In this presentation you will learn about: Angles Ascendant Descendent “Mid-‐Heaven” “Undersky”
Aspects Conjunction Sextile Square Opposition
Ascendant (Rising) is the 9 O'clock position on the AstroClock™ and it is the first house. This is literally where the sun “rises” or “ascends” above the horizon; that is why this position in a birth-‐chart is known as a persons "rising" or "ascendant." Since the Ascendant is the first house, it considered the house of "self.” Therefore, the first house is the way people see your personality. On a natal-‐chart, your ascendant is typically the zodiac constellation sign rising in the eastern horizon at the moment of your birth.
This is a transit line. Each one of the Zodiac signs and houses has one that starts and finishes their time to “shine.” The Ascendant line is the place where the sky meets earth. This is called the horizon because this is the place where the sun rises. We see nothing beneath this line. The earth spins east to west so the sun always appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
Descendant The Descendant is the place on the AstroClock™ and a natal chart where the sun sets. It is the seventh house, it belongs to Libra and it is considered the house of marriage and partnerships. Typically, this is where an Astrologer would check to see if your ascendant and descendant are in two signs that are compatible with a potential mate. This is considered 180º degrees or an “opposition.”
The Descendent line is the location in the west were the sun sets. Once the sun goes past this line, it is night time until the earth rotates 180º. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Descendant is also the transit line for the seventh house. Look at each zodiac sign as a runner, this would be the starting line for the 7th house (Libra) to start. The 7th house is the house of partnerships, marriage and unity.
Mid-‐Heaven Mid-‐Heaven is the angle associated with your reputation and your highest ambitions in life. Since the tenth house belongs to Capricorn and is in the noon position on the AstroClock™, any planet that is in this house will provide emphasis towards setting and reaching goals. This house is about ambitions and reputation. Capricorn is ruled by the planet Saturn so a placement here might actually make a person an "authority" in their field of professional expertise. When a planet like Venus is in the tenth house you will find someone highly ethical and charming. If it is Mercury, you will find that the person is a master of communications, information and education in general. The influence of the tenth house influences a a person to demonstrate all of their mental qualities in in a rapid “quicksilver” manner.
The Mid-‐Heaven is the highest place (zenith point) the sun or planets can go. If you were to step outside and look directly above your head. So if you were with a Pisces Mid-‐ heaven it means that anyone of your relatives could have stepped outside and looked directly over their head to see the Pisces constellation. (check an almanac, the precession of the equinoxes can make this unreliable). Planets here usually set the tone for your highest ambitions, career goals and reputation.
Imun Coeli The Imun-‐Coeli angle is considered a person's connection to their roots; be it family, community or both. This angle is the 4th house which belongs to Cancer, so matters of home, family, emotion, comfort and intuition are accented here. The negative side to the "under sky" position is that since it is opposite of the Mid-‐Heaven, it means that your lowest points of behavior can be exaggerated by any zodiac signs that may be placed here.
There is no natural way to identify the “undersky” or Imun-‐ Coeli because it is the location beneath your feet. One way experienced astrologers can do it is by looking at your Mid-‐Heaven. If your Mid-‐heaven is in Pisces then your Imun-‐ Coeli is certain to be in Virgo, unless you are very close to the transit line. At the north and south poles the longitude lines get closer so using the transit lines may not always be reliable, but it is good to know if you want to make a rough estimate.
An aspect is just a fancy name for the geometrical association or relationship that the houses, planets and zodiac signs have relative to each other. These geometrical associations play a role in helping you or holding you back. The key is to know how they potentially help or hurt so you can be more careful with your choices.
There are major and minor aspect in Astrolosophy™. For the purpose of this lesson we will focus on the aspects that have a stronger influences in a natal-‐chart. The theory of some aspects may often mean that things will be restful, productive, or active, adversarial or challenging. It is good practice to recognize that sometimes the more challenging aspects bring the best rewards. With that in mind, try not to assume that things will be difficult if there is a “hard” or challenging aspect, because meeting that challenge may mean that you get something that you want.
Conjunction Conjunction (0 degrees). Planets are in the same sign. The Sun is at 15 degrees Scorpio, and it is in conjunction with the Moon at 15 Scorpio. A conjunction does not have to be exactly the same degree, some astrologers allow up to a 6-‐10 degree differential. Significance of the conjunction: Planets align to
accomplish an event or mood, understanding the different zodiac signs, houses and ruling planets will help you to figure out whether this union is positive or negative.
Sextile
Sextile (60 degrees). Zodiac sign is every other sign or two signs apart. Aries is at 20 degrees Mars, sextile Aquarius at 20 degrees Aquarius or Uranus would be a good example.
Significance of the sextile: Signs and Planets are in aspect of each other harmoniously, and the harmony is like a finely played musical instrumental. This can be positive or negative -‐ One could find the love of their life with this aspect but the amount of harmony can sometimes lead to complacency and lack of growth because it is so easy. Procrastination can stall out relationships if one of the players does not have enough cardinal (initiation, "take charge") or fixed (steady follow through, determination) or the flexibility of mutable (versatile, changeable, adaptable). The context is everything or you can say that, “the devil is in the details.”
Square
Square (90 degrees). Zodiac signs or Planets are three signs apart or every fourth sign. Sagittarius in Mars at 10 degrees square Virgo in Venus at 10 degrees. Significance of the square: Signs and Planets are in challenging and stressed aspect, and events will proceed with tension, disharmony and negativity. There will be challenges to overcome to make this work. When the people involved in group work are “squared” it can be challenging. A good example would be Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus. They are all fixed signs, 90º degrees apart and stubborn. Getting them to agree to disagree would be key to creating success but there has to be some understanding that it is a challenging dynamic. However, if they can make this aspect work, the results will often be good because of the analyzing, judgment and critiquing that happens between people whom have this aspect produces a better product final problem. The key to overcoming this is recognizing that conflict is not the problem, learning how to listen and communicate effectively is the challenge.
Trine
Trine (120 degrees). Planets are four signs apart. Moon at 13
degrees Cancer trine Neptune at 13 degrees Pisces. Significance of the trine: Planets are in a highly harmonious aspect. The trine is more harmonious than the sextile because they happen in the same element. A good example would be Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. They are all water signs exactly 120º degrees (days) apart. So if you have a rising sing in Cancer, a moon in Scorpio and a mercury in Pisces this would be considered a trine. Events will take place with relative ease. This can be positive or negative, depending on the context of the situation.
Opposition Opposition (180 degrees). Planets are six signs apart. Saturn is at 09 Capricorn opposite The Moon at 09 degrees in Cancer. Meaning of the opposition: Planets are in highly disharmonious aspect, and any accomplishment will not be permanent, or at least will be attended by regret.
In this presentation various topics about angles and aspects were discussed. Bear in mind that there are many similarities between the Geometry of Astrology and the pure mathematics of Geometry. Astrological geometry is minimal Geometry. Geometry is a very complex subject that goes much deeper than this presentation. This presentation only covered angles or the angular houses, major aspects in astrology like: the Ascendant, Descendent, “Mid-‐Heaven”, “Undersky” Conjunction, Sextile, Square, Trine and the Opposition.
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The Geometry of Astrolosophy By: JD Cogmon, M.S.Ed.© 2010