greybeard,
Thank you for taking the time to answer. I see your point, and how it can help to focus on the ruling planets rather than the signs themselves.
I have a specific problem, though, hence my confusion.
I have my moon in Libra, in the 10th house in one chart, and have the moon at the very end of the 9th house, in Libra as well of course, in the other possible chart So, it's hard for me to NOT associate my career and tenth house matters with Libra (Venus).
In the IC case: Aries or Pisces, Mars or Neptune? Both my mother and my city of birth are Pisces, and my city (of birth) is by the sea...so I see a big synchronicity there, BUT.. my mother is quite a strong-willed and strong-tempered Pisces (moon in Leo -conjunct Uranus, mars in Capricorn). So, I can see a "fiery" quality about her, alright.
Also, my city, was founded on march 8th, so it makes it Pisces, BUT it is known in Cuba as a city of brave people overall, and it happened to be the first, and one of only two cities, to take to the streets massively to protest against Fidel Castro ever in Cuba, and got "blacklisted" because of it. So I can see the fiery roots, yes. Coincidentally, its motto is "primus in Cuba" or, first in Cuba, since there are a lot of firsts in my city: First time the Cuban flag was raised in Cuba, first time the American flag was raised in Cuba, second city in the world, behind New York, to have electricity (but first in Latin America), first statue of Christopher Columbus in the new world, second railroad in Latin America (first one was in Havana) etc. It used to be an industrial city, etc. Even though not all firsts, its obvious so there was a certain Martian "drive" (before Fidel Castro)...about the city.
In essence, I have something of both influences, Mars and Neptune, so it's a bit hard for me to see the contrast right away, because I recognize both energies, in the IC. To top it off, both Neptune and Mars are located in my First house together...
PS, In regards to the MC, both Venus AND mercury..are situated in my 11th house and in the same sign.