The Four Angles

If we begin to exploring your own birth chart, we can start by looking at the four angles – the Ascendant, the Descendant, the MC and IC; the backbone of our chart.

It is always amaze of how you could discover the meaning of the chart by the symbols and the planets placement. As time goes by, you discover more and more, like peeling the skin of an onion! You might feel overwhelmed by the message or information that you get, but if you allow time for the message to sink in, digest or even observe for some time, jot them down on a journal, being conscious of what you are doing, you will notice the different in all areas of your life slowly. And it is up to you whether if you would actively be part of the cosmic to co-create your own reality. It is fascinating that we discover a bit more each time when we connect with our own chart. There is a lot of things that are larger than life.

By exploring our own chart, we begin to investigate the circumstance of our birth, both the immediate physical circumstance and the wider emotional ones, to see if its reflected in your Ascendant and Chart Ruler, and how this might have shaped how you approach life. Or you might want to think about the significance of your Descendant (and its ruler) on how we relate to others. It as a kind of ‘shadow’ or ‘other half’ of our birth story, a quality of experience which we have been unconsciously drawn and might have encountered via relationships. There are many different layers to the four angles and to each house in a birth chart, the astrologer is playing the role of archaeologist, excavating through the layers to find deeper meanings.

The Sun’s position in the chart can tell if you born in the day or evening/night. If it is below the horizon, then you were born at night, between sunset and sunrise. If it’s above the horizon, the top half of the chart, above the horizon line which joins the Ascendant and the Descendant, then you were born during the day between sunrise and sunset.

Lets explore the four angles in our birth chart:-

For the Ascendant – “Who am I?” 

In Ascendant, it shows the fundamental about the quality of our life journey. It’s a place of initiation, an impulse towards something as yet unformed, but coming from very deep inside.1 This route and journey or myth through life. If you are Aquarius rising, regardless of what your planets are doing, you are on an Aquarian journey. And if you enquire persistently within yourself as to who is arranging the journey, you will encounter some very deep areas of your being. The Ascendant is our vehicle for interaction; our meet-and-greet personality – perhaps with Leo’s vehicle would be Rolls Royce, Virgo’s would be small but useful, Aries would prefer a red sports car! The Ascendant will also describe your experience of and attitude to all new ‘births’ since then, for instance the way you start a project, or walk into a room, the way you ‘give birth’ to new things or begin any new venture. Our mottos for survival and interaction.

For the Descendant – “Who are you?” 

What you need to receive from others, even when you are not aware of it. How others perceive and interact that challenge the belief of who you are to consider how you come across the world. Your “personal advertisement”. This is a place very sensitive to projection. It can be like our ‘blind spot’. “Who are you when you are on our own, and in relationship to another person?” What we look for in others; others involved in our search for discovery; what we are attracting, projecting It gives us information about not only what we give to others in relationship, but what we are looking for and hoping to receive in return and can therefore describe the dynamics we experience in our relationships.

For the IC – “Where did I come from?” 

Your roots, your family. A place of unity. A place of being. Who is your tribe? It’s like our totem, from where, from whom, do we seek protection, blessing and personal guidance, as regards deeply personal matters to do with family relationships, belonging or security? It is the subconscious messages about achievement and success in the outside world. How we are in private; areas of life we are prone to ignore – our deep subconscious. Our secret fears that unconsciously steer us. It is where our founding principles that we have anchor a sense of security. It is also our parental axis – usually represent the hidden parent – father. In an equal house system, if the MC-IC axis falls outside the 10th-4th houses, it could indicates that our direction in life may be different from that of our parents, according to the meaning of the houses it falls in.

For the Midheaven (MC) – “Where am I going?” or “What is the world asking of me?“ 

This is our aims and goals, and intentions to create something of substance and lasting impact for the world to see. A place of mastery and achievement, about the career, profession and place in the world. It take time to mastery the skills to get here. It’s also our parental axis – is usually indicate our mother – our first world. It can be our parental expectations and motivations. Our definition of success and the people we admire and wish to emulate. The social/public arena in which we express our vocation (Sun) and fulfil our promise and how we wish to be remembered.

What is the sign on your four angles? Does is resonate to you?

Order the Vocational Self-Discovery workbook to work on your own space, jot down that anything that come to your mind along the way to discover more about the four angles represents in your chart in term of career and profession. Order now.

“And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?” 

― Rumi