Question:  Can you talk a little about the angle rulers of the MC/IC ?  You mentioned them but didn’t get into them much.

Anonymous

Where angle contacts on the Asc/Desc axis indicate attraction, angle contacts with the MC/IC indicate security and mutual self-actualization.  If we look at the conscious alternate Ascendant, the IC, (see Synastry Series, The MC/IC  part one) contacts there can help me to feel legitimate and psychologically secure.  Outer planets there can awaken us to formerly unknown aspects of our own psyche.  Contacts to the MC have to do with the complicated business of our feelings of legitimacy, and planets there from someone else’s chart can help us establish ourselves or to feel as if we belong in the world.  In both ends of the angle, the planets can provide guidance or shake us up considerably, sometimes causing us to awaken to inner dimensions and to establish new avenues of expression.  The actual expression of the axis comes in the fifth and eleventh houses, but the impetus is formed in 4/10.  We can initiate new beginnings with the help of others.

Natally, the worst cases of imbalance within a chart seems to come when the rulers of the angles are inconjunct/quincunx.  The opposition is almost as bad.  With the square, they’re forced to punch it out and come to some workable conclusion.   With men, it tends to be the IC that suffers (again, see the MC/IC part one and the Saturn as relationship planet articles) ; with women, it’s the MC (on the whole).  Since the opposition has balance in mind, it’s not as extreme as the inconjunct/quincunx, which can be completely unconscious until something comes around (transit or progression or both) to wake it up to what it’s doing.  There is either abandonment of one end of the angle,  a painful seesaw-ing, or a willful turning away.  Again, much depends on the planets involved.  Mercury opposite Jupiter is a lot easier to work out, relationship wise,  than Moon opposite Saturn.

When the rulers are in easy aspect, either within a chart or between charts, we have an easier time translating our inner world to our outer world.  They help us feel legitimate and comfortable within a relationship.  No matter the aspect, or even if there is no aspect, clues towards what we call self-actualization can be found in the houses the planets fall in.  These are the issues I need to resolve in order to find my peace.

As with the Asc/Desc, when the ruler of one person’s angle hits the angle or planet in another’s chart, that planet will be heavily emphasized in our relationship.  We will feel that other person’s planet very acutely, and it may dominate the partnership. It can make us feel bonded or very uneasy, depending on the contact.  If the ruler of my IC  is Neptune and it hits your MC, my Neptune  is going to either inspire you or undermine your plans and accomplishments.  My own insecurities and uncertainties may push us towards divorce/dissolution, or my compassion may inspire you to start a non-profit organization.   If Pluto rules my IC and it conjuncts your IC, my Pluto issues may dominate your inner world or your home life, often not in a good way.  It depends on how aware I am of my Pluto.  In the best case scenario, I will teach you how to be emotionally integrated and independent.  In the worst case, my jealousy/possession/control issues may cause you to lose your emotional integrity.  Your inner structure may deconstruct.  Angle rulers hitting planets are easier to cope with than angle rulers hitting angles, which can be a wild ride of extremes.  It’s easier to have Mercury or Venus or Jupiter hitting an angle, or angle ruler, but Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Chiron offer unique lessons if we can tough it out and will push us forward on the path of our own self-actualization.

This question is in reference to our current tutorial series on synastry. See Synastry Studies: The MC/IC (part one).