There are Sun sign devotees, and I have known a few, who can intuit birthdays and personality characteristics with astonishing accuracy. If astrology were that simple, life would be easier for the aspiring astrologer who instead of focusing on one shining star is forced to juggle with the effect of Rising signs and Moon signs, and is then deluged by a good deal more.
A well-known astrologer once told me he spent the first two years under an enlightened teacher understanding nothing at all until one day it suddenly clicked into place. Dismantling the astrology chart into its multifarious separate components and doing the hard grind of learning what-means-what in isolation is a bore. But at the end of it there is an intuitive process that takes over which is able to ‘grasp’ the complexity of the information on offer and form a picture of a multi-faceted and often contradictory personality.
At a simple level the Sun relates to identity, father, the yang. The Moon relates to mother, childhood, what nurtures. The rising sign which was on the horizon at the moment of birth is the persona, the face that is first shown to others, the outer image and appearance, behind which the Sun and indeed Moon can sometimes hide.
Most obviously a Scorpio Ascendant puts up a secretive, determined front, usually wearing dark clothes, which may well sit at odds with the ‘real’ personality who emerges on longer acquaintance. Clint Eastwood with a Scorpio Ascendant has a restless Gemini Sun and an entertaining Leo Moon = appears forbidding but is communicative and attention-seeking. He is all three.
Tony Blair with a bright, chatty Gemini Ascendant comes across as flexible and light-hearted which belies his hidden stubborn 12th house Taurus Sun and his determined, provocative, equally stubborn Aquarius Moon in his career 10th. Sorry to bring houses into the equation but it is the way my mind works. That is another layer of building blocks.
Brigitte Macron has a prissy Virgo Ascendant which puts up a sedate, tidily organized front, behind which lie the hidden volcanic depths of an 8th house fiery Aries Sun and Moon.
Emmeline Pankhurst, the militant suffragette had a provocative, rebellious Aquarius Ascendant behind which façade there was a hard-working 6th house Cancer Sun and a 7th house practical Virgo Moon.
Every astrologer has their own way of working which may differ but reach the right conclusions by a different route. Or shine a light on a different facet of the personality. I am rooted to houses amongst other things. And would tend to pay more heed to the house position of the Sun which is dependent on the Ascendant/Rising sign than looking directly at the Rising sign itself in the first instance.
A Leo Sun is entertaining and attention-seeking but will function differently if it is in the hidden 12th house with a Virgo Ascendant; or in an even more hidden 8th house with a Capricorn Ascendant. Its fiery, outgoing temperament will be more subdued. Whereas a 5th house Leo Sun with an Aries Ascendant will be out there and make its presence felt.
Giorgio Meloni, the Italian PM, has a showy Leo Ascendant behind which sits a hard-working, earthy 6th house Capricorn Sun and a home-loving 4th house Sagittarius Moon.
The Dalai Lama has a Cancer Ascendant and Sun – so what you see is what you get.
Queen Elizabeth 11 had a conservative, austere Capricorn Ascendant behind which sat a quick-witted 3rd house Taurus Sun which always surprised people who met her at close quarters.
Then just to add complexity to complexity take Benjamin Netanyahu – a lively Sagittarius Ascendant with an 11th house New Moon in Libra. Taken in isolation that could sound upbeat, morale-boosting and charmingly fair-minded. But his chart is dominated by a can-be-ruthless (brutal) Mars Pluto conjunct in Leo.
I always reckoned learning astrology initially was as much fun as studying chemistry and latin grammar. It needs persistence and hope which will be fulfilled since the end of the journey is a good deal more exciting and insightful than the slog that went before.
“My course is set for an uncharted sea.” Dante Alighieri
“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.” Dante Alighieri
The post Astrology – adding Sun to Rising and Moon first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
