AKA Your cosmic destiny
Woah, cosmic destiny? What? Yeah. It’s some heavy and important shit right there.
To clarify, I’m not talking about your natural talents or proclivities. I’m not talking about your career or the ways you might be inclined to make money (although for some lucky folks, they might be able to align the two.) I’m talking about the reason your soul was incarnated on this plane, at this time, in this life. Look, I warned you this was going to get intense.
The ruler of your ascendant sign, and its placement in your natal chart, can show you what your life’s purpose is.
To unpack this a little bit, your ascendant is the same thing as your rising sign. It’s the sign that was on the horizon at the moment of your birth. You need your time of birth to figure this out. Once you have that, pop that into any of the millions of online calculators to get your natal chart and ascendant.
The ruler of your ascendant is the planet that governs over your ascendant sign.
Because I’m great, here’s a cheat sheet:
Aries: Mars
Taurus: Venus
Gemini: Mercury
Cancer: the moon
Leo: the sun
Virgo: Mercury
Libra: Venus
Scorpio: Mars (traditionally) or Pluto
Sagittarius: Jupiter
Capricorn: Saturn
Aquarius: Saturn (traditionally) or Uranus
Pisces: Jupiter (traditionally) or Neptune
If you’re a Scorpio, Aquarius, or Pisces, it’s up to you to decide whether you’d like to use the traditional rulerships or the modern ones. I suggest you figure out both and see which one resonates with you more. You know yourself much better than any random blogger on the internet does. But I digress.
Here’s the fun part. Now, look at your natal chart and see which sign and house your ruling planet is in. The house will be the domain of your life’s purpose. The sign will be “how” you do it. I’ll give you a list in a second, but here’s a few examples of real people whose charts I’ve read and how this plays out for them before you get overwhelmed by details.
A young guy whose ruler is in Aries in the 6th house spends his time trying to challenge his life and start new ways (Aries) of dealing with his chronic migraines, stomach issues, and depression (6th house of health, illness, and work.)
A woman whose ruler is in Virgo in the 12th house works hard (Virgo) as a speech therapist to give voices to people with multiple disabilities who are locked inside their own bodies (12th house of isolation, suffering, and transcendence.)
A guy whose ruler is in Gemini in the 2nd house uses his gift for remembering and sharing relevant information and his ability to blend in to any situation (Gemini) to earn a ton of money (2nd house of finances) as a lawyer.
A lovely lady whose ruler is in Pisces in the 5th house is a stay-at-home mom (5th house of pleasure, luck, and children) who spends her time playing imaginative games with her kids, and being an empathetic friend to all those she meets (Pisces.)
Obviously, these planetary energies can play out in a ton of different ways. If your ruling planet is in the 6th house, don’t get all worried and think that this “dooms” you to being sick like the poor guy I mentioned above. Once your start unpicking your own chart (and the charts of others around you if you’re nosy like me) you’ll see that we actually have a considerable amount of control over whether we access the crappier or more awesome side of these energies. It all hinges on knowing what you’ve got to work with and being willing to put in the time doing all that fun growing and soul-searching that I’m so big on.
Okay, grasshopper. Now it’s time for you to plug in your own data and see what pops up. Please see the handy reference list below (have I MENTIONED how great I am?) to get you started.
Houses, or the domains of life:
1st house: Self, physical form, self-expression
2nd house: Resources (money, finances) and self-worth
3rd house: Local travel, your neighborhood, sisters and brothers, communication, fortune telling (I don’t know why, just go with it) and personal rituals or spirituality
4th house: home, family, childhood experiences, the base that you build the rest of your life on
5th house: Fun, sex, pleasure, leisure pursuits, creativity, children
6th house: Health or illness, your office or work environment, service to others, and small animals/pets (I told you, I don’t know why)
7th house: Relationships (business, friendships, or romantic partners)
8th house: Shared resources such as inheritance, loans, and debt, aka, other people’s money. The darker, more transcendental kind of sex. Loss, decay, transformation.
9th house: Higher education, philosophy, faith/spirituality and institutionalized religion, long distance travel
10th house: Career, status, how you are perceived in the public eye
11th house: friends (peers and friends in “high places”) groups, public awareness
12th house: isolation, suffering, institutions, subconscious, hidden things, catharsis, transcendence of sorrow
The signs, or adjectives for how you approach the domains of life:
Aries: Initiating, activating, finding new ways, going forth
Taurus: Generating resources, grounded, secure, sensual, productive
Gemini: Spreading learning or information, communicating, multifaceted
Cancer: Nurturing, fostering growth, caring and helping
Leo: Creating, desiring admiration, grandiose
Virgo: Hardworking, serving others, detailed, polishing and perfecting
Libra: Initiating relationships, networking, balancing, seeking justice
Scorpio: Transforming, hidden, secret, taboo, indirect
Sagittarius: Seeking truth, higher knowledge, philosophical, travel
Capricorn: Utilizing resources, striving to accomplish, working to manifest realities
Aquarius: Innovating, seeking new ways, breaking boundaries
Pisces: Dreaming, transcending, universally loving
If you want to dig deeper into the characteristics of the signs, I would suggest poking around on this very site. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the adjectives, try to think about how they’re all related. In any case, digest this information however you know how.
When you feel ready, start thinking about how you’ve been relating to your newly discovered life’s purpose. What does the house description make you think of in your own life? In what ways can you say the sign adjectives resonate with you? Keep in mind that your understanding of your “purpose” will evolve over time. As you mature and get to know yourself more, you’ll gain insight into how you can work with your cosmic destiny – or how you can let it work through you.
