Life Lessons from the Planets
Much is known about the Ascendant, that part of our chart which marks the moment we took our first breath. It’s how we meet the world, the qualities that others see when they first meet us. Yet there are other angles in the chart which also hold meaning. Opposite the Ascendant (AC) we have the Descendant (DC), which marks the beginning of our seventh house. The DC gives us clues as to how we meet others and begin to form relationships with them.
At the bottom of our chart, we have the Imum Coeli (IC). Latin for ‘bottom of the sky’, it can also be referred to as the Nadir. It is perhaps one of the most secretive areas of the chart, the point of truly being with ourselves, our secrets—all the bits and pieces that we may keep private and hidden and show only to a few select people. Opposite that, right up the top, we have the Midheaven (MC).
If we consider the angles as times of day, the AC is sunrise, DC sunset. The IC is midnight and the MC is midday, the time when the light is bright and everything is illuminated.
The Midheaven sits at the top of the chart showcasing us to the world. It is what we are known for, our fame point and legacy. It’s the qualities that we show off to others, how we approach our careers or life's work. Particular transits to your MC can result in more recognition, promotion, motivation, inspiration, change.
More clues to your MC from the sign it is in, and the planet which rules this sign. Say your MC is in Aries—we then look to where Mars is in your chart (sign and house) to understand what motivates you in your career.
For me, my MC is in Cancer so we look to where my Moon is for more clues—Scorpio, first house. Here we learn why I have always felt the need to work somewhere where I feel emotionally connected. I feel like I have always had a need to put my heart and soul into what I do (when I first started my business it was called Meraki Coaching, Meraki a Greek word which means to do something with soul, creativity and love; to put something of yourself in your work). I remember only applying for jobs that I wanted with my whole heart. I needed to have that pull, that ‘hell yes!’ from my body.
The Cancerian quality of family has meant that I have often created ‘work families’. Indeed, the places where I have the best work memories were filled with wonderful people with similar values and outlooks who worked and socialised together. Many of these past colleagues are still close friends today.
While putting my heart and soul into my work can feel good, it can also create a messy sense of not being able to separate my work and self. For years I attached my job title to my identity, as if each promotion proved to myself that I was indeed a good, worthy person. It took time to unravel that, to know that I am me and my work is just one part of that. And how others see me in the world and their opinion of me doesn’t matter—my worth comes from within.
Just as the Moon waxes and wanes every month, I too need that ebb and flow, to not be ‘go, go, go’ all the time and have moments where I pull back and rest after a period of productivity. Just like the Moon, I can’t be full all of the time (although my Capricorn Sun might beg to differ, but that’s another story). These days I understand my own cycles and as much as possible align my tasks and projects to them.
Now, I am expressing my MC through nurturing my community. The magick of my Scorpio Moon taps into the current of what is needed to help guide, heal and transform others. It really is the true ‘hell yes!’ that I have spent my working life searching for.
So what about you? What story does your MC have for you? Let’s explore it together.
