In my articles so far I mentioned some of the key elements in a horoscope - zodiac, Sun, Moon and lunar nodes. This article will clarify what is Ascendant, Medium Coeli (Medium to heaven, the highest point) and homes in the horoscope.
The annual cycle of the sun, as I said in the previous article, is divided into four - two equinoxes and two solstices. These four points in the annual cycle are “the backbone” of the zodiac – these are the zodiac signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. They are called cardinal signs precisely because their main importance for the solar cycle.
Shifted in the daily cycle of the Sun we have again four fundamental points:
• Sunrise / Sunset
• The highest point of the sun when it shines with its maximum force (lunch) / the lowest point (midnight)
There is a correlation between these two cycles:
Vernal Equinox - sunrise
Summer Solstice - the highest point of the Sun
Autumn Equinox - sunset
Winter Solstice - the lowest point
In the construction of the horoscope the ecliptic is divided into 12 even parts, called homes. We have 12 zodiac signs which rise east approximately every two hours. So for one day, all signs move around the earth, as for us the earth is fixed.
If you stand with your face to the south (stepping on the ground) and hold your hands aside, then your left hand will point east. If we could do this in the day and time of our birth, then our left hand will point to the ascending zodiac sign, the sign that falls on the eastern horizon. In astrology this sign is called the Ascendant. Accordingly, our right hand will point the opposite sign, which is the sunset and is called Descendant.
The highest point (over our heads) is the point called medium of heaven or Medium Coeli. This is the point where the Sun stands at noon and at which it shines most strongly. The opposite point, which is under our feet, is the point at which the Sun stands at midnight. It's called the bottom of the sky or Imum Coeli. All this is calculated for the respective geographical location and time of birth. And these basic positions are very convenient when you want to check in seconds whether a horoscope is correctly calculated.
For example, for temperate latitudes, where birth is in the morning around sunrise, the Ascendant would be in the same sign in which is the Sun - Cancer [1].
If birth is at noon, the Ascendant will fall to approximately 4 characters distance from the Sun counter clockwise - Libra [2]
If birth is at sunset, the Ascendant will be in the sign opposite the Sun - Capricorn [3]
And accordingly, if the birth is at midnight the Ascendant will be in the sign, standing approximately about 4 signs from the Sun clockwise - Aries [4]
The four areas are marked with symbols - Asc / Dsc, MC / IC – and are called principal axes in the horoscope, corners in the horoscope. This is the cross of the horoscope, which lays the foundations of life. The wisdom that everyone bears his cross is not by accident.
Ascendant defines “Who am I when I am in contact with others? What is the first impression I leave in people? What is the appearance of my behavior in society? How do I respond and react, what do I present myself for?”. All the people around see us through the filter of the Ascendant in our first contact with them.
Accordingly the Descendant defines stereotypes and expectations related to all the people with whom it communicates. It is often mentioned in the western astrology that the Ascendant is the real ego of a person. But is this true? The axis Asc / Dsc obviously is the axis of our contacts with the others, it defines how we relate to what others do, speak and react to us.
When a person does not attempt to comply with the views and actions of others, but thinks of the things he wants in life, why he was born, he remains entirely on his own, then that axis of contact Asc / Dsc does not play a role.
Here intervenes the other axis in the horoscope - MC / IC. IC is the point that symbolizes our roots in every sense. Even if we continue the symbolic of the astronomical fact that it is beneath our feet, we reach our “root”. IC shows our internal support, the foundation on which we build our lives. It shows the hidden purposes and motives, subconscious motivation. Accordingly, the opposite point - MC defines where we aspire to in life, this is the highest point in the horoscope.
On the other hand, MC is a function of the hour and minute of birth. MC will be identical in all areas that are located in the same geographical meridian. While the Ascendant, which is a function of latitude will be different for different latitudes.
Therefore Asc / Dsc is more the physical axis in the horoscope. It analyzes the human environment, physical datum, external circumstances, partners, and other people.
The MC / IC axis is the psychological axis in the horoscope. The sign of MC (together with the Moon sign) gives a precise definition with regard to what is the man alone, his subjective sense of things. Everyone has said about someone:
”He left me in a completely different impression when we met. We talked, he said this and that, he behaved so and so.
And then I realized that he is doing something quite different, thinks quite different things. He looks completely different.”
What we have seen and heard in the communication is the Ascendant. MC (plus the Moon) describes the second part - what is man when he is alone and meditates alone without being under the influence of the environment.
The ascendant defines not only how a person reacts to his environment, but also what type of environment he forms around him, what kind of people he admits to himself.
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