


In addition, the ruling planet of your ascendant represents your physical body and overall health. It is the planet that represents “you” in the chart. The ascendant ruler is your helmsman, or captain, which determines how you reach your final destination. If you think of your birth chart as a ship, the ascendant represents the helm of the ship and the direction you are heading. The sign on your ascendant will tell you something about your unique path in life, but the ruling planet of the ascendant decides how you walk that path. While this is certainly true, the ruling planet of your ascendant may be even more important.

Many modern astrologers place a lot of emphasis on the ascendant as an important point of the chart. Here’s a few quick ways to check which placements and planets are particularly strong or dominant in your own birth chart: Your ruling planet has the strongest influence in your life This has everything to do with the difference between essential and accidental dignity. In fact, there is a big difference between a planet that is strong versus a planet that is dominant. You might often hear people mention they have a “strong Mercury” or a “dominant Mars”, but what does that really mean and how do you know whether a planet is strong or dominant in your chart? While there are different schools of thought that may offer different perspectives on this question, in traditional astrology there are actually easy ways to determine the strong or dominant placements in your chart.
