Basic Concepts:

 

excerpts from Peter Kubaska:

ASCENDANT, SUN and MOON

The Ascendant, Sun, and Moon are the three most important factors in an astrological chart. They represent superconscious soul, conscious ego, and subconscious habits or complexes respectively.

. The Moon represents influences erupting from our past lives and childhoods, from the human-animal instinctive nature, and from all the habits we retain from training over many lives.

. The Sun represents the everyday consciousness of the standard ego, which allows us to perceive some qualities and circumstances while filtering others out - depending on stage of consciousness and the present life polarization and focus.

. The Ascendant represents the striving of the Ego or Soul to grow, evolve, and transcend its own conditioning and limitations which present in the form of the ego, or little self. . This self-resurrection of the Ego or Atma is achieved in seven Ways, in much the same way the seven Ray types qualify the everyday self, ego, or personality. . The key to the work of the Soul is represented by the sign which is rising (the Ascendant), and that sign's three planetary rulers, their house placement and aspects.

ORDINARY WHEEL
Leo-Aquarius . . The individual seeks full expression and arrives finally at the point where he uses his environment for purely individual ends. He dominates his fellowmen for entirely personality objectives. The isolated individual becomes the group ruler or dictator.
REVERSED WHEEL
Aquarius-Leo . . Personality interests as an expression of the individual are submerged in the good of the whole. Selfish individual man becomes the world server. Heights of noted service are then reached in both signs.

 

excerpts from Candy Hillenbrand

Esoteric astrology is the astrology of the soul. The delineation of a natal chart from the soul-centred perspective focuses on the purpose of the soul, why we are here, where we have come from, and where we are heading.

Soul-centred astrology is based on the understanding that there is a spark of divinity, or 'soul' within each of us. According to this cosmology, reincarnation and the reality of the soul are accepted as fact. Many sense this divinity. The moments of deep insight, peace, awe, wonder, grace and love that we have all experienced at some time are voices from the Soul.

This soul, or divine spark, strives towards unity and perfection, and according to the Ancient Wisdom teachings, its motivation is selfless and its purpose is service to humanity or contribution to the greater whole. It is essentially a humanitarian philosophy and is therefore highly appropriate for our incoming Age of Aquarius.

Another important point is that esoteric astrology has its foundation in an understanding of the Science of the Seven Rays . [4] This is a system of soul/personality typology and is referred to by Bailey as Esoteric Psychology .

The Ascendant

Perhaps you have felt that there is a deeper meaning to the Rising Sign than a mere description of the physical appearance, the persona or the manner in which we project ourselves? In esoteric astrology, the Ascendant is the key indicator of the Soul's Purpose. This does not mean that the empirical evidence of traditional astrology is invalid. What we can say is that the soul's purpose is projected through the persona at the Ascendant.

It is a tenet of traditional astrology that the Ascendant is symbolic of the birth or point of incarnation, of the entry of the soul onto the physical plane or the cross of matter. Esoteric astrology merely takes this a step further. If we look to the qualities of the sign on the Ascendant, we can glean valuable information about the nature of spiritual purpose and service.

The qualities of the Ascendant sign describe the future direction of the soul, what we are growing towards, or new qualities that we are developing.

In this respect, we can see its meaning as similar in flavour to the North Node, although I would suggest that the qualities of the houses and signs of the nodal axis tell us how we can achieve personality integration, or integration of the yin and yang within the personality. The quest of the hero as symbolised by the North Node is the quest of the personality.

The sign on the Ascendant indicates how we can best express our personality gifts to extend beyond ourselves to help others, or to help the planet as a whole. The house position of the esoteric ruling planet of the Ascendant indicates where these gifts and qualities are best expressed. It points to the field of service of the soul.

The Esoteric Rulerships of the Signs

These rulerships may seem odd at first, but a deeper study will reveal their significance.

Aries - Mercury
Taurus - Vulcan
Gemini - Venus
Cancer - Neptune
Leo - Sun
Virgo - Moon
Libra - Uranus
Scorpio - Mars
Sagittarius - Earth
Capricorn - Saturn
Aquarius - Jupiter
Pisces - Pluto

Vulcan is an undiscovered or hypothetical planet, and esoteric astrologers believe that it is located near the Sun. To date, there is no officially accepted ephemeris to calculate its position, and there are varying opinions as to Vulcan's actual distance from the Sun. The astrological software package Solar Fire , developed by Esoteric Technologies , offers two options for the calculation of Vulcan's position: the method of L.H. Weston or that of Dr Douglas Baker. [5] Note also that the position of the Earth is located directly opposite the Sun. For example, if the Sun is found at 9 degrees of Sagittarius, then the Earth will be found at 9 degrees of Gemini.

Some Ideas for Delineation

While there are 'esoteric' meanings for all the signs, planets and houses, the traditional meanings can still be applied in a simplified approach to a soul-oriented natal interpretation. We are not looking at 'negative' manifestations here. That is the realm of the personality-centred delineation. Of course, any personality problems or dilemmas are relevant in the soul-centred delineation, because they offer us an idea as to what is hindering or impeding the progress of the soul. The following are some suggestions for delineating the Ascendant from a soul-centred perspective:

If the Ascendant is in Leo , then the soul's purpose is to shine, to express one's creative gifts and facilitate leadership for the benefit of others. If the esoteric ruler, the Sun , is located in the 11th house, then the field of expression for the creative and leadership qualities is through group activity.

If the Ascendant is in Aries and the ruler, Mercury , is in the 6th house, then the soul's purpose is to inspire others with ideas, through one's work, through healing, or through developing techniques for self-improvement. This person may be an inspiring writer, counsellor, healer or teacher. With the Aries emphasis, the focus would be towards empowering and enabling others through their mental and communication gifts.

If the Ascendant is in Aquarius and the ruler, Jupiter , is in the 2nd house, then the soul's purpose of pouring forth the waters of knowledge for humanity, is expressed through a spiritual approach to gathering and distributing resources. There is a facility for manifesting on the physical plane, but the purpose is to gather resources for a higher or collective purpose. For example, this person could accumulate and distribute resources in order to fund some sort of group venture.

The esoteric rulerships do not cancel the value of the traditional rulerships. For the Aries Ascendant, the position of Mars points to personality problems, tendencies, talents and gifts, while the position of Mercury points to the area of service of the soul.

Aspects between the Rulers of the Ascendant

It is important to look at any aspect formed between the exoteric and esoteric rulers of the Ascendant. The ease or stress of this aspect indicates the ease, or lack of ease, with which the soul's purpose can be expressed. Using the example of Aries Rising, a natal square between Mars and Mercury suggests that this person may experience some difficulty in manifesting the soul's purpose. On a practical level, this may be because s/he has a tendency to communicate in a sarcastic way, or is bad-tempered. A trine or sextile between Mars and Mercury suggests that there is a harmony between the personality expression and the expression of the spiritual purpose. S/he may be an inspiring and enthusiastic communicator.

The Esoteric Meanings of the Houses

1st house - emergence of soul purpose, activities of the soul, the aura.
2nd house - spiritual values, use of life energies.
3rd house - mental energy, relating of higher and lower selves.
4th house - the foundation of the soul.
5th house - expression of spiritual will, actualization of Higher Self.
6th house - personality integration, service through healing and nurturing.
7th house - the path of inner union between the soul and personality.
8th house - the path of the awakening of soul consciousness.
9th house - knowledge of Cosmic Law and Ancient Wisdom.
10th house - spiritual purpose and responsibility.
11th house - spiritual visions, aspirations, spiritual groups.
12th house - unredeemed past karma, bondage to personality, selfless service to humanity.

Beginning a Soul-Centred Delineation

In esoteric astrology, the Rising Sign is symbolic of the soul's purpose and the path of the future. Look to the qualities of this sign as an indicator of new qualities that need to be developed in this lifetime. The house position of the esoteric ruler indicates where these 'new' qualities are best expressed. Try to also blend the qualities of the sign and house position of the North Node with these Ascendant qualities. Together, they form a picture of the future path of the soul.

The sign and house position of the Sun is symbolic of the present , or the path towards integration of the personality.

The sign and house position of the Moon is symbolic of the past or karmic conditions which have been carried over into this life and need transcending. Try to blend the qualities of the South Node with these Moon qualities to determine the path of least resistance, the negative personality tendencies which hinder progress in the present, and the gifts developed in past lives.

The signs, houses and aspects of Saturn, Pluto and Chiron , and planets in the twelfth house will also give further clues to karmic factors which are relevant in the current life.

[4] Bailey, Alice A., A Treatise on the Seven Rays, NY & London: Lucis Publishing Co, Vols 1-5.
[5] Esoteric Technologies, Solar Fire User Guide, Version 3 . Adelaide, Aust: 1994-95, p. 177.
[6] For a more detailed approach, refer to Alan Oken, Soul-Centred Astrology (op. cit); Errol Weiner, Transpersonal Astrology , Gt. Britain: Element Books Ltd, 1991; and Kathleen Burt, Archetypes of the Zodiac, St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 1988.
[7] The keynotes can be found in Alice Bailey, Esoteric Astrology , NY & London, Lucis Publishing Co, 1979, pp. 653-4.