Last Updated on July 30, 2020 by astrologerbydefault

I recently read a comment on Facebook that Libra/Tula is the worst ascendant to have, and this comment was being ‘liked. These sort of immature and unbalanced comments can dishearten genuine aspirants from learning this ancient science of Jyotish. So here is my experience with Libra ascendant. This sign is represented by a balance scale perfectly in balance. Every sort of energy is perfectly balanced by this ascendant.

When you read a horoscope there are two things you must remember. Each house is influenced by two signs.

1. The sign that is actually occupying it and
2. The sign of the zodiac which would naturally occupy it.

If the ascendant is Taurus the first house will be influenced by 1.Taurus which is actually rising and 2.Aries the first natural sign of the zodiac. Aries will be the subtle influence overlaid on the expression of Taurus here. Whatever may be the rising sign, Aries will always have a say on the matters of the 1st house wherever it may be located in the chart. The two signs and their traits influence each other and mingle to create the 1st house. Now for every ascendant sign Aries will be placed in different houses too. This placement i.e. house number where Aries is placed will also influence your 1st house characteristics.

Similarly Taurus will always influence the 2nd house in addition the actual sign occupying the 2nd house, and so on till Pisces which will always subtly influence the 12th house.

So when the ascendant is Libra rising, the 1st house will be influenced by the two signs Libra itself and Aries. Two signs, Libra and the sign exactly opposite it, 180 degrees away Aries both now interact to create the personality. For each and every house the actual sign and the sign exactly opposite it will create the house. Eg, the 2nd house will be a composite of Scorpio and its exact opposite Taurus. Similarly the 3rd is a composite of Sagittarius and Gemini. So on till the 12th house is a composite of Virgo and its opposite Pisces.

It is just like you rent your house to your perfect partner and you take his house on rent yourself. Now both you and this guy are interested in the welfare and maintenance of both these houses. And both these houses are right in front of each other so that both of you check on your actual houses all the time.

I had written a post on how a sign and the sign 180 degrees away from it/opposite to it, are complementary. These two signs are mirror images, both filling each other’s blanks. This is the subtle balance that Libra represents. In every aspect of life denoted by each and every house, the natural sign of that house is placed exactly opposite to that house thus subtly completing the missing bits of actual sign occupying the house. Thus the Balance of Libra. The first house is the 7th sign. The force of personality, conquest, competition etc is tempered with the need to ally, to balance, to partner. Thus you get the balance. The second house is the 8th sign. Here the need to preserve family treasures, home life, party and pleasure, food and drink is tempered with the need to work in secret, putting your assets to use and to transform them, to travel, to meditate and delve deeper into the self. Thus every house is in perfect Balance. There are no extremes.

There is another way that the Balance of Libra works. Each planet is placed in a house which is a composite of the sign occupying it and its mirror image. Eg if there is a Saturn placed in Virgo in the 12th house, it will give a combination result of Saturn in 12th (subtly Pisces too) and Saturn in Virgo (subtly the 6th house too). So its result is a balanced and a well negotiated alliance between so many mirrored forces. No extremes will be allowed here, it will be ultimately very harmonious.

If the ascendant is Aries, the first natural house is the first house. There is no mingling of traits between signs to create the house, thus the expression is ‘pure Aries’. Every house in this chart will express its pure traits, eg the 2nd house will be pure Taurus, 3rd as pure Gemini and so on. So the balance or imbalance of each house is felt even more acutely. The first house Aries will definitely give a force of personality and the 7th Libra will give a sense of relationships. But somewhere this person will come across as overbearing and uncaring, and driving in his own point of view, accepting other’s view points only to perhaps to debate them later.

Now a counter example of unbalance, Virgo ascendant. Here the first house is created by a composite of Virgo itself and subtly Aries. In this chart Aries the first sign will occupy the 8th house. The subtle agent of the entire personality, Aries is in the house of forceful transformations of identity. The entire personality becomes subtly more fluid, prone to sudden traumatic identity changes. It is like the solidity of the first house is subtly submerged in the forceful transformations of the 8th. Also the natural owner of each and every house is placed 8th from this house, giving this same effect of subtle forced traumas in the matters of every house. More, the house is now placed 6th from its natural sign, giving a subtle ‘need to serve’. Another example of typical unbalance is the Scorpio ascendant. Here Aries occupies the 6th house and subtly influences the 1st house from here. The personality is again afflicted by the 6th-8th axis problems of servitude, service, transformations of identity, secrets and catastrophic changes.

But unbalance and balance both are necessary. If everything is balanced and harmonious there would be no incentive to grow and improve. And on the other hand if everything was unbalanced there would be no scope/opportunity to evolve. So there is to be a balance between balance and unbalance itself. Both are necessary.

This is how each house is to be analysed,

1. the actual sign occupying it, the owner planet and his placement.
2. the natural sign and its location, occupying planets and aspects also have a subtle influence on it.
3. the axis between the actual and natural signs also has its say.

So in conclusion Libra is a good, balanced and harmonious ascendant to have! Analysing charts is intelligently comparing aspects and influences, subtle and gross both. Sticking on just one characteristic of a planet or sign will lead to lopsided and inaccurate readings. Give time to each chart and reading and try to analyse it in a wholistic manner without pre-judgement and pre-conceptions. Every chart is different, and every individual unique!