The physical and emotional suffering that Kahlo endured is not simply the result of having her Sun in the 12th House of sorrow, isolation, and loss (she also had Mars, sharp and cutting, and Uranus, unpredictable and disruptive, opposing her Sun). However, expressing this pain through her art and writing is, in an astrological context, what her life steered her toward. Kahlo famously said, “I paint myself because I am often alone, and I am the subject I know best.”* If your Ascendant ruler is in the 12th House, it does not necessarily mean you will suffer, but it does mean that addressing suffering, the most human of conditions, is a main theme of your life’s direction and purpose.
Now it is time to choose your own adventure. Please skip ahead to the house that the ruler of your Ascendant, or your rising sign, lives in.
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 1ST HOUSE
Body, appearance, self, life force
If the planet that rules your Ascendant is in the 1st House, the significations of that planet and all it governs will be extra active in your life. This is true for two reasons. First, any planet in the 1st House will be prominently expressed through your identity, personality, and physical self. Second, if the ruler of your Ascendant is in the 1st House, it will be in its own sign and act in a straightforward, clear, and direct manner. This combination is strong and may even be extreme. The ruler of your Ascendant, and all it stands for, is being asked to be woven into your identity. For example, if Jupiter is your ruler and it is also in the 1st House, you are being asked to live out your life in an optimistic way, sharing your wealth and abundance of spirit with others. The ruler of the Ascendant in the 1st House is also telling you that the main focus of your life’s direction is the development of your identity.
Reflection Questions
Given the nature of the planet and the style of the sign, what themes do you notice are dominant in your life?
When do you feel seen by others? What are you being recognized for when you feel most understood? What parts of your identity do you feel people focus too heavily on? Is that related to the planet that rules your Ascendant? Is it sometimes overwhelming to embody this so strongly?
What parts of your personality do you feel are most misunderstood by the world? How does this relate to the planet that rules your Ascendant?
How have you learned to push back against what feels like an imposition on you? How does the ruler of your Ascendant help or hinder this? For example, Venus might be uncomfortable doing so, as it’s a planet that wants to create connection, not disrupt it, but Mars would be more comfortable being combative when necessary.
Can you imagine the ruler of your Ascendant as free to express itself outside cultural norms?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 2ND HOUSE
Money, assets, resources, self-worth
We all have something to give this world. We all have some way of supporting ourselves. We all have some talent or specific ability to put to use. Our assets help us make our way through the material realm. The 2nd House details these riches. Having the ruler of your Ascendant in the 2nd House makes clear that your life’s direction needs to move toward developing your resources and learning how to support yourself with them. Money and assets aren’t more or less easy to come by with your ruler in the 2nd House; that all depends on the sign that the ruler of your Ascendant is in and the aspects made to it. But we know that this is a place you must develop a relationship to in order to feel fully expressed in this life.
Reflection Questions
How do you see your life’s purpose as being tied directly to your assets and ability to develop them?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant makes an obvious manifestation in your work? For example, if Mars rules your Ascendant and Mars is in your 2nd House, do you engage in work where you have to fight, perhaps on behalf of others?
What about the style of the sign that the planet is in? For example, if the Moon rules your Ascendant and the Moon is in your 2nd House, it will be in Leo. Is part of your livelihood (2nd House) about nurturing others (Moon) through creativity and self-expression (Leo)?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 3RD HOUSE
Communication, siblings, extended family, close friends, daily life and rituals, the House of Goddess
If the ruler of your Ascendant is in your 3rd House, your life’s direction points to developing relationships, communications, and daily and spiritual rituals. Specifically, writing, teaching, delivering information, working with family or good friends, performing or holding space for devotional practices, studying or teaching about the Goddess or other ancient religious traditions that predate monotheism, traveling (especially throughout the day and around your neighborhood), and being in contact with many folks during the day are some of the ways in which you will feel like you are on track.
The 3rd House is the place of the Moon’s joy. If, for example, you have Cancer rising, the Moon is the ruler of your Ascendant. If you have the Moon in Virgo and in the 3rd House, then the moon is both the ruler of your Ascendant and in the place of its joy. That gives extra strength to the ruler of your Ascendant and its ability to do its job. The Moon is always strong in the 3rd House whether or not your Ascendant is Cancer, but if it’s also the ruler of your Ascendant, it’s a blessing to take note of.
Reflection Questions
How is your life energy directed toward communication, writing, teaching, or travel? How is your life shaped by these activities?
What roles do your siblings, friends, and extended family play in the direction of your life? Do their ups and downs impact you greatly? Do they dictate your life in any way? Are you in partnership with them?
Do you work in communities and neighborhoods or are you involved with them in any significant way?
Is your life focused on rituals, especially those that are spiritual? Do you find that you are usually the person who brings rituals or a sense of spirituality to others’ lives?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant makes an obvious manifestation in your communications? For example, if Venus rules your Ascendant and Venus is in your 3rd House, are you known for being someone who delivers a message with sweetness?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 4TH HOUSE
Foundation of all things, ancestry, home, family, parents
Having the ruler of your Ascendant in the 4th House reveals that how you physically and aesthetically create home, who you create it with, and how you carry forth the traditions of your people, matter deeply to you. If the ruler of your Ascendant is here, one or more of these issues will be a prominent part of how you manifest your life’s direction. You may notice that you come up against issues related to how to honor family traditions and your lineage without getting stuck in the past. Balancing commitment to family while being able to break ties with the aspects of your origin stories that don’t support you may be a main theme in your life.
Without understanding your 4th House, it’s difficult to build any long-lasting structures in your life. Without understanding what you need from an inner life, it’s difficult to build an outer life that will be fulfilling. If you can dig into the past and unpack its meaning, heal the wounds there, and come to understand your unique contribution to the lineages you hail from, then you will be more likely to build a healthy relationship with the present.
Reflection Questions
How does the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant speak to the relationship that you have with your immediate family or with your family in general?
What do you feel drawn to honor and carry through in your lineage? What do you feel the need to break away from?
Do you ever find it difficult to do something that is different from what your family does or to satisfy their hopes for your life or future?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant makes an obvious manifestation in your family life? For example, if Jupiter rules your Ascendant and it is in your 4th House, is there some blessing, abundance, or spiri
tuality that comes from family? Is one of your parents larger than life? If it’s a more difficult planet, like Mars, was one of your parents daring or courageous? Does dealing with harm or being uprooted and severed from your roots play a large role in your life’s purpose?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 5TH HOUSE
Children, creative and erotic energy, pleasure, fun, romance, sex
We all create our own lives every day. Through your actions, through your speech, through your agreements and your decisions, you constantly create your life. If the ruler of your Ascendant is in the 5th House, your creative energy and how you manifest it become central themes in your life and major areas of importance. When the ruler of the Ascendant is here, your life is steered toward taking the energy you have been given and implementing it in the world consciously and deliberately.
Traditionally known as the house of children, this part of the chart indicates fertility. If the ruler of your Ascendant is here and it is placed in a strong sign, your life will most likely be governed by generativity. The ruler of the Ascendant in the 5th House generally wants to produce. Since children were seen as necessary blessings in the ancient world, the 5th House is also known as the place of good fortune.
This is the house where Venus has its joy. Venus, planet of pleasure, erotic energy, and all things that are fun and enjoyable, knows how to have a good time in this house. If you are Taurus or Libra rising and your Venus is in the 5th House, it is extra potent, as Venus is incredibly comfortable here. Life is then dominated by beauty, desire, and fun.
Reflection Questions
How do art, creativity, and self-expression dominate your life?
How does working with, for, or having children help you to live out your life’s purpose?
Are you someone who is known for being the life of the party, having a good time, or being able to land yourself in good fortune?
Does your good fortune sometimes inhibit you from pushing yourself, working hard, or moving through difficulties?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your 1st House makes an obvious manifestation in your relationship with creativity? For example, if the Moon rules your 1st House and it’s in your 5th House, are you known for nurturing creative projects or children? Are you someone who works within the realm of reproductive health?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 6TH HOUSE
Work projects, work habits, work schedules, pets, health matters, accidents, illness
Having the ruler of your Ascendant in the 6th House means that you will find a sense of purpose and personal fulfillment through your work life and your professional routines.
In traditional astrology, this is the house that deals with slavery, theft of labor, and human trafficking. Work and the pursuit of it can dominate your energy, time, and attention. You may find that balance in this area is hard to come by. The people you are closest to may need to work with you in order to be part of your world. It may be challenging for you to relax and unwind at times, as you may be more comfortable being productive than pursuing pleasure and connections. As such, working toward just and equitable employment conditions can be an important aspect of your journey and life.
This is also the place of pets and livestock. With your Ascendant ruler here, you may have an affinity for animals or work with them.
Because this is the house of illness, some with their Ascendant ruler in the 6th House will either work with those who live with illness, chronic or otherwise, or experience it themselves in a way that defines their life.
Reflection Questions
Is your life’s direction steered toward working in health care, the healing industry, or with those who have a hard time due to health issues?
Is work important to your sense of self?
Do you tend to overwork or overidentify with your work?
Do you sometimes feel a loss of power in regard to your work situation?
Do you work with others who have experienced or are experiencing oppressive work environments?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your 1st House makes an obvious manifestation in your work projects? For example, if Mercury rules your 1st House and it’s in your 6th House, does your work life depend heavily on your ability to communicate, translate, write, teach, or sell?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 7TH HOUSE
Committed partnerships, marriage, business relationships, clients, open enemies
To have your Ascendant ruler in the 7th House makes committed partnerships, business relationships, and the lessons that they bring incredibly important to your life’s purpose. Planets in the 7th House are extra active, because of the strength of the house (the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses are the strongest houses). What your partners go through impacts your life in obvious ways. Given the power of your bond with people you’re in relationship with, make sure that you commit to those who know how to be good partners, friends, change agents, and catalysts for you. That way you’ll be in alignment with what you most need and what is most beneficial for you.
There may be times in your life where an overemphasis on others is apparent. When the ruler of the 1st House is in the 7th, it will, by default, be a planet in the sign of its detriment. That is because the 7th House is the opposite house from the first, and any planet across from its own sign is sitting in territory that feels contrary to its nature. This begs the question, if your life’s direction is always moving toward the activities of another, do you lose sight of your own needs? It is of extra importance that you seek out the relationships that feel most aligned with your purpose, as it is in partnership that you achieve it.
Reflection Questions
How have your most significant relationships or committed partnerships impacted the direction of your life?
Do you often forgo your own needs to make others happy?
Do you feel driven to find partnerships that allow you to do what you can’t do on your own?
Who in your life helps you to access and activate your life’s purpose?
What have you learned about taking care of yourself through your significant partnerships?
Which partnerships have brought you success, fame, or recognition?
What is it about the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant that makes an obvious manifestation in your committed partnerships? For example, if Saturn rules your 1st House and it’s in your 7th House, do you tend to attract partners who are responsible, reliable, committed, critical, discerning, or emotionally remote? Do you tend to project your authority onto them, making them into taskmasters instead of taking responsibility for your life and choices?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 8TH HOUSE
Collaborations, other people’s money and assets, inheritances, death, mental anguish, grief
The Ascendant ruler in the 8th House steers the direction of your life toward important collaborations. Those with this placement can become skilled producers, managers, bankers, or accountants, and generally do well in any situation where they can take the product or resource of another and make the world aware of it.
Since this is also the house of death, grief, and loss, the Ascendant ruler in the 8th House can steer you toward working with these difficult aspects of life. Grief counselors, death doulas, mental health experts, therapists, exorcists, past-life regressionists, and any occupation that makes contact with the spirit world would be a fit for people with an Ascendant ruler in the 8th House.
Certain near-death experiences may also have defined your life and set you on a path of purpose or understanding. The death of loved ones, especially those who changed your life, would also be related to this placement.
Reflection Questions
Is your life steered toward working collaboratively? To do so, what do you have to learn about what you bring to the table? What are you learning to receive?
Do you rely on the money, assets, or resources of others, and if so where is your power in that situation?
Does some major part of your w
ork have to do with funding, grants, or loans (giving or receiving)?
Do you feel a connection with the spirit realm, the other side, or with the death and dying process?
What near-death experiences have shaped you and changed the direction of your life?
What about the nature of the planet that rules your Ascendant makes an obvious manifestation in your work? For example, if the Sun rules your 1st House and it’s in your 8th House, do you shine in collaborations? Do you identify with the more mysterious elements of life?
ASCENDANT RULER IN THE 9TH HOUSE
Travel, teaching, publishing, philosophy, law, spirituality, religion, astrology, the House of God
Having your Ascendant ruler in the 9th House makes your life direction the pursuit of meaning. Here, you need adventure, want to seek knowledge and wisdom, and will need to practice the art of teaching, learning, and putting your ideas out into the world. In the 9th House, planets are driven to gather insight through experience. You may or may not undertake graduate work, a degree, or a certificate, but the process of learning will always be a place where you feel inspired.
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