#jodie forrest

Venus in Leo

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Seeking the approval of others in social situations.

Result: The fear of disapproval holds back your ability to spread sunshine and light. You become trapped in self-absorption when you withhold your ability to inspire others with your warm and gregarious nature.

There’s a tendency to censor yourself by expressing a type of spontaneity you feel will be approved of. If you indulge in the fear that others may hold back their love, ignore you, or judge you harshly, you experience a lack of social ease.

In advertently, you might manipulate others by moderating your expressiveness in order to gain recognition. Social isolation and powerlessness ensue when you interpret others’ reactions as personal rejection.

Conscious Expression

Being willing to share your natural gift for drama with others leads to the empowerment of paying attention to their needs for acceptance and supporting them with your warmth. In taking the initiative to include others, you are automatically included as part of the group. The idea is to use your charismatic dramatic flair to share the center of the stage. By recognizing others’ individuality, you are uniquely gifted in proving emotional encouragement, empowering them to overcome disabling emotions and the monotony of daily life.

You are sensitive to the inner reactions of others, and by using this knowledge objectively you lift the audience to new heights of inspired experience. You can bring about ease of communication through your inclusive open arms policy in which each person is able to relate comfortably with others.

When you use your generosity and sensitivity to help others reach positive emotional states, you can experience without fear your own social worth. You have a dramatic talent for inspiring others and an inbred confidence, warmth, and enthusiasm that brings about self-worth. Security with others comes from knowing that you have acted according to your humanitarian ideals.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology  

Venus in Cancer

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Oversensitivity and self-protection in social situations.

Result: Indulging in self-protection exaggerates your feelings of isolation. Self-absorption leads to withholding your ability to empathize with others on deep, personal levels for fear that such caring may be rejected. Feelings of inadequacy and withdrawal in relationships can then result.

You have a tendency to cling to private ideals of how people should respond so your feelings won’t be hurt and you’ll feel worthwhile. This expectation inevitably leads to experiencing others as being abrasive and unsympathetic to your subjective personal needs.

If you seek to manipulate other people’s emotions to gain attention and caring, you may hold back your ability to care for and nourish others.

Conscious Expression

By being willing to share your gift of sensitivity, you’ll develop a sense of other people’s situations. Then you can assist them by sharing the wealth of your loving emotional nature. In extending empathy to help others overcome their emotional hurt, you simultaneously realize a deep sense of social worth. 

When this ability to put people in touch with their sensitivities is brought forth, you are appreciated for your value. You experience an unshakable sense of self-worth when you encourage others to communicate their feelings respond with your unusual sensitivity.

When you give others confidence in their capabilities to achieve what they want, you confirm your usefulness and value. Emotional nourishment and security in all social relations become yours when love and nurturing is freely given to others and nothing is expected in return.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Gemini

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Preoccupation with a quick wit in social situations.

Result: You may unknowingly withhold from others your special ability for adding lightness and open communication. Neglecting to listen to others’ ideas leads to feeling a distinct lack of confidence in communicating with them at all. Indulging in flightiness in social relationships results in experiencing a lack of worth in yourself and others.

When you use your talent for communication to manipulate, to deceive, or to create a superficial excitement with glib wit, you are left without an experience of your own value. In trying to look good to others, it’s easy for you to get caught up in superficiality. This type of communication leads to feelings of insecurity and to being at the mercy of how others see you.

Conscious Expression

When you are willing to share your natural gift of lightheartedness, you cheer others. Your ability to listen to other points of view strengthens your capacity to contribute an appropriate optimistic insight to any social situation. Your talent for stimulating, elevating conversation can result in your experiencing a deep sense of your social self-worth.

When you see the larger picture of others’ viewpoints, you have the gift of communicating in such a way that their burdens are lightened. This leads to feeling a reaction of zest and satisfaction. You establish a firm sense of self-worth and confidence in social situations by cheerfully uplifting others.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Taurus

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Overconcern with comfort in social situations.

Result: You may withhold possessions from others. This deprives you both of sharing your talents for accumulating material things. Repressing the obligation to share your belongings actually leads to a lack of confidence in your ability to acquire more material goods for yourself.

At certain times you might hold back your special sensitivities to the tactile sensual part of life due to feeling unable to share them. This withholding results in a lack of enjoyment in your relationships.

Conscious Expression

The idea is to take the initiative in sharing both your material possessions and your ability for the organization and accumulation of goods. Initiative well taken leads to the stabilizing effect of reflected merit in the eyes of others. Additionally, you gain a feeling of social worth and material security in your life by verbally sharing value systems that have brought you stability. 

Becoming aware of other people’s psychological insecurities about their own importance empowers you to validate them. Consequently, the realization of your true benefit to others begins to emerge.

When you share your gifts of sensual sensitivity to life through a form of sensual contact with others, you experience the pleasure and satisfaction of physically extending yourself to add comfort to the social environment.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology 

Venus in Aries

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Aggressive independence in relationships.

Result: Without realizing it, you might relate to others thoughtlessly and forcefully. This leads to experiencing an endless series of temporary alliances. In attempting to prove your self-worth by disregarding the values of others, you may ultimately win the conquest yet end up alone.

Consequently, a reluctance to sustain closeness often results in a lack of confidence in your worth and ability to relate to others. When you withhold your gift for positive leadership in social situations, it leads to a competitive viewpoint that is destructive for all concerned.

Conscious Expression

You have the ability to take the initiative in social situations. You can be a spontaneous leader. With the natural gifts of enthusiasm and courage you can inspire others to contribute to the group.

You realize your inherent value when you share your independence in a way that helps others to help themselves. This encourages others to actualize their potential for self-sufficiency. Becoming aware that others feel insecure about their self-reliance empowers you to motivate them to believe in themselves and assert their individuality. As help others to build their own independence, you simultaneously come to a realization of your true worth.

Combining your talent for seizing leadership with the recognition of other people’s feelings leads to confidence in your ability to stimulate others to interact socially. Using your gifts for taking the initiative in this way maintains your independence while simultaneously validating the worth of all concerned.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Mercury in Pisces

Unconscious Expression

Asleep fear: Losing a vision of how perfect the ideal could be.

Result: You may sacrifice reality for a private world of fantasy. This can lead to withholding intuitive perceptions for fear of being invalidated by others. Then the ability to communicate clearly becomes muddled and lost in the distractions of your emotional world. When you retreat into your private reality and exclude interaction with others, you may lose those relevant perceptions that help to make your thoughts manifest.

Conscious Expression

You can focus your attention on the reality of the spiritual poverty and confusion that you see in daily life. This vision inspires you to rise above fears and make a real contribution to others. Communicating your creative and intuitive abilities allows others to enter through into your psychic perceptions. Your ideals can become a healing reality in the world when you make a tangible contribution by communicating your intuitive vision.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Mercury in Aquarius

Unconscious Expression

Asleep fear: Losing mental objectivity 

Result: The Aquarius rational mind can become cold and detached from feeling or empathetic intuition. This leads to losing sensitivity to others in communication. By immersing yourself in nonjudgmental objectivity, you can inadvertently alienate others with a brittle manner. Fear of losing a detached concept of universal love can bring on abstract and thoughtless retorts to the personal communications of others. This may keep people at a distance.

Conscious Expression

By focusing on making a personal connection with others, you become aware of their sensitivities. Recognizing the individuality of others enables you to apply the ideal of universal love. You are able to establish a connection for communication that then allows you to share your unique ways of perceiving life. This is done by opening yourself to experience mental empathy with others. You experience ease in getting your point across when your ability for objective communication is tempered by both an awareness of the point of view of others and their emotional sensitivities. 

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Mercury in Sagittarius

Unconscious Expressing

Asleep fear: Losing the appearance of intellectual superiority. 

Result: You may jump to hasty conclusions. The rational mind can become lost in empty theories with no logic or facts for a foundation. These theories may then be unwittingly presented to others in a moralizing manner, from a platform of inflated expressions of pompous self-righteousness. 

Conscious Expression

When your attention is on clearly distinguishing emotionally biased thoughts from factual and logically based thoughts, you can relinquish the Sagittarius tendency of self-righteous mental isolation. Then you can communicate your inspired perceptions without any need to prove intellectual superiority. Your ability to uplift others is through opening two-way sharing and communication. 

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Mercury in Libra

Unconscious Expression

Asleep fear: Not saying the right thing

Result: By looking to others for a reflection of immediate acceptance, communications can stop. Withholding honest interchange for fear of rejection leads to your mind being stuck in a swamp of considerations that bring indecision. If you withhold disclosing what is actually on your mind, you may lose your perspective, integrity, and perceptual balance.

Conscious Expression

When you focus your attention on your point of view and sharing your independent opinion, you can discover the spontaneous awareness of your impact when communicating with others. Concentrating on what needs to be said rather than on what you think other people want to hear can contribute to justice, truth, and balance required. You then may discover that you have a natural talent for diplomacy and communication that spontaneously restores harmony without compromising any sense of personal integrity.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology 

Mercury in Virgo

Unconscious Expression

Asleep fear: Indulging in the Virgo tendency to analyze and judge what is right and wrong in yourself and others creates endless categories in your mind. This makes it difficult to communicate in an orderly and confident way.

Result: This compartmental analysis of right and wrong might appear harsh, inadvertently alienating those close to you. Concurrently, in judging others you can pave the way for heavy self-criticism if you distort perfectionism in any way.

Conscious Expression

When you trust the universal, unseen order of things, you stop feeling defensive about how actions reflect imperfection. Through developing self-tolerance  you can accomplish a job with a sense of perfection but without applying the same high standards of performance to your personal life. By detaching from expecting perfection in your relationships and communications with others, you can be transformed to a new level. You will not have to be defensive with others since you no longer need to justify your humanness to yourself.

–Jody Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Pisces Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Mystic, the Psychic, the Contemplative or the Visionary. Other images for Pisces Rising include include the Priest/Priestess, the Meditator, the Illusionist, or the Dreamer.

Less than optimal responses to this Ascendant might include the Space Cadet, the Fragile Flower, the Addict, the Ungrounded One, or the Burnout.

The Style:

This Ascendant is particularly complex to describe in modern Western terminology with its typically external orientation, so we’ll spend some extra time here.

A man or woman with Pisces rising has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she must present a gentle, expansive, compassionate face to the world. Virtually essential is the development of what’s usually considered a mystical sensibility: that there is a fundamental, underlying unity to all existence and a spiritual equality to all sentient beings, and that there are far more dimensions of reality than the ones we see on the evening news. Those attitudes need to ooze out through a Pisces Ascendant’s pores. Those attitudes are usually easier to maintain if they’re supported by a regular meditative-like process, some sort of non-damaging altered state.

Basically, this meditative process has two steps. The first step is disengaging the ego’s or personality’s attention from the outside world and putting it on hold, so that we can cease to identify the ego as the totality of our being. the second step is turning the attention inward, so that we can observe ourselves as consciousness as well as personality. If we do the first step with doing the second, then we daydream, lose track of time, forget things, or may deliberately numb the personality in less that healthy ways. Alcohol and drugs are two possibilities for such numbing. However, any behavior that becomes addictive or compulsive–eating, sleeping, sex–and that leaves us in a trance-like, more or less numbed state without our taking the second step of observing our consciousness, can function as a substitute for this meditative process.

How can a Pisces rising person enter this process in a healthy way? Meditation is one method, but so are: creativity in which we can lose ourselves; prayer; contemplation; quiet time; inner work; watching sunsets; doing yoga; “runner’s high;” mind-body centering techniques, etc. As I’ve heard a yoga teacher say, “Almost anything can function as a meditation, as long as you maintain awareness of what part of you is performing that action and of what part of you is watching yourself perform that action.” Such behavior helps a Pisces Ascendant maintain an outer style of warmth, compassionate, gently humorous attunement to others.

If the rest of the chart is more linear, bold, harsh or self-contained, this Ascendant is meant to soften this person’s presentation and help it be warmer and more flexible. If the rest of the chart is mild, subjective or imaginative, the Ascendant is meant to reinforce it, give it a transpersonal dimension and help it express itself. In either case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a person who gets the ‘cosmic joke:’ that everyone is a combination of soul and personality, of consciousness and ego, and that the posturings of people who don’t know that yet are best approached with sympathy and humor if possible, rather that with anger and judgment.”

If the childhood circumstances were rough, stronger people with Pisces rising may have an extra tendency to retreat into a well-defended fantasy world as their “altered state,” until they learn that such retreats can carry dangers all their own. More fragile people may retreat into addictive behavior. The may also or alternatively reproduce the ambiance of the traumatic childhood in situations that are eerily reminiscent of it, until they recognize that Now is not Then–for Pisces rising, reality and time can be very fluid–and that they can make better choices now.

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Aquarius Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Individualist, Rebel, Genius, or Truth-Sayer. Other images include the Non-Conformist, Mutant, Inventor, Alien or Geek. Less than optimal expressions of this Ascendant’s energy might include the Weirdo, Sociopath, Crackpot, or Flake.

The Style:

In some ways, this is the hardest Ascendant to describe, because someone responding  really well to Aquarius rising expresses it in such an utterly unique way that it’s hard to foresee or predict.

This man or woman has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she should present an original, unconventional and highly individual face to the world. Development of the abilities to question authority and automatically follow the crowd is essential. Life should be confronted with as much independence as possible, independence of mind, heart, will and spirit. People wearing the mask of the Rebel need to make sure they’re fighting the War of Aquarian Independence in the right place. If a symbolic battlefield is chosen instead–such as the office dress code–Aquarian Ascendants can simply look difficult, contrary or “different.” Meanwhile they’re avoiding the real issue, which is that they’ve succumbed to parental pressures to choose a job that doesn’t suit them and never will.

If the rest of the chart is relationship-oriented and empathic, the Aquarian Ascendant is intended to keep this person from dissolving into the partner, family, or friends. If the rest of the chart is lively and playful, the Aquarian Ascendant is intended to help this person express his or her unique vision. If the rest of the chart is strong and driven, the Aquarian Ascendant is intended to help reinforce this person’s pursuit of his or her own goals. In any case, this Ascendant should convey the message: “Here is someone who’s not cut from the same cloth as anyone else on this planet, who is very much his or her own person, who follows the proverbial different drummer.”

If the childhood environment was unpredictable, particularly if one or both parents chafed, even unconsciously, at the responsivities of parenting, people with this Ascendant may have reacted a few different ways. They may have detached from the family emotionally or otherwise, either because they didn’t get good enough modeling from that family about how to be close, or because they expected the other shoe to drop and their ambivalent parents to disappear at any moment, or both. If the family was particularly chaotic or dysfunctional, this Air sign Ascendant can carry a “wired,” high-strung, vigilant energy, as if expecting a nasty surprise at any moment. Even with a good childhood, the match between the temperament of the Aquarius Ascendant and that of the rest of the family is often poor, and the Aquarius rising person can feel as if his or her parents might have taken the wrong baby home from the hospital. In any case, even if it was safe to belong to that family, something about Aquarius rising people didn’t fit into their childhood environment. They do well to learn that “being different” doesn’t necessarily mean being lesser or worse, that the don’t have to feel like the outcast or the misfit everywhere in their adult lives, and to value their uniqueness.  

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Capricorn Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Wise Elder, the Prime Minister, the Executive or the Authority. Other images for Capricorn rising include the Strategist the Hermit, the Realist, or the Architect. Less than optimal manifestations of this Ascendant might include Scrooge, Machiavelli, Atlas Carrying the Weight of the World on His Shoulders, or the Pessimist.

The Style:

This man or woman has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she should present a dignified, practical rather reserved face to the world. Remember that the first day of Capricorn is the first day of winter. Metaphorically, this Ascendant needs to prepare for a “wintry” environment. The development of enough grounded reality-testing, pragmatism, and perseverance to achieve personally meaningful accomplishments–”Great Works”–is essential. Life should be confronted with forethought, planning, efficiency, wise use of resources and tremendous self-control. The fuel is any important goal to Capricorn Ascendant has in his or her sights, and the terrain is wherever he or she must go in order to achieve that goal.

If the rest of the chart is tempestuous or impulsive, the Capricorn Ascendant  is intended to help this person develop enough foresight to think before he or she speaks or acts. If the rest of the chart is gentle and labile, the Capricorn Ascendant is intended to provide enough self-containment and reality-testing to help protect this person’s soft underbelly. If the rest of the chart is independent or driven, the Capricorn Ascendant is intended to help this person size up the obstacles to his or her goals and maneuver around them, alone if necessary. In any case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a reserved, pragmatic, sensible person who doesn’t miss a thing, who can be extremely competent and efficient, who’s worthy of respect.”

For this wintry Ascendant, anything that feels out of control can feel potentially dangerous–we can freeze to death in the winter unless we control our preparations for a dangerous environment. Childhood is probably the epoch of our lives over which we have the least control, simply by virtue of being children. If the childhood environment was emotionally cold, and love or approval or even acceptance was conditional, a Capricorn Ascendant may have decided to quit trying to get emotional support from a family that couldn’t or wouldn’t give it.

In adulthood, unless this dynamic is examined, these people may give up far too easily on asking for love and connectedness. Meanwhile, they can remain models of whatever overachieving behavior–something they can control–that they unconsciously hope will solicit the desired response from their loved ones. If the childhood environment was harsh materially, these people may have decided that their longed-for Security is a pearl beyond price and remain so cautious about any sort of risk–not all of which they can control–that they limit their possibilities in life. If the childhood environment was chaotic, these people may decide to try to control anything and everything that they can possibly control, or they may retreat into distance and negativity.

All of these types do well to remember that, as I learned in a counseling skills class, control is what we try to get when we fear we don’t hav”e power. If controlling behavior appears in the adult lives of people with Capricorn rising, its sources may of course be extremely complex. Nevertheless, it might be helpful for these people to aske themselves, “What am I afraid will happen if I don’t have control? Where am I afraid I have no power? And did I ever feel anything like this when I was a child?”

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Sagittarius Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Gypsy, the Scholar, the Philosopher, the Anthropologist or the Pilgrim. Other images for Sagittarius include the True Believer, the Professor, the Optimist, the Seeker or the Bon Vivant. Lower level manifestations of this sign’s energy might be the Dogmatist, the Proselytizer, the Know-It-All, the Gullible One or the Dissipated One.

The Style:

First, a comment about Sagittarius and Gemini may be helpful: they have more in common than any other pair of opposing signs. However, a basic vital difference is that Gemini represents the axis of observing and collecting raw data, whereas its opposite sign, Sagittarius, represents the axis of collating that data deriving deductions from it. 

The man or woman with Sagittarius rising has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she must present a hearty, tolerant and robust face to the world. These people should develop the ability to explore and experience the world through studying  its various patterns–cultural, legal, scientific, ethical, religious, etc. For Sagittarius rising, life should be confronted with willingness, verve, and a desire to understand and to derive meaning from what one sees and experiences. If the rest of the chart is reflective or inward, this Ascendant is intended both as protective coloration, and as a tool to help this person gather experiences to feed the inner life and make it even richer. If the rest of the chart is strongly airy and analytical, this Ascendant is intend to help these people assign some meaning and perspective to their experiences, so they can start to perceive the whole forest as well as each separated tree. If the rest of the chart is slapdash and extraverted, this Ascendant is intended to help lead this person down multiple roads of  experience or even excess, roads that with luck will lead to the proverbial palace of wisdom. In any case, this Ascendant’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a plucky, expansive, spontaneous and upbeat person who’s hungry for experience, who’s willing to assign meaning to life and to operate ethically.”

If the family of origin had upwardly mobile aspirations, a Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius rising person can be particularly apt to buy into and try to model whatever portion of the bigger-and-better “great American dream” prevailed in that household. Maybe it was the Horatio Alger story. Maybe it was a belief that education is always an all but holy end in itself. Maybe it was get-rich-quick schemes or prosperity consciousness. Maybe it was some form of self-righteous religion or philosophy that bordered on fundamentalism. It can take time for someone with this Ascendant to figure out whether he or she actually shares the family’s belief system, and how to avoid being damaged by any of its unrealistic expectations. If the childhood environment included a rolling-stone-gathers-no-moss parent and/or a family system inclined to chaos and to promising more than could be delivered, a stronger person may get suspicious, learn to value stability and reliability as well as flash and bombast, and escape relatively unscathed. A weaker person may spend a long time be continually let down until he or she learns to be more realistic and recognize pie-in-the-sky offers. All these types need to learn that they and everyone else on the planet are mere mortals prone to inconsistencies and failures.

Scorpio Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Psychoanalyst, Hypnotist, Shaman or Detective. Other images for Scorpio rising are the Occultist, Sorcerer, Spy or Hospice Worker. Less than optimal manifestations of this Ascendant might include the Intensity Junkie, the Manipulator, the Brooder or Gollum (from The Lord of the Rings).

The Style: 

This Ascendant is complicated, so we’ll spend some extra time here. 

Imagine you’re on a blind date with someone who knows you’re a brilliant, groundbreaking and incredibly skilled and perceptive psychoanalyst, or forensic pathologist, or FBI profiler. How comfortable do you think your date feels? You know that your date knows this about you. How comfortable do you feel?

A man or woman with Scorpio rising has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she should present a penetrating, intense and probing face to the world. To minimize the possibility of others’  negative reactions to such a mask, the development of a certain level of psychological awareness of oneself and others is essential here.

Basically, someone with Scorpio rising does well to realize that he or she tends to have a powerful unconscious mind. What does that mean? Material from his or her unconscious floats up into this person’s awareness more frequently than in people who don’t have a lot of Scorpio, Plutonian or eighth house energy in their birth charts, and who can therefore better repress whatever “shadow” material makes them uncomfortable–ambivalent or inappropriate feelings, painful memories, insights about people’s Freudian slips and unconscious motives, etc. Although Scorpio Ascendants can have their blind spots, they can be far more perceptive about  their own shadow functions than the average person is. Although they are by no means always right, Scorpio Ascendants can often be very perceptive about other people’s shadows, too, as if this rising sign came equipped with psychological X-ray vision.

if someone with a Scorpio Ascendant is unaware that not everyone’s “vehicle” is also equipped with these in-depth psychological sensors, then he or she can attribute all kinds of motive to another person that simply aren’t in that person’s conscious thoughts. After a few too may accusations of suspiciousness or of having their minds in the gutter—”How could you say such a thing?”–Scorpio Ascendants may start keeping their thoughts to themselves. Although developing some discernment and discretion before they speak can be a good thing for these people, emotional isolation never is. Scorpio is a water sign, and water wants emotional connectedness. Scorpio rising benefits from relationships of cathartic and transformative emotional intensity, where they have a partner for their explorations of the psychological underworld. They need their trusted intimates’ perspective on their inner landscapes, lest they blow some of their own issues out of proportion.

For Scorpio rising, life should be confronted with honesty , intensity, a commitment to deep self-awareness, and a willingness to examine all taboos. That doesn’t mean to break all of them. It just means that no area of life or death should be bared from the laser-sharp scrutiny of this Ascendant.

Taboos are usually assigned to such psychologically charged material as sex, death and the afterlife. This is why kids are told not to discuss religion, the neighbors’ divorce, or their uncle’s cancer diagnosis at their parents’ parties. People with Scorpio rising need some intimates with whom there are no taboo subjects–and they do well not to overuse that X-ray vision with the rest of us.

If the rest of the chart is sensitive and cautious, this Ascendant is intended both to protect this person, and to advertise for the sort of partners who can truly understand him or her. If the rest of the chart is strong and vivid, this Ascendant is intended to express it and to give this person depth and honesty. If the rest of the chart is that of a thinking type or a pragmatic type, this Ascendant is intended to help this person stay in touch with his or her own feelings and with those of other people. All of these types need to be aware that the intensity of their Scorpio masks can seem to convey the desire for a deeper intimacy than they may actually want or should have with everyone whose paths they cross. In such cases, cultivating the ability to use a lighter self-presentation sometimes–more humor, less eye contact, fewer charged topics of conversation, etc.–can be very helpful. In any event, this rising sign’s demeanor should transmit the message: “Here is someone who sees deeply into people, who demands frankness and can grasp secrets, and who probably has a few of his or her own.”

If the childhood environment was either chaotic, or spent with parents or family members who themselves had powerful unconscious minds and turbulent feelings, then a Scorpio Ascendant with a strong psyche may have felt that he or she had to understand a parent or parents very thoroughly in order to make a deep impact on them. Such an impact may have felt imperative for the Scorpio rising child to achieve, just to capture enough of the parents’ attention to get the child’s needs met–placating an angry parent, cheering a depressed one, etc. However, Scorpio rising children may also have felt that too much notice from a parent or relative might engulf them emotionally or psychologically. In that event, they may have blurted out an occasional home truth in self-defense. They may have been shamed or even punished for verbalizing their perceptions, and may have learned to hide them or even doubt them.

How close was so close  that the Scorpio rising child would feel swallowed alive, and how far away was either too far away to get his or her needs met, or too far away to observe and guard against a relative’s potentially problematic behavior? Such was the dance that people with Scorpio Ascendants might have needed to learn. Can you imagine how vigilant these people might have therefore had to be, and how much discernment about others they may have had to develop?

In adulthood, this dynamic may translate into wanting to probe into others but not be too deeply probed oneself. Scorpio Ascendants with a less healthy ego structure and a chaotic upbringing may repeat a dynamic of alternately feeling overwhelmed and invaded by intimacy, trying to shut it out completely, or accepting it only if they can control it. But true intimacy works best as a two-way street, so a Scorpio Ascendant may need to choose partners who are more stable than their relatives might have been, and to allow such people to get and stay closer than the Scorpio Ascendant may initially find comfortable. 

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Libra Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Artist, Lover, Counselor, or Peacemaker. Other images for Libra rising include the Negotiator, Diplomat, Aesthetic One or Moderator. Less than optimal manifestations of this Ascendant might include the Fence-Sitter, Codependent One, Conflict-Avoider, or Indecisive One.

The Style:

This man or woman has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she should present a gracious, civilized, charming face to the world. The development of empathy, excellent social skills and a strong aesthetic sense is important. Life should be met with a sincere attempt to achieve and maintain both inner equilibrium, and equilibrium between the self and the surrounding environment, to which Libra rising is extremely sensitive. If the rest of the chart is more rough-and-steady, the Libran Ascendant is intended to soften this person and make his or her self-presentation more palatable to others. If the rest of the chart is detached and analytical, the Libran Ascendant is intended to help this person develop more emotional intelligence. In any case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a warm, fair-minded, aesthetically sensitive person who’s genuinely interested in others.”

In childhood, people with Libra rising were hyper-aware of their environment, all their family members, and anyone else who was close to them. Because of Libra’s drive for equilibrium, they may have attempted to placate and pacify any upset relatives, even if being the peacemaker came at their own expense. More fragile or less self-aware adults with this Ascendant may still blame themselves for any conflicts, and turn themselves inside out in order to be what they think their friends and partners want. Stronger people with Libra rising may still find any sort of disagreement extremely disturbing, and avoid even necessary conflicts more than is good for them. Both types may sometimes benefit from taking some deep calming breaths and remembering that their needs are just as important as the needs of others, not more so and not less so.

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Virgo Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Craftsperson, the Analyst, the Worker, the Details Person or the Growth Ninja. Other images for Virgo rising include the Perfectionist, the Servant, the Critic, the Apprentice, or the Health Nut. Less than optimal manifestations of this Ascendant might include the Faultfinder, the Drudge, the Slave, the Hypochondriac or the Self-Saboteur. (Apologies if some of these terms are unwieldy, but simpler ones wouldn’t convey their full meaning.)

The Style:

This Ascendant’s dynamics are sufficiently complicated that we’ll spend some extra time here.

This man or woman has reached an evolutionary stage where he for she should present a practical, can-do, detail-oriented, humble but not servile face to the world. The development of honest self-appraisal and a dedication to self-improvement are essential . Life should be confronted with honesty, humility, self-awareness, and a bedrock decision to like oneself enough both to allow oneself to grow, and to claim the right, fulfilling work.

If the rest of the chart is fiery, passionate, and demonstrative, the Virgo Ascendant is intended to help these people not get too full of themselves. If the rest of the chart is highly inward and emotional, this Ascendant is intended to help this person use meaningful work as a tonic to prevent too much self-absorption. If the rest of the chart is serious and analytical, the Virgo Ascendant is intended to develop and express those qualities. In any case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is someone who’s mastered a craft or a skill and can use it in a commonsensical, helpful way. Here is someone with a keen eye for detail, but even though he notices all the flaws in everything around him, he has enough healthy self-esteem not to need to pump himself up by putting others down all the time.”

In childhood, these people were extremely sensitive to any real or implied criticism from their family or their environment in general. Meanwhile, all kids need toilet training, get sick, spill milk, and make messes and mistakes; that just goes with being a kid. But if the Virgo Ascendant’s family was unreasonably picky, squeamish or punitive about such matters, a more sensitive person can have decided there was something wrong with him or her, and not see that it was his or her behavior that bothered a family member. Virgo Ascendants may internalize such decisions about themselves as low self-esteem.

As adults, this dynamic, if unexamined, may continue , and the Virgo Ascendants may try all the harder to be perfect, out of fear of continued criticism and punishment that was all out of proportion to the “offense.” A hardier person with Virgo rising, who learned to shut out negative feedback in order to survive childhood, can become defensive about any and all criticism, no matter how appropriated or constructive and no matter what the source. Both  types do well to turn that analytical Virgoan eye to their own upbringing. Perhaps, because this Mercury-ruled Ascendant benefits from lots of communication, they might compare their upbringing to that of other people, to help them recognize where their own family’s standards, expectations and reactions might have been extreme. Then it will be easier for the Virgo Ascendant to stop applying those unrealistic standards either to themselves or to others.

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Cancer Rising

The Symbols: 

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Nurturer, the Healer, the Mother, or the Sensitive. Other images for Cancer include the Invisible One, Old Mother Hubbard, the Hobbit, the Rememberer or the Homebody. Less than optimal manifestations of this Ascendant might include the Smother-mother, the Clingy One, the Hypersensitive One, or the Crybaby.

The Style:

As with all water signs, this Ascendant is complex, so we’ll spend some extra time here.

Cancer doesn’t mean biologically female, but this is the sign of the archetypal feminine, the archetypal Great Goddess, the lunar counterpart to the Leonine Sun God. Think of Cancer as the epitome of “yin” energy, that which is nurturing, receptive, and fertile–and dark, mysterious, inward and unpredictable.

In prehistoric societies now lost in time, before we knew that sex led to babies, we might well have associated the creative function with women, who mysteriously brought forth children from their own flesh and blood. When not bearing children, and before the age of artificial lights, it’s likely that women’s cycles tended to attune themselves to the approximately twenty-eight day cycle of the Moon.

Until relatively recently in modern astrology, it’s been all too easy to dismiss the Moon and the yin territory that it rules, just as it’s been all too easy to dismiss the feminine. We would do well to remember that some of the earliest astronomical and astrological records were of the Moon’s cycle. The Sun rules the day and is predictably invisible at night. The Moon, who rules the night and the dark, is sometimes visible during the day and sometimes invisible at night. Yin energy is cyclical, too, sometimes dark and sometimes full, just as the Moon waxes and wanes and changes speed. The Moon rules over fertility and birth–and over the dark, the night, the real and imaginary creatures who walk there, and the ultimate night of death. As a midwife once told me, “Death is always present at birth.” Perhaps that’s one reason, apart from the Moon’s phases, why many lunar goddesses have more than one face: maiden, mother, crone.

The Moon rules the high and love tides of our oceans and of our emotional lives, whose karmic imprints we all carry. It rules the body’s automatic systems: digestion, endocrine, etc., all the bodily functions that aren’t under the conscious control of the mind. The Moon rules the fluids of which our bodies are mostly composed. It rules caves and the chthonic energy associated with them. It rules our ancestors and, I suspect, whatever known or unknown influences they have in our lives.

Just as people with Leo rising wear the Sun God’s energy and all it implies of archetypal kingship or even the godhead metaphorically imprinted on their faces, people with Cancer carry the full fluctuating weight of the Moon Goddess upon theirs. Someone with a Cancer Ascendant has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she should present a gentle, caring, tender and reflective face to the world. Remember that one of Cancer’s traditional symbols is the Crab, a delicate creature with a hard exoskeleton that helps it survive. A person with this Ascendant needs some “shells,” some protective mechanisms, some deflector shields. The development of enough discernment to know when to raise the shields and when to lower them is crucial. Otherwise, people with Cancer rising can go through life either inappropriately defended and defensive, or so open and vulnerable that they become codependent or are repeatedly hurt and manipulated. Years ago, I heard the astrology Richard Idemon call dysfunctional Cancer “the breast looking for the baby or the baby looking for the breast.” To that image I would add “the barnacle:” someone who’s shut down behind what could become a PermaShell, usually after bouncing back and forth between those breast-or-baby extremes and not yet integrating them.

People with Cancer rising should face life with imagination, receptivity, the full development of their feeling function and of a rich inner life, and as open a heart as possible consistent with their emotional survival. The fuel of whatever strengthens the feeling function and feeds the imagination and makes it fertile. The terrain is anywhere one must navigate by feeling, intuition and patience rather than by logic.

If the rest of the chart is self-contained and analytical, the Cancer Ascendant is intended to soften this person and help him or her be more aware of the feeling side of life. If the rest of the chart is creative or psychologically oriented, the Cancer Ascendant is intended to help give this person access to deep inner sources of self-awareness. In any case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a sensitive, imaginative, empathic and supportive person, who may be quiet or unavailable at the moment, but these still waters run deep.”

If no one provided adequate nurturing in the Cancer Ascendant’s childhood, this person can become “the baby looking for the breast” and keep searching for someone to play mother, so that he or she can at last be the baby. On the other hand, these people may instead become “the breast looking for the baby” and mother everyone else, all the while ignoring their own needs, perhaps because it’s too painful to feel how those needs aren’t being met, or perhaps because they’re unconsciously hoping to get some mothering back eventually. Another reaction to inadequate early nurturing may be to give up on every finding any at all, and to withdraw–the “barnacle”–behind the Cancer shell. Such people may be very focused on themselves and on meeting their own needs, while those of others are given short shrift. If the childhood was chaotic, traumatic or dangerous, people with this rising sign can become extremely shy, cautious or self-protective. All of these types would do well to learn about healthy self-nurturing, aided by their own powerful feelings and potentially rich and fertile inner lives. Then it’s easier to relate to the outside world from a position of emotional strength and wholeness, rather than need or lack. 

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Taurus Rising

The Symbols:

This person has come into the world wearing the mask of the Earth Mother/Earth Father, the Indigenous Tribesperson, the Pagan, the Sensualist, the Farmer, or Salt of the Earth. Other images might include the Ecologist, the “Totem Animal,” the Granola Person or the Field Hippie. Lower level manifestations of this sign’s energy might include the Stubborn Mule, the Arch-Conservative, the Lazy-Bones and the Materialist.

The Style:

This man or woman has reached an evolutionary stage where he or she must present an earthy, solid, commonsensical and centered face to the world. The more fully these people inhabit their physical selves and make friends with all their senses, the better. Life should be met as a primate–a human, intelligent, civilized and soulful primate, but a primate nonetheless, someone who has not lost touch with his or her instinctive side. If the rest of the chart is more mental, emotional or fiery, the Taurus Ascendant is intended to protect it and ground it. If the rest of the chart is kinesthetic or pragmatic, the Taurus Ascendant is intended to help express it. In either case, this rising sign’s demeanor should convey the message: “Here is a person capable of being practical, with both feet planted firmly on the ground.”

If the childhood was difficult or dangerous, a stronger person may have used Taurean stubbornness to survive and therefore may need to learn that not all compromises are dangerous. A more fragile Taurus Ascendant with such an upbringing may become very focused on safety and security. Both types need calm and stability in their lives, and do well to avoid letting material comfort and pleasure become all-important ends in themselves.

–Jodie Forrest, The Ascendant

Venus in Pisces

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Not exposing your psychic sensitivity.

Result: Fears of inadequacy may suppress potential psychic healing ability. The results in a feeling of helplessness to alleviate the discomforts that affect others. 

When you allow other people to take advantage of your gentle, sympathetic manner and you absorb their ills, you might experience a depletion of energy. Indiscriminately, indulging in your romantic ideal of serving and helping others can diminish your self-worth.

Conscious Expression

You have a natural gift for relating to others on the level of unconditional love. Your compassion can overcome any social disharmony that arises.

When you see beyond the rules and regulations to the spiritual purpose of relationships, your compassionate understanding and willingness to fully participate can automatically heal the situation. You establish a firm sense of self-worth through sharing with others your ability to respond with compassion to both the seen and unseen sources of disharmony.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Aquarius

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: A desire to create more excitement.

Result: There is a tendency to withhold your gift of objective understanding and loving acceptance. If indulged in, you may experience a series of shallow, chaotic, and scattered encounters. You might use the pretext of universal love for humankind as an excuse for neglecting to establish personal relationships. Eventually, this path leads to the haunting realization that the detachment is simply feeling an inability and unwillingness to relate to anyone on a personal level.

Conscious Expression

You experience the joy and exhilaration of coming into contact with others when you are willing to share openly your unique gift of loving in an impartial way. No matter how intimate or personal a relationship may be, you have the ability to retain your sense of individual freedom.

If you do not abuse your freedom through eccentric behavior in an attempt to guarantee your independence, you can attract people who are willing to be your equal. In doing so you eliminate the possibility of your dependency through their independence. A firm sense of self-worth can be established when you allow a deep personal pledge to develop within your intimate relationship.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Scorpio

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Controlling your power in social situations.

Result: The tendency is to withhold sharing your abilities to perceive the hidden talents and resources of others. You may tend to use others as a means of fulfilling your desires. The result is experiencing tension from constantly trying to maintain secret control of those around you. Thus you become the one who is actually controlled–by your fear that others may withdraw their resources. When you ignore bringing others to an awareness of their talents, stagnation and rigidity may result from your incomplete interaction.

Forming rigid personal values results in lost opportunities for interacting with others. In neglecting to stimulate self-worth in other people, your lose your own feeling of worth.

Conscious Expression

You have the aptitude and awareness to perceive and encourage the undiscovered abilities of others. You can inspire them to use their potential. When you bring out other people’s talents in such a way that you both benefit, you experience a transformation of your values and material opportunities.

You have the opportunity to experience a continual transformation of your feelings of self-worth. This comes from taking the initiative to help others awaken their latent talents, thus showing them their hidden worth. The more you arouse and enhance the powers of others, the more valuable you become to them and the more worthwhile you feel about yourself.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Libra

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Harmony in social situations, regardless of the cost.

Result: There is a tendency to withhold your opinions and sense of justice. You may gain a false sense of harmony with others when in effect you are constantly at the mercy of their approval. When you withhold your ability for creating harmony and instead seek to appease others by telling them what you think they want to hear (according to their sense of fair play), your manipulations inadvertently create chaos. Inevitably, such chaos leads to feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness.

Conscious Expression

Being willing to risk losing your role of Mr. or Ms. Nice Person in social situations empowers you to share the injustices that you feel as well as the fair solution that you see. In so doing, your courage can pave the way for a higher, fairer order to take place. By asserting integrity and openly sharing your insights, you appreciate and value yourself in your relationships. 

When you state your independent value system, your sense of balance and harmony is acknowledged. This leads to a feeling of self-worth. Declaring your innate perception of fair play to others (and risking the threat of possible dis-harmony in order to reach a greater harmony) results in inner satisfaction from sharing your fine gifts of social organization. The invitation is to take the initiative to create harmony that is in alignment with the integrity of your inner sense of fair play. The result is a firm, consistent sense of self-worth.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology

Venus in Virgo

Unconscious Expression

Self-defeating habit: Being right in social interactions.

Result: You may unknowingly use relationships in a self-serving way rather than serving others. This leads to the frustration of having relationships fall short of your high standards. Engaging in the tendency to discriminate against and criticize others leads to trying to hide your biases in order to prevent alienation. This indulgence results in feelings of isolation that come from silent, separative judgments.

If you give into fears that your service may not be accepted by others, that you are unworthy to serve others, or that you might be criticized, the result is a disintegration of your ability to make practical use of relationships. You may withhold your gift for unselfish service and instead seek to serve in a way that you think will elicit a particular response. This withholding results in feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-worth.

Conscious Expression

You have a natural gift for serving others in practical ways that are compatible with your ideals. When you do, you experience the satisfaction of relating in a way that is consistent with your integrity. By sharing your understanding of order and discrimination, adjusting relationships in such a way the whole is served, you can experience a heightened sense of self-worth.

Rising above the fear that your service to others may not be accepted empowers you to trust your inner feelings and the higher order that you see. Then you can experience the perfection inherent in being and sharing yourself. In knowing that you have been useful to others, you feel a deep sense of enduring personal value. Recognizing that your outreach has truly stemmed from a motive of wanting to serve and be helpful frees you from attachment to others’ response and gives you an unshakable sense of self-worth.

–Jodie Forrest, Spiritual Astrology