The Ascendent can be hard to grasp. I struggled for a long time before I really understood it. I read the traditional explanations such as it is the car you drive and the style of glasses you wear. One day, it kind of clicked in, after doing many, many charts.
If one really wants to learn Astrology, one needs to jump in and do charts. Your friends will love you. You will get lots of warm fuzzies in appreciation and you will learn to hone your craft. If you are reading this, I assume you love Astrology.
At any rate, let’s get to our subject, which is the ASC. One’s ASC is a veneer, in a sense. The “in a sense ” part is what makes it confusing but I will try to explain. I am a Libra ASC. I like to make harmony out of a situation. If there is an argument, I like to meet in the middle. I like to be gracious. I like to be soft spoken and refined. All these are Libra traits. However, this part of me is what you see in very superficial encounters such as a party or meeting people for the first time. One is not faking whom one is when one shows one’s ASC. It is just one’s outer self. This includes looks, mannerisms, ways of approaching other people and ways of dealing with situations.
I will give a very brief description of each ASC and then we will talk about some Asteroids conjunct the ASC and other planets making aspects to the ASC.
Aries –Looks like a go getter. Looks like he would stand up for himself. Has an assertive vibe about him. He may have red hair or a ruddy appearance.
Taurus–May look bull or cow like. He may have broad shoulders, as in a football player. He will seem as if he is very grounded on the earth, as if it is a comfortable place for him and he fits in his earth suit.
Gemini-–Gemini ASC looks like an imp. He will look like he is up to mischief. We all know people who look like they are one step away from a practical joke. That is the Gemini look. He will have a look of intelligence about him, too. The Gemini ASC hands may be lovely. His body may be tall and slim.
Cancer–This is my fave ASC in a guy. I like a guy with a touch of girl. Cancer ASC is the ultimate warm fuzzy. He will look baby faced. He will like homey touches like candles and home made food. He may love to cook. There will be the loveliest of feminine vibes in the men. They do all this and do not lose their masculinity. Quite a feat.
Leo– Leo ASC looks like a lion. Think of Farrah Fawcett and Robert Redford. This ASC loves to be the center of attention. He loves the spotlight. He is a great storyteller. He may be a wonderful teacher or pastor. Both of these fields need a bit of theatrical flair to keep the students and the congregation awake. Leo ASC is your man!
Virgo–This ASC looks “clean”. It is hard to describe what I mean. They look like they just came out of the shower and if you got close, the most delicious body wash would waft from their bodies. There is a sense of the pristine about them. You may need to study the Virgo ASC to come to understand what I mean because it is subtle
Libra -This is the most classically beautiful ASC. This ASC has balanced features more than any other ASC. There will be a sense of a sunny harmony, such as the girl next door. When I think of Libra ASC, I think of Doris Day and I think she has one.
Scorpio–This ASC looks mysterious. One will not know what he is thinking. He will have that Al Pacino in the first” Godfather” look. It could be called inscrutable.That would be a good word for the eyes that look outward but reveal nothing.
Saggi-– This ASC looks graceful as if he was made to be an athlete. Princess Di had it. She wanted to be a dancer. She moved with the grace of a dancer. The Saggi ASC will be similar. They make look horse like, as well. To me, Beyonce looks like a horse, in the best sense of the word, because I think she is gorgeous. Saggi ASC have the look of a horse, as do Taurus ASC have the look of a cow and Leo ASC, the look of a lion.
Capricorn--This ASC has a classic bony appearance. It may be elegant high cheekbones. It may be a beak like nose or just a sense that the person has an older than his years appearance. This ASC is the quintessential old man or old woman child. This ASC may look like the proverbial child who sits longingly at the window watching the other children play but cannot force himself to join in for fear of rejection. Life is a serious business for the Cappy ASC.
One of my favorite musicians carries this ASC like a dreamboat—-Tom Petty. You can see the classic Cappy angular bone structure. For him, when one adds his Libra Sun conj Venus, you can see the blending of that balanced, beautiful Libra Sun and Venus with the rather harsh Cappy ASC to produce a fascinating blend.
Aqua –This Asc may have a high forehead.The face seems to be rather long and thin. It does not seem to have high cheek bones but more of a flat look but that may be just my experience. I would be interested in what you think.
Pisces–This ASC looks soulful. It looks as if the depths of the sea are in the eyes of the native. This ASC appears to be a dream person who is a creature of the mystical, next dimension.
Asteroids Conjunct the ASC
Asteroids will personalize any ASC. We can run the gamut from erotic(Eros), worshiped by others(Apollo), abusive(Nessus), the victim( Dejanira), betrayed by men(Sedna), refined eroticism( Sappho) and many more. It will be worth your while to find the Asteroids that conjunct your ASC. They will tell you your story. You will play it out because the ASC is our personal stage.
Aspects to the ASC
Aspects to the ASC are important and overlooked. Each planet represents a sphere of life. The ASC represents our walk through life. The planets which touch the ASC will aid or hinder this walk through life. Let me explain. I have Moon conj the MC. I can show my heart to the world. The Moon is one’s heart. However, I have Moon SQUARE the ASC. I struggle to show my emotions in my real life. I feel afraid and I feel insecure. I doubt myself. Hence, one can see the Moon square ASC play out in just the few above lines.
Lets take some other examples. Venus conjunct the ASC confers grace and beauty of the native. Venus trine the ASC does the same. Venus square the ASC may make it hard for the native to show love in his life. The square hinders and inhibit what it touches. The square makes for a struggle. I think it is a locked in struggle that will not change. One must work around it.
The Sun conjunct the ASC gives ego strength and confidence. The Sun trine the ASC does the same. However, the Sun square the ASC makes for a person who struggles to be confident in his daily life. The opposition makes for a person who goes back and forth in a see-saw kind of way. He may be confident one day and pulling back and hiding under the bed the next.
Mars conjunct the ASC makes for an assertive person. The trine does the same. However, the square makes for someone who is afraid to be assertive. The opposition makes a see-saw effect as shown in the previous example.
If you would like me to write more on planets aspecting the ASC, I will. I hope you have learned something from this article and I look forward to your comments about your own ASC!
virgo here
Aww You have a Virgo ASC, Moonie. I did not know that.
Yeah, the only “factor” which keeps me grounded! with all the Fiery Fires.
Interesting, Moonie. Are you an earth void except for the ASC?
No Ami, I have planets in all elements.
Fire: 4
Air: 3
Water: 2
Earth: 1 (Jupiter)
I see, Moonie but you are low in earth because no personal planets in earth.
I’m also a Virgo rising. I HATE being dirty(LOL).
LOL
Yes, and also incredibly analytical and I take notice of things that others don’t. Whether it be my surroundings or someone’s expression. Actually, a lot of the time I wish that I could be more oblivious.(a natural born detective, I am).
Unaspected Moon prolly rules your chart, Lesley. I mean, in terms of trumps it, not the chart ruler. What is your ASC?
I am a late Virgo ascendant (26deg), so most of my first house falls into my Unaspected Moon in Libra. My Moon rules my Cancer Sun. So Yeah, I do believe that is correct. The sensitivity, man, it’s a killer! Today’s world doesn’t allow for such sensitive feelings. But, it can bring someone a lot of insight that others may not have access to. (more Moon than Mercury)
Yes xxx
Yes xxx
Yes, same here, I was speaking about the same with my fiance, and she has a Virgo Rising as well.
Two Virgo Risings. You will not have a pig sty house :/
I have 16 degrees pisces rising with the following aspects:
Mars trine ascendant (2 degrees)
Sun opposite ascendant (3 degrees)
Venus bi-quintile ascendant (0 degrees)
Moon inconjunct ascendant (2 degrees)
What does it mean?
Thanks xx
I thoroughly enjoyed your article :), and I myself am a Sagittarius Ascendant conjuncting my Moon which is also Sagittarius, both are in the Leo Decan as well, so how exciting 🙂 hahah! I was wondering what you thought of the True node conjuncting the Midheaven. Would it give similar attributes as the moon would? My MC and True Node are in Virgo, then Mercury and Saturn which are in my 5th house and in Aries both trine my MC. Pluto also squares my MC. What I am interested in is the inconjunctions/quincux aspects as I have Neptune inconjuncting my MC. As for my Ascendant my Sun and Mars inconjunct it. What sort of impact do you believe this would create? I have always found it hard to find an interprentation of an invonjunction aspect, so I am looking forward to hearing what you think about them. Thank you very much 🙂
Welcome Luke and thank you. You are a very open person with a natural joy which I can feel here! Saggi ASC conj the Moon in the Leo Decan as well, will do yhat. The NN conj the MC would make your purpose be one that is visible to society and/or in your career. Merc and Saturn trine the MC in the 5th would make your mind and your discipline able to help you in getting your purpose achieved.
The inconjunct would make for a struggle in what it touched BUT it will change you into a new person as a result of the struggle. For example, with Nep inconj the MC, your imagination may be a struggle to use for your career. You may push aside that part of you but the inconj will force you to add it. If your Sun, and Mars inconj the MC, your ego and your drive may not want to come easily to your purpose. You will have a grand struggle but you can prevail and be a new person. This new person will be unexpected to you. You will transform. That is the nature of the inconj.
Thank you very much :), sometimes I feel like I am too open hahah but people seem to enjoy my personality, so I would think I’m not doing anything wrong :). So basically the inconjunction with Neptune and my MC I perhaps may have to become a different person in my career, or my imagination of how it may have been may be much different than I have expected? I have read people with MC and Neptune Aspects tend to dream of having the American Dream, and can perhaps believe they could be anything if they put their mind to it. My Sun and Mars don’t inconjunct my MC :). My Sun and Mars are in Taurus and in the 6th house and they both inconjunct my Ascendant as well as my Moon I believe. I sometimes see it as if perhaps I don’t feel confident expressing my Sun through my ascendant but I’m not really sure.
capricorn ascendant with neptune and uranus in 1st house~!
i do take life and work matters seriously, but i spare my time for having fun as well.
aside of looking so serious, at times i look unguarded (innocent, bit naive, sometimes daydreaming, bit too trusting) and do turn heads (idk but people says i’m different and stands out haha)
by the way i enjoy your articles, thanks for sharing and nice to meet you! (:
I have seen some people who always appear to look serious and they usually have Saturn in the first house. There is one teacher at my school who lolls almost kind of scary and mean when you look at her, but when you talk to her she is really nice :).
Scorpio Rising with Pluto in the 1st house.
Pluto Conjunction AS 0°29′
Jupiter Opposite AS 5°49′
Neptune Sextile AS 1°17′
Sun Inconjunction AS 2°10′
Mercury SesquiQuadrate AS 0°30′
Chiron sesquiquadrate AS
Pallas square AS
Nessus sextile AS [No! Am I abusive to people?!]
Orcus square AS
Sedna opposition AS
Galactic Center semisquare AS
asteroids within 1 degree:
AS conjunct Ceto
AS trine Eurydike
AS square Alice
AS trine Amenhotep
AS square Babel
AS square Gross [NOOOO am I GROSS?? I should have never typed in that asteroid number lol]
AS sextile Seraphina
AS square Rhiannon
I think….my ascendant makes me come off as a very off putting person?
Thank you so much for doing this series. I love your blog and have been browsing it all day!!
Sorry to bombard you with comments, it’s just that out of all the astrology websites I have found I feel like you explain things a lot simpler than most. I also enjoy all of your little personality tests ^_^ thank you so much for taking the time to make a blog where we can all learn from each other.
-melissa
Aww Thanks so much for your kind words, Trinka, and Welcome ! I could not answer all those as it would take me days lol However, You are welcome to post your chart in my Forum and ask your questions. I discuss the charts with people for as long as they have questions and I am so glad you are on my site.
Melissa dear
If you posted your chart on my Forum, I could give you a better reading.This list would take me days to discuss lol I will be delighted to look at your chart on my Forum and answer your questions and discuss them, as long as you would like!
Thank you so much! I am going to join and post now ^_^
I look forward to it, Melissa!
Could you perhaps post more articles about aspects to the ascendant and perhaps include quincux please :). Is a quincux similar to a conjunction aspect? My sun and Mars Quincux my ascendant, and then I have other aspects with mercury, Saturn, Jupiter and the moon.
Sure, Luke. Thanks for the request. I love these!