This article was sparked from the question of one of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen, Dan. He asked me if/where the Ego could be seen in the natal chart. I attempted to answer him and then thought that I should write an article. This is my attempt to answer that question.
When Dan posed the question to me, one thought hit me. It was the Combust. The Combust refers to Mercury conjunct the Sun at 5 degrees or less. The Cazimi is exact up to 3 degrees. It is noteworthy that there is a name for this phenomenon. It is a true phenomenon. It controls the natal chart.
It controls the chart the way a person with a deformity may be controlled by the deformity. It colors their world. If one has a huge port wine stain on one’s face, one will approach the world through that lens. The world will approach one through that lens, as well. Hence, one is defined, to a large extent by that deformity, to use the word lightly.Each person has a lens. The chart is the lens through which one sees the world. Think about that for a bit before you jump to criticize me.
I will get back to the Combust and the Cazimi. The Conjunction is a blessing and a positive, positive aspect. The Conjunction is a 6 -10 degree conjunction of Mercury and the Sun. It confers intelligence. I have this in Gemini. Many people have the conjunction. It is not rare. However, the Combust and the Cazimi are maleficent. I will get into trouble using words like these but people have to learn somewhere and many Astrologers won’t say things straight out, so I teach the way I want to learn.
At any rate, with the Cazimi and the Combust, the Sun, which represents the ego, burns up Mercury, which represents the mind. That is what is happening, energetically. The degrees are KEY. In most things in Astrology, every degree matters. With the Combust and the Cazimi, every degree Matters, Matters, Matters. It is a horse of a different color with just a one degree difference.
So, to get back to the question of Ego in the chart, one must look at the Sun, first of all. The Sun is the most important part of any chart. Just as the Sun is at the center of the solar system, the Sun is at the center of every man. That is why one can pick out Sun signs. One must see if the Sun is helped or hindered. One can do this by assessing the aspects from other planets, asteroids and angles( ASC, MC, IC and DSC) to the Sun. Houses play a role, too.
Let me give an example. If one has a strong Sun, one may have trines to powerful planets like Pluto or Mars. One may have the Sun conjunct the ASC or MC which gives a natural confidence. One may have the Sun conjunct powerful asteroids like Europa, which give glamor and shine. One may have the Sun conjunct powerful Fixed Stars like Betelgeuse or Aldebaran, which give powerful blessings if one has the integrity to take them.
On the other hand, one’s sense of self( Ego) will be assaulted if one has close conjunctions to Saturn. These confer self doubt. If one has a close conjunction to Chiron, one’s father was a source of great pain. One carries this pain in a deep way. It effects one’s sense of self. Again, degree is very, very important.
Once I open this subject, I see that I am going places I did not foresee. Chiron is a misunderstood and under utilized planet by many Astrologers. I have seen Chiron conjunct the ASC result in severe bullying in all cases. Hence, the native would have a life colored by this. Bullying seems to last with a person until death. The scars remain when the person is grown. They are deep scars.
Chiron conjunct the MC seems to be a bit easier than Chiron conjunct the ASC,but just a bit. With this native, his pain is shown to the world. One of my friends has a classic manifestation of this in that he is very obese. He has Chiron conj the Moon, as well as the ASC. As a young, vital man, he had to give up his life to take care of a bed ridden mother. He was a football player and a crazy kind of guy in the best of ways, a Leo. I think that the pain of all of this was too much and he turned the guilt inward with the eating issues. At any rate, the MC placement made it able to be seen by the world.
The human ego is a fragile thing. Some charts are easier than others. Some people are born with more natural self confidence than others. The chart shows all of this. It takes the Astrologer to weight all the aspects and come up with the native as a 3 D person. This is the hardest part.
We have talked about the Sun. We have talked about Chiron on pivotal angles( ASC and the MC). Now, let’s talk about the Moon, a bit. The Moon is not the ego, per se. It is one’s deepest heart. However, if one’s deepest heart is in torment, one will not be self confident. Hence, let’s talk about what makes strong emotions in which we can trust and what makes a fragmented person.
If we have an abuse asteroid such as Dejanira conjunct the Moon, we have an abused person, in every case I have seen. All but one had Borderline Personality Disorder. The one had severe sexual and emotional abuse.Hence, it goes without saying that such an assault on the emotions would fragment the ego, as well. I am thinking of other abuse asteroids such as Sedna, which is severe betrayal by men and Medusa, which is betrayal by women and hatred of men. There are a plethora of possible asteroids that could conjunct the Moon and fragment it. I will not detail them here, for purposes of time.
On the other hand, some asteroids strengthen the Moon. These would be any of the love asteroids such as Amor( pure love), Ceres( the unconditional love of a mother), Vesta( sacrificial service), Juno( loyalty and devotion) and Pallas( wisdom in the manner of a wise elder in a tribe) If the heart is strengthened, the ego will follow.
I realized I forgot an important factor for self confidence. It is not a planet but an element. It is the element of fire. Fire gives warmth. It gives optimism and it gives joy and a hopeful feeling for the future. Conversely, the Fire Voids struggle with these things. Hence, a good amount of fire is a natural ego booster.
Back to planets. One can begin to see the interplay between parts of the chart. This is always the case and what separates the novice Astrologers from the masters. There are few masters but many humble students, such as myself, who have the passion to plumb the charts and try to unearth their riches. I said, back to planets, and here we go.
If we have one House which dissolves ego, it is the 12th House. The 12th house is one of the hardest factors in the natal chart. Lets say that right off the bat. Any planet that lands in the 12th house will struggle, struggle, struggle to express itself. Any planet that lands in the 12th will lose a sense of confidence in this material world, in which we all live. YES, the person may be more spiritual but he will also have some self esteem issues in the here and now. If a planet is within 10 degrees of the ASC, I do not count it as 12th House. I count it as 1st house. So, please note that when you do charts. This is a commonly accepted stance of many Astrologers.
The 8th house can repress planets but does not suppress them as does the 12th house. Hence, the 8th House native is known to mature late.This may effect self esteem for a time, but not forever.
Mars is drive. If one has a fancy, BMW Mars, one would have more natural self confidence that if one had a clunker Mars. A confident Mars would be Scorpio. A clunker Mars would be Cancer. The Mars in Cancer will have more insecurity to go after goals than a Mars in Scorpio.One gets confidence when one achieves one’s goals, so we must add Mars here, to the mix.
Venus is the planet of love. I find that Venus in Scorpio seems to take away confidence. I am hiding under the bed for all those who want to throw tomatoes at me. I find that these natives harbor the sentiment that they are oversexed. They do not tell others, for the most part. I, as an Astrologer and a Counselor, am privy to secrets. Hence, when I have had enough people tell me the same thing, I start to form a theory on it. This is the case for Venus in Scorpio. Hence, this Venus may lead to some insecurity, at least in this matter.
Once again, I come to the end and could go on forever. I don’t like to make my articles so long that one gets to the end with a sigh of relief. I like to keep you coming back for more, so shall say goodbye until we meet again 😀
Hi Ami, My ascendant is at 26Virgo and Pluto is at 5deg Virgo in the 12th. Would you consider this to be a 1st house placement, as there is an 8deg orb? Would this be more beneficial to my chart than having Pluto in the difficult 12th house?
Yes, Lesley. A Pluto conj the ASC is worlds easier than a Pluto in the 12th. The orb would be way too wide in this case, though, and you have a 12th house Pluto for sure, my Friend.
That’s what I thought. CRAP!!!
Yes LOL You are w wild thing but it is hidden 😀
I know. But will it ever come out?????(LOL)
Good question, Les. Jesus can help you face it xx
OR, is it a 21deg orb. I didn’t think of that!!
Never knew that…this means I have these planets in the 12th as well as the First? The Ruler of my First house is in the 12th I think???
666 Desdemona Scorpio 13/21
Presephone Scorpio 14 degrees –W look at to see and discover for ourselves where we feel taken captive and where we feel we have not been allowed to be ourselves. It is where we give our power away to others, or it was taken from us by force. It is where we ask others we consider more powerful than we are to make our decisions for us and take care of us. In essence it is where we hoodwink oursefes and allow ourselves to be taken underground. (In the 12th house- We may make ourselves prisoners of our own unconscious thoughts and fears.)
First House: If Persephone shows up in the first house of your chart, you may feel as if your basic personality, which is ruled by the First House, was never allowed free expression. Perhaps your parents were so dominating that they overpowered your sense of self and you never found out who you really are. When you aren’t allowed to feel your own feelings or think for yourself, you end up as a false imitation of someone else. A tremendous sense of emptiness and lack of self-esteem follows that experience. Unless you can explore different avenues of expression and embark on your own life experiences, you may remain hidden and in the dark about that most important person, namely yourself.
There is no reason for us to wander around lost in our own landscape. We can reclaim ourselves and our natural power, be in charge of our lives, make our own choices, and we do not ever need to ask anyone’s permission to be ourselves. That is the gift of Persephone to us down through the ages; she reminds us that if we don’t make our own decisions, someone else will. And they may not be decisions we want, or agree with.
Once we realize that we can burst out of our captivity anytime we choose, we can bring any area of our existence that was taken over by another back to new life. We can have confidence that we can make decisions for ourselves, and once we act on them, we change our lives for the better at once.
Flora Scorpio 16/54 degrees- love/prostitution; Flora also represents our ability as creators, whether we give birth to children, ideas or inventions we are all creators and flora represent this energy of birthing. As the Goddess of spring any planets in aspect to Flora are blessed with this energy of growth and blossoming.
Kitty Scorpio 17/18 degrees – Might give a clue on how much a man rates women as “toys” – and how much a woman is exuding an “I’m your toy-thing” allure. Might stand for some sort of disrespect regarding women, just ridiculing them or not taking them seriously. Some macho-perspective in a way.
Iris Scorpio 19/13 degrees – Where you cannot succeed in lying. If you act sneaky, success in this area will be literally “put to sleep” until you learn to be more honest in your dealings. You can find your pot of gold but only if you act with a pure heart.
R.i.P. Scorpio 19/23 degrees
Ixion Scorpio 19/24 degrees – Associated with dark things like lust that goes out of control. Action with little thought or morality; suffering of one’s own making.
Quaoar Scorpio 19/55 degrees – I think that Quaoar shows the creation of new perspectives (good or bad). I think that Quaoar in the natal charts shows where/how you can create or be confronted with new realities. Quaoar is very small. Conjunct ascendant – you could be the one who sees the light at the end of the tunnel sooner than others do.
Venus Scorpio 20/12 degrees – Planet of LOVE and MONEY
Adonis Scorpio 20/58 degrees – yang symbol of vital natural powers expressed in cycles of fulfilment, decay, death and renewal – seems to relate to the cycle of life and death – may balance Pomona
— Spell bound love, sexual magnetism, the desire to arouse, please and fulfill the beloved. Potent tie.
Deprez Scorpio 21/34 degrees
Ascendant Scorpio 22 degrees
Thanks for all this info, T! xx
Pluto conj. ASC easy? I’ll have to respectfully disagree on that one!
You should read a book called “Planets In Aspect.” Also read the “A To Z
Horoscope Maker” for a description of Pluto in detriment.
I read a very good book about Planets in houses. The aurthor said that
the house a planet is in is MUCH MORE important then the sign.
He said that Pluto in the 1st, has a feeling that he must be contiunely on
guard to threats to his safety because of antaganism he might provoke in
others. People feel threatened because of the person’s intensity. They
might view him as unreliable or “seedy.”
The first house is how people see you. You have to compensate as best you
can. Understand that it’s not anything you are doing, it’s just how people see you.
There was a French phlospher who died in a car crash, Albert Camas. He said the
ultimate question we must all ask ourselves is whether life is worth living because
of all the unfairness and misery associated with it. The Apostle Paul said, “The
whole world groanith and travalith in pain, and not just the world, but even
Christians, waiting for the redemption of our bodies.” (To be changed into spirit.)
To live in the flesh is to long and suffer. We have to be misreable so we are
driven to find release from our misery. Accepting Jesus as Lord can make our
pain “tolorable,” but doesn’t take it away from us.
Well, Pluto in the 12th is much harder than Pluto in the 1st imo. I see Pluto in the 1st as a power position. The person will be seen and heard and for a leader, it is ideal. My professor has it and she commands her class. The downside is that they may feel they have to control too much. Do you agree, Lon?
What is the asteroid number for Ego? On the astro.com website, I see Egorov as 8450, but I don’t know if it is the same one. What is so hard about a 12th house Pluto? I have it, so I am honestly wondering. My poor son has his sun conjunct mercury in the 12th, and mars is on the cusp (depending on the house system, it could also be in the 12th).
What is the asteroid number for Ego? On the astro.com website, I see Egorov as 8450, but I don’t know if it is the same one. What is so hard about a 12th house Pluto? I have it, so I am honestly wondering. My poor son has his sun conjunct mercury in the 12th, and mars is on the cusp (depending on the house system, it could also be in the 12th).
There is no Ego asteroid, K dear. I meant the subject of ego. the 12th house Pluto takes the primal passions and hides them deep inside and can make people feel super guilty for them and they can come out in emotional/mental complexes imo
How close is your son’s Sun conj Mer, K?
Haha. Awesome. Emotional complexes. 🙂 My son’s Sun/Merc conjunction is loose. It’s a little less than 6 degrees, and it’s opposed by Uranus.
5-6 degrees Merc/Sun is not bad, K.
I was always a super anxious person. I got that from my parents.
They worked at cross purposes, and had contradictory views on every
topic. Thier marriage was like a prison sentence that neither one could
escape. Each one hoped the other would change out of “love.”
“If you can’t change for me, how can you say you love me?”
Of course, most people can’t even change for God, let alone another
human being, UNLESS God gives them the ability.
My father worked long hours, and had a very surly attitude. He felt unloved
and unappreciated. I would say they married to young. My mother was only 17.
She wasn’t particularly ambitious. I don’t know her entire chart, but she had
Sun in Pisces and Moon in Cancer. She couldn’t help but rub my father the
wrong way, who had the Sun and Moon in Virgo. Sun Virgo is critical enough, just
imagine Moon in Virgo as well. The man was a walking advertisement for O.C.D!
Extremely abrasive, and non-stop wineing compaints. A pity party that never
stopped. And shrill cutting critism. Unpleasent to say the least. Like Archie Bunker!
Linda, said “Archie Bunker” was a Taurus. I’ll have to disagree with that! Archie
Bunker was a Virgo! There must be a lot of them out there, that’s why it was such
a famous show.
My mother simply chose to keep secrets from my father because she knew
everything would devolve into an argument. She was very carefree, even lax
with discipline. That was my “irrational” father’s department. I was terrified to be
alone with him, even for small amounts of time. He couldn’t grasp it. He
though my reaction was MY problem. He thought my mother had his back. She
did not. The poor man was hopeless. He was a tireless worker with the Moon in
Virgo, but an obsessional one. Like Moon in Virgo, he was always uptight, and
needed something to do. The weekends were horrendous because he always
needed something to do, and someone to do it with. My mother was a night owl,
(To keep away from him?) and always slept very late in the morning 9 to 10am.
This enraged him. Everyone, was dumb, dirty, and LAZY except him.
BTW, I have a deterimental Pluto. That’s why it does me no good. You’ve really
got to read the descriptions of Pluto in in the 1st from pre-twenty first century
books to get a wider diversity of opinion about this placement. “The A to Z
Horoscope Maker,” would be a good place to start.
I bet dollars to donauts that you are muting my comments! You have
no reponse to the things I say anymore! Evidently that mental block of yours
has taken you over! But why don’t you just erase EVERYTHING I ever wrote?
Or maybe it’s ONLY me that can see it? And YOU claim to be a victim of
Gaslighting? Christian? Probably not! I think it was just a DO-IT-YOURSELF
CONVERSION. Well, I certainly get the message! This is my final day here!
Tomorrow is April fools. I have no firuther intention of being made a fool of
by a sociopathic fraud like you!
Lon dear
What is going on with you? I may not respond to every comment because I have been getting a lot of requests for chart answers on here and it takes me some time. I will try to respond to every comment, Lon dear. It was simply a matter of having a lot of comments, lately xxx
I am going to tell you something honestly, Lon. I think you are showing paranoia. I have done nothing but be kind to you.
i have sun combust mercury. i’m always told that i tend overthink, and often over really small matters. and yes, i’m subjective person. but with libra mc and north node, it makes me to start thinking about others’ well being as well (:
i have three planets in 12th house and moon in 8th house. i’m glad the moon is placed there because it’s under leo sign, and i don’t want my dramatic emotion to control myself completely (although it usually the one that moves me).
my chiron conjuncts my mc and squares my ac in 10th house. i don’t know what it means but well, hopefully i can manage it :<
How close is Chiron conj the MC? If it is close, I bet you felt you were not accepted in society for some reason. You felt like some sort of an outcast. People seem to be able to see your pain even though you wish they did not. This placement cannot hide it’s pain. It is one of the harder Chiron placements. What do you think, Stella?
Hi Ammian!
Lovely what you wrote here.
I have my sun conjuct saturn, and self steem never was my strong point, also I suffered bullying at school, for being chubby… What didn’t helps at all. About saturn conjuct sun and my parents, my mother always was hard to me, mainly in my childhood, what I think is a plus on it.
I have moon and venus in Scorpio, and self steem and confidence is very hard to achieve.
The stellium in the 8th house, I think didn’t help in self steem too, because I’m not a confident person, even with my pluto and my jupiter playing there too.
That’s really interesting as our chart can tell so much about us.
hugs,