Hello dear readers!
(By the way, this material is copyrighted by M. Kirby Moore. Please do not reproduce this work in any way without his permission. Thank you!)
This is a post about Spiritual Astrology (Yay! Finally! I have been discussing massage school a lot for the past ten weeks, and here is a post purely about an astrological concept).
I must begin with recommending that before you read on, please take several deep breaths… I want you to listen to this guided meditation to connect with your internal resources:
Having established some inner resources – specifically the Feet, Seat, Breath meditation, now it is appropriate to go on. I want people to have at least a bit of inner resources before reading on.
I had a great conversation with a gentleman from England recently and we got to talking about the Ascendant and why it has to do with new beginnings. In Timing Astrology, the Progressed chart (secondary progressions) shows how we shift and change from within. It is a very slow gradual process of growth and development which has some uncanny accuracy and parallels.
In this Progressed chat, whenever a planet is crossing the natal Ascendant, that can indicate a major shift or change is coming very soon. In fact, that is one way to rectify the birth time – if the Progressed Moon crosses the Ascendant and during that 3 month window, nothing is really shifting, there are no fresh starts, there is no impetus to make major changes, then the b/t might be off!
This is also true if the Progressed Sun crosses the Ascendant (which is much more rare than the Pr. Moon crossing it), this will also indicate large scale shifts as we move from the behind-the-scenes-psychic-dreamy-nebulous-shadowy-12th-house to the pioneering, adventuresome, more impulsive and more self-directed 1st house. In this case, the window of growth and change would easily be 3-5 years as the Pr. Sun only moves one degree per year. So again, if nothing occurred in that 3-5 year window, I would be very suspicious of that birth time.
As an aside, another way to rectify the birth chart is with the Progressed Ascendant. Let’s say someone has Uranus in their 2nd house. Somewhere in their 30’s or 40’s, the Pr Asc. would cross their Uranus. This is usually a major event! Sometime big and surprising nearly always comes about – it might be challenging or beneficial (depending on Uranus’ aspects in the natal chart, the house that Uranus rules – see where Aquarius is located – other beneficial transits at the time – look at Tr Jupiter or Pr Venus etc, etc), but it would always be a significant event and it is nearly always surprising and happens quick! If nothing like that happens during the 1 – 2 year window of Pr. Ascendant crossing Uranus, again, be very suspicious of that birth time – or be on the lookout for when that event happens! That will show how far off the birth time is.
Back to the main topic – the Natal Ascendant. Why this is a major indicator of new beginnings, fresh starts and rebirths? Whether new vehicles – cars or spiritual vehicles, new relationships (major Ascendant / Descendant association) or new directions in life, the Natal Ascendant often plays a large role in changes and new cycles.
I believe that one reason for this is due to the Natal Ascendant having so much to do with the actual conditions around the time of birth. And what is so important about our being born? Only one of the most important transitions and re-births of our lives! At that point, our astrology chart is set, we take our first breath as an air-breathing human, we literally have the cord cut from our mothers, we have often already decided at that point whether the world is a safe abundant loving place or not.
By the way, I am planning to teach Pre- and Perinatal Astrology and I will go into this concept very thoroughly in that setting. This is just a teaser for my planned upcoming classes! 🙂
What does it mean that the Ascendant has to do with the time of birth? Here is an example, which I share with a caveat – Astrology is a complex topic to begin with, and then trying to predict what an aspect configuration will mean for someone in terms of their birth… well, it is nearly impossible: for instance Neptune conjunct the Ascendant can mean that significant amounts of pain meds were used in the birth such that energetic connection between mother and baby was disrupted and depending on what else is happening in that chart, that disruption might take years to repair (most new parents don’t know all the psycho-spiritual-emotional needs of babies and then how to repair them if interruption occurs). In this example, in addition to Neptune on the Ascendant, if other planets are there as well, then that can add yet another flavor to the birth dynamics. (It is very complicated!)
Why is the time of birth so important? In addition to the above, the manner of the birth and the manner of being welcomed into the world greatly influences our thoughts about how we grow our body. Think about the cultures that plan to receive a new spirit for a couple years, meditating for the song of the new individual, and then having the entire village sing their song when they are born. What would that be like? How would I have grown my body if I had been welcomed like that?!
As you can see, the Astrology Ascendant is quite an important section of the chart. Not only does it lay down the template for the rest of the chart (the astrological houses), but it also plays a roles in cycles of time – birth, re-birth, new beginnings and completions. It has a lot to do with our personalities, our relationships and our inherited health (for instance the beliefs, thought patterns, paradigms that affect our health over time).
And for Pre- and Perinatal Astrology, the Ascendant is a crucial area to cover. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
~km
