (ascendant) is how you appear to others in the first 4pm-window meeting. Your sun is your core identity. Your moon is your private emotional world. If all three are fixed, your chart reads as genuinely immovable. If all three are mutable, you're adaptable across all levels. If they're mixed—say, a fixed sun, mutable moon, fixed rising—you present one way, feel another way, and have a more complex inner life than people might guess.

Many people feel confused by astrology because they read only their sun sign. A Taurus sun with a Gemini moon and Sagittarius rising is not simply "a Taurus." That person is steady at their core but intellectually restless, and they come across as adventurous. The modalities explain why.

Do you feel more like your sun sign, your moon sign, or your rising sign in day-to-day life—and which one do people usually guess first?

Fixed charts and relationships

Fixed charts bring loyalty and reliability. A fixed partner shows up, remembers what matters to you, and doesn't waver. But they can also become rigid. They might insist on a way of doing things because "that's how we do it," without noticing the other person has grown. Fixed charts benefit from intentional flexibility—not changing core values, but loosening the grip on methods.

Mutable charts bring novelty and understanding. A mutable partner is curious about your growth and adapts to your needs. But they can also feel unreliable. They might agree to something on Monday and reconsider by Friday. Mutable charts benefit from intentional commitment—picking a few non-negotiable things and staying with them.

When you think of your closest relationships, do you notice a pattern in how stable or changeable they feel—and is that rooted in your chart or in the other person's?

Mixed modality charts

Most charts have all three modalities represented. A chart with three fixed planets, three mutable, and three cardinal has no single modality flavor. These people often describe themselves as "contradictory"—they want stability and novelty, commitment and exploration. They're neither purely decisive nor purely open-ended.

Mixed charts are actually an advantage if you can see the pattern. A person with a fixed sun and mutable Mercury, for instance, knows who they are but thinks like a researcher. They're stable in identity but fluid in approach. Someone with a mutable sun and fixed moon is exploratory outwardly but emotionally consistent. They need to try different things but from an emotional home base.

The key is awareness. Once you see your modality pattern, you stop expecting yourself to be one way and can leverage both sides. A fixed chart person might schedule "reconsideration time" into their calendar. A mutable chart person might commit to three-month trials instead of forever decisions.

Looking at your own mix, which modality feels most natural—and which one do you wish you had more of?

How to use this knowledge

Knowing your chart's modality is practical self-knowledge. It explains why you make decisions the way you do and why certain advice ("just let it go" or "commit already") might feel impossible. A Life Path Number can offer similar insight into your baseline approach to life, though astrology focuses more on how while numerology focuses more on what you're here to learn.

Fixed charts thrive with structure and depth. Give yourself permission to be slow, to stay, to build mastery in one area. Mutable charts thrive with variety and adaptation. Give yourself permission to explore, change your mind, and learn through breadth. Neither is better. Both have shadows and gifts.

The real work isn't forcing yourself into a mold. It's recognizing your natural pattern and then consciously choosing when to lean into it and when to stretch beyond it. A fixed person learning to adapt isn't betraying themselves; they're developing skill. A mutable person learning to commit isn't becoming rigid; they're developing depth.

Now that you know where your chart sits on the fixed-to-mutable spectrum, what's one area of your life where your natural modality serves you well—and one where you might benefit from stretching?