What Makes You Stand Up For Yourself?

You could ask it the other way, “What makes you be a wimp and not stand up for yourself?” To stand up for oneself, one needs a healthy ego. The Sun is the ego. One of the worst things that can happen to the Sun is to have it conjunct Saturn. This is a massive dose of self doubt. The person’s father, usually, was oppressively strict and authoritarian. The result was huge self doubt and insecurity.

We have another hard situation but very different than the above. That would be Neptune conjunct the Sun. In this case, the person finds it very hard to have a solid identity.This aspect is known for addictions. It is classic for a drug addict or alcoholic. Neptune dissolves what it touches. When it touches the Sun in a conjunction, the ego can dissolve. This can be very painful. Addictions can numb out pain. That is what they are there for, really. Hence, the classic sign of the addict is Sun conjunct Neptune.

Keeping with our article, both of the above aspects would have a hard time standing up for themselves. The former would have too much self doubt. The latter would feel he did not have enough identity to defend.

Pluto is the planet of power. A well placed Pluto is a person who stands up for himself. The classic “strong person” has Pluto in the first house. This person vibes strength and authority. I call this the “cop stopping you for a ticket” position. You feel the cop’s power as he walks to your car. There is no doubt who is boss and it is not you. Picture this scenario when you want to understand Pluto in the first house.

One of my most beloved clients is a professor. She has Pluto in the First House. Her students respect her authority. All positions of authority could use a Pluto in the First House.Not all people in positions of authority have Pluto in the First House. There are other ways that Pluto can make a person strong. Pluto is primal power. Think of a lion roaming the veld. No one messes with him. He is all magnificent cat power. He is the king. He knows is, as do all others. He does not think. He pounces. He does not waver. He acts. If anything in the chart could be pure strength, it would be Pluto.

Pluto conjunct the MC is a power position. People do not mess with this person.This person is like the cop in the above example. However, this person would be more of a power figure in his career. Both the ASC and MC positions are a strong person but the place in which this strength shows would be different.The ASC person would walk through regular life with the stride of a power house. The MC person would do so in his career and his position in society. Both are strong people. Both are blessed with a natural strength to which others envy.

Now, let’s look at Pluto conjunct the IC and DSC. These are not powerful positions but weak positions, in my opinion.Pluto conjunct the DSC is a classic position for a person who gives up her power. We could call her a co-dependent. She looks for power in the partner. What is conjunct the DSC will be sought in the partner. This is just what happens to planets that conjunct the DSC.

Pluto conjunct the IC is a person who had a very shaky early home. One does not want Pluto in the house of the childhood home, the 4th house. This makes for a very tumultuous early life. This is not the person’s fault, as are any of the chart placements. However, one has to try to work with what one has. That is a general chart rule, one could say. Only God knows why we get the chart we do. I have an easy chart but feel my life was not easy, so I can’t quite figure out that one, either.

Pluto conjunct the Sun makes for a strong person, too. My favorite aunt has Pluto conjunct the Sun in the fourth house. She was a powerhouse champion for children. No one could hurt a child when she was around. Her children were all wonderful people and tops in their careers. They were truly blessed with the devotion of a mother with this aspect.

Moon conjunct Pluto does not confer the personal strength, in this way. It makes one’s emotions too tumultuous. One’s relationship with one’s own mother may have been too close and too oppressive.

Venus conjunct Pluto weakens one, rather than strengthens one. It makes one toooo obsessed when it comes to love. Love overtakes the person in a crazy way. This would be the proverbial person who could not eat, sleep or drink when he was in love. This is a sad one, to me.

We have barely scratched the surface of the subject and we have just begun. That happens in Astrology because there is so much to say. I think the classic HOUSE position which could not stand up for himself would be 12th House.The 12th House is the House of suppression. Suppression is a turning inward of the self. Picture a time when you felt really humiliated, Maybe, you were a child and other kids were bullying you, Maybe, you were surrounded by bullies. You wanted to die. You wanted the earth to open up and swallow you. You just hurt. You hurt badly and you didn’t know how to escape. That is how 12th House planets feel. For any planet which finds itself in the 12th House, it will struggle badly to find expression. It will be a weenie. It will be a wimp. It will quiver and shake if it needs to stand up and be counted. It will do most anything to pull into the darkness and not make a mark, anywhere. Think of this when you see 12th house planets. They are very hard.

I don’t have 12th House planets but I have a heart for those who do. I understand that terrible feeling of wanting the floor to open up and swallow one. I suppose it is shame. I suppose it is feeling that one does not deserve a place on this earth. It hurts as badly as about anything. I feel the 12th House as this kind of feeling. It is the feeling that one feels he cannot act, even though he wants to. He feels lost in the fog. He feels lost to himself. He feels lost to know how to act. He resigns himself to inaction. This pain is the pain of the 12th House, in my opinion. If you have 12th House planets, please comment because I will defer to you!

I just saw a chart with Chiron conjunct the ASC. This is a sign of severe bullying, My conclusion is that people cannot stand to see pain. They will pick at a person who shows pain like chickens will pluck a bloody chicken to death. Is this really true? I should ask my friend who has chickens in his backyard. It may be an old wives tale. However, people will bully a Chiron conjunct the ASC. This is evidence of man’s fallen human nature *Sigh* What can one say? These people would have a hard time standing up for themselves because they were indoctrinated to be bullied. Chiron conjunct the ASC is the worst place for Chiron, in my opinion. Chiron is hard anyplace you put it but Chiron conj the ASC amps it up many notches.

I was going to take a bite of steak and I bit off a whole cow. I want to get back to Houses, for a bit. A stellium is three or more planets in a House or sign. Certain House stelliums will stand up for themselves. Certain ones will not. Lets look at a few. The classic House stellium which would not stand up for himself would be the 12th House stellium. We talked about this, so I will not elaborate further. The second stellium which would not stand up for himself would be the 7th House stellium. This stellium is focused on a partner. It is just how this stellium is made. This stellium would sacrifice for the partner to the exclusion of his own needs.

Certain House stelliums would be assertive.The one that comes to mind is the First House stellium. This person will be the first to stand up. However, she has to watch that she does not get SO self centered that she is a turn off to others. This stellium tends to be more self centered than any other However, if you need someone to help fight your battles, a First House stellium will be the one to choose. As with all things, the key to the yin and the yang is balance. Balance is what is very hard for the human. Hence, we have most of our dilemmas.

A tenth house Stellium is a strong person, too. This is because the Tenth House rules career and society. This person will usually have to learn to stand up if he is to be successful in a career. He is usually successful in a career. hence, he has become an assertive person in the process.

A Ninth house stellium gives an intellectual strength. One will know that one can study what one wants and succeed but it may not translate to personal strength. This would be the case with many other House Stelliums. The Second House stellium would be good with affairs of the material world but may not have personal strength. The person with the Third House stellium may be a good communicator but not have personal strength. The person with the Fifth House stellium may be creative and a super star when it comes to romance but not have personal strength. The person with the Sixth house Stellium may be a wonderful worker and a devoted friend but may not have personal strength. The person with the Eleventh House stellium may be a superstar in groups but may not have personal strength. I hope that gave you a brief idea about stelliums and how they can play out.

Before we conclude this article, let’s look at the chart shape. If the planets are on the top half, the person will be an extrovert. if the planets are on the bottom, the person will be an introvert. An extrovert can stand up for himself much easier than an introvert.

As I scan this article, I realize that I just scratched the surface. However, I will end here, so that this article does not get too cumbersome for one to read. I have gotten some lovely Comments that made my day. I look forward to your Comments a great deal. Please, keep them coming!