Ascendant, Sun and Moon
The first and most important group of planets (and sensitive points) is the Ascendant, Sun and Moon.
In the space available I cannot really cover all possibilities in terms of sign and house placement and therefore will not attempt the undertaking. Instead I’ll deal with general principals of the approach and suggest some reading.
Dealing with the reading first, there are many books on the market designed to provide a ‘cookbook’ approach. A good one in Stephen Arroyo’s ‘Chart Interpretation Handbook’, which is fine for beginners and the experienced alike. For the more advanced student Tracy Marks’ ‘Art of Chart Interpretation’ provides an excellent structural approach – excellent for Virgo’s and Capricorns.
The Ascendant is often described as the mask we wear or the image of ourselves that we project to the outside world. The only real disagreement with this definition comes from the Parkers (Julia and Derek) in their Parker’s Astrology – where they argue that people are now so used to their Sun sign characteristics that they deliberately project those, the Ascendant being the real underlying ‘you’. I go with the majority. For my purposes the ‘Ascendant’ therefore is the characteristics of the sign on the Eastern Horizon of your natal chart, that you project to the outside world. It also gives an indication of how we ‘see’ and ‘interpret’ the world around us. If you have a Scorpio Ascendant then you will project yourself in a very ‘Scorpion’ way to others but you will also see the world through the eyes of ‘Scorpio’ – it tells us something about how we meet life. If you are using the equal House system, knowing the Ascendant will also give further indications of personality- for example the Scorpio Ascendant person will have Sagittarius on the cusp of his or her second House and therefore will have a very optimistic and energetic approach to money and possessions. Also of importance is the blend between Ascendant and Sun sign – if the two are compatible then we are much more at peace with ourselves than if the two are rather incompatible. Someone with an Aries Sun but a Cancer Ascendant may find it difficult to express their creativity and their will and their inner selves through their interaction with the world. A Sagittarius Sun sign with a Leo Ascendant will find it much more easy.
Finally on the Ascendant, look for the Ascendant ruler – the Planet ruling your Ascendant sign. Its position in your horoscope is very important and it is the third most important planet in your chart (some would say second most important) – its position by sign and house will influence the way in which you behave. For example if your ruling planet is Mercury and its in the tenth House then you will find a need to establish your self through your position in the world (career and social status), through communicating with others to achieve this or through the use of mental energy in your chosen career. If Mercury is in Scorpio then you will do this in a very intense way.
The Sun sign denotes the way in which your creativity, will power, general health and inner purpose manifest themselves in the outside world. For example Sun in Sagittarius suggests that this will be in an expansive and optimistic manner. The Sun’s House placement shows the area of life in which the foremost expression of these traits occurs (but of course not the only one). The Sun in the sixth may denote a desire to serve others, or work in health care industries. Sun in the fifth may denote an inclination to be a gambler, or a sports person or to express through hobbies and games. Sun in the eighth may express these traits through working for big business, working with other people’s money and resources or designing in waste disposal systems (amongst a large variety of other things). The extent to which you find this easy or difficult will depend on compatibility between Sun and Ascendant, Sun and Moon and the various aspects to the Sun. A preponderance of easy aspects (trines and sextiles) may make it easier to express yourself than a preponderance of squares and oppositions. (of course the planets involved in these aspects will influence how the expression takes place). For example Sun aspects to Saturn (father) or the Moon (mother) may indicate childhood experiences and the effect of childhood on our lives. Finally look for the planet ruling the sign in which the Sun is placed. Unless you are a Leo, the Sun will have a ruler and its placement by sign and house will also affect the way in which the Sun can express itself.
The Moon represents our receptive, passive, instinctual feelings. It is often identified with the unconscious and our reactions without thinking. It also shows the situations in which we feel at ease with ourselves or right about ourselves. Traditionally it also says something about our relationship to public things and the public at large. The Moon is identified with the Mother and so it also represents our Mothers in the horoscope, along with the tenth House. As with Sun/Ascendant the Sun/Moon compatibility is important. For example if we have Aquarius as our Sun sign we may find it very difficult to integrate a Cancer Moon into our personality. Aquarius likes to be detached, does not really trust feelings and emotions, the Same would be true of a Capricorn Sun and Cancer Moon. The Moon’s placement by sign and House indicate how we express this intuitive, receptive, somewhat moody side of ourselves. In Cancer we will be highly protective of family and Children, taking an extremely ‘maternal’ role whether we are male or female, in the ninth house we are likely to feel good about ourselves whilst learning, developing and expanding ourselves. We feel at ease with long distance travel or higher education.
Again the ease with which we can express the Moon in our charts is governed by the aspects to it from the other planets. The Moon’s ruler does not get the attention that the chart ruler and the Sun’s ruler get. However it will help to look at its position by sign and house. The affairs of the House occupied by the Moon and the House occupied by its ruler are linked.
AquarianGoddess suggested in one of her posts that it’s a good idea to construct cue cards, for the planets, signs and houses. All that you need to do then is to take the cue card for, say, the Sun and find the cue cards relating to its sign and House. Read these consecutively to achieve your initial interpretation.
I’ve assumed here that people are relatively familiar with the Signs and Houses. If you are not I will gladly post these as a separate (short) thread and try to keep them relatively high up in the threads list. Just let me know.
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