Planetary Elevation and the Natal Chart

Zonark

Well-known member
I made a short list of the most to least elevated planets in my natal chart and I think it shows something about the self and the way the planets affect the native.

While the most elevated planet doesn't necessarily make it the strongest planet like the chart ruler would, I think the relative closeness to the Midheaven indicates influences which the native seeks, much in the same way the native seeks to actualize the influence of the Midheaven. Similarly the planets closer to the Imum Coeli, directly opposite the Midheaven are influences the native seeks only after the influences of the preceding planets have been sought. Or, to put it another way, the planets more readily accepted are the ones closest to the Midheaven by order of degree and the further a planet is the more the native rejects or resists its influence and energies in their life.

I'll use myself as an example, the number by each planet is the number of degrees of separation from the Midheaven. This number will obviously never be greater than 180 as the Imum Coeli is the furthest point from the Midheaven, the chart's low point and the native's resting place;

Most to Least Elevated
Pluto (6)
Mercury (48)
Uranus (56)
Neptune (63)
Ascendant (65)
Saturn (70)
Sun (75)
North Node (88)
Venus (95)
Jupiter (100)
Chiron (107)
Moon (109)
Mars (167)
IC (180)

Pluto is my most elevated and the energies of Pluto have dominated my experience of life. Granted both Pluto and my MC fall in Scorpio making the influence that much more obvious but I think it is safe to say that for everyone, the high point of their chart (the MC) and what is nearest to it marks what will be highest in the native's conscience.

If I look back on my life, my interests and my overall mentality, it is dominated by Pluto. I have had astrologers here ask me if I was a Scorpio or had a Scorpio Ascendant. I do not, but the influence shows itself in a cumulative, overarching way. I think this would hold true in all charts. Pluto touches nearly every aspect of my life.

Now instead of passing through all the planets one by one trying to rate their influence on my life I'll cut right to the least elevated planet in my chart to explain the other half of this.

The least elevated planet in my chart is Mars. This is the influence that I keep to myself and try to smother (the IC is ruled by Cancer, whose energy smothers instead of defines like the MC's Capricorn ruled energy).

So there is a duality, a struggle of energy between the MC and the IC, of a need to define oneself and a need to protect and smother oneself. The closer to the MC a planet is, the more definite its influence in the native's life. The further from the MC and the closer to the IC, the more the native begins to smother and subdue the energies of the planet.

I am the least Martial person I know, my aggression and drive to act in the world is put on the backburner, subordinated to every other planetary imperative which comes before it. Having Mars in Taurus and the 4th house only exacerbates these tendencies. I do everything before acting and any time a situation requires I act, I always wait until the absolute last possible moment.

When the native moves through the world, their being will cycle through a process determined by the most to least elevated planet. This process is like a computer program cycling through a series of commands, only it is the human soul cycling through a series of archetypal responses and urges.

If you break the planets down to very simple ideas as to what they urge the native to do you can get a sense of what kind of process the native will tend to go through during an entire cycle of becoming.
 

Zonark

Well-known member
So to help others figure this out for their own charts here's what the planets archetypically represent. Place each one in the proper order to find out what pattern you follow in becoming who you are.

Sun I AM
Moon I FEEL
Mercury I THINK
Venus I SENSE
Mars I DO
Jupiter I BELIEVE
Saturn I KNOW
Uranus I REALIZE
Neptune I DREAM
Pluto I TRANSFORM

If you disagree with some of these, please, post which one and why with your opinion for a better key phrase.

Again using my chart as an example this is how the process of becoming works for me;

First I transform, I think, I realize, I dream, I know, I am, I sense, I believe, I feel and finally I do.

To put this in another example lets say an event happens to me and based on the elevation of my planets this is how I respond linearly.

First I'm transformed by the event. It changes me profoundly in a Plutonian way. Then I think about the event, mentally grasp it and ponder it with Mercury. After this an insight into the event bursts through via Uranus. Followed by the delusion, dreaming, imagination and otherworldly sensations of Neptune. From there Saturn exerts a definite solidity and knowing about the event. Then I am present for the event as my Sun. After this I take in the event with my senses through Venus. This is followed by a formation of a belief about the event through Jupiter. Followed by a feeling about the event by the Moon. Lastly the event provokes me to do something through Mars.
 

RaptInReverie

Well-known member
Hello Old Friend, I just thought I’d drop by to let everyone know that I am still around even though I’m not as active in the forum. Your whole theory makes a lot of sense to me; I would love to see how it develops over time. I will give you my perspective, and you are free to agree or disagree.

Because all of the planets here represent some form of action, it seems rather platitudinous to give Mars the label “I Do”. I would suggest something more along the line of “I Will”. “Willing” seems more conducive to the fiery, active, Martian principle than “doing”. “Doing” conveys more of a passive, reactive principle, and that would seem to be more connected with the Moon.

I would also like to mention that Jupiter is inseparable from its expansive quality, and perhaps it would be more fitting to label it “I Expand” or “I Grow”.

All of the rest are really good. The Sun can only be “I Am”; however, I see many astrologers labeling it otherwise. I am glad that you thought this through very well.
 

IleneK

Premium Member
I made a short list of the most to least elevated planets in my natal chart and I think it shows something about the self and the way the planets affect the native.,,,


While the most elevated planet doesn't necessarily make it the strongest planet like the chart ruler would, I think the relative closeness to the Midheaven indicates influences which the native seeks, much in the same way the native seeks to actualize the influence of the Midheaven. Similarly the planets closer to the Imum Coeli, directly opposite the Midheaven are influences the native seeks only after the influences of the preceding planets have been sought. Or, to put it another way, the planets more readily accepted are the ones closest to the Midheaven by order of degree and the further a planet is the more the native rejects or resists its influence and energies in their life.


I think your analysis is interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you for putting it forth.

From a modern astrology viewpoint, the only comment I would make about your hypothesis might be that we do consciously move towards realization of the MC and that the planets nearest that point facilitate it. But am not sure we reject or resist the influence of the IC. I would suggest, rather, that its impulses and influences are more unconscious, and likewise are the energies of the planets nearest to it.

So the IC realization is not so easy to get to as the MC. Much like the conscious/unconscious component of the Asc-Desc.
 

Zonark

Well-known member
Hello Old Friend, I just thought I’d drop by to let everyone know that I am still around even though I’m not as active in the forum. Your whole theory makes a lot of sense to me; I would love to see how it develops over time. I will give you my perspective, and you are free to agree or disagree.

Because all of the planets here represent some form of action, it seems rather platitudinous to give Mars the label “I Do”. I would suggest something more along the line of “I Will”. “Willing” seems more conducive to the fiery, active, Martian principle than “doing”. “Doing” conveys more of a passive, reactive principle, and that would seem to be more connected with the Moon.

I would also like to mention that Jupiter is inseparable from its expansive quality, and perhaps it would be more fitting to label it “I Expand” or “I Grow”.

All of the rest are really good. The Sun can only be “I Am”; however, I see many astrologers labeling it otherwise. I am glad that you thought this through very well.

Hey Reverie, I think "I Will" does make more sense for the Martian principal since it is the will to action that compels the doing and Mars is ultimately about the will compelling movement.

As for Jupiter, both I Expand and I Grow, while they're good descriptions of what Jupiter does, there must be a more succinct word to describe its influence. Perhaps "I Broaden" since it implies a widening of perspective? It also really leaves out the growth aspect though. Tricky.
 

Zonark

Well-known member
I think your analysis is interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you for putting it forth.

From a modern astrology viewpoint, the only comment I would make about your hypothesis might be that we do consciously move towards realization of the MC and that the planets nearest that point facilitate it. But am not sure we reject or resist the influence of the IC. I would suggest, rather, that its impulses and influences are more unconscious, and likewise are the energies of the planets nearest to it.

So the IC realization is not so easy to get to as the MC. Much like the conscious/unconscious component of the Asc-Desc.

This is a good point Ilenek. I didn't give as much thought to the Nadir as I did the MC when thinking about this so rather than giving it more elaboration I just put it as the opposite to the MC's influence. It definitely deserves more than that, it's an influential point in its own right, not the chart's refuse pile.

If the MC is the height of the heavens, the IC would be the bosom of the Earth. The MC would point to what sign and planets the native experiences as things to look up to (or things which rain down fortune or perdition on the native). The MC determines how the native views the 'Sky' and the IC determines how the native views the 'Earth', the frequently discussed relationship the native has with their Father Time and Mother Earth.

So planets near the IC are the planets the Native will see as having ties to their roots and family; their home. So the planets near the IC have an influence that feels familial and comforting to the native, expressed through the sign the planet is found in. The sign the IC is in will also tell how and where the native feels their natural home and resting place is.

To use myself as an example, I have Mars very close to my IC in the fourth house and feel comfortable keeping weapons in my home. I am also most comfortable working from home. In the past my family and I would fight quite a bit, short of outright brawling. Since the IC and Mars in my chart are in the sign of Taurus these things center around issues of value.
 
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