The Best Mantra for Your Sun Sign to Fuel Your Personal Growth

Tolstoy said, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” With sun signs it’s the opposite. Healthy expressions of the signs are all different, a reflection of the individual. When a sign runs into trouble, it tends to look the same for everyone.

This is one of the reasons descriptions of the signs skew to the negative. If your goal is to predict, predicting how the signs get into trouble is more likely to be accurate.

In this article, I talk about the ways each of the signs get into trouble, and I share mantras to help you get out of trouble when you’re struggling.

Aries

Aries is the sign of the warrior, but many Aries people will tell you that they like nothing less than a good fight. (Partly, this is because society is terrible at supporting people carrying the warrior archetype because Aries lives in the shadow of civilization.) Most likely, though, if you struggle identifying as a warrior, it’s because being born an Aries means that you’re here to learn how to bravely defend the innocent and protect boundaries.

Sometimes, the need to learn how to be a good warrior itself as exuberance and running into fights unwisely. Most of the time, though, Aries people are reluctant to fight the battles they should, and stress and opportunities to fight present themselves regardless.

It’s just the universe presenting you with opportunities to learn the lesson you’re here to learn until you get it right.

Aries in trouble… hides from its battles.

Mantra: I go the way courage demands.

Taurus

After the battles of Aries, Taurus’s goal is to find safety and security. Sometimes, that can take the form of hiding from life in self-indulgent pursuits that look like laziness. More often than not, though, Taurus is prone to over-work, as the Taurus fights to find the inner peace and security they’re looking for in money and possessions.

Taurus in trouble… mistakes wealth for security.

Mantra: I have the resources to handle whatever life throws at me.

Gemini

Gemini is the first of the air signs in the zodiac wheel, and people born under the sign of the Twins came into this world to exercise their curiosity to the fullest. The problem is: Sometimes curiosity gives you more than you bargained for. When this happens often enough, you learn that there are some things you’d rather forget you know. It’s tempting to to use Gemini’s verbal and intellectual skills to avoid discomfort.

Gemini in trouble… uses chatter, intellectualizing, and cleverness to avoid uncomfortable truths.

Mantra: I seek the facts… and then face them.

Cancer

Cancer is the sign of the nurturer. To help them do their job, Cancers are born emotionally sensitive. This sensitivity means that they bruise easily. Pain that is unaddressed builds up. When that happens, it is easy to lose yourself in your pain or lose yourself in caring for others, but Cancer is on this planet to heal.

Cancer in trouble… disappears in taking care of others or hides in self-centeredness.

Mantra: I take care of myself. Then I care for others.

Leo

Leo is the sign of the entertainer. Leo people have come into this world to learn how to read a room and rally the crowd around a common mood or mission. They don’t do this by having the best marketing on the planet. They just do it by being themselves and inspiring people with the force of their personality. The problem: that sensitivity to the mood of the crowd can lead Leo people into people-pleasing behaviors. When that happens, the magic of Leo’s individuality is lost.

Leo in trouble… loses authenticity in concern for the opinions of others.

Mantra: I express myself. Always and honestly.

Virgo

Virgo has a reputation for being critical. Unlike most astrological stereotypes, this one tends to be accurate. It’s not because Virgo is a negative sourpuss. It’s because Virgo people are humanity’s quality control specialists. Nothing would every be fixed if we never knew that they were wrong, and Virgo’s job is to identify problems and work toward finding solutions.

It is the “working toward solutions” part that can be difficult for Virgo because there are always new problems popping up all the time. How can you neglect one problem and work on another? How do you choose?

The ability to assess, prioritize, and fix is Virgo at its best, though, and Virgo people who allow themselves to go through the whole process find it rewarding and satisfying.

Virgo in trouble… only sees what’s wrong and is never satisfied.

Mantra: I am a gardener of the good.

Libra

Libra people are society’s diplomats and judges. They intuitively understand that truth is complicated and there are many sides to every story, and they were born to hear all sides and make just decisions.

If you are aware of Libra’s stereotypical indecisiveness, you might be surprised that Libras are here to make decisions for everyone. But, Libra’s indecisiveness comes from this ability to see that the truth isn’t black and white. Because Libra is so good at nuance, they are uniquely equipped to decide justly.

Libra in trouble… is so good at seeing everyone else’s point of view it loses its own.

Mantra: I know my own mind.

Scorpio

Scorpio is the sign of the psychologist. Like a psychologist who spends all day listening to painful experiences of human relationships and emotions, Scorpio people are tuned into the things about humanity that live in the dark—the things we don’t want to admit about ourselves, the things we’ve done that we regret. This tuning can make it easy for Scorpio people to go through life with dirt-colored glasses on, but Scorpio’s tuning exists so that pain can be healed and sin can find redemption.

Scorpio in trouble… wallows in darkness.

Mantra: From the depths I rise again.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius is a natural traveler. Whether Sagittarius people are wandering the halls of a library or the oceans of the world, they on this planet to experience new things and meet diverse people. All of this questing isn’t just wandering around, though. Sagittarius people are here to find meaning. Sometimes, though, Sagittarius loses touch with that need for a quest. The search for meaning latches onto whatever is nearby, and the Sagittarius person builds up defenses against anything that would drive it out of familiar territory. When that happens, the Sagittarius person clings onto their beliefs for dear life, and they refuse to experience anything new.

Sagittarius in trouble… gets lost in fundamentalism.

Mantra: I embrace difference.

Capricorn

Capricorn people are born on this planet to achieve. Like mountain goats, they have this insatiable need to climb. But what mountain is Capricorn here to climb? The answer to that question can only be found in solitude, spending time listening for the longings of the heart that will help them know what missions are in alignment with their deepest selves and their integrity.

Capricorn in trouble… achieves its goals at the expense of its integrity.

Mantra: I achieve with integrity.

Aquarius

Aquarius is society’s rebels. Aquarius people don’t have to be told to “think different.” They already do see things differently than the people around them. This gift can seem like a curse, though, when everyone around you swears that you’re wrong because they just can’t see what you see. Society needs people who don’t just go with the crowd, though, and Aquarius people need to trust in the things that make their vision unique.

Aquarius in trouble… doubts its own perceptions because no one else seems to see what it sees.

Mantra: I trust my eyes.

Pisces

Pisces is the sign of the mystic, and Pisces people were born to explore consciousness. Pisces people bring the gift of poetry and spirituality to society, but Pisces people get in trouble when they live in altered states of consciousness and refuse to come out.

Pisces in trouble… gets lost in thought.

Mantra: I am present.

A version of this article was originally published on Tumblr.