Tag Archives: progressed ascendant

Ask Real Astrologers: Pluto on Progressed Ascendant

This week’s question comes from Fumi in the UK:

My Progressed Ascendant is going to be conjunct the full moon in Sagittarius in June, and transiting Pluto is going to retrograde back to and station on my Progressed Ascendant. My Progressed AC will also trine my progressed Uranus. I would like to know your opinion of what this is all likely to mean.

I also have my progressed Jupiter conjunct my progressed 2nd house cusp, as well as transiting Pluto trining my natal and progressed Uranus. After Pluto’s intense 12-year period in Sagittarius, I am seriously meditating on bringing about a major positive breakthrough in my affairs in total.

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

Fumi, the experience of Pluto conjunct the Ascendant, whether progressed or natal, often has to do with becoming aware of how we express power and control over our environment and the people in it. Pluto transited your natal Ascendant from 1994 to 1995, during which you went through the first phase of learning these lessons.

Now, as Pluto is finishing his stay in Sagittarius, I suspect that you are in the final stages of assimilating what he has to teach. As one who has been down this road (I also have Scorpio Rising), I found the key is staying neutral and not diving into the nearest power struggle, because it’s very easy to become lost in the obsessions that way.

Since Jupiter rules your Sun, the progressed Ascendant, and Pluto in Sagittarius, I can see why you are paying attention to these transits! You are right in feeling that you are on the verge of a major breakthrough. The key may be doing your best to avoid placing specific expectations on what that will be. With Uranus forming trines, it will be easier to find the path of least resistance to your destination.

If I may make a suggestion on how to maintain a sense of centeredness, it would be to practice some type of moving meditation like Tai Chi. Sagittarius folk do better in motion than sitting still.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s Answer:

Fumi, I tend to look at transits to the natal chart first – just as I rely on the 10 planets (yes, Pluto is one) before exploring Chiron, the asteroids, lunar nodes, and other factors that I consider as supplemental information. If the basics don’t reveal what we need to know, then I start exploring beyond them. Put another way, I don’t use the progressed chart to explain things that are readily apparent in transits to the natal chart.

Since Pluto already has crossed your natal Ascendant, my take is that you’ve already been there, done that (as Neith suggests) and that you’re moving on to new lessons. These lessons have to do with what you value. Material assets are one component of your resources, so changing how you go about managing your resources is part of this transformation.

I also see that Pluto is squaring your natal Moon. He got close earlier this year but went retrograde before making a direct connection. That will happen early next year. All the power struggle issues that Neith describes will be evident in your life, and then some…

As for Jupiter, he has been in your natal second house since late November 2007, and Jupiter and Pluto conjoined in this important financial sector of your chart on December 11. Many people I know, myself included, experienced a breakthrough related to this transit, but it didn’t happen until months later, due to all the complicating planetary aspects that were happening at the time (Mars out of bounds and retrograde, for one).

With Jupiter in practical Capricorn, it makes all the more sense that you are building a strong material foundation. The Big Guy currently is retrograde but turns direct with Pluto on September 8. Major breakthroughs are possible after this date, so use this energy well. 

Thanks for writing, and best of luck to you!

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.

Ask Real Astrologers: Why Does This Capricorn Feel Like a Sagittarius?

This week’s question comes from Leah in Hilo, Hawaii, who asks about the differences between tropical and sidereal astrology.

“I was born a Capricorn, tropically. Now I am informed I am a Sagittarius, since I am now 53 (I think the Sag started when I was 45). Should I be reading only the Sag sign info or both the Sag and Cap? I definitely feel the difference from Cap to Sag. So I am thinking there is something to this type of astrology. Any thoughts?”

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s answer:

This is a great question, but unfortunately not easy to answer, since it is very complicated.

Astrology as most of us in the West know it was developed by the ancient Babylonians. At the time, Aries was on the eastern horizon at sunrise on the spring equinox. However, due to the way the Earth spins on its axis, this has changed over the millennia, so that we now have about 5 degrees Pisces on the eastern horizon on the equinox. This phenomenon is called precession.

The Greeks dealt with precession by dividing the sky into 12 equal parts and assigning one sign of the Zodiac to each sector, starting with 0 degrees Aries on the spring equinox. The exact dates change from one year to the next, but the equinox generally is around March 20. This is the Western tropical system of astrology that you’re referring to. When you say you’re a Capricorn, what you mean is that the Sun was moving through the tenth sector from 0 degrees Aries on the day you were born.

Vedic astrology, which is the system developed in India and other Eastern countries, doesn’t correct for precession. This is the basis for sidereal astrology, which is used by a small number of astrologers in the West. So while your Sun is at 19 degrees Capricorn in Western astrology, it’s at 25 degrees Sagittarius according to the sidereal system. Proponents of sidereal astrology argue that this system more accurately reflects the positions of the planets against the backdrop of the constellations.

According to the sidereal system, you were born a Sagittarius, and that has not changed. In other words, you didn’t go from a Cap to a Sag around age 45. It appears that you may be confusing sidereal astrology with the Western technique of chart progression. I will turn you over to Neith to explain more about this, since she works with chart progressions more than I do.

There is another explanation, however, for why you feel more “like a Sagittarius.” In your birth chart (Western tropical), you have 17 degrees Scorpio on the Ascendant, with the first half of Sagittarius in your first house. Pluto, the planet of transformation, was in Sagittarius throughout your 40s, so you no doubt went through a change!

I always advise my clients to read for Rising sign first, then Sun sign. In your case, either Scorpio or Sag might work. Eventually, Neith and I will do Rising sign horoscopes, which I believe most of you will find to be a much more accurate reflection of what’s happening in your daily lives.

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s answer:

Leah, after spending some time looking at your progressed chart using the year for a day method (count one day for each year of your life), I may be able to shed some light on why you relate to Sagittarius more. Your Scorpio Ascendant progressed into Sagittarius many years ago but there were a couple of serious transits to it enhancing the Sagittarius energy.

At about 30, you experienced a conjunction of Uranus and Venus on your progressed Ascendant in Sagittarius. A couple of years earlier, Uranus transited your natal Venus in Sagittarius, just as you were having your Saturn return. It’s very possible that with Saturn conjunct your Ascendant natally (and ruling your Capricorn Sun), you may not have acted on the more extreme notions Uranus inspired at that time.

In January 2000, Pluto and Venus met at the same degree of Sagittarius that Uranus and Venus occupied when you were 30. Both of these events occurred in your first house and resonated with your natal Venus – more Sagittarius.

Lastly, in January of 2007, Pluto and Mars conjoined on your progressed Ascendant at 28 degrees Sagittarius. This conjunction was also trine to your natal Pluto in Leo, adding up to a lot of powerful fire energy affecting you. No wonder you felt far more like a Sagittarius than a Capricorn and far horizons were calling you!

Ironically, Leah, your Ascendant is now progressed into Capricorn and is within a couple of degrees of the progressed North Node, so you may find your Capricorn side beginning to reassert itself once more.

Hopefully we have helped clarify matters for you! My advice would be to choose one system of astrology and stay with it because they each are a whole system unto themselves, and you only get confused if you try to go back and forth between the two.

Got a question for Neith and Pat? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers.