The Ascendant & Midheaven:
Vital Factors
of Personality Structure
The natal chart can be rightly interpreted only
by men and women of intuitive wisdom; these are few.
Gaining a meaningful sense of the Ascendant and Midheaven eluded me for many years, although I was reading every astrological book I could find and also attending lectures on the subject. It was only when I began to do many consultations focused on a deep exploration of the various components of a birthchart that I began to develop a feeling for the significance of these astrological factors. Until I had gained some immediate experience through one-to-one counseling, thus enabling me to observe many different people and their various ways of expressing themselves, all of the theoretical explanations of the Ascendant and Midheaven remained abstract and of little use. I feel this direct experience was necessary for two reasons. First, the Ascendant symbolizes a way that the entire self is expressed so immediately and spontaneously that no mere words are capable of capturing its essence. It thus has almost a transcendent significance from the viewpoint of its importance in one’s total integration as a fully functioning, dynamic individual. Secondly, the meaning of the Midheaven seems very abstract when one is young, but—as one grows older and more fully participates in society, as one gives greater emphasis to attaining one’s ambitions, and as one’s personality structure becomes more established in a set pattern—the meaning of the Midheaven becomes more relevant to one’s experience and thus more easily understandable. By noting the correlation of Saturn and its qualities with the Midheaven (10th house cusp in most systems), one can appreciate the connection of the Midheaven with both maturity and the pursuit of an integrated life structure.
It should also be mentioned that the research of the French statistician Michel Gauquelin confirms the astrological traditions about the importance of the Ascendant and Midheaven, particularly conjunctions to these points. However, Gauquelin’s work seems to indicate that the Ascendant and Midheaven are not the beginnings of their respective houses, but rather important focal points of energy flow. The 1st and 10th houses seem to begin quite a few degrees before these points, as indicated by the fact that his studies showed a planet to be especially prominent when it was located in the areas that are traditionally called the 12th or 9th houses, some degrees from the actual 1st and 10th cusps. This discovery confirms what I and many other astrologers have begun doing quite spontaneously: namely, considering the cusp to be a powerful area of each house but not the absolute beginning of a house as is so often stated. However, I do not carry this so far as to say that the cusp is the middle of a house, as has also been suggested. 1personally feel that the cusp and its surrounding 6° or so is the most powerful area of any house, and I therefore always use at least a 6° orb with house cusps. According to astrological traditions, a planet rising over the first house cusp (Ascendant) at the moment of birth was regarded as an especially powerful influence in the person’s life. The reason why a planet near the horizon is so particularly prominent should be clear when we consider the following phenomenon.
Any planet’s position on the horizon (i.e., near the Ascendant) can be considered to indicate an unusual prominence of that planet’s qualities and energies in the life of a person born at that moment. (This is also reflected in the way transits to the Ascendant are felt to be especially strong.) Since most astrology is geocentric and thus assigns importance to various celestial factors according to their appearance as observed from earth, one might expect that such a trend (drawn from astrological observation) should be evident in one’s direct perception of the astronomical phenomenon itself. And indeed, this is so; for any planet on the horizon is seen to be magnified! Imagine a full harvest moon, glowing orange and gold just above the horizon. It looks huge, easily twice its normal diameter. Many people ascribe this apparent increase in size (which is also observed with the Sun, planets, and constellations when near the horizon) to atmospheric distortion; but, while smog, dust, and other atmospheric components give the harvest moon its golden hue, they don’t magnify the image. Nor is the Moon closer when it is on the horizon, although it appears that way. (In fact, it is closest to the observer when it is directly overhead!) The surprising truth is that the increase in size is a perceptual effect, solely “in the eye of the beholder.” If you photograph and measure the Moon both on the horizon and overhead, the diameters are identical; the image size hasn’t changed at all. This phenomenon is therefore considered by scientists to be a “mere optical illusion.” However, since in geocentric astrology the way things appear to us on earth (e.g., the retrograde motion of planets) is regarded as crucially important, we should see this phenomenon as symbolic of the fact that any planet near the horizon is especially prominent in our lives since its “influence” is thereby magnified!
As an example of the significance of a planet near the Ascendant, let us take the case of a man whose Sun is in Capricorn, Moon is in Virgo, and whose Ascendant is Cancer. If one were to judge his overall temperament from those three factors alone, it would be apparent that he would probably be a rather conservative sort of person: cautious, self-protective, security conscious, and perhaps even a bit skeptical of anything not rooted in cultural or familial traditions. However, if this man also has Uranus conjunct the Ascendant (whether on the 12th or the 1st house side), we begin to see an entirely new dimension of his personality. For, in spite of all the natal factors pointing toward security and traditionalism, the Uranian vibration is likely to indicate a powerful streak of experimentalism, unorthodoxy, and openness to the new and different. Rather than being a stick-in-the-mud sort of person filled with fears and self-doubt, he may well exemplify progressive thinking and even revolutionary inclinations on some level. In fact, this man could never be satisfied with a Capricornian sort of lifestyle in which the primary emphasis was upon duty and personal limitation, for he would need to not only think about but also to act out his constant urge toward variety of experience and freedom of self-expression.
As another example, suppose a woman has an Aquarius Sun, a Sagittarius Moon, and even Leo rising! This is a powerful combination of positive exuberant energies which we might expect to be expressed dynamically in a particularly overt manner. But if this woman has Pluto conjunct the Ascendant, she would most likely express herself in a manner reminiscent of those with Scorpio rising: secretive, moody, reflective, and self-repressive. Or, to state this more precisely, there might be a strong fear of allowing herself to express the kind of spontaneity that her other chart factors symbolize. In this example, the presence of Pluto near the Ascendant magnifies the Plutonian quality far more than would be the case with Pluto in other areas of the chart.
The Ascendant shows a way in which we are acutely sensitive and aware, and this is another explanation of why a transit to the Ascendant is felt to be so powerful; for it affects us in the area of our lives and in the dimension of our energy field that is most sensitive. In fact, some astrologers have said that the Ascendant shows the point where the spirit enters the body at the moment of the first breath. I do not know if this is true, but my experience in the healing arts (especially with Polarity Therapy) leads me to believe that the part of the body associated with the rising sign indicates where you are dynamically connected to your subtler bodies (or subtler energy fields) and hence where there is an inrushing of powerful energies. We might mention here some of the meanings of the Ascendant:
A. The Ascendant represents the image of the personality that is seen by others. This does not mean that this image is an accurate portrayal of one’s total self, but it does show something which other people often notice as a first impression. The Ascendant image may, in fact, reveal personal qualities which are distinctly at variance with one’s more inward orientations.
B. The Ascendant represents the way in which you actively merge with life in the outer world when your energy is flowing spontaneously. Hence, it reveals a general approach to life which in older astrological treatises has been called the “temperament.”
C. The Ascendant symbolizes an important aspect of your personal destiny in the sense that you simply must live and express yourself in that way in order to feel free and whole.
D. The Ascendant (especially according to its element: fire, water, air, or earth) reveals the quality of energy flow directly vitalizing the physical body and thus whether there is marked conductivity (air or fire) or strong resistance (water or earth) to the spontaneous flow of the vital energies. This correlation explains why transits to the Ascendant so strongly affect your vitality, appearance, and general state of health.
E. The connection between the Ascendant and the physical body is also evident in another way: the fact that the body constitutes your most immediate physical environment. When we are born, our physical body and, to some extent, that of the mother comprise our entire environment; and, although we forget it in later years as we become more identified with the body, our physical vehicle always remains an essential part of our environment. Hence, we see why the Ascendant so often has been correlated with the quality of the early environment, for any contact with the outer world is filtered through the attunement of the Ascendant. The body (and thus the Ascendant) brings the environment into existence for us, and the Ascendant therefore colors how we see our total environment and our attitude toward the outer world in later life.
F. The Ascendant represents a dimension of one’s nature which some have correlated with the ego. Although one cannot make a direct correspondence between the Ascendant and the ego, it can be stated that the Ascendant represents an important dimension of the ego. When one is threatened, one tends either to retreat from the form of expression shown by the Ascendant to the more secure personality center symbolized by the Sun or to further emphasize the Ascendant’s qualities in order to assert one’s individuality and ensure one’s survival. Since the Ascendant in a natural chart correlates with the sign Aries, the Ascendant is always indicative of a way of expressing one’s individuality and thus—in a sense—one’s ego. However, this is not to be regarded as a negative quality unless perhaps one is overly compulsive about it.
G. The “transcendent” dimension of the Ascendant mentioned earlier can be seen in the way the Ascendant shows how we merge with life purely and spontaneously; it is a way of living and being which is beyond “understanding.” Much more than the Ascendant, the Sun sign indicates how we understand” and assimilate experience. The Ascendant rather reveals the way we feel ourselves to be uniquely ourselves, the highest point of spontaneous conscious attunement and action.
This last reference to the transcendent quality of the Ascendant may at first seem a bit far fetched or unclear, so it is worth explaining this idea in more detail. The Ascendant marks the point of separation between the 12th house (things beyond conscious control) and the 1st house (forces we can consciously use). Hence, any planet on the Ascendant (either natally or by transit or progression) indicates that one is becoming aware of that function, energy, or universal law with great immediacy. The Jungian psychologist Patrick Harding further explains this point:
… we find the Ascendant taking up a position exactly, if the timing is really accurate, between life in the womb and life in the world outside it. It thus shows us the exact position of the timeless zone between the two. It would seem, therefore, that the timeless point may, and almost certainly does play some part in the stamping of the qualities of the rising sign upon the psyche of the child.
If we take the Ascendant as the exact mid-point between the unconscious womb world and the conscious outer world, it would then seem logical that when these are in balance or in a state of timelessness, the trinitarian principle operates and the third member of the psyche “The Collective Unconscious” comes into play. Within the collective unconscious there exist the Great Archetypes and there is some evidence to show that these are twelve in number and that they correspond to the symbolic images allocated to the signs of the zodiac…. It seems natural then, that as the child passes through the timeless zone at the moment of birth, the active archetype of that period claims it for its own and impresses its qualities upon it. (from “Time Alone Can Tell,” Journal of Astrological Studies, Vol. 1, p. 193)
Because a planet is a much more concentrated focus of energy than is a sign, it should be pointed out here that the ascending sign alone should not be considered apart from those planets which modify, energize, or color the mode of self-expression shown by the Ascendant and the entire 1st house. There are basically two types of such planets: 1) any planet in the 1st house (which includes not only planets beneath the horizon in the traditional 1st house area—except for those within 6° to 8° of the 2nd house cusp—but also planets situated in the traditional 12th house area, within even 10° of the Ascendant); and 2) the ruling planet (or planets) of the Ascendant.
The ruling planet of the Ascendant is treated separately in the next section since a full understanding of its importance calls for some depth of explanation. However, we can rather briefly examine the significance of a planet situated in the natal 1st house. The first thing to emphasize is that a 1st house planet can overshadow the vibrations symbolized by the Ascendant, at least in obvious ways. The qualities represented by the ascending sign are still there and operating, but the presence of a planet in the first house (especially if it is close to the Ascendant) indicates a mode of expression which is particularly forceful. There is an especially strong contrast in cases where the 1st house planet is in a sign that is different from the ascending sign. For example, a person with Leo rising will inevitably manifest certain Leo characteristics; but the presence of a Virgo planet in the 1st house may provide enough Virgo emphasis to prompt other people to guess that the person has Virgo rising. Those whose charts contain a 1st house planet in a sign that differs from the rising sign are characterized by having a more complex overall approach to life than other people. In those cases where the 1st house planet is in the ascending sign, there is a double emphasis on the qualities and energies of that sign, although the specific mode of energy release will greatly depend upon which planet is so situated. For example, if one has Saturn in Aries in the 1st house and also Aries rising, the expression of the Aries energy is shown to be deeply important to the individual and something which he or she may work at with great effort. However, although the Aries qualities and urges will be strong in that person, the Saturn placement indicates that the actual release of the Aries energy may be something less than spontaneous and may in fact be somewhat inhibited. In some instances, such a person may even appear to be more of a Capricorn rising type of person than an Aries rising type.
The ruling planet of the Ascendant, together with its house and sign position, is another factor which must be considered simultaneously with any analysis of an individual’s ascending sign. In fact, one might say that there are, for example, twelve basic types of Aries rising (depending on the sign position of Mars), twelve types of Taurus rising (depending on the sign position of Venus), and so on. Both the sign and house position of the ruling planet are extremely important factors in any chart, although the house position is much more important than sign position if the ruler being considered is Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. The position of the ruling planet signifies the primary energy and area of life experience that motivates you to act in the world. In addition, the element of the ruling planet’s sign position is often indicative of the level of experience that gets your physical energy flowing. And, since the Ascendant itself represents the generalized experience of being yourself and realizing your individual nature most spontaneously, the house position of the ruling planet can be said to represent the specific field of life activity wherein you can experience your essential nature most immediately. Once you have tuned in on the field of experience and the type of energy represented by the ruling planet and its house and sign, you begin to feel more alive, more motivated to express yourself, and more inwardly secure and authentic. The aspects involving the ruler of the Ascendant are also especially important, on a par with aspects involving the Sun or Moon or the Ascendant itself. Such aspects are so significant because they indicate specific dynamics affecting the overall flow or inhibition of your self-expression. The connection of the Ascendant’s ruler with the flow of physical energy and with one’s state of health can hardly be overestimated, and its importance in this regard may easily be seen by watching the transits to the ruling planet. So often, such transits will correlate with marked changes in one’s health, vitality, or appearance. For example, one client (a 34 year old man with Virgo rising) experienced a total nervous collapse as Uranus squared his natal Mercury. Granted that transiting Uranus being in square to anyone’s natal Mercury could correlate with a period of nervous stress, such a transit would nevertheless not be so dominating a force for those who do not have Mercury as the ruler of the Ascendant.
One might ask why the ruler of the Ascendant is so important, more important in most people’s lives than the ruler of the Sun sign in terms of profound immediate experiences and complete changes in one’s attitude toward life. To answer this question, it seems to me it is necessary to return to a very ancient concept: namely, the idea of the ruling planet being the “Lord” which presides over not only one’s birth but also over one’s entire life. In various ancient concepts of astrological forces, the ruling planet of the Ascendant was considered to be the deity or cosmic power appointed by the Supreme Lord to preside over an individual’s entire incarnation. In more modern terms, one might say that the nature of the ruling planet lends an overall tone to the person’s entire life, both his experiences and his approach to interacting with the outer world. The specific sign position of this ruling planet is therefore of great importance as a symbol of the quality of experience, energy flow, and general orientation to life that will dominate the individual’s way of being for this incarnation. Although) cannot claim to have enough direct experience to enable me to confirm the ancient concept mentioned above in any specific way, ) have had one experience which powerfully impressed me and which might be significant in this regard. t was present at a home birth a few years ago, and I had given specific instructions to another person there to keep a record of the exact time of birth. Therefore, I know that the child who was born then has an extremely accurate birthchart. When it appeared that the delivery was imminent, I mentally calculated an approximate Ascendant and assumed that the child would have Aquarius rising. As the child was born, the room became filled with a powerful and almost tangible presence. The intensity of pressure felt in that room at that moment could only be described as a Saturnian energy and vibration, and I remarked to one of the others present that the atmosphere was charged with this powerful force. Later that night, after things had calmed down and the new baby had fallen asleep, I calculated his chart precisely and found, to my surprise, that he had 28° of Capricorn rising. His ruling planet was therefore Saturn, and) could not have imagined a more Saturnian birth experience nor a more Saturnian vibration in the air than that which accompanied his arrival. Since birth into the material world is of course a rather Saturnian event, I cannot say whether or not the same experience would have occurred if the child had, for example, been ruled by Venus or Jupiter. But I feel this instance is worth mentioning in order to encourage people to pay attention to the vibrations that may be felt during the birth of other souls into the physical plane.
It should be apparent by now that no consideration of the Ascendant is complete without simultaneously including the entire complex of factors which are closely related to the Ascendant. In other words, the qualities of the rising sign and its ruling planet (including its sign and house), as well as any 1st house planet, all show urges, needs, and orientations which form one of the most crucial combinations of energy in your life. All these factors together constitute a key fulcrum upon which the entire personality structure is balanced, and they reveal a theme which colors how the whole of one’s self is projected. If one is not able to express these energies with ease, a generalized tension develops and, in many cases, a feeling of being bored, lifeless, and lacking direction and purpose. To give an example of how so many factors might be combined in interpretation, let us take the case of the abovementioned child whose “Ascendant complex” contains the following factors:
1) Capricorn Ascendant
2) Ruling planet Saturn in Gemini and in the 5th house, conjunct Venus and Mercury.
3) Jupiter in Aquarius in the 1st house
We might describe this combination as follows:
A need to approach life with caution (Capricorn rising) and with in-depth creativity (Saturn in 5th), both mentally and emotionally (Mercury and Venus conjunct Saturn); a need to think deeply and to communicate his thoughts in a serious way (Saturn in Gemini, conjunct Mercury); and a need to see tangible results from his organized, self-disciplined efforts (Capricorn rising and Saturn in 5th), all infused with an independent faith and an expansive, optimistic generosity toward others (Jupiter in Aquarius).
One additional factor which participates in the Ascendant Complex mentioned above is any close aspect to the Ascendant. Traditionally, such aspects have been said to influence one’s character and temperament, although very few books include guidelines for interpreting these aspects. In this brief section, I do not propose to give a systematic list of “interpretations” for such aspects. However, there are a few key points to keep in mind in order to recognize those Ascendant aspects which are most important in a particular chart. As a general rule, the Ascendant aspects show how one most characteristically expresses himself or herself in the outer world, either easily and naturally (certain conjunctions, the sextiles, and—most of all—the trines) or with some degree of stress, tension, inhibition, or extraordinarily strong ambition (squares and oppositions). In other words, aspects to the Ascendant reveal whether various dimensions of oneself (symbolized by natal planets) are in harmony or discord with the mode of expression toward which the Ascendant’s energies constantly urge us.
The OPPOSITIONS with the Ascendant in some cases reveal an inner division in the individual, a state of being wherein the person endures an almost constant tension since there is a strong urge toward modes of activity which are in many ways completely opposite. This inner tension can generate great energy and manifest as a particularly complex type of consciousness. Oftentimes, such a person will alternate between the two life orientations over a number of years, at times giving conscious emphasis to one mode of self-expression and at other times focusing on the other orientation. It often seems that the progressed Moon or transiting Saturn and Jupiter periodically bring out one side or the other of the person’s nature.
The SQUARE to the Ascendant is often symbolic of some quality in the person’s early environment, usually having manifested either as a type of oppression or inhibition (especially when the planet involved is in the 4th house) or as an unusually strong pressure toward achievement or recognition (often when the planet involved is in the 10th house). In other words, there are basically two types of squares with the Ascendant, which may be classified as follows: 1) the 4th house type of square often indicates emotional patterns that hold us back from reaching the spontaneity of expression shown by the Ascending sign; and 2) the 10th house square often reveals forces within us that pull us onward toward some kind of achievement.
The SEXTILE with the Ascendant generally shows that the energy of the planet involved may be put into operation quite smoothly once a period of learning has taken place. Some small adjustment may have to be made before that dimension of experience becomes fully integrated with the energy of the Ascendant, but the transition period is usually rapid and encouraging.
The CONJUNCTIONS and TRINES with the Ascendant should be treated together due to their participation in an important—but rarely mentioned-astrological phenomenon. This phenomenon is the triangle formed by the “fire houses” (Houses I, V, and IX). The triangle formed by the fire signs is of course mentioned in most basic textbooks of astrology, as are the triangles (or trinities) associated with the signs of the other elements. But the triangle of the fire houses has been mentioned in very few books. The reason for this apparent neglect is that this triangle represents a pattern of energy flow which in many cases verges on the transcendent. I have already mentioned how the Ascendant can be seen as representing a mode of expression and energy release which is timeless, spontaneous, and so natural that it eludes our capturing its essence in words. And, in a general way, this quality applies also to the entire triangle of the fire houses; for the fire houses deal with pure being and becoming. The purity of self-expression represented by them can in some cases be accurately classified as spiritual (mainly in those cases where the person has ceased to identify his ego with the creative forces flowing through him and instead sees himself only as a channel for the manifestation of a greater power). I stumbled on to the importance of the fire houses early in my astrological studies, years before I had ever seen mention of this phenomenon in print. This realization occurred when I drew up and studied the charts of about a dozen spiritual masters. When I tried to discover common factors in all of their charts, it became apparent that the only thing that was regularly emphasized in the majority of those charts was the emphasis on the fire house placement of planets. After trying to understand this pattern, without much success, I had a vivid dream in which I was shown a flow of fiery energy circling around the triangle formed by the Ascendant and the 5th and 9th houses. The immediacy of realization that accompanied that dream is impossible to describe in words, but it was a direct and profound lesson about the energy flow represented by these houses. The diagram of the “Fiery Triangle” in this section is an attempt to convey that dream image.
A CIRCUIT OF FIERY ENERGY:
Spirit, inspiration, being, becoming, joy, & faith
The practical application of this idea is recognizing the potential shown in a chart where natal planets are located in close trine to the Ascendant or in conjunction to it. This does not mean that such planetary placements always indicate great spirituality, for—in most cases—emphasis on these houses cannot accurately be labeled a “spiritual” orientation since most people are undeniably egocentric. In general, however, there is a particularly dynamic flow of creative energy which can be expressed spontaneously and powerfully. Whatever dimension of experience is symbolized by a planet closely trining or conjuncting the Ascendant may be put into active expression with a degree of naturalness, immediacy, and positive energy greater than that represented by most other astrological factors. For example, one who has Mars either conjunct the Ascendant or in trine to it from either the 5th or the 9th house areas may be a natural leader and be characterized by a marked degree of courage and maybe even a certain roughness of demeanor. Or one who has Saturn in a similar position may be characterized by a sense of practicality, a capacity for good timing, and the expression of wisdom far beyond his or her years.
Although each of the fire houses may be differentiated from the others and given its own set of meanings, we should be aware of the fact that any planet situated within this dynamic triangle will be likely to exert a powerful impression on the individual’s orientation to life. In fact, one of the simplest ways of characterizing the fire houses as a group is to say that the signs on the 1st, 5th, and 9th house cusps, together with the planets located in those houses (especially those closely aspecting the Ascendant), signify dominant qualities in the individual’s overall attitude toward life! Since our attitude toward life determines a great many of our experiences (for you attract what you express in life), one can easily see why these factors in any chart play such an important role in the person’s overall life pattern. The other point to be considered is that our attitude toward ourselves is inseparable from our attitude toward life in general. In fact, one might say that they are the same thing. It is obvious that our overall attitude toward life emanates directly from our attitude toward ourselves; and the opposite is also true, for we have all seen the transformation in self-confidence that an individual can experience when a positive life philosophy has been adopted. The fiery triangle thus symbolizes the essential quality of our innermost sense of self, as well as indicating our general approach to life itself.
The 1st house and its planets can indicate either a spontaneous flow of vital energy with such positive vibrations that the person is characterized by an almost radiant aura or a high degree of self-centeredness and often excessive pride. Naturally, these two ways of being represent the extreme manifestations of such energies, but it is not uncommon to find people who clearly exemplify these extremes. Any planet conjunct the Ascendant can indicate that we have considerable pride in that part of ourselves. For example, the Sun conjunct the Ascendant frequently correlates with a child-like simplicity and generosity in some cases, or with a childish glee in showing off one’s abilities through dramatic displays (and often both). The Sun conjunct the Ascendant is similar to Leo rising in many ways, although the arrogance and self-centeredness found so often in those with Sun conjunct Ascendant is usually much more blatant than in those who have a Leo Ascendant. Another example might be the person who has Mercury conjunct the Ascendant, where we often find a considerable pride in one’s learning and intellectual abilities. In some cases with the Mercury conjunction, a tendency to try to figure out every little thing causes unnecessary problems and constant worrying. These people often have particularly sharp minds and the ability to verbalize ideas with an extraordinary sense of drama, although their opinions can be their worst enemy.
The 5th house and its planets reveal creative resources which can be tapped in abundance, as well as being key symbols of the person’s level of self-confidence, or at least what he or she feels must be done in order to attain real self-confidence. Since the 5th house corresponds to the Sun’s own sign, Leo, it is not surprising that I have gradually become inclined to consider this house as the strongest house in the chart after the 1st; for the 5th house emphasizes not only the individual’s creative potentials but also vibrations that characterize the person’s overt way of pouring forth his or her energies spontaneously. And, in actual practice, any planet in the 5th house (especially if in close trine to the Ascendant) may color a person’s entire scope and method of self-projection just as strongly as a planet in the 1st house.
The 9th house and its planets signify creative, future-oriented beliefs and aspirations. The 9th house’s connection with one’s general attitude toward life may be more obvious than that of the 1st or 5th house, since the 9th house has traditionally connoted one’s religious or philosophical orientation. As many books have stated, the 9th house and its planets are related intimately with the higher mind; and since our higher aspirations and beliefs are among the most dominant factors in forming our life attitudes, one can see how readily 9th house factors harmonize with the overall orientation of the fire house triangle.
Of these three, the 5th house has been most misunderstood, due to the common practice of emphasizing only its connection with children, gambling, love “affairs,” and other pleasures. However, the 5th house has deeper connotations which are closely related to the transcendent meaning of the fire triangle we’ve been discussing. I must say that it is quite surprising to me that generations of astrologers can continue to place so little relative emphasis on the very house that corresponds to the Sun itself! Although 5th house energies often manifest as speculation, love affairs, sensual pleasures, and childish self-centeredness, all of these activities are rooted in the urge to take some risks in order to let a greater power manifest through the individual personality. As has been stated, the 5th house shows either the power of love or the love of power. At best, it indicates one’s capacity for letting God’s love and light flow through you and a simple trust in the goodness of life itself. It is related to our ability to allow the creative forces of life to manifest through us, as shown by its connections with children of both mind and body (the desire to have something greater than our limited ego be born through us). Both children and true creativity teach us the lesson that we must do what we love to do in order to attain a joyous sense of vitality. This kind of joy is a gift or an act of divine grace, not a “pleasure” in a sensual way. By far the best presentation of this dimension of the 5th house appeared in Dennis Elwell’s article on the subject in the Journal of the British Astrological Association in the summer of 1973.ln this insightful piece of writing, he states:
The fifth house … represents a barometer of our confidence in life, and particularly in its incalculable elements; and of the extent to which life secures us in the sense of our own worth by little signs of approval which arrive like a gift, an unsought blessing.
Some of these “little signs” might be “falling ill love,” which is of course quite beyond our control, having a child or a creative work be born through us (which again we cannot control), or even winning at gambling. Elwell points out that love is perhaps blind, as is so often said, but he goes on to clarify the spiritual meaning of the 5th house and Sun principles that are symbolic of this kind of love:
Perhaps it is only when we are “in love” with someone that we see them as they should be seen! … When we fall in love our temperatures get reversed: now we regard ourselves coldly, and our shortcomings become all too obvious, while we feel warmth, admiration, and enthusiasm for someone else.
When in love, the sky is bluer, all life experiences are intensified, and everything looks better because we are then seeing things as they are; for the fire of love has burned away our ego! We might therefore say that the 5th house principle represents either the fire of ego, or the fire of love which burns up the ego. And, in a general way, the entire triangle of the fire houses comprises this essential significance! Planets in these houses therefore are almost always of great importance, and particularly those which closely aspect the Ascendant can be considered as indicators of extraordinary developmental power!
Almost all astrological texts mention the Midheaven as an important point in the natal chart, but very few give what I would consider practical guidelines for understanding its significance. In general, I have found various 10th house (or Midheaven) factors to share one common meaning, and this applies to not only the sign on the Midheaven but also to the ruling planet of that sign and any planets in the 10th house: all these factors indicate ways of being, personal capabilities, or personality qualities which one tends to admire, respect, and work hard at trying to develop and become. The Midheaven’s sign symbolizes something that we spontaneously flow toward and grow toward as we get older (although we may exhibit some of those qualities in “seed form” while we are young), but it does often require effort to attain the optimum expression of those qualities. For example, Aries on the Midheaven may indicate that the person admires strength and courage and thus feels impelled to work at developing his or her assertive qualities. Taurus on the Midheaven may show that the person looks up to an image of serenity, ease, and beauty and thus puts forth effort to develop those qualities personally. Scorpio on the Midheaven may reveal that the person respects charismatic and powerful qualities in others and therefore seeks to use his or her own similar capacities to the utmost. Pisces on the Midheaven can indicate that the individual admires compassionate and intuitive qualities in others and therefore consciously seeks to cultivate those qualities.
The ruling planet of the Midheaven sign is primarily important due not only to its general symbolic meaning but more specifically due to the fact that its house position so often shows where your real vocation comes into clearest focus. The word vocation means literally “that toward which one is called,” and not only the Midheaven sign itself but also other 10th house factors are closely related to what sort of vocation you feel pulled toward. But the most useful factor in my experience seems to be the Midheaven ruler’s house position, for so often that house represents a field of experience which feels like your true calling at a very deep level. You may feel that you have finally come home to do what you were really meant to do when you begin to realize your true vocation. It is curious that the Midheaven is located at the top of one’s chart and that it and its ruling planet symbolize the “summit” of your meaningful attainments and ambitions.
Another way of expressing the meaning of the Midheaven and 10th house factors is that these factors in a chart symbolize what is important to you. This terminology is especially relevant to the meaning of planets that fall in the 10th house (especially those which conjunct the Midheaven—even from the 9th house side). Such a planet represents ways of being, qualities, or types of activities that are extremely important to the individual and which he or she respects. Due to this feeling of respect, people will often exhibit those qualities or express those energies publicly in order that others might think well of them. (Hence, the connection of the Midheaven and 10th house with one’s “reputation.”) Some examples might help to illustrate this point:
If Mercury is in the 10th house, it is important to the person to be educated and knowledgeable. If they themselves don’t have the education that they respect, they may either work hard at attaining it or try to push others into achieving it.
If Venus is in the 10th house, beauty in general (including artistic expression) and one’s personal appearance in particular are felt to be important, and much money and energy may therefore be expended in these directions.
If Saturn is in the 10th house, some tangible form of achievement is extraordinarily important to the person, for he or she tends to have a lot of respect for work, endurance, and the capacity to handle responsibilities.
If Uranus is in the 10th house, it is important to the person to be independent and independent-minded.
If Pluto is in one’s 10th house, it is important to be authoritative, powerful, and to wield some influence.
Similar phrases could be presented for the other planets aswell, but that would be belaboring the point. But it should be pointed out that the general meaning of, for example, Venus in the 10th house is similar to the meaning of Venus as the ruler of the 10th house (i.e., Taurus or Libra on the Midheaven). For another example, the general meaning of Mars in the 10th house is similar to the meaning of Mars ruling the 10th house (i.e., Aries on the Midheaven). In both cases, there is an extra importance and seriousness attached to those values, qualities, etc. which the relevant planet symbolizes. The only difference is that a planet actually placed in the 10th house should be seen as a more specific and concentrated focus of energy.
Other than the conjunction which we have already mentioned, aspects to the Midheaven can be treated together. These aspects are almost completely ignored in most textbooks, and the only available specialized study of this subject which I know of is Vivia Jayne’s Aspects to Horoscope Angles. In that book, she states that the precise type of aspect (i.e., whether a sextile, trine, square, etc.) to the Midheaven is much less important than the specific planet making that aspect. I tend toward the same conclusion from my experience, although I do feel that the trine to the Midheaven is second in power only to the conjunction due to the fact that such a planet is usually in the same element as the Midheaven itself. Jayne’s book lists the general meaning of each planet’s aspects to the Midheaven, so there is no need to repeat them here. In addition to the traditional correlation of such aspects with “influencing” your public self-expression, career, and vocational goals, we need only say that any planet in a close aspect with the Midheaven usually indicates a type of energy and orientation which is essential in the structure of your position in the world at large and instrumental in what you will contribute to society.
The Four Angles in Comparisons
Few books on chart comparisons sufficiently emphasize the importance of aspects between one person’s natal planets and the other person’s Ascendant, Midheaven, or their ruling planets. One of the few exceptions is Lois H. Sargent’s How to Handle Your Human Relations, in which she makes repeated reference to the Ascendant and its ruler. Here are a few of her comments:
Most important in judging attraction is the aspect between the ascendant of one chart and the planets of the other. This is true not only for marriage but for all comparisons.
Sun, Moon, Venus or Mars in one horoscope in the sign ascending or descending in the other horoscope is an astrological testimony of a strong attraction.
Unless the ascendant or descendant of one horoscope does combine with the planets of the other by sign it is doubtful that the attraction would result in marriage. So far as my own experience has been concerned in testing this rule, I would say that an attraction would never result in marriage unless the ascendant or descendant of one or both horoscopes is so involved.
It is the ascendant, symbolizing personality of the individual, that determines the real power or magnetism of the attraction. The ascendant of one chart in aspect to planets of the other chart confirms and supports any congeniality and compatibility as read in the aspects formed between planets in the respective horoscopes.
I refer the reader to Sargent’s book for more detailed information about the Ascendant and its ruler in chart comparisons. In the first part of her book, she lists many of the possible combinations (with sample charts) that may be formed between the Ascendant, Descendant, and both their ruling planets. Those comments, and in fact her entire book, are well worth studying. I primarily want to emphasize how overridingly important all aspects to all four angles are in comparisons, for only rarely does one do a chart comparison for two people involved in a particularly close or important relationship where there is no close aspect involving one of the four angles.
Sargent’s book, however, does not place much importance on the aspects to the Midheaven (and thus to its opposite point, the I.C). Although I agree with her that the aspects involving the Ascendant and Descendant are more apparent and more generally important than those involving the Midheaven, my experience indicates that aspects involving the Midheaven are still extremely significant. The aspects involving the Ascendant are so important because, if for example someone’s natal Sun or Jupiter conjuncts or trines my natal Ascendant, that person’s influence on me will be—at least in part—to encourage me to express my entire self naturally, spontaneously, and dynamically. That person’s impact on my life, in other words, will be most immediate at a personal level which colors my self-expression and my overall attitude toward life. All aspects involving the Ascendant in chart comparisons have this common feature: they all signify a powerful impact on one’s feelings of spontaneity, vitality, and authenticity in every dimension of experience. (Aspects involving the Descendant are also extremely powerful but tend to indicate a focus upon relatedness.) The Midheaven aspects in comparisons are, on the other hand, indicative of more specific types of interaction, and they are most often found in relationships wherein there is a definite pattern of one person wielding authority in the life of the other person. This pattern is not, as might be thought, limited to relationships dealing solely with career, employment, or interaction between parents and children. Similar patterns are often found in comparisons between lovers, marriage partners, or close friends.
A general guideline for understanding Midheaven aspects in comparisons is that they usually indicate one of two dominant patterns: 1) either the person whose planet aspects your Midheaven helps you to manifest your achievement potential in some clear way; or 2) that person quite noticeably holds you back through some form of domination from pursuing the ambitions toward which you are drawn. Since the Midheaven is correlated with Saturnian qualities and activities, anyone whose natal planets strongly aspect your Midheaven usually plays a strong formative (Saturn!) role in your life, either helping you to come into your own as a productive member of society or inhibiting your achievement through authoritarian methods of influence. If someone’s natal planet closely aspects my Midheaven (especially if it is a conjunction), I will very likely feel considerable respect for some quality or ability that that person exemplifies. I may greatly admire that person, although if my admiration is too excessive, I may unknowingly place myself under his or her power to an extent that I may later regret. From the viewpoint of karma, an emphasis on Midheaven or 10th house factors in a comparison (similar to Saturn interchanges in comparisons) may often be taken to reveal a pattern of one person holding power or authority over another. In some cases, such an emphasis (which of course automatically implies a 4th house emphasis also, symbolic of the family) seems to correlate with past familial ties wherein one person was the child of the other.
An example might help to clarify these points. If someone’s natal Sun conjuncts your Midheaven, you may find that that person not only encourages your ambitions and may even take definite steps to advance your career goals, but also that he or she wants to “take you under his wing” in a very paternal way. In fact, each person may feel extraordinarily protective of the other in a way reminiscent of a parent-child relationship. Through this association, you may be encouraged (the Sun in particular is the planet of encouragement; if another planet were involved, the quality of the impact on your life would be different) to develop more confidence in your own ability to achieve your goals and ambitions.
One last chart comparison factor to pay special attention to is the situation where you find the two people’s ruling planets (i.e., the rulers of their Ascendants) in a close aspect. The exact type of aspect is not so important as the fact that there is some close relationship between such individually dominant life orientations. (But it should be pointed out that the conjunctions or flowing aspects do in most cases indicate a more harmonious mode of interaction; when the aspect between the ruling planets is more challenging, there may be a certain type of conflict, barrier, or frustration inherent in the relationship, even if the people get along extremely well and even if they maintain their relationship for many years.) I always take an aspect between the ruling planets as a testimony to the fact that the two people are likely to have a relationship of extraordinary intensity and importance. They often have extra strong karmic ties with each other, and the fact that such a comparison factor is much rarer than simply a case where one person’s Ascendant or Descendant is in the same sign as the other person’s natal planets should induce us to pay extra attention to these special cases. The close interaction of the ruling planets’ energies can be seen as indicative of a particularly specific symbol of how the two people interact with each other and what they see in each other that is especially stimulating. In the vast majority of such cases, all of the other levels of interaction shown ina comparison will be secondary to the intense type of interchange symbolized by the aspect between the rulers. It is as if the entire relationship revolves around that one pivotal energy exchange, and how the people deal with that energy is crucial to the development of the relationship.