Ascendance

“Every time our unconscious is working something out, it calls into our lives the people who have within the pieces of the answer we are seeking”  – Martin Schulman, Karmic Relationships

Over the years I have developed an astrological theory that seems to dovetail nicely with the quote above – I’ve  observed a correlation that when a transiting or progressed planet crosses the natal Ascendant of an individual, a person will then tend to enter that individual’s life who will sync up with that particular planetary archetype.  So for example, if it’s Saturn crossing the Ascendant then a Saturn figure may appear in the individual’s life.  If it’s Mars, we get a Martian figure and so on.

When a planet it crosses the threshold of the Ascendant, that energy is brought to our consciousness in a very front-and-center way.  We’re going to get in touch with what that planet is all about one way or the other, and more often than not I’ve found this can mean an outside agent appears to make us intimately familiar with the energy/archetype for the purposes of bringing it out in our personality. I don’t often see people spontaneously adopting the demeanor of whatever planet is making the visit to their Ascendant on their own; rather someone who embodies that planetary archetype seems to step in to provide feedback, instruction, a model, or whathaveyou to put us in touch with the qualities of that planet we need to embrace more fully in our own persona.

As a reference point, using the above hypothetical planetary scenarios Saturn across one’s Ascendant might bring them a mentor figure; someone who can help them “adult” and be more responsible, professional, advancement-oriented, or perhaps parental.  Mars may bring us someone who will help us to embrace our Inner Warrior; someone who might challenge us, be a sparring partner or competitor, light a fire under our butts and get us to be more physically active, or who will show us by example how to stand up for ourselves/others and be more assertive.  We hold within us the seeds of each planetary archetype and it seems when the Ascendant is crossed by one of these heavenly bodies, that seed germinates.

Now it could certainly be argued that in theory we *ought to be* observing this phenomenon moreso when a transiting planet crosses the Descendant as it is the opposite end of this axis that is said to represent “The Other”.  But my practical experience has been that in general we tend to be LESS conscious of energies crossing the Descendant as we’re not apt to recognize their influence as something within.  When a planet is located near the Descendant its energy more inclined to be disowned or projected; both within our lives and personas.  For example, Saturn near our Descendant might cause us to view a partner as a restrictive influence, as parental, as someone who more or less metaphorically “pees in our Cheerios”, or who tells us to “suck it up”/“grow up”.  But does this necessarily cause us to embody the energy of Saturn on a personal level?  No – we’re far more likely to disown those qualities and resist by acting out the opposite end of the spectrum when Saturn crosses the Descendant and offers his counterweight against the “I” of the Ascendant.  We might find others curbing us under this transit, but it’s hardly self-initiated and is always at the behest of someone else; a scenario of artificial enforcement rather than natural embodiment. Thus, when a planet crosses the Descendant it’s more difficult to harness the astrological energy in question – we tend to experience it as being outside of us rather than within us.  It’s why oppositions in the chart incline toward projection.   In the realm of the Descendant (or even the entire 7th House for that matter), the answer lies less with others and more within how we experience others.

Conversely ,what I’ve seen happen time and time again with a planet’s passage across the Ascendant is someone comes in to help us develop (one way or the other) that neonascent energy which is dormant inside of ourselves.  As the Ascendant represents how others view us, perhaps it’s a quality within us they see or sense; something they recognize and possibly find resonance with (“You’ve got potential, kid!”). Whatever the case, it’s something that through this interaction we’re naturally stimulated to accentuate within ourselves/ our being/our persona.

So the next time you have a planet crossing your Ascendant, do pause and take note – especially if it’s a slower-moving planet like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto – if a corresponding figure appears on scene to teach you how to accentuate those energetic qualities.  Embrace the gods within by being willing to see others as the emissaries for the astrological vibrations we should be cultivating inside ourselves.

03/27/2019