Scouting out
the unfamiliar room, I was both amused and amazed when gifted intuitive,
clairvoyant, and medium, Pat Morton resolutely shouted out: "There's
two of him, there's two of him."
Yep! Without
knowing it... this gifted medium had immediately picked up on and
intuited my Gemini (the Twins) Ascendant. She picked up on what the
ancient Greeks and Romans referred to as our guiding "daemon"
or "genius."
In
a nutshell, the Zodiac sign located on the Ascendant represents the
"outer package," "image," or "persona"
that you regularly display to the people around you. Historically, the
Zodiac sign located on the Ascendant has been thought of as a much more
personal point than the Zodiac sign the Sun is located in.
The Ascendant
aids us in answering the question: "who am I in this world?" The Ascendant
acts as an "I am filter" through which we process all of our life
experiences...
The
Most Usual Suspects
So what do most people (that aren't lucky enough to be psychic)
first see when they initially meet you? In attempting
to determine what the ancient Greeks and Romans may have been referring
to as our guiding "daemon"
or "genius," there are actually several likely suspects.
-
As
already mentioned, traditionally, most astrologers will inform
you that it, indeed, is a rule of thumb that other folks (psychic
or not) will tend to first "see" your Ascendant
(persona) sign. The
Ascendant - determined by the exact moment of one's birth - is
that part of us that people first tend to see when they're getting
to know us. It's the external wrapper that reflects the natural
ways we tend to act and behave.
-
However,
a good number of astrologers will then qualify this by saying
that the Ascendant sign is modified by any planets that are located
directly on the Ascendant and/or then also to a lessor degree
by any other planets aspecting your Ascendant.
-
Then
some astrologers might tell you that it's actually the ruling
planet of your Ascendant sign that most often shows up.
-
Then,
yet, other astrologers will tell you that it's initally the good
old Midheaven (social persona) that folks first see.
Generally,
the Midheaven is a point on your birth chart that reflects your
public "reputation" and/or how you'd like to be known or seen
by others. The Midheaven tells other folks something about who
you are while they're still approaching from a great distance.
-
Finally...
pop astrology enthusiasts, not bound by all the pesky infernal
traditional rules that we astrologers feel so necessary to consider,
will often swear up and down that they can see and identify the
person's Sun Sign. (Granted... many Sun Sign Leos tend to have
luxurious manes of hair and many Sun Sign Scorpios tend to have
penetrating, intense eyes...)
Yep! As there
are no cast in iron answers to this question, each of these different
rules of thumb are indeed important to look at and consider as potent
possibilities.
Oh
Yeah... The Midheaven
Oh yeah... and before you write off the suggestion of the Midheaven...
I can tell you that my Midheaven is located in the "smoke and
mirrors" sign of Pisces ruled by Neptune (imagination, fantasy,
mysticism, illusion, and deception).
I can't
begin to tell you just how many total strangers walk up to me absolutely
100% convinced that I'm their long lost cousin Fred. Most recently
a woman claimed that I was a dead ringer for her grandfather. For
those that I'm not their cousin Fred, these strangers are absolutely
certain that they've met me before (when I'm absolutely certain that
they haven't).
This illusory
"smoke and mirrors" Pisces sort of thing occurs on an almost
daily basis.
I'm not exactly
sure just how many 6'3" male Latinos, sporting a pony tail and
silver beard, are walking around the rolling hills of Tennessee...
but it couldn't be that many...
So
Dr Z... What's The Point?
The real value in knowing how other folks first see us is
that it can potentially provide us with deeper insight into who we
are and how we relate to others in our environment.
Truth
is... most of us walk through life while remaining really rather clueless
about how other people see and experience us.
Postscript:
The
Dog and Pony Show of Determining Physical Characteristics
For the most part I tend to shy away from the popular concept of determining
one's physical characteristics based on the birth chart.
-
In
the first place, in our incredibly culturally/ethnically diverse
world, one generally has to engage in a significant amount of
adaptation to the traditional descriptions (still commonly used
today) that were originally written by white European astrologers.
-
Secondly...
although there's obviously a certain amount of truth to it all...
I just don't see any real and lasting value in doing it. Most
often when it's done, it's for purposes of attempting to engage
in a little razzle dazzle.
Related
Dr Z article:
Castle
of the Psyche - Better understand the Ascendant and Midheaven
as illustrated through the story of the Castle.
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