Ruler of the ascendant

I once visited an astrologer that pointed out that one of the most important things in a horoscope was the ruler of the ascendant.

Here are the different rulers:

Aries: Mars
Taurus: Venus
Gemini: Mercury
Cancer. Moon
Leo: Sun
Virgo: Mercury
Libra: Venus
Scorpio: Pluto
Saggitarius: Jupiter
Capricorn: Saturn
Aquarius: Uranus
Pisces: Neptune

So she said, the ruler of the ascendant (which is the planet that rules the sign your ascendant is in) and it's position in sign, houses and aspects are of most importance.

I have Aries rising, and the ruler Mars is important to me. I have Mars in Cancer in 5th house (conjunct Jupiter, square asc.), and for that reason I feel like I'm more Cancer than Leo (which is my sunsign).

As Alan Oken well says it: A Cancer is worried about the end before he has even begun with the beginning

The fact that I'm a man, doesn't make Mars position any less important...

Sunsigns are definately important too, but they sometimes can be overshadowed by other factors.

The Ascendant is the MOST important element of your chart. It is what makes it personal to you because it is determined by the time and place of your birth. Together with the MC it is unique to you. Your Sun sign is not...it's shared by everyone born during approximately 30 days. Even your Moon Sign on your birth day is more specific, as the Moon is in that sign for a little over two days.

Ascendant and Moon say more about you than your Sun Sign - but don't forget to look at planets in the Ascendant or in aspect to it. Ideally the ruler should be one of these.

Your list is of course the modern version but that has no logic or reasoning...indeed if Pluto rules Scorpio there's absolutely no reason why Mars should rule Aries or Saturn should rule Capricorn. And can you explain why Chiron should not be the ruler of Pisces or Ceres the ruler of Taurus?

I believe in the 'commonly known' when it comes to rulers.

I believe in mainstream or most popular view.

That goes for all knowledge. I believe people get the power to be well-knowned for their view on things.

It means I trust Alan Oken and other generally popular authors. In tarot I trust the Rider Waite deck and the general meaning of things.

But of course, if one think something else is better, I don't attack people who have a different view.

Right now I'm trying to sort out the difference between the concept of "Ascendant ruler" and "Lord of the Geniture" (a concept of traditional astrology). They don't appear to be exactly analogous in many cases, and the latter seems much more complex to determine. I have Scorpio rising, and Mars rulership makes the most sense to me since it's conjunct the MC in Virgo (and the most elevated planet in the chart), and I strongly identified with my professional standing as a manager in a highly technological field for most of my 31-year career. Ninth-house Pluto is important for other, deeper reasons, but it doesn't stand out like Mars. As I become more knowledgeable about traditional astrology, I've come to understand why the modern rulerships are subject to criticism. I'm prepared to consider co-rulerships, but mainly as "shading" or "coloration" behind the traditional ruler.

There is a very neat diagram that portrays the symmetry of the traditional rulership system: If you start from Moon as Cancer/4th House "lord" and work clockwise, you get Mercury (Gemini/3rd House), Venus (Taurus/2nd House), Mars (Aries/1st House), Jupiter (Pisces/12th House) and Saturn (Aquarius/11th House). If you start from Sun as Leo/5th House "lord" and work counter-clock-wise, you get (surprise!) Mercury (Virgo/6th House), Venus (Libra/7th House), Mars (Scorpio/8th House), Jupiter (Sagittarius/9th House) and Saturn (Capricorn/10th House). To me, this seems very eloquent and blows away all other explanations since it is centered on the two "lights" and follows a logical progression.

For over 2,000 years Mars 'ruled' Scorpio and every Astrologer' without exception, agreed. Is that then not the commonly held view? It is still the view held by the majority of the world's Astrologers so it looks like your own logic must lead to a change in your beliefs

But I'm not inviting you to believe on that basis, as you should never believe in something solely on the basis that a lot of other people believe in it but because you see the reasoning, logic and structure that lies behind the belief.

You are a seeker of knowledge, you've shown that time and time again but seeking knowledge means you have to ask the question 'Why?'...

Barleywine said:

Right now I'm trying to sort out the difference between the concept of "Ascendant ruler" and "Lord of the Geniture" (a concept of traditional astrology). They don't appear to be exactly analogous in many cases, and the latter seems much more complex to determine.

Click to expand...

They are not the same, except by accident, that is because of the nature of a specific chart. The problem is that it's not easy to define the Lord of the Geniture, mainly because different Astrologers defined it in different ways. The easiest way was that of Lilly, who added up the essential and accidental dignities of every planet and the one with the highest score was the Lord. However there are dignities that Lilly didn't consider, such as planetary sect, so you will find different slants in other authors.

I tend to use Lilly but I,m not averse to considering other factors such as sect or elevation

Minderwiz said:

For over 2,000 years Mars 'ruled' Scorpio and every Astrologer' without exception, agreed. Is that then not the commonly held view? It is still the view held by the majority of the world's Astrologers so it looks like your own logic must lead to a change in your beliefs

But I'm not inviting you to believe on that basis, as you should never believe in something solely on the basis that a lot of other people believe in it but because you see the reasoning, logic and structure that lies behind the belief.

You are a seeker of knowledge, you've shown that time and time again but seeking knowledge means you have to ask the question 'Why?'...

Click to expand...

I don't say that you are wrong, I just say what I believe in.

Times are changing. Pluto was first discovered in 1930(?).

For thousands of years people believed in a flat earth also...

But you're right about one thing - I'm not good in using my mind when it comes to knowledge. I use more of a hunch. No air in my horoscope/Aries rising.

Tor said:

I don't say that you are wrong, I just say what I believe in.

Times are changing. Pluto was first discovered in 1930(?).

For thousands of years people believed in a flat earth also...

But you're right about one thing - I'm not good in using my mind when it comes to knowledge. I use more of a hunch. No air in my horoscope/Aries rising.

Click to expand...

Times always change As far as I know Time has never stood still (except when a beautiful woman enters the room) but what has that got to do with it? Should we say 'it's 2013 in a couple of weeks, so let's change the sign rulerships round?

Yes Pluto was discovered in 1930 but Ceres was discovered in 1801, how come it doesn't get a sign but Pluto does?

There are still flat earthers but Astrologers have been aware the Earth was spheroid since the third century BCE, calculated the Earth Sun and Earth Moon distances accurately. Kepler and Brahe were Astrologers so was Newton. As Barleywine points out there is a reasoned, Astrologically based explanation of rulership, with a clear logic to it. That does not mean that there can't be other systems but if they are to be taken seriously they must have some rational basis and explanation. If the existing system is to be modified then again it must be done in a way that maintains the internal integrity of the resulting system. You can't just muck about with it to accommodate new bodies, whether they have Astrological significance or not.

Beliefs are not disconnected from fact, logic and reason and can be modified. We should always question our beliefs, if only to reaffirm them.

I'm being deliberately provocative...not, to annoy you but to make you examine and challenge not only other beliefs but also your own. Learning is the activity of life

You don't provoke me, Minderwiz - you make me smile

I'm not an authority in astrology, and it's just a hobby since I'm chronic ill.

I agree with you that knowledge and facts are important, but at the same time astrology is not a proven science, so I guess it's room for intuition also.

After all I guess what one gets out of studying astrology can vary from person to person.

You are like a professor with a textbook - I'm more like a child with crayons and blank paper. If this is not correct. I might have provoked you back?

Sorry for the bad analogy. My point is that knowledge, and only that, will not get you to the promised land. Creativity and intuition is for me a big part of a good astrology report.

I hope there is room for both of us

Watching the ruler of your ascendant in the sky (ex. current chart), and also in transits is also informative.

In addition to your line up:
Mars rules Scorpio and Aries.
Saturn rules Aquarius and Capricorn.