My consfusion comes from what I've read about both points. And especially the DC. If the DC is a reflection, if the DC is what I direct in the outer world in order to reach somebody or even make him like my DC sign then why the AC is also considered something I direct in the outer world when I know that it is through the AC that the world gets in me.
A reflection of what? Now I am getting confused! May I ask what you are reading?
I suppose we could say that the DC is a "reflection" of your own mental image of the sort of partner to whom you are attracted. Put differently, the sign on your DC (Scorpio) indicates the qualities that you find attractive: for good or ill. For example, you might be attracted to someone with a lot of emotional intensity and loyalty, only to learn that he is jealous and vindictive. (Let's hope not!) Often GFs do try to reshape their BF into their own mental pictures of what they want in a man, but this really isn't such a great thing to do to another human being. It doesn't lead to positive relationships.
This will probably be more understandable if you momentarily just forget about the DC as "something you direct to the outer world." I could see how this works in the sense that, if you want someone who exhibits Scorpio sorts of traits, you probably send out certain signals when you meet an interesting guy who fits your pictures. But just to point out other "alligators in the swamp" here, a lot of romantic/sexual attraction operates via your Venus and Mars, and Mars is another major indicator of what appeals to you in a man.
Many astrologers believe that it makes sense to think of particular houses or signs via their polarity or entire axis. I've not been so taken with this idea unless someone actually has an opposition of planets or a planet plus an angle.
Let's keep in mind that
a house indicates a particular domain or area of life, such as marriage, friends, or money.
A sign indicates how or in what manner a planet or house operates. By sign element and quality: mentally, emotionally, adaptively, persistently, &c.
When I think of it, they have the same descriptions in astrology. I know they are parts of one axis and it is natural to work together but exactly how they work consfuses me.
Again, what are you reading? I have a sizeable collection of astrology books, peruse websites, and have participated on a lot of astrology threads, and I haven't seen the ASC/DC or first and seventh houses described as virtually identical. As I mentioned above, a really good book on the ASC + DSC is Jodie Forrest,
The Ascendant. She shows how these two function in relationships. I just checked amazon.com and it is available there either as a paperback or as a Kindle book.
Picking up on Forrest's book: I have Virgo rising with Pisces on the DC (I don't know my husband's birth time, unfortunately.) My husband has no major placements in Pisces so far as I know. But I would describe him as being a sensitive guy, who is a lot more tolerant of people who behave badly than I am! Unfortunately, he is not very observant or detail-oriented, and I think that sometimes he drinks too much. So this is a blend (to me) of positive and negative Pisces traits. When he gets mad at me (a real astrological diagnostic!) he describes me as too detail-oriented and picky. He feels he can never do things good enough to suit me, and that I am puritanical about alcohol. So here is where he mirrors my Virgo rising traits back at me.
What is 'in'and what is 'out'. What people see in me? What I see in myself? AC is the interaction with the other people - the outer world, the DC is the other people AND how you interact with them - where is the difference? Because they are too similar to be understood as two opposite points.
Maybe just ignore this for a while. I would get confused, too, if I thought this was how the AC and DC operated. Unless people know you well, they probably will not see how you operate in your 7th house matters. There are huge differences between the first and seventh houses, so if you focus on those first, I think that would be helpful.
First house: your body, personality, how you come across to other people. To some extent, your receptivity to them.
Seventh house: your committed relationships, open enemies, what you look for in a partner.
Waybread, what you said about Leo, that some of them have bossy personalities that need a constant flow of praise, is what I meant about the partners of my friend. And she answered to them with the same leonine pride. A real relationship never occured. Now I understand why one of the 7th house themes is balance and the science of relationships.
EDIT: One of them had Neptune in the 1st house but I don't have the chart anymore.
I should point out that Leo isn't the only sign that can get bossy! Really, aren't we talking about control, or dominating a relationship? Most sun-signs can feel insecure as individuals, and if they play this out in a relationship, they can attempt to control the other person so that he provides the sense of emotional security she doesn't feel on her own.
And this is the kicker about the AC-DC axis. Take someone with Leo rising and Aquarius on the DC. She wants a stream of admiration. She's attracted to a computer geek. The more she seeks praise from him, the more he retreats into his abstract world, because this is a sign that needs its emotional space. The two get into a kind of backward dance: the more reassurance she demands, the more he retreats. Or take Cancer rising with Capricorn on the DC. She craves emotional closeness, and the true ability to meld with a lover. She takes up with Mr. Capricorn, a sign that is not emotionally-driven. The more she clings to him, the more he falls back on Saturn's emotional coolness.
No wonder the 7th is also the house of open enemies! It's a wonder that relationships work at all. They do when two mature people have their own internal self-confidence, and because other chart factors indicate how well two people get along.
