I began a discussion of the ascendant very briefly in the article on the 1st House, and it is now time to further explain some very important, specific information on what a dominant natal personality trait really is.
Instead of simply referring to the rising sign, also known as the ascendant, one can truly talk about a “complex” of natal influences which makes up the dominant features of a person’s individuality. The analysis of this complex must be done in a global and nuanced manner so as to be as astute and precise as possible.
What is the Ascendant ?
The ascendant is the 1st house cusp. It is one of the four cardinal directions that marks a chart, along with the Descendant (the 7th house cusp, directly opposite), the Imum Coeli (the 4th house cusp, at a square), and the Midheaven (the 10th house cusp, at a square). Its eastern influence is extremely important in astrology, its determination in the east rising is astronomically irrefutable.
The ascendant represents one of the truly fundamental expressions of personality, just like the sun sign, for example. But these matters are complicated and many people conflate or do not understand the distinctions and subtle differences between the sun sign and the ascendant.
- The ascendant is the personality that is on display, the image that others perceive of our exterior, our appearance, our attitude, our everyday temperament, our primary driving force (what we do from day to day as we go about our lives). It represents the way in which we assert and establish ourselves in the world, and it is the seed of our soul that believes itself to be separate in the universe and different from others. It is also what we inherit from our ancestors, by the logical extension of their souls, and is thus the “baggage” with which we must navigate life and which we carry from the moment of our birth.
- The Sun sign is the realization of our fundamental, internal being, our future, our self-assertion, our individuality. It is our passion, our energy, our vitality, our radiance, our elevation, and our fulfillment. It gives life to your creations, your aspirations, your dreams, your dignity, and your authority, it forms your inner self, and it contributes to your incarnation (in this respect is it thus directly and fundamentally karmic, just like the Black Moon, the Lunar Nodes, and the transpersonal planets; therefore, they are all studied together as part of any astrological karmic study and analysis).
It is the primary expression of the Animus, logos, the male base, the man, the father, the husband, the leader…
It is the relationship of the sun sign with the ascendant that forms the “superior Self,” which is why we refer to a “complex of dominant features” and is also why some people who have conflicts between the ascendant and the sun sign run into real hardships in their daily life in expressing their personality, and thus on the path to their Individuation.
To help you to better understand the difference between the two :
- The sun is incorruptible and indestructible. It is the fundamental light that influences our personality, keeps us from cheating, and brings us back to the right path when we take the wrong one.
- The ascendant is the “negotiator” : it is in charge of reconciling the expression of the solar sign and the realities of daily life. It is the “actor” in the social theater. Sometimes it tries to cheat and bend to social norms, other times it tries to assert itself loudly and independently from others, but at some time or other it invariably needs to come back to a compromise with the sun.
The “complex” of the Ascendant
We can thus see that the ascendant is hard to get a good handle on. It should not be neglected in favor of the sun sign, and neither should its influence on the expression of the sun sign.
The most common mistake is to simply stop at the 1st house cusp and say, for example, “I am Taurus rising”.
Just as some people are not able to recognize themselves in their solar sign (see the article on recognizing yourself in your zodiac sign), there are also sometimes people who do not recognize themselves in their ascendant for the same reasons.
Instead of concentrating simply on the sign, it is important to analyze the overall configuration : in other words, the many factors that influence the ascendant and form a true “central complex” on which the structure of a person’s entire personality is based.
These various factors play a direct role in a person’s “Projection of self,” and for this reason they are quite dominant in one’s psychological equilibrium.
If a person is not able to externalize and easily express these energies, an all-encompassing tension takes hold, causing feelings of incompleteness, frustration, repression, boredom, existential emptiness, or uselessness in a social setting.
The “complex” of the ascendant is thus mainly determined by :
- the sign of the 1st House cusp, its element, the entire house and its second rulers, and the planets that are present there
- the ruling planet of the rising sign (see Rulerships), its sign, and its house
- by analogy, the sign of Aries and the planet Mars
- by extension of the 1st house, the Fire triangle with the 5th House and 9th House and the planets that are present there
- The aspects formed by all of these different points
Definition and explanation of the “complex of the Ascendant”
It is thus this entire array that makes up a person’s personality as seen through the eyes of the rest of the world, which is an important part of our ego. This complex represents an enormous and powerful potential for energy that remains active and changing all throughout life. It gives its vitality to one’s physical body, and so it may also cause physical weakness (depending on a person’s birth chart or on Transits and Progressions, it often has a direct impact on health). Its astrological elements define one’s dominant character (ancient astrologers talked about choleric, phlegmatic, sanguine, or melancholic tendencies in relation to the classical elements and in reference to the theory of the 4 temperaments by greek physician Hippocrates).
The complex of the ascendant is thus not a person’s entire personality, but rather the image of them that others perceive directly : their temperament (one of the features of a catalyst that you can embody). How free and complete you feel is directly related to how much you express this part of yourself.
It is a question of the first impression that you give off, established through your various personal attributes, which sometimes contradict certain karmic dispositions that are housed more deeply.
The complex determines all of the different existential dimensions that are involved, harmoniously or in dissonance, in the expression of one’s personal energies. At the same time, the person may switch between highlighting different dispositions over the course of their life, prioritizing different parts of this complex depending on their phase of life.
The ascendant —and the entire complex— is thus a self-projection. It determines how someone integrates socially into the outside world, how their energy naturally circulates, and how they use their energy and their inherited characteristics. Thus, by definition, it determines their entire primary approach to life. As a result, you could say that this complex largely determines a person’s destiny. Anything related to social relationships is influenced by the sensitivity of the ascendant complex.
The complex generally affects the dominant characteristics of one’s attitude towards life, which generally determine a large number of experiences in their life story : we usher in that which we express.
Our attitude towards ourselves is inseparable from our attitude towards life in general. Thus, the different parts of the complex symbolize the fundamental qualities of our deepest sense of self just as much as they reveal our general approach to life.
The ascendant is often a life preserver or a mask behind which we can hide when we are threatened, and that acts a bit like a fuse for the sun sign or a “joker” : at the slightest scare we take refuge in this ground state, since it gives us some stability and we can easily bring it forward, or even “show it off”.
On the other hand, during a serious crisis or during a lapse in the ascendant’s social competence, the underlying sun sign always takes the reins and takes control of the personality.
Analysis of the “complex of the Ascendant”
Rather than concentrating only on the sign, it important to consider the configuration of the complex, the significance of the planets that are involved, and the exchanges that those planets make with each other.
It is also important to synthesize all of the different elements involved in order to understand what is coming out in the person’s personality and how that person is experiencing those elements.
There are no bad or good configurations : every single one can be creative and productive. It is important to remember though that the elements directly connected to the ascendant are amplified and may modify the rest of the configuration.
Certain factors connected to the ascendant may have a more significant impact depending on how they fit in with the rest of the chart. These factors thus symbolize very distinctive tendencies that the person might have and dominant expressions of their energies.
The personal planets also have their own relationship to the expression of individuality. They represent the very direct expression of the energies that the person is aware of, and so they have a direct impact on a day to day basis. They also allow more readily for a change in personality, and thus a change in the entire chart, when the understanding of these planets shifts.
Visualization techniques can be helpful in truly understanding the different elements that make up the complex of personality.
Any tight aspect of transit with one of the points of the complex thus directly affects one’s expression of individuality and may lead to either effervescence and energy or an “internal divide” that creates underlying tension, oppression, or inhibition.
In Synastry, the aspects formed by the ascendant and its complex with the planets or nerve centers of the other chart are of the utmost importance, especially if the planets involved are personal or are also involved in the determination of dominant features of the birth chart.
