PRIMAL ZODIAC SIGN
SALAMANDER
Virgo + Dog
Personality
Sensitive, caring, and idealistic, those born under the sign of the Salamander are intelligent but fragile individuals who have a unique set of challenges set up for them. Humanitarian and idealistic, members of this sign will face many arduous emotional events, many of which may end in disappointment. Yet, there is a very intentional reason for these lessons.
Many individuals choose to become Salamanders during a lifetime in order to learn to control emotions. Limitations on the ability to express one’s self (which can be offset by other positions in the birth chart) can cause much frustration for this well-intentioned sign. Well formed plans may fall apart and relationships may crumble, but Salamanders need these events in order to learn how to deal with emotional upsets without shutting down or turning off.
In the animal kingdom, many salamanders exhibit an interesting behavior called autotomy (not to be confused with autonomy), wherein they actually sever a body part (usually the tail) to leave for predators so they can escape. Though it may be painful, the ever resilient salamander will simply grow another appendage to replace the old one.
This is an astute metaphor for those born under this sign. They may run, hide, and sacrifice parts of themselves in order to evade dangers (both physical and emotional) in the world, but in the end, they always find a way to return to face the challenge again and again.
Both Virgo and Dog have a tendency to “shut down” when they get overwhelmed. There is a dark place deep inside themselves in which to hide. Interestingly, under stressful or heavily emotional duress, they tend to become the exact opposite of their normal selves. Rather than being kind caretakers their sensitivity does a total shut-down and they become cold, inflexible, worried, picky, defensive, and judgmental. Their typical creative thinking style shuts down completely and they retreat into a defensive posture until they can analyze the situation properly and find the strength to fight another day.
Compatibility
Salamanders are very loyal to friends and family and they expect that loyalty returned without question. They enjoy the company of good friends and family, but aren’t particularly at home in many social situations. They are often overly critical of others and feel a bit too comfortable complaining about whatever is bothering them.
This is a sign that often repeats the same mistakes in relationships, hoping to someday get it right. Unfortunately this often means returning to old relationships that have run their course. Friends often wonder how such an intelligent individual can make such poor decisions on an emotional level. The truth is, these are two very different kinds of “intelligence”, and just as some signs are emotionally mature but not particularly brilliant, Salamanders have the challenge of growing emotional maturity while relying primarily on intellect to get them through. Moving forward instead of looking back is a major life challenge for this sign, especially with relationships.
Careers & Goals
The best way for Salamanders to fulfill their life goals and achieve a greater emotional balance is to help others in need. Though this may be emotionally challenging, even scary for many, the satisfaction of caring for others has a way of both teaching the core lessons this sign needs to learn and fulfilling their inner emotional needs.
This “caretaker” role can take on many forms, but most will have to do with health, medicine, and legal issues. The most common expression of this role is as a mother or father. The process of raising a child can transform this sign as long as they are open to being changed. This may or may not fit every member of this sign, and for some parenting will simply happen in addition to the other roles they play.
Other common roles for Salamanders are doctor, nurse, scientist, researcher, mental health worker, lawyer, or judge.